A Big Pharma may seem like an incongruous choice of sponsor for a global music competition, but a new campaign from Novartis suggests that its work actually has plenty in common with the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest.
Novartis was announced as an official partner of this year’s Eurovision competition last fall, after the song entry from Switzerland won the 2024 iteration, making it the host country for the following year’s contest. The 2025 final will be held this May in Basel, Novartis’ hometown.
At the time of the sponsorship announcement, the drugmaker was still hammering out how, exactly, it would use the global stage to “promote the importance of health to a wide audience and support the shared theme of bringing people together.”
Those plans are now taking shape. Novartis this week debuted a pair of videos, each featuring a company employee discussing how their musical talents align with their scientific careers, as part of a “broader campaign tied to our official sponsorship of the Eurovision Song Contest 2025,” a Novartis spokesperson confirmed to Fierce Pharma Marketing.
Gustavo, for example, is a clinical innovation project specialist, as well as a guitarist, singer and DJ. “Music is science,” he says in his video, comparing how both are comprised of diverse components, produce exciting discoveries and have immense influence on people’s lives.
The other video stars Anisah, head of science delivery at Novartis’ Data 42 program and a cellist, pianist and singer. She describes how music has influenced her work as a scientist “in the way that it enables improvisation and a nonjudgmental process, especially in the earlier phases of the creative process.”
“Imagine a group of musicians coming together in an orchestra, creating a piece of music that seemingly like magic appear out of the individual parts. Science can be the same if a group of individual scientists come together united towards a common cause,” she continues.
Both videos are filed under the heading “Celebrating Our Unique Talents Through Music.” Through this initiative, the spokesperson said, “we are highlighting the incredible talents and different backgrounds of our associates, celebrating creativity, inclusion, and innovation—values that align with both our company and Eurovision.”
More of these stories are on the way, the rep said, “and we will continue to spotlight our people through digital storytelling and live activations.”
In addition to the campaign, Novartis has been documenting its involvement in Eurovision preparations on social media.
In January, the company hosted an official Eurovision press conference at its Basel campus, writing, “With updates from the show’s producers, the Basel Public Values team, a video of the fantastic Arena Plus event, and unveiling of some very special guests, it was a unique moment that we’re honoured to have helped facilitate.”
A few weeks later, it kicked off the 100-day countdown to the final in another post, in which it wrote, “Novartis is proud to welcome the world to its vibrant home city and we have a lot of exciting events planned.”