admin, Author at Wordbird https://wordbird.london/author/gfwd/ Healthcare Communications Agency London Wed, 06 Aug 2025 10:42:51 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordbird.london/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Fav.png admin, Author at Wordbird https://wordbird.london/author/gfwd/ 32 32 The NHS is reinventing itself. https://wordbird.london/the-nhs-is-reinventing-itself/ Wed, 06 Aug 2025 10:42:51 +0000 https://wordbird.london/?p=1680 ARE YOU READY? The NHS has recently published its 10 Year Health Plan.  By anyone’s standards, ‘Fit for the future: 10 year health plan for England’ is a pretty bold plan. It says that The Government will reinvent the NHS through 3 radical shifts: Hospital to community Analogue to digital Sickness to prevention We really […]

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]]> Energy black holes https://wordbird.london/energy-black-holes/ Thu, 13 Mar 2025 19:18:36 +0000 https://wordbird.london/?p=1303 Do you ever get sucked into those energy black holes? The ‘work things’ that take up huge amounts of time and energy, but are not satisfying and don’t seem to produce very much. Well, imagine this; they are even worse for healthcare professionals. So how does that affect what WE do? BLAME ‘THE SYSTEM’? At […]

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]]> If pharma ran Apple https://wordbird.london/if-apple-ran-pharma/ Thu, 13 Mar 2025 19:05:30 +0000 https://wordbird.london/?p=1300 We would still be on iPhone 1, with some licence extensions! In a fast, digital world where most things are instant, transient and DONE, why is our industry so slow? I’ve been having a few ideas… AS THE WORLD HAS SPED UP PHARMA HAS GOT SLOWER When I first started in a pharma agency a […]

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]]> PM soc procurement strategies https://wordbird.london/pm-soc-procurement-strategies/ Thu, 13 Mar 2025 18:58:41 +0000 https://wordbird.london/?p=1297 The PM Society has invited consultation on their new report; Procurement Strategies: Ensuring optimal outcomes and the best value possible for all stakeholders. I think it’s a balanced and genuinely useful look under the bonnet of how things work – and what could be better. I especially love the focus on client:agency chemistry. So essential! […]

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]]> Calling all code fanatics (and non-fanatics) https://wordbird.london/calling-all-code-fanatics-and-non-fanatics/ Thu, 13 Mar 2025 18:47:44 +0000 https://wordbird.london/?p=1292 Following the launch of the latest UK Code of Practice for the Pharmaceutical Industry, here’s much to be excited about. As a self-confessed Code Fanatic I’m all about code positivity. And I’m encouraging you to surround yourself with people who feel the same way. IS THE CODE FRIEND OR FOE? Sure, the code can be […]

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]]> Bingeable Content https://wordbird.london/bingeable-content/ Fri, 07 Mar 2025 19:12:44 +0000 https://wordbird.london/?p=1265 The last two years have seen a shift in how we get customers (humans) from ‘aware’ to ‘ready to buy’. Given that HCPs are humans, we have been wondering how we use this information in the promotion of life sciences brands… The 7-11-4 formula We all need new customers. How people get new customers outside […]

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]]> Powerful Persuasion https://wordbird.london/powerful-persuasion/ Thu, 06 Mar 2025 10:34:42 +0000 https://wordbird.london/?p=1261 Do you consider yourself to be in the persuasion business? Aristotle cracked the code on what makes communication truly persuasive. If we want healthcare professionals and patients to get the most from medicines, then I think our job IS to to influence behaviour; to persuade. The persuasion triad 2,300 years ago, Aristotle laid out three […]

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]]> Love at first write https://wordbird.london/love-at-first-write/ Mon, 06 Feb 2023 22:18:19 +0000 https://wordbird.london/?p=935 Agency Founder, Sarah Sowerby, started as a healthcare copywriter on Valentine’s Day, 1990. It was love at first write. Words are the tools with which we tell our health brand stories. Yet in healthcare agencies, words are often the poor relations of strategy and art direction. Copywriters are usually kept in back rooms and wheeled […]

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]]> Readability – how to write so people take action https://wordbird.london/readability-how-to-write-so-people-take-action/ Wed, 10 Aug 2022 10:06:23 +0000 https://wordbird.london/?p=874 Do you ever read something again and again, but still not feel you have taken it in? The paragraph in that report you have read five times and still have no clue what it’s about? Let me reassure you; it’s not you. The problem lies with the writing – or more importantly the readability. I’ve […]

