A conversation with Molly Biwer and Erica Jensen
When seasoned marketers transition from the fast-moving corporate world of consumer goods and retail into the mission-driven landscape of healthcare, they bring fresh perspectives to an industry where trust, authenticity, and human connection aren’t just marketing tactics — they’re matters of life and death.
Molly Biwer, CMO of Emory Healthcare, and Erica Jensen, Senior VP of Innovation, Strategy & Marketing at NMDP, recently joined Kathy Hollenhorst of Marketers That Matter® to discuss how they’re applying their range of skills and knowledge to transform healthcare marketing.
Biwer, who joined Emory earlier this year, oversees brand, marketing, digital communications, and strategic partnerships for Georgia’s most comprehensive academic health system. With experience spanning hospitality, consumer packaged goods, and now healthcare, Biwer is leading a comprehensive brand relaunch and plays a key role in Emory’s continued growth and transformation.
Jensen, who joined NMDP (formerly Be The Match) in 2019, brings 25 years of Fortune 500 experience from General Mills and Bank of America to the global nonprofit leader in cell therapy. She successfully completed a major brand unification effort for NMDP, previously known as Be The Match, and leads the Foundation, Innovation, Strategy & Marketing teams with a focus on advancing their mission of saving lives through cell therapy.
Together, Biwer and Jensen offer insights into navigating brand reinvention, the power of authentic storytelling, and how to inspire and maintain innovation.
How do you approach brand building differently in healthcare compared to CPG or retail?
Molly Biwer: When I started with Emory Healthcare, the creative was great, but it wasn’t resonating with where our brand is today. We really felt it was driven by expectations from our patients, partners, and communities, and our desire to lead with more clarity and purpose. We needed to modernize how we were showing up across all touchpoints. Now we’re ensuring our brand reflects who we are today and it delivers hope and healing.
Erica Jensen: I’ll start with an anecdote from my very first board meeting. I introduced myself to a physician who’d been with our organization for 20 years. I asked, “How long have you been associated with Be The Match?” Without skipping a beat, he said, “I’ve been associated with NMDP for about 20 years.” That was my introduction to our brand confusion. We had different names and were represented in different ways across audiences. Each identity had low brand awareness. So, we embarked on a journey to unify everything under one identity that communicates the strength of our research, the patients we serve, the donors we connect with, and our financial supporters.
How are you bringing that brand strategy into play for different audiences?
Molly Biwer: We have several different audiences, and actually more than we used to consider. On the B2B side, we focus on clinical excellence, outcomes, innovation, and research leadership for physicians and insurers. This is supported by data and thought leadership to build trust and credibility. On the B2C side, it’s patients, families, and donors, and there we lead with empathy and storytelling. We highlight real patient journeys and the human impact of our care. We’re very thoughtful about tailoring messages so the brand resonates meaningfully with each audience.
Erica Jensen: We were intentional that when we built our new brand, the identity and key components could be flexible across all the audiences we serve. That could range from an 18-year-old on a college campus to a seasoned physician to financial supporters across any age or location. We have a global presence, so we built elements of our visual identity that flex depending on whether you’re in a clinical setting or on a campus quad, bringing forward components that will resonate most with each audience.
For marketers considering a brand refresh, where should they start?
Erica Jensen: Research. There’s nothing better than hearing directly from your audiences. That’s a key tenet no matter what you’re offering. We spent significant time understanding from our key audience members what was important, what they knew us for, what they wanted coming through, and what they were depending on us for in the future. We had initial research to accumulate that knowledge, then worked with our agency partner to determine identities and opportunities, and shared it back for feedback so we weren’t building something in our own echo chamber.
Molly Biwer: Coming to Emory, we really had to do a rigorous self-assessment and clarify our purpose, vision, and differentiation. Are we going to be an innovative care model or compassionate care model, or something in between? We did a lot of background research on who we believe we are, points of differentiation, and then we have the proof points, which gets into storytelling.
What does effective storytelling look like in healthcare marketing?
