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John Kennett: Orchestrating marketing harmony across teams, simplifying complex science and embracing curiosity to drive innovation
The "Life, Science and Marketing" podcast, hosted by BioStrata CEO Paul Avery, presents engaging conversations with leading marketing experts in the life sciences field. Each episode highlights the guests' personal journeys, their professional experiences, and offers valuable insights into marketing tactics and strategies.
In our latest episode, Paul spoke with John Kennett, an innovative marketing leader who has shaped brand, campaign and content strategy across companies like Medaxial, Covance, Envigo, and Labcorp over his 20-year career. John is currently utilising his deep life science marketing knowledge as Director of Global Marketing, Brand and Solutions at Fortrea. With his own background in engineering, John discussed how he builds bridges across functions by asking questions, learning the science, and distilling it into compelling yet simple stories. He offered valuable perspectives on orchestrating marketing messages, embracing younger generations’ input, and staying curious to drive innovation.
Read on for a recap of John’s interview below and his insights on simplifying complex science, creating marketing harmony across teams, and fostering a culture of openness to fuel continued progress. You can also listen to their full discussion in the podcast episode below or find us on your favourite podcast platform.
How did you get to where you are today in your career?
John Kennett: It's been a long, twisted road, as I think it is for many people. My first degree was in electronics engineering, since my father was an engineer. I was interested in IT and electronics at the time, so I pursued an electronics engineering degree, but soon discovered the actual work was boring. However, I realised I was able to have straightforward conversations with engineers about new technologies and applications, so I got into marketing as a way to tell stories about why someone would use one technology over another. That was around 30 years ago.
The electronics industry went through changes - a lot of it moved to China and costs were cut back - so there were limited opportunities for me to progress. About 20 years ago I decided to switch to healthcare and life sciences, which I thought would be much more interesting areas. So I've spent the last 20 years in healthcare marketing.
You have a lot of interests outside of work - what are some of those?
John Kennett: I have quite a few interests beyond work. I live in Rochester, Kent, which has a very long history - there's an old cathedral, an even older castle, and a lovely old pub associated with the castle that I spend quite a bit of thinking time in! I'm also very involved with our local church and community.
But I think what you may be alluding to is that my master's degree is not in biosciences but rather in psychodynamic psychotherapy. I was a practicing therapist in my spare time for a while. That was incredibly rewarding work for me, and it helped me develop skills I now use every day in understanding people and what motivates them, which is so fundamental to marketing.
What have you enjoyed most about working in the life sciences?
John Kennett: I think most people in this industry would say there's something new to learn every day. In a marketing position we get to hear about all of the, the exciting new technologies and applications and, you know, just. Just the, the world of medical devices, for instance, just that world alone, um, brings up fascinating new stories on a daily basis. Um, stuff that you would never have thought of as a, a surgeon is peering over a, a patient and thinking, uh, if only we had a thing that could do a thing. And, and so, you know, there's a, a device gets developed that, that is a continual source of interest, uh, uh, to me and to many of us in the industry.
So in summary, what I have enjoyed most is that each day brings new learning opportunities through hearing about emerging technologies and applications. For example, in the world of medical devices, surgeons may come up with ideas for a new device that could solve a problem they face. Then we actually see those device ideas get developed into real products - and that continual progress is fascinating to me and others working in this industry. There's always something new happening at the cutting edge.
What's the coolest or most interesting scientific area you've worked on?
John Kennett: There are a few that stand out. Things like immunotherapies, cell and gene therapies, and personalised medicine are fascinating. When you hear stories of people who have gone through multiple rounds of cancer treatment, then go through a trial of an immunotherapy and are not just in remission but cured - that is amazing to me. To think I'm working in an industry doing that kind of science is incredible.
Another interesting area I came across more recently is treating myopia or near-sightedness. Something as simple as a pair of glasses with blurred edges has scientific evidence showing it can stop the progression of myopia. The medical and scientific brains in this industry that come up with ideas like that never cease to impress me.
You've worked with a lot of extremely smart scientific people - how do you build bridges between science and marketing so everyone works together effectively?
John Kennett: A big lesson I have learned when working extensively with scientists is to continually ask "dumb" or basic questions. Even with an advanced science degree, there is no way I could possibly know everything about a specialist researcher's specific niche area. The only way to genuinely build my own understanding is by asking questions. I have found scientists are generally very happy to explain details about what they do and why it is important. So I would deliberately wander - back in the pre-COVID days when we used to work in offices - into a laboratory I had never been in before, put on a lab coat, and strike up conversations about what that team does and why their work matters. That way I learn interesting stories from the science happening across our organization, stories that marketing can potentially integrate into materials later on. But I am also focused in those conversations on simply building critical relationships with those scientists. So shedding any reluctance to admit what you do not know, and instead being open and curious, is a key mindset when collaborating across functions.
You have a knack for distilling very complex offerings into easy to understand packages. How do you approach that?
John Kennett: I'm not entirely sure how I developed that skill, but I'm quick to say my team members are also critical in helping deploy those stories effectively. For me it starts with asking all those questions about what a solution means for customers and why they would care. We have to distill everything down into the fundamentals around what job our customer is trying to get done, what challenges they face, what pains we can relieve. At the same time we have to articulate what unique value we provide as a business to help overcome those challenges and multiply gains. If we stick to those basics, even in life sciences it comes down to the fact that people are buying from people - it's a trust game. Yes, we might have 20,000 employees globally and decades of experience, but what matters most is if I believe I can trust you to deliver on promises.
What do you think is hard about life science marketing and what tips would you have?
John Kennett: One of the harder aspects of this industry is there are a significant number of senior professionals with a lot of subject matter expertise and experience - "grey hairs" like myself who have been working in life sciences for many years. While that extensive experience is hugely valuable, I think staying tapped into what younger generations have to offer is really important for continued innovation. We cannot become set in our ways just because "that is how it has always been done." So for example, we are deliberately engaging with universities to get younger perspectives on projects whenever possible.
My advice for those just starting out in this industry is that no two days on the job are ever going to be exactly the same - there is always some fascinating new area to learn, new technologies and techniques. So it is hard work in that you have to be continuously learning, but hard work never killed anyone as my father always reminds me. Go into this industry with your eyes wide open, ready to work hard and open to letting go of assumptions as science progresses. But also remember marketing is a professional discipline focused on bringing out the best in products to create sales. Do not let the "tail wag the dog" and marketing make decisions for the scientists - make sure marketing serves its proper role supporting what our innovations can accomplish. And be prepared to pursue leadership positions where you can more directly shape conversations about that balance and best practices.
Discover more insights with the Life, Science & Marketing Podcast
As we conclude this discussion with John Kennett, we'd like to thank him for openly sharing his wisdom and experiences. John enjoys further discussions and answering questions - you can connect with him on LinkedIn to continue the conversation.
Stay tuned for more episodes of the "Life, Science and Marketing" podcast. We look forward to bringing you more insightful interviews and practical advice from innovators leading the way in life science marketing.
You can also follow the official Life, Science and Marketing LinkedIn page to keep up-to-date with the latest podcast news and episodes. Reach out if you have ideas for future guests or topics we should cover as well.
