Communication Strategy · Strategic Design · Design Research
Designing a Communication Strategy for Pfizer : ‘Science Is Personal’ Campaign
This campaign is designed to deliver Pfizer’s science-forward identity as an industry leader of R&D and to build a long-term relationship with the general public through portraying Pfizer’s humanistic value.
About the Project
The project was run as a studio at Parsons’ Strategic Design and Management program: a comprehensive brief provided by a live project partner, Pfizer, that required students to work in research teams to make and then intensively critique prototyped interventions.
How Might We
How might Pfizer continue to build trust and convey a better sense of humanistic value to the public?
Challenges
1. Public distrust in Pifzer for being M&A and marketing-oriented.
2. Unclearly coordinated communication strategy that lacks data visualization support at Pfizer.
3. Vaccine hesitancy among underrepresented communities such as LGBTQ+ community.
Solution
A holistic communication strategy to assert science in a more humanistic way that is personal and shares the experiences of communities through digital and community media.
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Visual Communication, Graphic Design, Design Research, Research Synthesis, Ideation & Prototyping
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Pfizer
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United States
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Jan 2021 - May 2021
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Integrative Studio 1, Class of 2022
Facilitators:
Aaron Fry, Brendan Reftery
Team:
Anthonino Olimpio, Avni Surana, John Kim, Robert Jakacki
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Adobe Illustration, Adobe Photoshop, Figma, Microsoft Powerpoint
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Stakeholder Mapping, Research Plan, Desk Research, Qualitative Interviews, Affinity Mapping, Insights Synthesis, Ideation, Prototyping, User-testing Etc.
Project Brief
Pfizer’s intention to adopt a unified and well-understood science-forward identity as a researcher and developer of vaccines, and innovative, life-changing, and curative therapies. Focus on the general public as the intended audience.
Client Goal 1: CEO mandate to push 15 blockbuster drugs in 5 years through their internal R&D and science team.
Client Goal 2: Shifting from commercial powerhouse to nimble biopharma, generating breakthrough therapies.
Design Process
From the brief, our work was broken down in phases that helped us better understand, explore and materialize our findings and designs.
Double Diamond Design Process & Implemented Research Techniques
We examined a diverse range of individuals to understand their varying relationships to science through:
Stakeholder Mapping, Research Plan, Desk Research, Qualitative Interviews, Affinity Mapping, Insights Synthesis, Ideation, Prototyping, User-testing, and Reiterating.
Problem & Opportunity
Pfizer’s ‘Science Will Win’ campaign billboard.
The pandemic limited our activities, stopped our routines and impacted how we saw the outside world. In one way, we spent more time with loved ones and completely stopped how we engaged with others. With that and more, the pandemic has left quite an impression that has surely stuck with us all with no redemption in sight other than science.
Despite the public mistrust and the stigma behind the pharmaceutical industry as profit-driven and emotionless, Pfizer has gained unprecedented exposure during the pandemic due to the vaccine. With the ‘Science Will Win’ marketing campaign, there was an overall authoritative tone as the messaging was focused on the company’s shift in a more ‘science and R&D heavy’ direction that helped to engage with the public and establish a relationship founded on a newfound trust in science.
So how does Pfizer continue to build trust and convey a better sense of humanistic value? How will Pfizer remain top of mind as the R&D team continues to work on developing innovative and life-changing curative therapies?
Solution
‘Science Is Personal’ Campaign
This campaign is designed to deliver Pfizer’s science-forward identity as an industry leader of R&D and to build a long-term relationship with the general public through portraying Pfizer’s humanistic value.
It’s clear everyone has their own relationship with science — regardless of how it’s processed, interpreted, accepted. It’s time to assert science in a more humanistic way, experience it more personally and share those experiences with the rest of the community.
The campaign focused on two communication strategies, looking at Digital and Community mediums, lead by what we call “The Village” encompassing Albert and the executive leadership, patients, influencers, researchers and HCPs.
This places Pfizer in close, relatable, contact to show that you need to engage and involve everyone in the community for the greatest reach and lasting impact. In partnership with community ambassadors including influencers & leaders of marginalized minority groups, the village will be responsible of carrying the message that R&D in science must remain at the front and center to ensure better health for all, now and even after the worst is over.