Molly Biwer: Our most powerful stories come from experiences with our patients, providers, researchers, and community members. We amplify those voices across all channels because we’re all in the quest to create connection and trust. Those third-party endorsers are our best brand ambassadors. We can do paid advertising, but to hear a patient say somebody saved their life — there’s nothing more powerful than that. I watched a video today about a patient who’s been coming here for 17 years, and she said, “Emory is like family to me because I come in, get my treatment, and go home and live my life.” Those are really powerful stories.
Erica Jensen: There’s nothing more powerful than the story of someone who has overcome a blood cancer or blood disorder and where they are now in their life. We look at the patient at the center, but then go to the concentric rings: the donor who was a hero in their life, a complete stranger who donated selflessly so someone else can live. I dare anyone to watch a patient-donor-recipient meeting and not cry. They’re the best of humanity. We require that anytime we feature anyone in our content, it must be a real patient, real researcher, someone connected to our mission because we have authentic connections to share.
How has storytelling evolved over the past 20 years?
Molly Biwer: Twenty years ago, storytelling was institutionally driven and media dependent. Today, it’s user-generated content that’s audience-led, digital-first, and multi-dimensional. It requires marketers to be much more agile, inclusive, and insights-driven. Instead of a stoic message, we’re having to be much more authentic and transparent. In healthcare, that emotional resonance is critical because people trust brands that feel human and real.
Erica Jensen: I completely agree. Turning over the reins to let our patients and donors tell stories in their own words has been really powerful. We know the influence and authenticity that comes through is important, and we built that as one of the standards into our new brand.
How do you innovate in such a highly regulated industry?
Molly Biwer: Innovation doesn’t stop at the edge of regulation — it actually evolves with it. We do a really good job of integrating our legal, clinical, and compliance teams into every new idea to ensure safety, ethics, and rigor. Regulation demands precision, and that in turn fosters trust.
Erica Jensen: We spend tremendous effort ensuring we’re constantly researching what will be the next cures and ways to make current standard of care safer for patients. One thing I love about our organization is we were built on innovation. Taking blood stem cells from one person and infusing them into another to rebuild and live a great life was seen as something out of a futuristic movie in the late 1980s. Now it’s commonplace. We carry that spirit with ongoing research projects with partners like Emory to continue evolving care.
How are you integrating AI into your marketing strategies?
Molly Biwer: AI isn’t replacing the human touch, it’s enhancing it. Using AI allows us to deliver smarter, more relevant, and meaningful experiences and content. It helps us personalize content and monitor sentiment. It frees up teams to focus on strategy and creativity. But it needs to be monitored with governance around it.
Erica Jensen: In marketing automation, AI is critical to understand what messages need to be tailored to whom, and how to personalize headlines and images that will resonate. Our team has leveraged AI to enhance photography and stories, and do small things like removing backgrounds that previously took a long time. Everyone on our team has Copilot embedded, so they have more time for strategy and creative ideas that AI isn’t going to think of.
Any concerns about AI and brand integrity?
Erica Jensen: It’s really important. We have an AI Center of Excellence at NMDP to understand the difference between open source and closed source. When you get into open source and can’t verify information, or don’t know if AI hallucinations will give inaccurate information, that can be dangerous. We focus on closed-source environments where we understand all inputs, and nothing that’s AI-generated goes directly to audiences. It’s all reviewed by humans who are caretakers of our brand.
Molly Biwer: As AI starts citing things, if you dig into details, sometimes the source doesn’t exist. If a physician took that at face value, it could have dire consequences. We’ve got to have governance, especially in healthcare.
What career advice would you give people looking to change industries or move from one discipline of marketing to another?
Molly Biwer: A pivotal moment for me was focusing on going from traditional marketing to digital marketing. That doesn’t sound like a big shift, but it was quite a mindset shift because I had to start embracing experimentation and cross-functional collaboration. People are consuming content very differently, so to stay ahead of the curve, we had to do things that took us outside our comfort zone. The lessons I learned were curiosity, adaptability, and collaboration; those are the drivers for innovation.
Erica Jensen: When I pivoted from the for-profit corporate world to nonprofit, that was a big change and scary at first because you have stereotypes of what a nonprofit will be. But what I found is that we need to hold the same exact standards, creativity, ingenuity, and core pillars that make marketing work. We instill those same values and adherence to best-in-class practices because our audiences deserve everything we can provide.