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]]> The weird yet wonderful world of ASMR https://wordbird.london/the-weird-yet-wonderful-world-of-asmr/ Fri, 10 Jun 2022 07:34:22 +0000 https://wordbird.london/?p=863 Recently I went to the ‘Weird sensation feels good’ exhibition at the Design Museum. The exhibition invites visitors to step out from behind their individual screens and experience the world of ASMR in a shared space. The five things I learnt are: 1. I’ve heard this term but what is ASMR exactly? In the exhibition […]

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]]> The Fledgling https://wordbird.london/the-fledgling/ Wed, 11 May 2022 18:02:14 +0000 https://wordbird.london/?p=855 A bird’s eye view is always the clearest. Agency life from the perspective of the newest member of the Wordbird flock.

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]]> Artie and his elderly neighbour, Rosemary https://wordbird.london/artie-and-his-elderly-neighbour-rosemary/ Thu, 16 Dec 2021 08:11:05 +0000 https://wordbird.london/?p=839 Imagine having nobody to decorate a tree with, wish Season’s Greetings to, or exchange a gift or hug with. 

It’s been a remarkably lonely time for the elderly. Especially Artie’s neighbour, Rosemary who doesn’t have any family close by anymore. And so he wrapped up a few tiny treasures and treats, knocked on her door, […]

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]]> Steve and The Green Project https://wordbird.london/steve-and-the-green-project/ Thu, 16 Dec 2021 08:07:50 +0000 https://wordbird.london/?p=835 It all began one day in Spring of lockdown 2020.

 Steve stumbled across a spot local to him in Shepherd’s Bush, surprised to see a once lonely corner, blooming into a lively green space. Flowers budding, trees growing, little green fingers planting away. A group of local residents had started The Green Project so everyone […]

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]]> Remote working and the evolution of the workspace in creative industries https://wordbird.london/remote-working-and-the-evolution-of-the-workspace-in-creative-industries/ Tue, 27 Jul 2021 08:03:11 +0000 https://wordbird.london/?p=828 In March 2020, many companies were forced to welcome working from home as a solution to the Covid-19 pandemic. Universities were forced to cancel exams and grade degrees differently. The world of work for both students and professionals flipped.

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]]> Gift wrapping – we’ve got it in the bag https://wordbird.london/style-guide/ Mon, 22 Jul 2019 18:10:31 +0000 https://wordbird.london/?p=262 As a child it was easy to recognise who presents were from before even reading the gift tag. My brother’s had an almost magical quality and would unwrap themselves in the short distance between passing from under the tree to landing on my lap. My mum’s were so tightly secured with thin shiny ribbon that you could turn into ringlet curls that it would slice into your fingers, like a cheese wire in a deli, when you tried to break through it.

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]]> Earnestly tumbling down the leadership rabbit hole https://wordbird.london/earnestly-tumbling-down-the-leadership-rabbit-hole/ Wed, 07 Aug 2019 16:58:22 +0000 https://wordbird.london/?p=383 On 8th May 2019, two eager Wordbirds entered the IPA for an intense day of Advanced Leadership training. Feeling slightly daunted by the immense agenda for the day, Gwyn quickly put us at ease with her passion for training and way of breaking down the cascades of information into manageable chunks. We took away so […]

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]]> The fresh faces in advertising https://wordbird.london/the-fresh-faces-in-advertising/ Tue, 16 Jul 2019 08:21:50 +0000 https://wordbird.london/?p=188 Never has learning been so easy. Or fun. Spending hours watching TV ads on YouTube — ranging from crème de la crème to cringe de la cringe — is not only justified but actively encouraged.

