MedComms in the New Digital Era: Insights from SXSW London

The Growing Importance of Creativity in an AI world

AI was a topic of conversation that dominated many sessions, with a consistent message emerging throughout: as AI democratises access to knowledge, the value of simply having information decreases. In the past, businesses relied on professionals undertaking years of education and training to build the knowledge needed to specialise and develop their expertise. Now, AI‑powered platforms can simplify complex concepts and deliver fast results. AI is the great equaliser, widening access to knowledge and diminishing the advantage that comes from access to information alone. But how will we see the impact of this play out in business decisions?

We predict that original thinking, taste, and craftsmanship will grow in importance. AI is able to provide content and accelerate idea generation, yes, but it cannot be a substitute for human judgment and empathy. Creativity will move further than ever from being seen solely as an artistic pursuit; instead, it will become a core business skill, combining imagination with strategy to deliver meaningful value. With AI here to stay, organisations will increasingly seek out people who can pair these tools with creative problem‑solving, strong editorial taste and craftsmanship to create work that actually resonates.

For medical communications, this shift is already visible and will only accelerate. AI will increasingly be used to assist with drafting manuscripts, slide decks, and educational materials, but it will be the skilled work of the team in curating the evidence, framing the narrative, and designing experiences that resonate with clinicians, patients, and regulators that will bring real value. Creativity in this context is not only about visualisation; it is about combining scientific rigour with strategic thinking and audience insight to change behaviour and improve outcomes.

Why Creativity Needs a Seat at the Adults’ Table
David Lee (Chief Brand & Creative Officer, Squarespace)

Freeing Ben & Jerry’s – Why Ownership Matters
Ben Cohen (Co-founder Ben & Jerry’s)

 

Authenticity and craft as the new luxury in the age of AI

Building on the above takeaway, culture-led branding has reached a tipping point and audiences are demanding authenticity. In the expansive digital landscape, audiences are overwhelmed. In the context of an over-saturation of AI-generated content and a volume-over-value ethos, speakers at SXSW London 2026 asked: how are audiences choosing the brands and organisations they want to give their time and money to?

The answer wasn’t bigger and brighter; it was authenticity.

The brands that stand out the most in an AI-filled marketing landscape are those with a clear identity, a genuine, compelling story, and the discipline to remain true under pressure to accelerate. In practice, authenticity means brands that behave consistently with their stated values, are transparent about what they can and cannot do, and show up in ways that feel recognisably “themselves” across every interaction. This is the key to earning trust from today’s overwhelmed and sceptical audience and fostering long-lasting relationships. In the current digital marketing landscape, there is a sea of sameness, which makes distinctiveness harder, and more important, than ever.

This principle is particularly key in pharmaceutical and healthcare marketing, where building respectful and honest relationships with healthcare professionals, patients, regulators and other industry partners is paramount. Authentic pharma and medtech brands must ensure that their positioning, visual identity and messaging are directly anchored in the realities of their science, their data, and the communities they serve. In practice, this might mean avoiding overly promotional materials, designing audience journeys that reflect real-world constraints, or ensuring that patient-facing content reflects the support that patients truly need. When brand messaging, evidence and experience are aligned, authenticity becomes a strategic asset that strengthens reputation over time.

The same expectations apply to the consultancies that support these organisations. For partners like us, authenticity in our own brand means being clear about our point of view, consistent in how we appear across projects and partnerships, and honest about where we add the most value. By remaining true to our positioning as a trusted, evidence-led, creatively minded partner, rather than following every new trend, we help clients build brands and campaigns that are not only compliant and effective, but also distinctively and recognisably theirs.

Designing Trust: How Legacy Brands Win in an Age of AI, Anxiety and Algorithmic Culture
Sairah Ashman (Wolff Olins), Suresh Balaki (Lloyds)

Building Brands That People Actually Talk About
Jamie Lang (Candy Kittens)

 

Designing for human connection over digital noise

From immersive experience design to the Light Phone to brand strategy, a clear counter-current to digital saturation ran through many of the sessions. Scroll-fatigue is driving a demand for real, intentional social experiences. The brands that stand out focus on making storytelling one of their main assets; crafting moments with their audiences that are human, communal, and emotive. They treat audience experiences like an ecosystem where touchpoints can work independently yet remain cohesive. Experience is the new moment. Instead of chasing isolated viral moments, leading brands are designing connected experiences that feel meaningful over time.

In medical communications, the same principle applies. Rather than single, high‑impact campaigns, there is growing value in designing connected experiences across congress booths, educational content, digital tools, and in‑person interactions – all telling a coherent, human story grounded in the underlying science. For patients, empathy and patient voice should not be afterthoughts, but embedded in every stage to help them understand, relate to and act on that information, whilst upholding scientific rigour. For clinicians, congress booth experiences must translate complex information into concise, actionable messages that can be grasped in seconds. Clean visuals should be paired with plain language and interactive elements to cut through the digital noise and support confident decisions.

Interconnected experiences are more effective at embedding key messages than chasing a single trending moment, and in an industry built on long-term trust and relationships, this has never been more important.

Design the Experience, Score the Emotion: The Impact of Building Multi-Sensory Brand Worlds
Rapha Abreu (Vice President of Global Design, The Coca-Cola Company), Sam Smith (Executive Business Director, Experience, JKR), Rick Sellars (Head of Creative Direction (EMEA), MassiveMusic)

Challenging the Attention Economy With the Light Phone
Kaiwei Tang (Light)