Hailing from the city of Barquisimeto, Venezuela, Giovanna Soto is an ambitious student and young professional with impressive ideas on how to advance healthcare through marketing.
So impressive, in fact, that Giovanna was chosen as the winner of Dignity Health Global Education (DHGE)’s Healthcare Impact Award!
In any communication effort, just as is the case with design, simplicity makes for a powerful message. Her winning slogan, “A vaccine for today is a disease less for tomorrow,” is brilliantly simple and simply powerful.
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About Giovanna Soto and Her Winning Idea
When entering her video submission, Giovanna didn’t think she stood a chance. She was busy studying for her classes and had less-than-ideal recording opportunities. “I didn’t think that I would win the prize,” she says.
However, if you watch her video, in which she reveals the message behind her award-winning slogan, “A vaccine for today is a disease less for tomorrow,” you’ll quickly understand why she won.
And here’s Giovanna’s idea pitch in her own words:
“When vaccines were invented and then used regularly in our modern era, it had a huge positive impact, reducing the probabilities of getting sick from a certain number of diseases. But, in recent years, some people have made a campaign trying to stop vaccines, so much so that there are lots of children without them just because their parents think vaccines are bad. There is a difference—vaccines can sometimes have secondary effects, yes, but those cases are really rare and if you weigh the benefits, then it’s a hundred percent better for a child to just take the vaccine. This campaign of no vaccines has made old illnesses arise — like polio, which was almost eradicated. That’s why a vaccine for today is a disease less for tomorrow. Thank you for reading! #DHGEScholarship”
As she continues her education in marketing and in healthcare as a whole, Giovanna has big plans for bringing awareness of healthcare methods and shining a light on medical misinformation.
“I would love to work in promoting health and bringing awareness to issues such as STDs. There is a lot of misinformation, starting with where I am from in South America. Here, it’s a taboo; there’s misinformation that people with [STDs] are monsters. They’re not going to transmit these diseases just by touching anyone, but people don’t know.”
When asked how the healthcare marketing program might benefit her, Giovanna said, “Life is on social media right now. And, the healthcare marketing certificate will help because the promotion [of modern-day healthcare practices] needs to be present in all the social media.”
Giovanna’s biggest inspiration also comes from social media. “I think there are a lot of doctors on social media and they do a great job, trying to inform people or teach people the difference between bad decisions and good decisions.”
Related Read: How to Save the Planet by Sharing Ideas on Climate Action
About the Healthcare Impact Award
DHGE’s Healthcare Impact Award was a second-round following a successful previous scholarship with a $1000 USD prize.
Through a collaboration between DHGE and the Pepperdine Graziadio Business School, the winner of the prize would receive a full scholarship to their online course for a Certificate in Healthcare Marketing.
The 9-week program, worth $2,995 USD, is for healthcare professionals, marketers, and administrators to learn effective, consumer-focused marketing practices to strategically align their organization towards the new health paradigm.
Led by Professor Lynda Palmer, MBA, the program curriculum includes marketing strategy, customer assessment, brand development, marketing insights, distribution strategy, and more. The course aims to equip marketing professionals with knowledge of the healthcare marketing industry by placing an emphasis on the importance of strategic marketing in modern-day healthcare.
In addition to Giovanna’s winning submission, 10 finalists each received a $500 discount towards the online healthcare marketing certificate.
Related Read: Everything You Need to Know About Getting Scholarships
Why Healthcare Marketing?
To apply, contestants had to combine their creative skills with their passion for healthcare to create a slogan about how healthcare impacts the world. As always in marketing, the aim was to make it catchy, make it meaningful, and think outside the box. Then, entrants needed to post their entry as an achievement through their Goodwall profile with the hashtag #DHGEScholarship to get noticed.
Related Read: Why Every Young Professional Should Pitch Ideas on Goodwall
About DHGE and the Pepperdine Graziadio Business School
DHGE is a healthcare workforce development company that creates and develops online programs and other workforce development solutions, such as the Certificate in Healthcare Marketing, with leading institutions such as the Pepperdine Graziadio Business School.
The Pepperdine Graziadio Business School was founded in 1969 as the business arm of Pepperdine University in Malibu, California. Offering full-time and part-time MBA programs as well as joint degrees and certificates, the Pepperdine Graziadio Business School is now based out of six campuses around California.
To get the same visibility, support, and feedback Giovanna enjoys, download our app via the links below and post your idea as a 30-second virtual elevator pitch. Thanks for reading!
* Some quotes in this post have been edited for grammar and readability. A big thanks to Patricia Baron from DHGE for conducting the phone interview with Giovanna, as well as to Giovanna Soto for her participation, time, and inspiring ideas!