Problem: The fastest growing business unit within a B2B life science supplier did not have a media/PR strategy. Media mentions were limited and the business took what it could get in terms of appearing in industry trade publications. There were no clear lanes for executive leadership to speak on record.

Action: We decided to give the EVP his own storyline and voice. He was the go-to for all things cell therapy and gene therapy in terms of industry trends and market dynamics. We focused on his expertise as a PhD, his background in cell therapy, and the unique blend of his business and scientific prowess. We did not have him serve as the end-all, be-all voice for the business unless it fit those criteria.

Result: 127% increase in media mentions between commentaries, Q&A inputs, and interviews in industry trade publications. Keeping him focused meant he became the expert in the space we needed him to be an expert in. Eventually, we did not need to pitch stories but instead editors were asking for his input. Note: this was for the head of the business, and does not include the increase in R&D leader visibility by applying the same framework.

Problem: Employee surveys noted that leadership was not as engaged as employees wanted them to be. People wanted to get to know their leaders but communication was not consistent and engaging.

Action: Upon joining the business, Hannah audited existing internal communications activities and developed a strategy for the year that included large scale events like townhalls, smaller scale events like Ask Me Anythings, and regular leader communication in the form of the written word since the executive team preferred long-form writing. The strategy was simple to create a regular cadence of activity to give leadership an idea of what was needed from them long-term and not every activity was a one-off.

Result: Employee engagement increased through the employee survey, with townhall ratings jumping nearly a point on a 1-5 scale (ended up at 3.9 out of 5) and Ask Me Anything results landing at 4.3. Employees felt like they knew more about their leaders and it ‘humanized’ them, and townhalls were “must see” events.

Problem: A nearly $1B business had a small but mighty sales force but no commercial leadership in place for more than one year. A new commercial leader joined the organization and needed to build trust quickly with his leadership team and the sales organization. He had to start with his leadership first.

Action: He integrated Hannah into his leadership team, the first time a communications Business Partner had been integrated in that way. She partnered with him to lead ‘get to know you’ sessions each leadership meeting (quarterly) to better connect team member and develop a shared feeling of trust and connection. He also had Hannah lead the strategic initiative conversations during each leadership meeting to keep the team wired to work together, and Hannah served as a third party they knew and trusted.

Result: The Commercial Leadership Team was well aligned throughout the 3 years Hannah worked with the team, and she was as much a part of the Commercial team as the Regional Directors and sales reps. It also allowed the Communications and Marketing organizations insight into the goals of the Commercial teams so they could better anticipate the needs of the sales force when it came to proactive communications, crisis communication, or marketing support and excellence.