Digital Strategies
Pfizer invests heavily in Facebook and that this medium is valuable in connecting with the baby boomer audience; we’re also aware Pfizer is establishing a growing presence with millennials & Gen Z on Instagram. Both, however, could do with more personalized content that doesn’t just speak science but more relatable content led by the village to convey the messaging of the campaign. The microsite reinforces Pfizer’s campaign efforts and allows for a more seamless educational journey to understand the now and the future.
Digital Strategy 1 : Microsite
Currently, the Pfizer website is extremely dense with a wealth of information that lacks data visualization making it more difficult for the general public to understand. ‘Pfizer.scienceispersonal.com’ will have a designed interface that that will clear up the clutter to help people understand more about the campaign, Pfizer’s community efforts and what research and development really means to PFizer in terms of life changing curative therapies and what’s next in the pipeline.
Digital Strategy 2 : Instagram Live
The village will lead the narrative on Instagram through a series of Instagram Lives with the help of content creators. Research shows that Gen-Z patients are more likely to mistrust the vaccine development and approval process. This is an opportunity to capitalize on the trust that content creators, moguls and icons like the Obamas have since Gen Z users are open-minded to a broad range of influencers and harder to reach by TV and Print. This brings that that human narrative through digital and each live can discuss subjects spanning from internal culture at Pfizer like DEI, science initiatives like R&D, vaccine updates and more.
Digital Strategy 3 : Blue Table Talk
On the digital table is a take on the Red Table Talk series with Jada Pinkett-Smith and her clan, but here, The Village will involve conversations that deviate from corporate talk or publicity and instead, represent the hosts as relatable people listening to, and sharing personal stories, and also being vulnerable around the topic of health & well-being.
A strong non-Pfizer candidate for the table is Martine Rothblatt, Chairwoman and founder of life-extending biotech company, United Therapeutics. As a transgender woman widely regarded as one of the most influential LGBTQ leaders in tech, her teaming together with an affable immigrant like Albert, will surely give rise for titilating, authentic conversation.
Community Strategies
Stepping out from the digital setting to the outside world, we further appreciate that community is central to human experience. Having a community gives individuals the platform to advocate and support each other especially in times of need. We found that some of the biggest disparities in health equity can be found in some of the most prevalent communities in the United States. From local pharmacies to community wellness centers, we hope to drive change by improving access to healthcare.
Community Strategy 1 : Billboards
As we slowly return to daily routines, people have re-discovered what it means to be outside. And after the last year we’ve had, you can’t help but feel apprehensive and think about coronavirus. Because of that, we want to highlight relatable faces, feature personal journeys around frequently visited areas in communities for the most significant impact and allow people to feel in good company with the brand. Pre-Pandemic, this may have been intended for commuters on-the-go. But now, this is for people who do not have the luxury to work from home.
Community Strategy 2 : Community Wellness Center
One community that has demonstrated vaccine hesitancy is the LGBTQ+ community. To help bring down some of the barriers built around skepticism and fear, a personalized demonstration to genuinely reach this community is to partner with the Callen-Lorde Community Health Centers here in New York City. They are a trusted staff of doctors and nurses that provides sensitive, quality health care and related services targeted to New York’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender communities regardless of their ability to pay. Right now, the centers only offer the J&J and Moderna Vaccine due to the lack of proper refrigeration to store the Pfizer vaccine. While we are happy that they are a vaccine site, this is an opportunity for Pfizer to demonstrate their commitment to this community by providing the necessary equipment, having #ScienceIsPersonal ‘leave behinds’ to build towards that trust between Pfizer and the LGBTQ+ community.
Community Strategy 3 : Pharmacies & Apotheca
Continuing with the smaller scale community installments, Pfizer will collaborate with neighborhood pharmacies & apothecaries by sharing the stories of how science has impacted or has relevance to the lives of residents of the neighborhood. This initiative will allow Pfizer to reconnect with consumers & patients whom they have historically served with consumer health products, that they now have less exposure to.
Conclusion
Through this campaign, the hope is for Pfizer to dive deeper in connecting with the public and build a movement that becomes synonymous with life-changing science for all. The end goal is for communities to really understand research and development, vaccines, therapy efficacies and more so when they see science, they not only see and trust Pfizer, but feel validated.