Blue Cross Blue Shield VP to Discuss Digital Media in Healthcare

R. Andrew Hetzel ’90, vice president of corporate communications with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, will visit the Newhouse School on Wednesday, Feb. 27, as a guest of the Newhouse Global Leaders in Digital and Social Media Speaker Series and the SU chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA). He will speak on “Big Data vs. Big Regulation in the Quest for Consumer Loyalty” at 6 p.m. in the Joyce Hergenhan Auditorium in Newhouse 3. Follow on Twitter at #NewhouseGLDSM.

Hetzel’s talk will cover how digital media can achieve health and marketing outcomes in a highly regulated environment. He will also touch on how the Affordable Care Act is forcing health insurers to get more personal, despite the regulatory limits of HIPAA; why the largest health insurer in Michigan for 74 years sees social and digital media as vital to its future; and experiences with digital health tools and e-prescribing in Michigan.

Hetzel has served as communications executive for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan (BCBSM) since 2005. With responsibilities for brand and reputational management, he leads the company’s public relations, advertising, marketing communications, employee communications and social media functions. He also serves as corporate spokesperson on major issues affecting BCBSM and is the voice of the company in paid promotions. He launched BCBSM’s social content infrastructure, helped initiate the company’s corporate marketing function and created new marketing capabilities, including mobile event and email marketing.

Hetzel joined BCBSM from John Bailey & Associates Inc., a public relations firm based in Troy, Mich. Previously, he served for nine years in various staff capacities with the state legislatures in New York and Michigan. He was press secretary for the Michigan House of Representatives Democratic Caucus from 1998-2000.

He is an alumnus of Syracuse University, where he earned a dual degree in newspaper journalism from the Newhouse School and international relations from The College of Arts and Sciences.

The Newhouse Global Leaders in Digital and Social Media Speaker Series explores innovative digital and social media engagement from around the world. Speakers represent leadership in thought and innovation in their fields.

For more information about Hetzel’s talk, contact Betsy Feeley at 315-443-7401 or eafeeley@syr.edu.