What are you looking for when building your marketing teams?
Erica Jensen: We need both specialists and generalists. When it comes to precision in digital marketing and marketing automation, you need people who understand the systems. But we also need generalists who can look at business challenges and help devise brand communication strategies. We have no specific focus on AI yet because we have our AI center of excellence experts that we can call on. More important than anything, we’re looking for people who are curious, want to make a difference, and are excited to drive impact.
Molly Biwer: You can teach people things, but organizational culture is a big deal at Emory. If you’re a culture fit, that’s important. Stay curious and be adaptable because change is going to be constant. I look at it as a gift. Change propels us to do things we never thought we could do before. I’m focused on digital and analytics right now. With all this new technology, we need data scientists and analytics experts to support marketing investments and show return on investment.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Interview by Kathy Hollenhorst, Marketers That Matter® Advisor & Chief Community Officer
About the Visionaries
Molly Biwer, CMO, Emory Healthcare
Molly Biwer is the Chief Marketing Officer for Emory Healthcare, Georgia’s most comprehensive academic health system. Biwer is responsible for spearheading marketing and communications strategies across the organization, playing a key role in Emory Healthcare’s ongoing growth and transformation. She oversees the creation of impactful marketing campaigns, developing a comprehensive communications strategy, and managing media relations to share Emory Healthcare’s story with both internal and external audiences. Her efforts also focus on raising awareness of Emory’s core missions — patient care, education, research, and innovation — while advancing the use of technology and data analytics to enhance the patient journey.
Prior to Emory, Biwer held senior leadership roles at Mayo Clinic, where she served as Chair and Senior Vice President of Marketing and Creative Strategy, stewarding the brand globally. She previously served as Senior Vice President and Chief Communications Officer for Hallmark Cards, where she led global brand communications, public relations, government affairs, and community partnerships. Earlier in her career, she spent more than two decades at Carlson, overseeing communications for the global travel and hospitality group.
Biwer is a nationally recognized marketing and communications executive with more than three decades of experience leading brand strategy, enterprise communications, and strategic partnerships across healthcare, media, retail, and hospitality sectors. She is known for her deep expertise in integrated brand transformation, consumer and stakeholder engagement, crisis communications, and board-level strategy alignment. She has advised C-suite leaders through complex brand repositioning, M&A communications, digital experience innovation, and philanthropic brand alignment.
She has served on several nonprofit and corporate boards, including the Carlson School of Management, Women Corporate Directors, United Way, KC Rising, and Twin Cities PBS. Her board service is distinguished by her ability to bring cross-industry insight, brand reputation expertise, and a commitment to purpose-driven leadership. She was recently recognized by The Wall Street Journal as a visionary in marketing and honored as an MTM Innovator by Marketers That Matter.
Biwer earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing Education from the University of Minnesota.
Erica Jensen, SVP of Innovation, Strategy & Marketing, NMDP
Erica Jensen brings 25 years of experience driving strategic growth for Fortune 500 corporations to NMDP as the senior vice president of Innovation, Strategy & Marketing.
At NMDP, Erica has led a strategic brand transformation, increased diversification of the registry and increased access to transplant for underserved communities. She lead the Foundation and Innovation, Strategy and Marketing teams with a focus on advancing the mission of NMDP.
At General Mills and Bank of America, Jensen shaped integrated marketing strategies, multicultural marketing campaigns and worked closely with internal and external partners to advance business goals. She also developed global digital marketing standards and training for General Mills brands in international markets.
One of her enduring legacies at General Mills was launched during her 20 months working on Yoplait. She helped launch and was a founding board member of Firefly Sisterhood, which fosters one-to-one connections between women diagnosed with breast cancer and inspirational survivors. Firefly Sisterhood quickly thrived, becoming its own 501c3. It has been honored by numerous organizations, including the Minnesota Lynx and Timberwolves.
For Jensen, serving the community has been a constant and a joy. At Northwestern University, she became a member of Delta Sigma Theta, a historically African American sorority committed to community service. She also serves as a director on several nonprofit boards.
Jensen graduated with a degree in Communication from Northwestern University and earned her Master of Business Administration from Regis University.
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