Novartis and Marina Maher Communications, Condé Nast Health/Wired Brand Labs
Novartis Turns Science Fiction Into Science Fact
It’s no secret big pharma struggles with reputation, making it harder to stand out from the crowd. Reputation research for Novartis showed low brand awareness among an important audience – the engaged public, who mistakenly believed innovation emanates strictly from startups and technology companies.
The target is highly influential, actively seeking out and sharing compelling content online. But to win this “science curious” audience over, it had to dispel the belief that Novartis is just another evil player on the big pharma stage.
The Where Science Fiction Becomes Science Fact campaign stemmed from this insight, with the goal of showing people how Novartis’ groundbreaking innovation turns what was once unimaginable into reality.
Marina Maher forged two new partnerships to bring Novartis science to life by tapping into the target’s inherent interest in science and trivia, curiosity and discovery. It added Condé Nast Health and Wired plus top science influencers, Kyle Hill and Kari Byron. MMC and Wired Brand Labs worked on a short-form video series, native articles and social content highlighting collaboration within Novartis. And to drive online participation, it developed fun, engaging social content. More importantly, content showed how profound an impact Novartis’ innovations have on patients’ lives.
The campaign, fueled by these smart partnerships and creative approach to content, led to massive perception shifts. Following the launch, there was a 9% lift in awareness in just three months, as well as a 4% bump in perception. And people who had seen the campaign are 14% more likely to trust Novartis, according to research.
