ReadHealthy Communications: 2024

ReadHealthy Communications

51 Falcon Road, Livingston, NJ 07039

973-647-5004 • [email protected] • readhealthy.net

 

Quick facts

Services mix

• Corporate communications 40%
• Marketing 30%
• Public relations 30%

For ReadHealthy Communications, 2023 marked both the beginning – as the company came on the scene in March of that year as a new storytelling, PR, and corporate communications firm for pharma, biotech, and digital health companies – and the culmination of founder and CEO Jennifer Ringler’s 15-year health communications career.   

“It definitely felt like both the beginning and the end of something big,” Ringler says. After several years as a life sciences business reporter, followed by 10 years of corporate communications, marketing, and PR work at agencies focused on pharma and biotech clients, Ringler knew that she – and the industry – were ready for something new.

“There were a lot of ups and downs in corporate agency life,” she says. “It seems like the pandemic led to a swell in demand for expert health and science communicators, but when the wave crashed, budget cuts across big pharma and small biotech trickled down to their agencies, and a lot of people were suddenly out of a job.”

It was amidst the aftermath of that crash that ReadHealthy Communications was born. Ringler saw the need for a new approach to health and science communications – one that focused on strong storytelling. “A lot of agencies in the lifesciences space focus on earned media, or digital strategy, or corporate comms,” she says. “At ReadHealthy, we think a little bit differently. We help clients identify, solidify, and amplify their stories. That means that we focus on getting the story right and getting it in front of the right audiences. We believe success follows from there.”

Recent accomplishments

There’s so much potential and opportunity during an agency’s first year of business,” Ringler says. “It’s a blank map that you get to fill in as you go.” ReadHealthy Communications’ first year of business saw accomplishments including publication of a byline from Ringler in PR NEWS, sponsorship and attendance at many key industry conferences across the country, and some new account wins.

The agency’s current roster includes a biotech working to develop at-home molecular diagnostics for common infectious diseases, a developer of a mobile app that brings people and families with disabilities together with local businesses that are accessible and accommodating of their needs, and a medtech company that’s developing tech to significantly improve vision for people living with macular degeneration, among others. “Everything about this year feels like a win,” Ringler says. “If telling the stories of the important work our clients are doing helps them bring products to market that will help patients, we consider it a win for everybody.”

Being a woman-owned, disability-owned firm is also a noteworthy accomplishment, Ringler adds. “It’s not lost on me that about 80 percent of adults with disabilities are unemployed in the United States,” she says. “Not every person with a disability has had the opportunities and education I’ve been fortunate enough to have, and I’m very aware of those disparities, which is why I speak openly about my disability and work to be an advocate whenever and however I can.

“And, as a member of the blind and visually impaired community, the fact that some of ReadHealthy’s clients are working to improve lives for people living with visual impairments and other disabilities is just icing on the cake – it’s something I’m particularly proud of.”

Structure and services

ReadHealthy Communications offers a full spectrum of communications services for biotech, pharma, digital health, med device, and other companies working in the healthcare industry. According to leaders, the agency’s areas of expertise include corporate and brand narratives, thought leadership content, scientific storytelling and regulatory milestones, marketing, public relations, digital/social content and strategy, and more. ReadHealthy also delivers branding, design, and development services for its clients, tackling projects from full website design and development to infographics and industry reports to animated explainer videos.

ReadHealthy helps its clients reach a varied audience of stakeholders, including healthcare professionals, hospital leaders, payers, investors, and patients. And the agency’s clients are not limited to pharma and biotech – ReadHealthy has also worked with service providers in the industry, including accountants who help hospitals and health systems improve cost efficiency, contract manufacturing organizations, and businesses that help lifescience startups source capital. “Whatever the company and whoever their audience, it all starts with good storytelling,” Ringler says.

Future plans

We expect 2024 to be a year of exponential growth,” Ringler says, adding that this includes increased presence and sponsorship at key industry events, continued brand building and thought leadership to increase awareness about the agency’s work, speaking engagements, and the addition of several new accounts across the biotech and digital health space.

“If year one for ReadHealthy Communication was about setting a strong foundation, year two is going to be about building something beautiful that will stand on that foundation – something that will make an impact and last a long time,” Ringler states.

The agency’s other goals include growing its staff, developing educational workshops on the art of narrative building and storytelling, expanding its philanthropic efforts, and working with patient advocacy organizations.

Philanthropy/citizenship

We’re in an industry that’s centered on developing medications and innovations that will improve the lives of others,” Ringler says. “I chose this career because I have a passion for writing and for medical science, but also because I have a passion for advocacy and using my skills and my voice to help other people.”

In 2023, Ringler volunteered on behalf of ReadHealthy for Out Montclair, an all-day event in Montclair, N.J., celebrating and supporting the LGBTQ+ community. She also donated time and resources to a startup working to develop technology that will improve vision for people with macular degeneration and is a volunteer member of the board of directors for the STEMM & Cancer Health Equity (SCHEQ) Foundation.

In 2024, ReadHealthy plans to expand its charitable efforts through increased community volunteering, charitable giving, and continuing to seek out opportunities to advocate for individuals in marginalized or minority communities. The agency is also committed to remaining fully remote as it expands.

“At ReadHealthy, we firmly believe that businesses hold a responsibility to lift up, advocate for, and support members of our local, national, and global communities, and that responsibility will always be top of mind for us,” Ringler says.