Where do you work and what is your title?
Director of Communications, North America; Pharmaceuticals at Bayer Pharmaceuticals
Where can people connect with you on social media?
- LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/joshuamansbach
- Substack: joshuamansbach.substack.com
- Bio: about.me/joshuamansbach
Briefly summarize your professional background/experience. What kind of industries/clients do you work with, etc.?
I work with global Fortune 500 pharmaceutical organizations and high-growth biotechnology, life sciences, and MedTech companies to create the story and communications strategy that shows how they are solving clinical and patient care challenges.
Describe what you do for the PR Club.
As a member of the Board of Directors and the Content Committee, I publish thought leadership articles to advance the practice of public relations and communications and support the education of PR professionals.
Optional Questions (Answer 2-3)
What are your top 3 favorite things about working in PR?
- Storytelling: I love helping companies humanize their science and clinical data, make it memorable, and motivate patients and physicians to take action that improves public health outcomes.
- Crisis Communications: Real-time strategy with a dash of unexpected chaos is my happy place.
- FDA Advisory Committee Meetings: It’s the highest-stakes conversation in healthcare, where scientists, physicians, policymakers, advocates, watchdogs, and industry sponsors gather together and try to reach a consensus on something that will affect the health of the entire United States.
What is the biggest misconception about PR from your perspective?
The belief that PR can’t contribute to sales and revenue, and that its contribution can’t be measured. My core belief about PR is that the earned media wins we create earn AI search visibility within LLMs, and that presence results in earned attention. Once people start talking about your company and product, you earn credibility, then stakeholders respond to your call-to-action, and the result of that earned response is a perception shift and behavior change, which leads to a purchasing or prescribing decision. That directly drives earned revenue, which is the most important outcome for the businesses we support.
What’s your prediction for the future of public relations?
Citizen journalists, independent investigative reporters, and content creators (e.g., Nick Shirley, Joe Rogan, Eliot Higgins) will have more credibility, reach, and influence than mainstream media. Public relations professionals need to learn how to work with these influencers. If we don’t, our companies and brands are at risk of becoming the subject of their next exposé.
What’s one of your favorite hobbies?
I write and perform slam poetry.
What’s your go-to karaoke song?
“Me & Bobby McGee” by Janis Joplin
What is your top getaway destination?
Ireland