Editors’ Note

Loreen Babcock is an award-winning marketing leader, widely regarded as one of the foremost experts in applying social science and behavior change models to the practice of marketing. In her role as Chief Marketing Officer at Montefiore Einstein, Babcock is responsible for marketing strategy and the development and implementation across all channels. Prior to joining Montefiore Einstein, Babcock built and reinvented brands across the healthcare, technology, financial and energy sectors for blue-chip organizations including Pfizer, Merck, Procter & Gamble, Johnson & Johnson, AstraZeneca, Sanofi, Bristol-Myers Squibb, GlaxoSmithKline, Abbott, JPMorgan, Chase, MasterCard, Reliant Energy, and Lucent Technologies. Babcock founded two marketing agencies – Idevoita in 2012, and LLKFB/Unit7 in 1996. She sold LLKFB/Unit7 to Omnicom in 2000, where she ascended to serve as Chairman and CEO of LLKFB/Unit7 through 2012. Prior to founding LLKFB/Unit7, she held senior leadership roles for advertising agencies including Ogilvy, Saatchi & Saatchi, and Lowe.

Institution Brief

Montefiore Medicine (montefiore.org) is a leading academic medical organization comprised of Montefiore Health System and Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Together they are pioneering patient-centered research and providing exceptional personalized care with over six million patient interactions a year in communities across the Bronx, Westchester and the Hudson Valley. Montefiore Health System is comprised of 10 member hospitals, including the Children’s Hospital at Montefiore, Burke Rehabilitation Hospital, White Plains Hospital, and more than 200 outpatient ambulatory care sites that provide coordinated, comprehensive care to patients and their families. Albert Einstein College of Medicine, home to nearly 1,000 students in its MD, PhD, and combined MD/PhD programs, is one of the nation’s preeminent centers for research, medical education and clinical investigation.

How do you describe Montefiore Einstein’s culture and values?

Montefiore Einstein’s culture is defined by its mission – to heal, to teach, to discover, and to advance the health of our communities.

How is being purpose-driven ingrained in Montefiore Einstein’s culture?

Being purpose-driven isn’t a marketing campaign for us – it’s core to who we are and what we do. The leaders of our institution play an integral role in inspiring us to relentlessly commit to improving lives through science and medicine. For instance, this is realized through our Centers of Excellence, each advancing care in the most complex areas while pursuing discoveries that change lives.

How does Montefiore Einstein approach its marketing efforts?

Always through the lens of authenticity and impact. While we want to achieve meaningful, measurable engagement with patients, stakeholders, partners, and the broader community – we also want to elevate our work in a thoughtful and compelling way.

Our Paul Rivera campaign focused on a New York construction worker who was diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis and needed a lung transplant. We told Paul’s story through narration by Paul Giamatti, who shares with a group of friends the heartfelt story, relaying how Paul Rivera’s underlying conditions made him ineligible at other hospitals until we stepped in. Montefiore Einstein’s Advanced Lung Failure and Lung Transplant Program successfully performed Paul Rivera’s transplant – our spot highlights something profound: the extraordinary interplay of science, medicine, humanity, and, most importantly, the hope you can find at Montefiore Einstein. The narrative is both approachable and deeply human, grounded in a real patient’s journey and outcome. It shines a light on the bold, often unseen work happening behind the scenes at our institution.

Will you discuss your focus on applying social science and behavior change models to the practice of marketing?

While social science and behavior change models will always be foundational to good marketing, we’re now at an inflection point where technology is giving us permission to reimagine how we can further evolve the value of those models. For me, it’s less about following a fixed model and more about building a new toolkit that is extracting the value of those models so that we continue to be future facing.

Will you provide an overview of Montefiore Einstein’s branding campaigns?

Our focus is on raising awareness of what we do and the boundaries we push on behalf of our patients and communities. Our campaigns highlight the depth and breadth of Montefiore Einstein, including our Centers of Excellence and our roster of world-renowned physicians and researchers. We use storytelling to spotlight the human outcomes behind the science – these are beautiful narratives grounded in simple everyday truths, and they remind us of the incredible power of healing. These stories aren’t just compelling – they reflect the institution’s vision and purpose.

What do you feel are the keys to creating a successful marketing campaign?

Today, especially now, keeping the message clear and grounded, while also building campaigns with high relevance that people can connect to. Staying current isn’t just a creative choice – it’s a strategic one. If we’re not keeping pace with emerging technology and factoring that into our campaign development, we risk losing resonance. Successful marketers understand this – and they embrace change, apply emerging technologies with purpose, and stay relentlessly attuned to the evolving needs of their audience because, in a world that moves fast, relevance isn’t a trend – it’s the baseline.

What has made your experience at Montefiore Einstein so special for you?

The people – not just the remarkable teams I get to work alongside, but the patients who allow us to tell their stories. I’m always moved by our patients. Their bravery, resilience, and optimism – even in the face of unimaginable challenges – are incredibly humbling. Our patients have a way of crystallizing what it means to hope, and at Montefiore Einstein, that hope is more than a feeling – our patients literally want to tell other people about us – they help us to champion our message.

With the impact that your marketing campaigns have made for Montefiore Einstein, are you able to take moments to reflect and celebrate the wins?

Any impact our campaigns have made is a credit to the incredible team around me, and to the vision and leadership of our President and CEO, Dr. Ozuah, who challenges us to think boldly and act with purpose. The real heroes are the doctors, nurses, researchers, and patients whose stories inspire everything we do. My role is simply to honor their work with creativity and clarity. When a campaign resonates, it’s because it’s rooted in something real – and I’m proud to play a part in amplifying that.