How Alberto Hernandez is using bold creative ideas at pharma giant Sanofi Consumer Healthcare

Alberto Hernandez came into his role as chief growth officer at Sanofi Consumer Healthcare and saw the potential to change the pharmaceutical brand into a fast-moving consumer health company. “I think the pharmaceutical industry overall was anchored in the past with the traditional way of showcasing the before and after in marketing,” Hernandez said. While such “straightforward, simple” messaging once broke through, that is no longer the case as consumers are exposed to more content. See all of Ad Age’s Breakout Brand Leaders here Hernandez, who has been in the chief growth officer role since January 2022, has encouraged his team to stay relevant in the eyes of consumers by learning to be “comfortable with being uncomfortable,” he said. He created the Creative Lab incubator, which taps internal and external experts to formulate progressive branding ideas. Hernandez is also behind the Crazy Elevated Creative Fund to earmark money for bold and innovative ideas. The results have brought more creativity to an industry long hampered by strict regulations. For instance, Sanofi marketed the stomach treatment brand Buscopan at London Fashion Week with a campaign called “Fashion Cramps” that featured models posed in uncomfortable, cramp-induced positions. The campaign garnered more than 2 million social media impressions and drove 35% more traffic to the brand’s website, according to Sanofi. For probiotic brand Enterogermina, Sanofi ran a “Ready Player Mom” campaign in Brazil that brought the company into the gaming and digital platform space for the first time. It involved using the mothers of gaming influencers, who crashed the gaming livestreams of their children to talk about gut health. The effort reached 7 million gamers in Brazil and had a total reach of 37 million people across the country, generating a 16% increase in sales during the campaign period, according to the company. See all of Ad Age’s Breakout Brand Leaders here Which entrepreneur do you admire the most and why? Pietro Ferrero, the creator of Nutella. A family business that was capable of creating a product that became a staple in the diet of Europeans that has not aged and keeps finding ways of becoming relevant. It’s a great example of entrepreneurship that endures time. What’s currently on your bedside reading list? I’ve been really into “La Sombra del Viento” by Carlos Ruiz Zafón. It’s a mystery novel based in Barcelona in the 19th century. What is the best career advice you’ve gotten? The first is to always surround yourself with people who are more intelligent than you, and the second is to always treat everyone with respect, honesty and transparency that you believe they should be treating you with. Always treat people like they are going to become your boss. Name one brand, other than the one you work for, that you admire. I love Adidas. It has had its ups and downs overall speaking in terms of culture, but it’s one of those brands that I’ve been connected with most likely since the Run-DMC song back in the day. What is your secret weapon for business success? Creative thinking beyond the traditional way of describing creativity in the industry. Trying to understand what’s not only gonna solve the problem, but what’s gonna create a competitive advantage that people cannot shortly emulate.

How Alberto Hernandez is using bold creative ideas at pharma giant Sanofi Consumer Healthcare

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