S 02 | Ep 10 Rewriting the Rules: Innovation and Brand Performance in Healthcare and Beyond | Show notes

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Why Regulated Industries Are Hard to Innovate

When I say 'regulated industry,' I think we need to put a bit of definition around that. The world is getting more regulated. While we hear that the US might want to deregulate quite a bit of stuff, still, the world is becoming more regulated. We've seen that with data privacy and different programs in the EU recently. So for me, 'regulated' means that we have high bars to entry. There's a code of conduct, rules that you need to comply with to penetrate the market, which protects the market in a way from misconduct. (Haider Alleg) 

(0:00 - 7:11)  
Alex introduces Haider Alleg, founder of Kaiju Marketing and GP at Allegory Capital, who specializes in helping regulated industries scale through innovation and brand performance. Haider brings his engineering background to solving complex challenges in sectors with high barriers to entry. The conversation establishes that regulated industries face unique obstacles due to compliance requirements, codes of conduct, and strict rules that protect markets from misconduct. These regulations create complexity that Haider saw as an opportunity 20 years ago when he entered the space.

Haider explains that the pharmaceutical industry exemplifies the communication challenges in regulated sectors. Creativity has traditionally been outsourced to large creative agencies like Publicis, Havas, DDB, and Dentsu, rather than being built into the organizational DNA. The prevailing mindset has been that superior science alone would drive adoption—if you create the best drug, doctors will naturally prescribe it without needing exceptional user experiences. This product-centric approach worked when healthcare professionals and patients had lower expectations for digital interactions and were willing to tolerate poor experiences simply because "it's just healthcare."

However, Haider notes that generational shifts have changed these dynamics completely. Previous generations accepted mediocre experiences from three categories: bankers, lawyers, and doctors. People didn't expect their banker to create delightful experiences—they just wanted their money managed well. They didn't want delightful experiences from legal counsel—they just wanted to win. And they didn't want delightful experiences from doctors—they just wanted to be fixed. Today's generation and younger professionals are far more demanding about how they spend their time interacting with information and data. They consume services primarily through digital channels, which means the level of experience is no longer excusable.

The pressure now facing regulated industries, according to Haider, comes from the fact that their audiences—whether doctors, patients, or other stakeholders—are consumers of other digital experiences in their daily lives. A 30 to 40-year-old doctor today won't spend 10 minutes creating a login that provides a poor experience. Alex adds that the old-school enterprise software design that characterized healthcare IT no longer works, not because these industries have changed dramatically, but because the rest of the world has changed. Consumers of regulated services are spoiled by good, easy-to-understand content everywhere else. Regulated industries must now leapfrog their historical standards to be effective, and whoever does that leapfrogging best will gain a competitive edge.
 

Learning from Banking's Digital Transformation

I love to use banking—the banking industry, the finance industry, the insurance industry—as a benchmark. They've been in the same place 20 years ago. Your e-banking experience was crap. No one wanted to spend time on e-banking 20 years ago. And right now, if you look at Revolut or Stripe or N26, all those digital banks—you want to send money to your friends? Easy, just do it. There are no barriers. Of course, it's not free—there are always some hooks associated with it—but it works. (Haider Alleg)

(7:11 - 14:00) 
Haider uses the banking industry as a powerful example of successful digital transformation in a regulated sector. Twenty years ago, e-banking experiences were universally poor, and nobody wanted to spend time using them. Today, digital banks like Revolut, Stripe, and N26 have made sending money frictionless and intuitive. These companies succeeded by making experiences so smooth that users can focus their attention on other things. The contrast with pharma is stark—while banking has caught up with consumer expectations, pharmaceutical companies are still trying to catch up while delegating experience design to agencies as a black box.

Haider discusses how the brands succeeding at creating delightful experiences share common characteristics rooted in talent and culture. Companies like Zalando and Airbnb demonstrate obsessive attention to detail, constantly examining data and user behavior to identify friction points. When they see people not using a form, they change it. This data-driven, user-focused approach contrasts sharply with the prevailing culture in many pharmaceutical companies, where the focus is on checking boxes and earning bonuses. Teams often operate with a mindset of "We have to build X, Y, and Z for the year, check the box, gain our bonuses, delegate to an agency, and move on to the next brand."

