Breaking the Code – Details, episodes & analysis

In this episode, recorded right before the Labor Day weekend, Brad and Gabe have one thing on their minds... barbecuing! More specifically, they're thinking about barbecuing as a ritual, a set of behaviors with rules, inversions of norms, specific settings and a meaning that goes beyond its function.

In health, rituals are overlooked, but they're are a desired part of the human experience, even if patients and consumers don't articulate it. Think about where you'd be comfortable getting a shot from your HCP. In a parking lot? The elevator? The waiting area? The doctor's office? A successful health experiences hinges on an individual's comfort, familiarity and trust, so rituals play a crucial role in making procedures feel safe and making recipients feel dignified.

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The term "neurodiversity," introduced 25 years ago by autistic Australian sociologist Judy Singer, marked a milestone in our understanding of autism and the appreciation of "difference, not deficit" in how brains work. More than a buzzword, neurodiversity describes a growing population whose brains work differently from the "neurotypical," and whose historic separation from social engagement has been replaced with a social inclusion that allows them to share their unique talents and perspectives. These differences go beyond functional tasks like working in an office or completing an exam. Their unique interactions with the world inform their fascinating worldview and their day-to-day challenges. For us in advertising, knowing how your audience interacts with the world is crucial to creating communication that speaks to them.

In this episode, Brad and Gabe are joined by Havas' own, Kathryn Parsons, a digital marketing expert and an advocate for neurodiversity. Kathryn has autism, and she shares multiple anecdotes describing how she's adapted to a neurotypical world. The three of them also discuss what brands can be doing better to reach their neurodiverse audience - which is 1 in every 5 of us.

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Too often in our industry, when we say "healthcare professional" what we really mean is ONE healthcare profession, the prescribing Medical Doctor. However, nursing is and always has been a part of the healthcare professional team, and today more than ever the roles nurses play in providing care are exactly those we cannot do without. Nursing is impossible to do remotely; they are the hands-on heartbeat of any hospital, clinic, or practice. It is important that we recognize them as a unique profession, with their own preferences, culture and role within healthcare. Nurses are not "lesser doctors", and our efforts should reflect their practices, culture, history, and roles in medicine. Like everyone else, nurses benefit from our work most when we design for them specifically, and what helps nurses helps patients, doctors, and everyone else in the healthcare environment. 

In this special episode celebrating Women's History Month, we are joined by Lisa Chobanian, RN, MS, and also Associate Managing Director of Unification Services at H4B Chelsea, to break down the important distinctions within the culture of nurses and how we can reach them, specifically, as we communicate to HCPs at large.

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Recently, a number of prestigious U.S. universities have talked about reinstating The Scholastic Aptitude Test, more infamously known as The SAT, for applicants to their undergraduate programs. The SAT was once mandatory for college applications, but has become optional and then not used at all in progressive stages over the past two decades. However, debate rages as to whether schools' test optional policies have hurt students (low-income students in particular) who have not been submitting their scores. The president of Dartmouth justified the institutions reinstatement of the exam by claiming that SAT scores, sometimes below average ones, help identify students who "excel in their environment".

In this episode, we look at the SATs as a case study in the challenges of creating an equitable system. The SAT is a part of a flawed U.S. education system in need of a standardized approach to evaluate and effectively put students in a position to succeed, academically. Score distributions reveal less about the months of prep leading up to the test as they do about the years of general educational neglect before hand - the cracks are foundational. While it is an undeniable opportunity for underserved students to become undeniable applicants, it's a poor reflection of character, work ethic, and ability to endure in adverse circumstances. So what should we do with the SAT? 

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Do you know anyone who just watches the Superbowl for the love of the game anymore? As TV viewers decline across the board, the Big Game on the second Sunday of February remains a must watch event in sports, entertainment, and advertising, hooking the attention from everyone from die-hard sports fans to Swifties.

In this special episode, the full team, Brad, Sonika, and Gabriel play 'Monday Morning Quarterback' and take a social scientist's lens to some notable ads from the night (Pfizer's 'Here's to Science', Dove's 'It's a hard knock life', Google Pixel's 'Javier in Frame'). We also discuss what makes Superbowl ads so distinct from their much less desirable counterparts - everything from the strategy behind them to the viewers who are watching.

