Storytelling in the pharmaceutical industry: "On the road to recovery".
So far, storytelling in the pharmaceutical industry has been treated rather modestly, especially in German-speaking countries. The pharmaceutical industry's main media presence is through scientific articles on diseases, scandals or, of course, risks and side effects. Good storytelling could do the trick.
What storytelling can achieve in the pharmaceutical sector and which corporations have set a good example with their campaigns in recent years is shown by Miriam Rupp, CEO of Mashup Communications, agency for PR and brand storytelling.
People instead of diseases: The Breathless Choir
Even the biggest companies tend to be remembered more for their unwieldy slogans than for their exciting campaigns. The pharmaceutical industry covers an enormous range of topics. It operates within a sensitive structure of patients, medical professionals and a strong pharmaceutical industry.
From a scientific perspective, what is needed here is reporting that focuses on the objective presentation of the complex research and treatment of diseases. However, if you look at the why of the industry and focus on the emotional level, it is about people, their well-being and their needs. This is precisely what should also be the focus of communication with the target groups.
An impressive example is provided by the campaign "Breathless Choir" from Philips. The short film shows various patients who have breathing difficulties but do not want to miss their passion for singing. The Breathless Choir helps them learn certain breathing techniques. The film, which won in the Pharma category at Cannes in 2016, shows on the one hand that singing can generate great social added value.
On the other hand, it becomes clear how the choir members regain more energy through certain breathing exercises. Recovery doesn't always have to happen in a traditional medical setting. Philips shows here nicely how emotional content can be used to advertise health topics and products.
Creating awareness for disease patterns with humor and courage
The Gilead Sciences campaign shows that even difficult topics do not always have to be taken seriously, and that humor can be used to create access to research and disease patterns. With the video "My Journey: Flight HIV101"they have launched the campaign "My HIV, My Rules, My Journey". In it, drag queen and activist Panti Bliss humorously advocates for people living with HIV and supports them in their lifelong journey with the disease. The campaign emphasizes that decisions made today about health, wealth and well-being will help people with HIV live the lives they want tomorrow.
Breaking down complexity: storytelling as a knowledge broker
The pharmaceutical industry is characterized by complexity. In addition to sensitive and private topics, much content is very difficult and laborious for laypeople to grasp. Storytelling can act as a bridge here and make comprehensive content accessible to the respective target group. Why always talk in a medical and sterile way about the effects of medications when you can make the benefits comprehensible to everyone through simple stories, comparisons or even graphics?
Bayer succeeds here with its Online magazineto present the goals of research in a way that is comprehensible even to the layperson. This form of content marketing makes it possible to cast the complexity of the subject areas in a tangible form. In addition to general health guides, the site also features personal stories about Bayer employees and insights into various specialist areas, such as cancer research. All the content is always related to people and presented in a comprehensible way, thus making the anonymous large corporation more accessible.
Everyday heroes: Storytelling for employer branding
The pharmaceutical industry has to contend with prejudice in some cases. For many people, a career in this industry is out of the question for moral reasons. Pharmaceutical companies, no less than other employers, must therefore attach importance to brand loyalty with existing and potential employees through active employer branding.
The Merck Group provides a good example with its careers page. With the guiding principle "Where will your curiosity take you?In their "Merck" project, they motivate interested parties to take a closer look at the topics covered by the company and reflect their own work on various levels. With images and videos that are not immediately associated with an anonymous large corporation like Merck, they manage to tangibly portray what the results of their work stand for and which spectrums their research covers.
Conclusion:
The pharmaceutical industry has countless ways to present itself and communicate with its target groups. Above all, storytelling is not only used to sustainably address patients, but also to inspire physicians and pharmacists with emotional stories. In addition to scientific facts and objective presentations, human stories manage to involve experts. Especially in the field of research and education of rare disease patterns, but also in the retention of employees, the storytelling method can bear fruit.