Haider emphasizes that this checkbox mentality isn't the fault of individual brand leads or communication leaders. Rather, it stems from company structure and systems that create their own patterns of behavior. The corporate culture focuses teams on the wrong objectives, rewarding completion rather than excellence in user experience. Haider is careful not to blame the messenger—these professionals are simply executing within the constraints of their organizational culture. The real issue lies in company cultures that prioritize short-term deliverables over the long-term value of creating genuinely delightful customer experiences.

Alex and Haider explore where disruption is coming from in the industry. Digital health companies often have younger organizational DNA compared to traditional pharmaceutical companies. While they may compete for similar mindshare or even overlapping products, their approach to user experience differs fundamentally. These startups lack the luxury of time that big pharma enjoys, forcing them to move faster and be more willing to hustle. They'll create "80% good enough" solutions using templates and tools like Canva rather than waiting for perfect execution. This scrappier approach, now accelerated by AI tools that facilitate rapid onboarding and content creation, often works better than the traditional model of extensive planning and agency involvement.
 

Consumer-First vs. Healthcare-First Digital Health

You have 'digital' and 'health,' right? You have some startups that are healthcare startups that went digital, and you have digital startups that are coming to the healthcare world. So there are two forces. The companies that started to build something simple with a beautiful experience, very consumer-ish, usually look for growth and volume to have critical mass. You know what we say: if you have 1 million users in your app, whatever your app is, you'll find a business model, right? (Haider Alleg) 

(14:00 - 21:04)
Haider describes how the digital health landscape reveals two distinct approaches with different starting points and trajectories. Consumer-first companies like Calm built beautiful, simple experiences and accumulated large user bases before tackling healthcare complexity. Their DNA is diametrically opposite to traditional pharma companies that might offer mental health drugs. These consumer-oriented startups prioritize growth and volume to achieve critical mass, operating on the principle that with 1 million app users, you can figure out a business model. Only after building that audience do they address the complexities of healthcare practice, perhaps developing algorithms to detect burnout or tackle depression among their user base.

The opposite approach, Haider explains, starts with healthcare-first companies that later attempt to go digital. These organizations typically begin with scientific validation, conducting studies with 300 patients in hospitals using simple questionnaires. The questionnaire doesn't need to look good because doctors will essentially force it into patients' hands. After three years—the typical timeline for these studies—the startup has scientific validation proving their questionnaire is relevant. While this is valuable for science, it creates a business problem: you only have 300 patients. How do you scale from that to 1 million users? This represents a fundamental burden on healthcare-first startups.

Haider discusses how the cultural differences between these approaches extend beyond product development to content strategy. When pharmaceutical companies declare "we need to post twice a day on Instagram," Haider questions the strategy behind this goal. What are they trying to convey? What's their objective? They can't promote products directly—it's forbidden by regulation. So what are they promoting? Taking a content-only approach without the soul of the company behind it results in hollow execution. Alex compares this to putting lipstick and perfume on a pig—you might improve the surface appearance, but the underlying thinking remains old-school and traditional.

Haider introduces the concept that authenticity emerges as the new currency in this environment. As more brands rush to use templates and post frequently just to please algorithms, genuine authenticity creates a window of opportunity to feel real. Rather than entering the rat race of posting twice daily on Instagram, brands should focus on creating authentic narratives. What happens when the algorithm demands six posts per day? Companies become victims of algorithmic demands, constantly rushing. Instead of competing on volume, brands should invest their limited budgets in making people talk—giving voice to the individuals creating the vision rather than making mechanical template updates. Mechanical updates have their place when they provide needed context, but authenticity should drive the broader content strategy.
 

Context Over Creativity in Critical Moments

Context is always more powerful, and I think in some of those critical moments, when the brand needs to be the first answer, you want to have that service approach, like 'I'm the best at giving the right content to the right person at the right time. I have the right piece of info.' So I think the contextualization of the information, the way it's structured and the way it's presented, the simplicity of it—I think that will be much more appreciated. (Haider Alleg)  

(21:04 - 26:52) 
Haider explains that while authenticity matters for brand building, context becomes paramount in critical decision-making moments. When someone needs to find information about a drug's Summary of Product Characteristics to determine if they can give it to their child, creativity isn't required. In these high-stakes moments, brands should prioritize being the first, best answer with a service-oriented approach. The brand that excels at delivering the right content to the right person at the right time wins. The contextualization of information—how it's structured, presented, and simplified—matters more than creative flourishes. This mirrors the experience of having a tire break while driving through southern Italy for vacation: if Volvo has done a good job with their app, you'll use that rather than Google, because they've created the fastest path to context and solution.

