IDWeek, the infectious diseases conference, will take place in Washington, D.C. starting Wednesday and Moderna plans to make its presence known.
The pharma company is teaming up with EMC Outdoor and Carvertise to swarm the five-day conference with a fleet of branded Ubers, which will drive around the conference in high-traffic areas.
Carvertise co-founder Greg Star said attendees will not be able to walk down the streets near the convention hall without seeing Moderna branding all around. Star said that as more conferences and trade shows return to being largely in-person after largely going virtual during the COVID-19 pandemic, brands are competing for attendees’ attention.
Other healthcare-facing brands like Vuity and Lenovo have employed similar tactics at other trade shows this year. Star credited the popularity and effectiveness of out-of-home advertising for drawing interest from pharma companies like Moderna.
“No other platform allows for this type of targeted, innovative marketing while allowing companies to expand their presence beyond the trade show floor in such an impactful way,” he said.
Moderna’s advertising blitz comes amid a push to bolster its updated COVID-19 booster campaign, which has been hampered by low interest among patients and a reported series of manufacturing delays.
Still, the Food and Drug Administration last week announced that the emergency use authorizations for Omicron-specific bivalent booster vaccines are authorized for kids between the ages of five and 11.
Moderna also recently unveiled a series of leadership changes, highlighted by a role transition for Juan Andres, who will now serve as president of strategic partnerships and enterprise expansion, effective January 1, 2023.
Additionally, Dr. Jerh Collins, Ph.D. joined the company after a 30-year career at Novartis.
