NEW YORK– Real Chemistry, the leading provider of AI-driven insights and marketing and communications for the healthcare industry, announced today the appointment of two senior hires to lead the company’s practices in crisis communications and corporate reputation and social impact. These additions better position Real Chemistry to stay ahead of the needs of its healthcare clients, who are operating in an increasingly complex regulatory, political and social environment and adapting to ever-changing expectations from diverse stakeholders.
The company also announced the launch of Real Reputation, a new reputation analysis product evaluating the reputation drivers that matter most to specific healthcare audiences.
Steven Behm named Practice Leader, Crisis Communications and Corporate Reputation.
Prior to Real Chemistry, Behm led Edelman’s national crisis, risk and reputation practice where he helped companies, nonprofits and governmental agencies with reputation management and counseled them through critical exposure moments. His expertise includes preparedness planning, litigation communication, cyber-security and immediate response communications. Behm’s healthcare experience includes mitigating the reputational impact of a global recall by one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies and spearheading a nationwide consumer reeducation campaign to reinforce proper use of an over-the-counter product. Behm, who started at Real Chemistry on Aug. 1, is based in Atlanta and reports to Emily Poe, Group President, Integrated Communications.
Brian Tjugum named Global Practice Leader, Social Impact.
Tjugum has three decades of experience as a global consultant specializing in multi-national advocacy, communications and stakeholder engagement initiatives devoted to improving health outcomes and creating lasting social change. He has directed global campaigns for clients driving action on health equity, including the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Boston Scientific Foundation, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria, GSK, Merck, Unicef, Unilever and the World Health Organization. Tjugum, who started his new role on July 24, is based in Real Chemistry’s London office and reports to Lucie Harper, President, Integrated Communications, EMEA.
Healthcare is unique and demands a custom, audience-centric reputation framework. Real Reputation delivers a stakeholder-focused approach to prioritize reputation drivers among the most important audiences. We tap into online signals, combined with insights from curated healthcare audience panels and real-world data, to measure reputation and develop data-driven strategies for building reputational value. By correlating reputational changes to changes in brand use and brand share, Real Reputation connects the dots between reputation drivers and sales.
“In today’s healthcare environment, our clients are facing unprecedented challenges. From being responsible stewards globally to addressing the industry challenges presented by the Inflation Reduction Act and the upcoming presidential election in the United States, corporate reputation and ESG factors will be critical elements of both short-term decision-making and longer-term strategic planning,” says Poe. “With Steve and Brian joining us, we are adding two of the most trusted voices in the business to provide unparalleled expertise to our clients – building on the work our teams already do in crisis communications and ESG. Additionally, our new product offering, Real Reputation, makes understanding the nuances of specific healthcare audiences and how to build reputational value among them easier. Bringing together this combination of intelligence and expertise will further enable our clients to make better data-driven and more impactful decisions.”