However, Haider notes that this problem-solving behavior differs from how people act when they're in research or entertainment mode. This is where social media and news outlets operate, with investigative journalists covering war providing high-context content. News outlets now blend entertainment with contextual information, creating the dopamine rush and hormonal hooks that social media has proven effective at generating. This makes it increasingly complicated for regulated industries to compete, as the time available to capture attention has shrunk dramatically. The creativity required to create showstopper moments that cut through the content magma has become much harder.

Haider illustrates this with the pharmaceutical industry's love of symposiums and scientific events. When pharma plans communication around scientific events, his recommendation is to tease before the event with content-driven previews from speakers, advisory board members, and symposium creators. Rather than just sharing a cold agenda, give potential attendees one-minute capsules from each advisory board member explaining why they should attend. Imagine the experience: you don't have time to read, so you swipe through eight opinion leaders telling you why they spent time building that agenda. This creative, authentic approach drives attendance decisions.

Then, during or just before the event, Haider suggests providing logistical details: where to find the symposium, when it occurs, whether you need to reserve, registration links, lunch options. These are contextual content elements that don't require creativity—they're necessary information that people need to navigate the experience. The pressure on regulated industries stems partly from channel considerations. Asking someone to download another app creates a huge conversion burden. But if you frame it as "download our app to get free peer-reviewed meta-analysis summaries of all conference papers, plus free Wi-Fi and a superior experience," you're no longer selling an app—you're selling a valuable service. Bundling content and services to create the complete experience becomes powerful.
 

Simplifying Access to Medical Information

The problem has never been finding the information and data when they're at work. It's more like, 'Okay, I need to go further into the content and explore.' And the problem we had was: 'Hey, click on 20 disclaimers before you get to the scientific liaison.' And before you get to the scientific liaison who can answer your question—'Oh, did you know we have another label for the drug? Blah blah blah.' You push so much promotional info that the doctor is just swiping to get through it. (Haider Alleg)  

(26:52 - 32:18)
Haider explains that healthcare professionals have never struggled with consuming heavy scientific content—they're trained to read lengthy research papers. The problem isn't the volume or complexity of information; it's the conduit through which it's delivered. Doctors don't necessarily want to discuss drugs in abstract terms. When they have a patient with severe symptoms, they want recommendations on what other clinicians do in similar situations. They don't want to Google and find 20 pieces of disparate information. They need a one-stop shop where they can find relevant studies, understand next best decisions, determine if they should adjust dosing or try different protocols, identify who's testing new approaches, and contact other doctors with similar experiences.

Alex and Haider discuss how download fatigue has become a major barrier, whether for apps or PDFs. People want information, but they want easier access to what's actually relevant to their immediate needs. AI presents interesting opportunities here, though with important caveats. Healthcare professionals obviously won't ask ChatGPT general questions about drugs, but Alex notes they show strong interest in AI tools that analyze specific, trusted materials. If they can use a ChatGPT-like interface to query five documentation assets about a particular clinical situation without downloading PDFs or installing apps, it saves time. As long as they know and trust the source materials the AI is analyzing, they're willing to use it as a starting point, then verify the answers themselves.

Haider addresses the challenge with AI tools in healthcare, which centers on exhaustivity and accuracy of information. When doctors ask about appropriate patient dosages, they need completely accurate data—80% correct isn't acceptable. Legally, they cannot rely on information that isn't 100% correct. Some startups are addressing this by building AI systems trained specifically on reliable medical databases like PubMed. These systems can provide exhaustive lists of everyone who has published on a particular topic because they're trained for comprehensiveness. However, they won't provide treatment recommendations like "treat your patient with this" because that would create legal liability.

Alex compares this to challenges in other regulated sectors like insurance and employee benefits. When helping people select health insurance, there's a clear line between "here's information to help you decide" and "here's what we recommend for you." The moment you cross into recommendations, liability shifts. The employer could be liable, the benefits advisor could be liable, because "you recommended I do this, and bad things happened." In the regulated world, packaging information to help people make informed decisions is a much safer starting point than being the actual decision-maker. The risk remains too high to fully automate recommendations in these contexts.
 

