Bayer launches first Global Creative Council: raising the bar for the Consumer Health Industry

Basel, Switzerland October 28, 2020 - Bayer today launches its first Global Creative Council. This global initiative brings together senior leaders from a variety of companies representing strategic agencies as well as industry brands. The Council aims to harness progressive and collective creativity of industry marketing experts to deliver the Bayer Consumer Health Division’s purpose of empowering the transformation of everyday health. Bayer’s intention is to make self-care available and accessible to billions of people around the world.

The Creative Council will focus its discussions on how the creative industry addresses pressing topics such as misconceptions about health, representation in advertising as well as brand sustainability. In order to overcome the perception of a lack of creativity in healthcare promotional campaigns, the industry must foster a culture of creativity which will, in turn, drive overall campaign effectiveness. Bayer wants to inspire and generate interest within other companies to partner in addressing global challenges in Consumer Health.

Encouraging creative freedom will not only add value to the brands but also empower talented people internally and those from the agencies to thrive. This will be achieved by attracting the best talent to help shape Bayer and the healthcare industry of tomorrow. The Global Creative Council will meet quarterly and will seek to identify and engage with young talent to bring them onboard for this exciting development.

Patricia Corsi, Bayer Consumer Health Global Chief Marketing & Digital Officer, commented: "The goal of this creative council is to elevate the work done in Consumer Health, work that honors our brand heritage, while supporting and educating our consumers to take better care of their own health. This has never been a bigger global priority."

"We also want to inspire amazing creatives to make self-care top of mind. Showing this industry can be bold in its ideas will inspire confidence, driving positive change in everyday life! This initiative is only possible thanks to the generosity of our partners, freely giving of their time, wisdom and energy. This exciting journey will ultimately benefit the people that we work everyday to serve."

Led by Patricia Corsi, the first Global Creative Council gathered External Senior Marketing Leaders with diverse backgrounds: 
• Bill Brock - Founder AnalogFolk,
• Rupen Desai - Global CMO Dole,
• Tonise Paul - Chairman Energy BBDO from Energy BBDO,
• Miguel Simoes - CEO Western Europe MullenLowe,
• Sadie Thoma - Google Director US Creative Partnerships. 
• Remi Kent, CMO from 3M, is also a member of this Council. 

Here is what some of the participants say about this initiative:

"The future of how we work is changing, exponentially. The flexibility of having outside in expertise is as important as sharing the same, inside out. I am really excited to be part of this global council, where we further the impact creativity can bring to the world, its communities and the planet - for Bayer and beyond." 
Rupen Desai, Global CMO Dole

"The rapid pace of innovation in science and technology makes this an incredibly exciting time to unleash the power of creativity in order to improve the everyday health of people around the world. The dual approach of this council to both bring together experienced creative minds from diverse backgrounds, and also to give opportunities to the next generation of creators should lead to some really lateral ideas. I’m honored to be a part of such an important initiative."
Bill Brock, Founder AnalogFolk 

"I am thrilled to be part of an ambitious program that aims to recognize and promote the visibility and usefulness of great creative ideas which encourage people to take care of their own health. Through this council, we engage with society to help accelerate the development of the health care industry."
Miguel Simoes, CEO Western Europe MullenLowe 

Being purposeful, being innovative, being relevant to connect closely with consumers’ needs has never been more important. Bayer’s Consumer Health Division together with its partners wants to ensure this magic trio is lived through its creatives regardless of the brand. By challenging itself with external insights that can be thought-provoking Bayer wants to excel in creativity to delight even more of its consumers and inspire the wider health care industry to join the movement.

About Bayer
Bayer is a global enterprise with core competencies in the life science fields of health care and nutrition. Its products and services are designed to benefit people by supporting efforts to overcome the major challenges presented by a growing and aging global population. At the same time, the Group aims to increase its earning power and create value through innovation and growth. Bayer is committed to the principles of sustainable development, and the Bayer brand stands for trust, reliability and quality throughout the world. In fiscal 2019, the Group employed around 104,000 people and had sales of 43.5 billion euros. Capital expenditures amounted to 2.9 billion euros, R&D expenses to 5.3 billion euros. For more information, go to www.bayer.com.

Find more information at www.bayer.com.

Forward-Looking Statements 
This release may contain forward-looking statements based on current assumptions and forecasts made by Bayer management. Various known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors could lead to material differences between the actual future results, financial situation, development or performance of the company and the estimates given here. These factors include those discussed in Bayer’s public reports which are available on the Bayer website at www.bayer.com. The company assumes no liability whatsoever to update these forward-looking statements or to conform them to future events or developments.