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]]> How to create an appealing health pop-up clinic https://wordbird.london/how-to-create-an-appealing-health-pop-up-clinic/ Tue, 16 Jul 2019 08:14:22 +0000 https://wordbird.london/?p=185 It’s August 2016 and a traveling pop-up health check clinic is making its way across UK shopping centres. At every centre, shoppers can pop in and do a simple eye pressure and blood pressure check for free. By the end of the pop-up tour, 768 shoppers had participated. This is City University of London’s innovative study on […]

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]]> A shared passion https://wordbird.london/a-shared-passion/ Tue, 16 Jul 2019 08:03:22 +0000 https://wordbird.london/?p=182 Are you part of a book club? Good fun isn’t it. Friends coming together for words, wine, and if you’re lucky, nibbles If you’re extra lucky, book clubs may even be an opportunity for philanthropy. And that’s exactly the idea behind Literary Laughs. They take the best of book clubs and add a fundraising element. Every year, […]

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]]> What congresses tell us: European Glaucoma Society https://wordbird.london/what-congresses-tell-us-european-glaucoma-society/ Tue, 16 Jul 2019 08:01:28 +0000 https://wordbird.london/?p=179 In May, Nathan and I were lucky enough to venture out of London and jet off to the (EGS) biennial congress in sunny Florence. We say sunny, but in reality, it couldn’t have rained more, che bellezza!

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]]> Quick wins to improve readability https://wordbird.london/quick-wins-to-improve-readability/ Tue, 16 Jul 2019 07:58:33 +0000 https://wordbird.london/?p=177 Have you ever read a boring report? Or rather, read the same text again and again, but still not taken it in? How can a boring report ever be a page turner? And how can your healthcare communications always be an utter joy to read? Here are my top tips for readability.

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]]> Happy birthday to us https://wordbird.london/happy-birthday-to-us/ Tue, 16 Jul 2019 07:57:08 +0000 https://wordbird.london/?p=175 Birthday parties are always fun, but ours was particularly special We celebrated on the gorgeous rooftop garden of the suitably birdily-named Coq d‘Argent at No 1 Poultry. Situated on the original site of the Royal jeweller, Mapin and Webb’s silver foundry, and looking out at the twinkling London skyline, it certainly felt like a suitable place to […]

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]]> Touching base with office jargon https://wordbird.london/touching-base-with-office-jargon/ Tue, 16 Jul 2019 07:56:03 +0000 https://wordbird.london/?p=173 Office jargon appears everywhere. Whether its ‘blue-sky thinking’, ‘pinging emails’ or ‘drilling down’ it’s hard to avoid. You only have to watch an episode of The Apprentice, where it seems some form of business jargon is used every few seconds, to see how prevalent it’s become. But before we climb onto our high horse, there […]

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]]> Things to ask your healthcare copywriter https://wordbird.london/things-to-ask-your-healthcare-copywriter/ Tue, 16 Jul 2019 07:54:15 +0000 https://wordbird.london/?p=171 It sounds simple, doesn’t it? Writing for healthcare can’t be that different to writing for other things. And it isn’t. The best healthcare copywriters have a natural talent for putting themselves in their audiences’ shoes and adapting the tone of voice that they write in. This natural talent can be nurtured and developed through practise […]

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]]> Bird’s eye view https://wordbird.london/birds-eye-view/ Tue, 16 Jul 2019 07:53:00 +0000 https://wordbird.london/?p=169 Throughout my years working in healthcare communications, I have written a lot of blogs in my head. I have thought a lot about setting a blog up on our website. But we all know that actions speak louder than thoughts, so at last some action. One of my passions is that healthcare copywriters should be trained. […]

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]]> Meaning of meaningful work https://wordbird.london/meaning-of-meaningful-work/ Tue, 16 Jul 2019 07:45:33 +0000 https://wordbird.london/?p=163 Recently I went to a business workshop at Bush House in central London as part of an executive education open day. For the previous 80 years the building was home to the BBC World Service – renown for broadcasting across the world in 30 different languages. I was there as a guest of the new […]

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]]> 9 things to ask your writer https://wordbird.london/9-things-to-ask-your-writer/ Mon, 15 Jul 2019 22:12:52 +0000 https://wordbird.london/?p=931 Have they had direct PMCPA/PAGB training? Do they have a life science degree (or equivalent)? Do they write from references, marking up from draft one? Do they take full responsibility for the approval process to ensure efficiency and rigour (rather than palm it off on a junior account, executive who knows nothing about the job)? […]

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]]> Besties https://wordbird.london/besties/ Mon, 15 Jul 2019 22:27:03 +0000 https://wordbird.london/?p=938 Great ideas come from an inspiring strategy. Strategy is an old military term. In that context strategy is a matter of life and death. It can be the same in our communications. Defining and implementing a successful, multichannel brand communications strategy can make a real difference to people’s lives. For us, there’s nothing more rewarding […]

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