The Fragmentation of Information Authority

Your website is not going to be better than Trust Radius or whatever. You're just going to be listed. And that's an issue because then the sovereignty of your presence—it's going to create microcosms of information. And people will basically be on one passport, you know? 'I'm tribe Google,' 'I'm tribe Samsung,' 'I'm tribe...' you know what I mean? So it's going to create different pockets of users, and it's okay. I mean, that's already happening. (Haider Alleg)  

(32:18 - 40:31)
Alex raises concerns about how people interact with AI-generated information and how decisions get delegated to tools that aren't always reliable. Google Maps sometimes recommends routes that make no sense, adding 10 minutes to trips in cities you know well. Initially, there's a temptation to blindly follow the app, but then you realize the directions are genuinely problematic. This pattern of delegating decisions to imperfect tools worries both experts and regular users. The tools demonstrably aren't good, yet people increasingly rely on them. This creates a dangerous dynamic where expertise gets undermined by convenient but flawed technology.

Haider discusses how Google's approach to search illustrates how platforms are fundamentally changing content ownership and distribution. When Google generates answers directly from website content, users no longer visit the source websites. This creates an existential question: what happens to your website tomorrow? You're essentially working for Google to drive their traffic, investing in SEO just to be listed in their directory. Your website becomes less of a destination and more of a data source for platform-controlled answers. This threatens the sovereignty of brand presence online, creating microcosms of information where users align with specific platforms—"I'm tribe Google," "I'm tribe Samsung"—forming distinct pockets with different information access.

Haider explains that the conversation around information accuracy and danger often gets framed in terms of a white web versus dark web. People don't go to the dark web because they're told it's bad and contains nasty content. Tomorrow's internet will be less black and white, more gray. People will hear "don't go to that Wikipedia platform because the information isn't relevant, go to this one because it's backed by the German government." New forms of internet will emerge that are more controlled and secured. The trade-off for security and safety is reduced freedom. In this controlled environment where machines generate answers for simple needs, people will increasingly say "it's okay, I don't need more."

The conversation shifts to the real challenge around entertainment and long-form content consumption. In the last 5 to 10 years, consumption patterns have shifted dramatically from mainstream TV where people could focus 30 minutes to an hour on a sitcom or show to fragmented attention where people watch content while simultaneously chatting in real time. People watch Netflix movies without full concentration, unlike the focused experience of a movie theater. They're engaging with peers through messaging: "have you seen this? What do you think?" Yet simultaneously, Haider notes there's a counter-trend of people who love long-form content like the Joe Rogan Experience, where they'll listen for three hours, amazed by the discovery process. These opposing forces create a strange vibration in content consumption patterns.

The Content Vortex Strategy

The content vortex is the strategy where you say to yourself, 'Okay, I'm going to do one book.' And the book is going to be 250 pages, and the book is a scientific memory of how we see the world. It's basically a statement to the world. There's a new editor every year. It's a book. That book then creates white papers. You extract things from that book, and every month, or every two weeks if you want, you have a new white paper that's beautifully crafted. It feels new, but it's just basically a repurposing of that book. (Haider Alleg) 

(40:31 - 49:05)
Alex and Haider discuss how short-form content consumption raises questions about whether the same person scrolling through TikTok, YouTube Shorts, and Instagram Reels can also spend three hours listening to Joe Rogan or concentrate on reading 100 pages. Haider points out that Joe Rogan's business recognizes this tension—they cut three-hour episodes into millions of one-minute videos to attract new generations seeking "wow" moments in bite-sized formats. This represents content that's hyper-contextualized and distributed smartly. The question becomes whether these short clips serve as gateways to longer content or whether we're moving toward a world of only headlines with little substance. For regulated and complex communications, this shift poses serious challenges.

Haider introduces the content vortex strategy as a solution by creating hierarchical content that works at multiple levels. Start with substantial cornerstone content—some pharma companies like Merck do this well. Create an annual book of 250 pages representing the scientific perspective on your industry. It's a statement to the world with a new editor each year. From that book, extract white papers monthly or bi-weekly—beautifully crafted pieces that feel new but repurpose book chapters. From white papers, create long-form blog articles of 2,000 to 4,000 words with at least three clear arguments. From those articles, create short-form content: quote cards, carousels, and social posts. This is what content factories use to disseminate material multi-channel and maximize value.

