RAPP UK Recruits Afua Basoah as Head of Health Strategy

RAPP UK is growing its experience strategy team with the key appointment of Afua Basoah as head of health strategy. An enviable mix of scientist, activist and strategist, Afua will be bringing her specialist knowledge to a range of RAPP UK’s health clients, while growing the agency offer further. 

She commences her role at the agency this month, alongside other new joiners Katie Dulake and Lily Tidy, strategy directors and social strategist Aziza Makame. Tain Joliffe is also promoted to diversity strategy director. The strategists will be based within the 50 strong Experience Team which is led by Caroline Parkes, chief experience officer.

Afua Basoah’s extensive experience includes over four years at RAPP’s sister Omnicom agency Rabin Martin, where she was vice president, Head of London working to leverage the extensive capabilities of private sector, particularly within the pharmaceutical industry, and address key global health needs. Brokering unusual partnerships, her focus was to drive both business and societal value. She has also had senior positions at Apothecom, Ogilvy Healthworld and  Hill+Knowlton Strategies. 

Afua’s career also spans much work in the DE&I field as a former co-chair of Omnicom’s Disability Business Resource Group, OPEN DisAbility UK + Allies. She is also Non-Executive Director for the non-for profit membership organisation, the Healthcare Communications Association (HCA); is listed in the 2020 IPA iList, and in December 2021 was elected as the Chair of the UK Board of Trustees for the international NGO Mothers2Mothers, an organisation dedicated to eliminating paediatric AIDS through female empowerment.

Strategy director Katie Dulake will be working across one of RAPP Group’s portfolio of clients. She has a wealth of experience having worked with clients such as Lloyds Banking Group and PayPal. Dulake also brings client side experience having been GM Marketing and Communications at Mitsubishi Motors in the UK and has also had key brand and marketing positions at both TSB and Nationwide.  

Lily Tidy joins the agency after a stint in Australia where she honed her specialism as a behaviour change expert at The Shannon Company, as well working as Proximity Australia. She returns to the group in the UK and will be leading strategy with the group’s health clients where she will be working alongside Basoah with clients such as Galderma and Bayer.

Aziza Makame joins RAPP UK with several years’ experience as a social media influencer and journalist leading and delivering highly successful campaigns for luxury fashion and lifestyle brands. As Social Strategist she will work with client Samsung amongst others.  

Finally, having joined RAPP UK in July 2020 as associate strategy director, then strategy director, Tain Joliffe’s promotion to diversity strategy director continues RAPP UK’s commitment to stand up for individuality. Her new role commences immediately with a brief to ensure that diversity and inclusion expertise permeates every inch of RAPP UK’s work.

Caroline Parkes, chief experience officer at RAPP UK said: “Afua’s experience and passion in the healthcare field is quite extraordinary – she’s the perfect person to be leading our offering and helping our clients create powerful and innovative marketing. Afua, Katie, Lily and Aziza all bring with them a demonstrable abundance of experience, adding to the different perspectives and skills we have within our Experience team and will be instrumental in helping us invent the future of marketing for our clients. Tain’s promotion follows the brilliant work she has been undertaking across the business.

The unique and diverse talents of each of the strategists which sit within our Experience Team sets RAPP apart.  It ultimately leads us to a more inventive space, providing clients with innovative strategic guidance, support and of course growth.” 

Afua Basoah said: “I have been blown away by the smarts, creativity and capabilities housed within RAPP UK. A real powerhouse that will help shift the paradigm towards personalised, predictive, preventive & inclusive healthcare. What really excites me is the potential to leverage the rich learnings and expertise from RAPP’s multi-sector portfolios to drive new thinking and health outcomes.”

RAPP UK’s Experience team includes CX and UX specialists, a social and content division, brand, media and insight specialists, plus loyalty and CRM experts.