Ogilvy Health Unveils Consumer Offering, Led By Ben Hickey in Newly-Created Role

Ogilvy Health Australia has unveiled an expanded and diversified consumer health offering, spearheaded by a newly created senior role, and local arm of a specialist global influencing product.

Designed to apply a culture-led lens to Ogilvy Health’s scientific patient-led work, the expanded consumer health capabilities will ensure health campaigning continues to balance behavioural science, creativity and health experience to drive real impact on business results and Australian lives. It aims to ensure health conversations occur in culture where they have the greatest potential to cut through.

Leading the consumer health offer is Ben Hickey, who joined Ogilvy Health in late 2024 in the newly-created role of head of consumer health. Since starting, Hickey has been working on refining the agency’s diversified offering to now officially launch its expansion this month. This includes the Australian rollout of Health Influence; a global capability, tailored locally, that provides pharmaceutical, healthcare and wellness brands access to the burgeoning influence economy.

Ogilvy Health group managing director Rachel Stanton said, “Ogilvy Health has long been known for its ability to deliver effective patient advocacy through integrated earned-first creativity and public affairs, and powerful healthcare communication, where education, PR and advertising combine to inspire new thinking.

“But we recognise that as consumers increasingly find new sources for health information, we need to embrace showing up in culture, backed by science and behaviour theory, to have greater impact on the lives of Australians. Our expanded offering – including Health Influence – and Ben’s strong experience in the consumer health sector are all key conduits to make this happen.”

A highly recognised communications leader with more than 20 years of agency experience in healthcare, consumer and corporate PR, Hickey joined Ogilvy from Weber Shandwick Singapore where he was senior vice president of its Healthcare Division for five years. He has also worked at a range of renowned global agencies leading healthcare teams and clients, including Burson and Edelman in London, among others.

Hickey said the agency’s strong expertise across disease states, scientific health communication, health policy, health advocacy and behaviour change, combined with Ogilvy PR’s numerous consumer and influence experts, “presents a real opportunity to ensure we are engaging and communicating with Australian consumers in a variety of different ways about a multitude of health and wellbeing considerations”.

“It is crucially important that healthcare companies, brands, organisations and campaigns connect with consumers in an accurate, open and authentic manner, and that their communications are solidly grounded in science and authorised claims. In addition, communications must be developed through a distinct culture lens in order to be noticed and truly change behaviour. Ogilvy’s Health Influence offering ensures consumer health work is properly aligned with their target audience, their interests and the cultural zeitgeist in order to generate cut-through and drive change,” he said.

Hickey said Health Influence would be a particularly powerful tool in communicating with Australian audiences that are becoming increasingly aware of, and interested in health and wellbeing, and looking to new media sources for information.

“It’s no surprise that consumers are looking for advice from a variety of sources and we know that social media is playing a more important role in that information dissemination than ever before. Our Health Influence experts understand this unique landscape, and the power of delivering creative effectiveness and powerful narratives told through credible influencers, while navigating regulatory compliance within the sector.”

With strong experience across national, regional and global healthcare clients, Hickey’s approach is “already having traction”, continued Stanton.

“Ben has hit the ground with a bang. He's already partnering with some big brands, backed by the power the Ogilvy Network offers by way of strategic thinking and creativity, demonstrating the need for a combined culture led, creativity first, approach backed by decades of health experience our Ogilvy team has up its sleeve," she concluded.