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 A rare disease diagnosis is the beginning of a journey of unknowns. From an HCPs ability to treat, to a caregivers' emotional burden, to a patient's sense of identity, there are a variety of factors that remain uncertain or unclear which makeup the unique challenge of having a rare disease.  

Despite the challenge, people living with rare disease persevere and form communities - real communities - they share advice and relatable experiences while staying emotionally invested in each other's success. They've laid the groundwork. Advancements in the treatment of rare disease are both transformative today and tomorrow. Now, we must figure out how we fit in to creating that success.  

Join us for this special edition as we begin preparing for Rare Disease Day (February 29) with Afshan Rizvi Hussain, Havas' own Global Rare Disease Lead.

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With January being Cervical Health Awareness month, we felt that this was a great time to breakdown the discussion around Gardasil, an HPV vaccine that can play a major role in curbing the incidence rates of cervical and a variety of other cancers. With that fact alone, Gardasil seems like a no-brainer, but as we explained in a previous episode, it's our irrational behaviors that make us human. Gardasil hasn't caught on as well as initially expected. Since it works best in those who haven't had sex yet, it has raised a highly-contested behavior science conundrum for parents that has deterred use of the vaccine: does vaccinating a preteen for a sexually transmitted infection implicitly give them permission to start having sex?

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Doctors are in distress, and pandemic is not the only cause. For decades, the role of the healer has been evolving (or devolving, depending on whom you ask), both in our imaginations and in the literal conditions of labor for doctors. For the first episode of the new year, Sonika and I sit down with Vernon Bainton MD, Chief Medical Officer of Havas Lynx in the UK and a keen observer of all things medical, to discuss the Healing the Healers initiative and the evolution of doctoring in today's fast-paced, tech driven medical practice.

Healing the Healers is a campaign developed by Havas Lynx powered by their proprietary Point.1 data. This unique dataset and ongoing analysis highlighted the staggering deterioration in healthcare professional wellbeing internationally and as a result the critical need for more effective and empathetic ways to communicate with HCPs.

Head over to the Havas Lynx website to read more: https://havaslynx.com/thought-leadership/healing-the-healers/

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Use this link to view the video form of this episode: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/havashealthandyou_onehavas-meaningfuldifference-breakingthecode-activity-7140365496129875968-ZpsM?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop

Have you ever thought about how we describe young people as "finding their way" and older people as "stuck in their ways"? Gen Z, currently a cohort entering young adulthood, is commonly referred as being the most progressive generation, but so were Millennials and Gen X when they were young adults. Conversations and findings about generations are often conflated with truths about life stages and aging. The idea that millennials are begrudgingly warming up to minivans is evidence of aging, not something unique to their generation--we all change when we form families and have a desire for more space. Gen X feeling that they're an ignored cohort in shadow of Baby Boomers, however, is unique and truly "generational" - a lifelong feeling that is tied to their life experiences in a way that other cohorts won't feel.
 
This very special episode is a celebration of 1 year of Breaking the Code. The full team, Brad, Sonika and Gabriel sit down in front of the camera to take the BS out of over-generalized discussions about generational cohorts and coming of age.
 
Thank you so much for listening to Breaking the Code in 2023! The feedback and discussion that comes from the episodes is a big part of why this is one of our favorite projects. We're breaking for the holidays and will be back with a new episode early in the new year.

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There isn't an official list of everything that's considered taboo, but somehow we all have an instinctual sense of words and topics that are off limits. We even try not to invoke the word of some taboos, like death, so we say things like "passing away", "biting the dust", "pushing up daisies", and more). However, healthcare environments are one of the few places where taboos are openly discussed, so it's crucial that we know the best way to navigate those situations.

In this episode we break down taboos, both cultural and universal. We broach a variety of taboos throughout, from mental health to the 3Ps, all so that we can derive solutions that aim to alleviate the shame that can come from having these uncomfortable conversations. These conversations are exceptionally critical to have in the health space, since the stigma and shame that result from overcoming taboos can serve as a life-threatening barrier between people and the help they need.

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