McCann Worldgroup is gearing up to lead marketing communications in the health and wellness sector with the launch of McCann Humancare, part of the McCann Healthcare Worldwide network. McCann is one of the first agency networks in Malaysia to introduce a full-fledged specialist division focused on health and wellness communication.

The primary thrust of McCann Humancare's mission is to engage brands and companies in improving the quality of life among Malaysians and offering well-researched solutions.

According to statistics drawn from the Third National Health and Morbidity Survey of Malaysia, 29.1 percent of Malaysians are categorised as being overweight and nearly 14 per cent as obese. With 11.9 prevalence of diabetes, Malaysia ranks the highest in the world, second only to India. More than 50 per cent of working adults in Malaysia live with more than two risk factors for lifestyle diseases such as high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, and diabetes.

"This is an appropriate time to launch such a discipline with the government, NGOs, social groups, and food, beverage, and nutrition brands invest in communications to promote good health and wellness-oriented lifestyles," explains Tony Savarimuthu, CEO, McCann Worldgroup.

As a discipline, McCann Humancare has access to vast resources and talent pool dedicated to health issues.

"The consumer decision making process takes a sharp turn on wellbeing and healthy living," observes Savarimuthu. "The family unit and peer networks play a much larger role compared to other purchase decisions. Understanding this mindset and role of networks is critical in creating effective communications. With our global track record, McCann Humancare has a distinctive edge in understanding consumers and their needs while providing measurable ROI for our clients."

In Malaysia, McCann Erickson has collaborated with selected brands and companies including Nestle's 'How Am I?' campaign, wholegrain nutrition value for Cereal Partners Worldwide (Koko Krunch), and health benefits of coffee for Nescafe. McCann has also leveraged social media platforms to promote the cervical cancer awareness campaign for the National Cancer Society, stroke awareness campaign for the National Stroke Association, and the Friends 4 Organ Donation campaign.

"McCann is the global and regional thought leader in health and wellness communications," states Amar Urhekar, Executive Vice President, Asia Pacific, McCann Healthcare Worldwide. "McCann Healthcare Worldwide, the parent company for all healthcare and wellness related communications, has been adjudged as the agency network of the year in Asia Pacific for three consecutive years from 2009 to 2011. We are an agency network that has the organizational capabilities and resources to offer truly integrated communications solutions in the healthcare space - consumer oriented healthcare communications targeting end consumers to evidence-based scientific communications for intermediary targets like researchers, opinion leaders, and healthcare practitioners. The formal announcement of the McCann Humancare launch is the first step towards our long term commitment in building robust healthcare communications capabilities in Malaysia."

Dr. Milan Agnihotri, Group Director - Brand Planning and Innovations, McCann Worldgroup Malaysia, believes that the healthcare industry's focal point is moving from illness to wellness. "Syndicated research studies and our own observations reveal that patients, and even perfectly healthy individuals, are now behaving like consumers of health products, thanks to information on the internet, social media, and sponsored content.

"Both these groups are equipped with information to influence healthcare professionals in the choice of brands. The discerning patients (consumers) and their caregivers even want to have their say in choosing a prescription brand. This patient-consumer pull is compelling marketers to improve their services in terms of providing more information and access to neutral support groups. In the near future, patient-consumer relations may emerge as the key marketing tool and the competitive advantage for healthcare companies."

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