Haider offers an alternative anchor to books: yearly symposiums—major events requiring substantial investment. These events can generate yearly reports, similar to how companies publish ESG reports. Many organizations now create more than just compliance reports—they articulate how they see the world through specific lenses like ESG. That creates substantial content that gets disseminated through a clear editorial line. The challenge, Alex notes, is that most companies stop at the report itself. They work incredibly hard putting it together, whether it's ESG, an annual report, or a flagship industry trends piece. They might interview the CEO for five minutes and attach their name.

After all that effort, Alex observes that the last mile typically involves slapping a PDF on the website, adding a banner to promote it, and calling it done. This represents 80 to 90% of corporate communications. There's no content factory effort to atomize it, humanize it, or make it accessible. This feels like a huge missed opportunity. Who will actually read through 200 pages of small font—employees? Stakeholders? In today's environment, the answer is almost nobody. Yet if you help people find the chapters they care about and create multiple entry points for engagement, you can activate your entire audience. The question becomes how to operationalize this understanding at scale.
 

Culture as the Foundation of Content Excellence

If you set as a business rule in your company that everyone is incentivized to become the next, whatever title, by checking the box and just showcasing that you delivered—the word 'leadership' is dictated by internal scorecards or OKRs, right? And the problem, for me, starts there. It starts at the definition of what good looks like on the outside, and it's not necessarily always sales. That's why sales is a consequence, right? This is what we want to achieve. You want to find the drivers that go into that. (Haider Alleg)  

(49:05 - 56:10) 
Haider explains that the root cause of poor content execution traces back to culture and incentive structures. When companies set business rules where everyone gets promoted by checking boxes and demonstrating delivery, leadership becomes dictated by internal scorecards and OKRs rather than external impact. The problem starts with how "good" gets defined. Sales is a consequence, not the primary driver. Leaders need to identify the actual drivers that lead to sales. Brands doing excellent work understand that they're nurturing sales through the brand equity they build over time. Leaders who get this recognize that the brand is everything—it's the legacy of the founding team, what will endure beyond current leadership.

Haider discusses how the brand represents the noise people hear about your company when you're not in the room. Brands creating delightful experiences and operationalizing content well to sustain brand essence and tonality root everything in "why we do this." Why spend extra time on these details? It's not about checking ESG boxes or annual report requirements. The goal is activating shareholders, stakeholders, and everyone who touches the brand. Corporate communication teams working with this mindset want financial observers who might write about their company to truly understand what it's like to live and work there, what the company's purpose is. These journalists don't have time for 20 email exchanges—they cover numerous companies and choose from thousands for their articles at Forbes or Financial Times.

When genuine effort goes into a report, Haider notes that journalists notice and think "they care, there's something there, it's easier for me to work with this." The experience matters. Haider points to Apple's white papers as an example—even something as mundane as explaining how they recycle plugs shows craft in the writing and presentation. You may not read it cover to cover, but if you're a student needing a reference, it's easy to read and find information. At every touchpoint, there's care and a delightful experience. This stands in stark contrast to the pharma industry approach of "the law requires this, so let's do exactly what the law requires and nothing more."

Alex and Haider conclude that companies bringing this level of care to regulated industries will gain an edge, and they'll feel better about their work. The irony is that pharma employees feel genuinely proud of their impact on lives in positive ways. Yet the industry often misses opportunities to convey that passion externally. Haider compares it to personal interactions—what matters isn't whether people think you're smart or activist, but how they feel after talking to you. Do they feel energized? Empowered? Excited about what you're excited about? Can you transfer energy in a memorable way? Your brand should function like a presidential candidate running a campaign—moving hearts and minds beyond just facts and figures. 
 

Check out the episode's Transcript (AI-generated) HERE.  

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Experience-focused Leaders

Experience-focused Leaders is the #1 Multimedia Podcast! We talk to senior business & tech leaders about the experiences that move forward organizations, customers and society at large. True to form, we mix audio, video, web and eBook formats to turn these authentic conversations into personalized nuggets you'll remember & use.