A Refreshing Approach to Mental Health Conferences and Collaboration: A #MHM23 Recap
A reflection on the Mental Health Marketing Conference 2023 in Franklin, TN by EnticEdge CEO & Co-Founder, Julie Weber Ugarte
When people come together at conferences, there tends to be a common theme, some agreed upon core of what takeaways people will be gaining and what people will be contributing to, or trying to communicate.
I’ve been to a lot of healthcare conferences in the last year with focuses varying from providers, patient access, VBC models, to Medicare and Medicaid updates, to digital health solutions, to tech innovations and investments. At times I’m attending to build thought leadership and stay connected to the latest and greatest, and then at times I’m there on behalf of a client partnership.
I’ve reflected on a few things while I watch the human experience present itself in these situations. If you’re at a conference as a speaker, you’re on a track separated from other attendees, and some speakers scurry away quickly in a panic that there might be a question around what they just shared, while others mingle and welcome the vulnerability of a question or a comment. If you’re a sponsor/exhibitor (supporting the meeting’s ability to take place in the first place!) you’re sometimes treated with a roll of the eyes because you’re “selling” a service or product. I’m not entirely sure what’s been done in business without a sales transaction though - even when there are zero dollars exchanged, you’re still giving and receiving. Business, product or service, in large part moves forward with sales, and the marketing air cover that drives sales, so it’s always stumped me why people will mention at lunch avoiding the vendor room at all cost. And then of course there are the attendees - some there because they have to be, some there to learn, and some there just to meet with colleagues and socialize.
The Mental Health Marketing Conference (#MHM23) in Franklin, Tennessee, was frankly, refreshing.
MHMC had a unique mix of marketers from large and small shops, strategists like myself, behavioral health businesses - from those providing clinical services in mental health to those offering analytics and clinical product or service support. At this meeting, I had a role in all four of the buckets; I was a speaker, EnticEdge was one of the company sponsors, we had an exhibit, and of course I was an attendee. The goal it seemed to me was to exchange - simply to learn from each other, and share the actions that are making a difference in the behavioral health space. As many of you reading this know, that ecosystem is complex, from the difficult situations of those in need of mental health services, to access to coverage, to comorbidity challenges, to the pharmaceutical medication management piece and the DDIs therein, especially for those in substance use disorder recovery.
What I noticed most about the conference was how approachable the majority of attendees were and the lack of delineation between speakers, sponsors, exhibitors, and attendees.
Everyone had turned on a learning mindset and genuinely wanted to see what others were working on, how they approach challenges, garner opinions from one another - it was refreshing.
Collaborations were front and center with one panel sharing their story of two nonprofit service organizations partnering with local law enforcement and the local health system for improved impact in reaching those in need. From patient outreach, to ethics, diagnosis of adult ADHD, to wellness services, and best practices in strategy and marketing in this space, there was much to exchange!
Too often than not, at larger meetings, groups from the same corporation will rent private work rooms to duck into between sessions and on breaks. This was more of a “we are all in this together to drive successful innovations in and access to mental health services” vibe.
I had the honor of providing a prenote and a workshop Q&A entitled: “Check Your Vitals: Your Guide to Clarity & Alignment.”
Thank you to all those part of creating a large turnout. Our forty-five minutes didn’t feel adequate to dive into all of the unique hurdles companies face. I see it so often that (successful!) companies are grappling with ways to capture the full impact they’re aiming for, to drive more change, to better explain access to members, and/or to gain more patients with their mental health service options.
The thing is - it’s fine to just get a little stuck and need a new perspective (and/or an external perspective) to see a hidden avenue to consider or uncover an assumption being made that might be no longer accurate. So reach out to garner that and collaborate as needed versus feeling like you’re handing over something that needs to remain vaulted internally! Markets shift at lightning speed, driven in part by the fast shifts in customer preferences. Remember that marketing teams internally are buried in requests from the C-Suite to help meet goals, the sales teams to provide that marketing air cover, the analytics team for inputs to the data models, you name it. To step back and really examine strategic approaches takes thoughtful minutes, which the internal team often just does not have the luxury of creating.
To sufficiently represent a space as complex and multifaceted as mental health services, the same type of collaborative support, conversations, and shared motivation must be present at the forefront of every conversation. MHMC was one example of just that.
Given the considerations in the behavioral health space, we also need business leaders who are at the table to, yes, lead with a growth mindset, but also lead with ethics and empathy. The MHMC was a conference of open exchange, approachable conversations, and learnings! Until next year…