By EatMoreFruit Communications
Here’s a thought…What exactly makes a health campaign credible?
Is it the data? The messaging? The creative?
In medical and health communications, credibility isn’t something you can claim anymore. It must be earned, and increasingly, it needs to be shared.
Audiences want to know that what they’re seeing reflects real-world experience and collective expertise, not something developed in isolation and behind closed doors.
When you look at the successful campaigns that really land, there’s usually a common thread running through them…they’ve deliberately brought the outside in.
For marketing leaders in MedTech and Pharma, this means opening up the campaign journey to credible external stakeholders – such as medical associations, charities, non-governmental organisations, policy experts, and clinical leaders – early enough that their involvement genuinely shapes the thinking, rather than appearing at the end as a tick-box exercise.
Done well, this has the ability to strengthen brand intent and create a sense of trust and resonance among the desired audience.
Why Bringing the Outside In Changes Everything
Internal teams are smart. They know their therapy areas, their data, and their audiences. But they’re also close to the problem they’re trying to solve.
That proximity can make it hard to see where good intentions might collide with real-world complexity.
This is where external stakeholders come into their own. They bring distance, challenge, and perspective.
They see how policy plays out in practice, where guidelines meet operational reality, and where messaging that looks perfect on paper may fall flat in the real world.
Engaging these voices at the point of ideation changes the starting line. Instead of leading with a fully formed narrative, you begin by asking the right questions.
Early insight conversations, advisory discussions, or problem-definition workshops can quickly reveal whether a campaign is addressing a genuine unmet need or plainly reframing an internal priority; a distinction that really matters.
For organisations, this kind of early clarity reduces risk, avoids costly late-stage rework, and speeds up alignment and approvals.
For external stakeholders, it offers something invaluable, an opportunity to influence how issues are framed publicly, ensuring campaigns reflect lived reality from the outset.
Shaping Ideas Before Shaping Messages
As concepts turn into content, the role of external stakeholders naturally shifts. This is no longer about generating ideas; it’s about sharpening them.
Structured think tanks, message stress-testing sessions, or content walkthroughs create space for constructive challenge and validation.
Stakeholders can question language, tone, and emphasis, helping teams stay accurate without becoming overly cautious and persuasive without overselling.
It’s the kind of perspective that’s hard to replicate internally – no matter how experienced the team.
For marketing teams, this stage builds confidence that messages are robust and defensible.
For stakeholders, it provides reassurance that their expertise is being meaningfully reflected, protecting their credibility while shaping communications that will reach far beyond their own audiences.
From Confidence to Reassurance at Launch
As campaigns move closer to launch, the value of this engagement becomes even more important.
In highly regulated and publicly scrutinised environments, reassurance matters.
Knowing that materials have been shaped through credible, independent input makes governance sign-off smoother and reduces perceived risk.
Validation meetings, documented feedback rounds, and launchpad advisory sessions; these may not be visible externally, but they matter internally in making the right decisions during the pre-launch phase.
For organisations, they create the confidence to move forward decisively.
For stakeholders, they offer comfort that the final output aligns with their principles and won’t compromise their independence or mission.
When Trust Is Built In, Campaigns Travel Further
When credibility has been built in from the start, messages feel more connected to wider health priorities rather than standing alone as brand communications, and trust transfers naturally.
In some cases, stakeholders may support dissemination through aligned language, complementary activity, or informal amplification, without it feeling forced or promotional.
And crucially, collaboration doesn’t end at launch.
Post-campaign reflection creates space to ask what really resonated, what changed behaviour, and where barriers remain.
For MedTech and Pharma organisations, this insight feeds directly into future engagement and marketing strategies.
For stakeholders, it provides visibility into how their input translates into action, strengthening long-term relationships and continuity in shared purpose.
Holding the Centre as Complexity Grows
Of course, bringing the outside in isn’t without its challenges and can sometimes feel as if there are too many hands on the steering wheel.
Stakeholders have different governance frameworks, time pressures, and expectations of involvement. Balancing these perspectives while keeping momentum is the key, but it requires care.
This is where specialist health communications agencies often play a quiet but critical role.
>At EatMoreFruit Communications, we are the neutral facilitators and are rarely front and centre – which is intentional.
We work behind the scenes to help organisations design engagement that works for everyone involved, convening the right voices at the right moments, structuring meaningful conversations and engagement, and translating external insight into clear, actionable campaign strategies that hit hard.
It’s not about speaking for stakeholders. It’s about creating the conditions where collaboration strengthens credibility without compromising independence.
Credibility Isn’t Bolted on at the End
So, what’s the takeaway for marketing leaders?
In an environment where trust has to be earned, credibility can’t be retrofitted at the end of a campaign.
It has to be built deliberately through bringing the outside in at every stage where perspective, challenge, and reassurance matter.
This approach works because it answers the same question for everyone involved. Organisations gain confidence, efficiency, and impact.
External stakeholders gain influence, assurance, and alignment with their mission. And campaigns gain the legitimacy needed to drive meaningful, lasting change.
Credibility, in the end, isn’t a claim. It’s a process.
The question is…Are you building it in or bolting it on?
