Nearly a decade into Cosentyx’s tenure as an FDA-approved treatment for plaque psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis, Novartis has tapped two of its go-to celebrity spokespeople to confirm the drug is still working for them.
In a new campaign—aptly titled “Still Working”—Grammy winner Cyndi Lauper and James Beard Award-winning chef Michelle Bernstein team up to share their experiences before and after beginning treatment with Cosentyx. Lauper, who has plaque psoriasis, has worked with Novartis to promote the drug since 2015, while Bernstein, who has both plaque psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis, is a more recent addition to the pharma’s roster.
In a series of videos supporting the campaign, the duo spend time together chatting about their respective experiences with the conditions and how consistent treatment has helped each of them find relief. Throughout the videos, they spend time in each other’s hometowns: first, by recording a podcast episode with rheumatologist Brittany Panico, D.O., on Lauper’s home turf of New York City, and then by cooking a meal together in Bernstein’s native Miami.
One recurring topic throughout their meetups and in the podcast recording is the connection between plaque psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis. In an interview with Fierce Pharma Marketing, Gail Horwood, Novartis’ U.S. chief marketing and customer experience officer, said raising awareness about that connection is a key goal of the campaign.
“Plaque psoriasis is more prevalent, but there are about 1.5 million Americans that live with both. And we see that about 30% of the patients that have plaque psoriasis go on to develop psoriatic arthritis,” Horwood said. “What we’re trying to do is bring about an awareness so that we can empower people to have the right information, to seek a doctor’s opinion and, if needed, treatment, because psoriatic arthritis is a progressive disease, and, if it’s treated earlier, you’ll have better outcomes.”
The campaign, then, “was about making that connection, bringing authentic patient advocate stories to tell about what they’ve learned on their journey and to talk about their conditions,” she continued.
That focus on authenticity also stretches to how Novartis is hoping to reach people. Because the conditions are more prevalent in women, Horwood said her team took into account that potential patient group’s “consumer behavior” to figure out where to broadcast the campaign materials, which ultimately ended up including a Novartis-sponsored segment on Drew Barrymore’s daytime talk show as well as distribution via TikTok and podcasts, among other channels.
To measure the campaign’s overall success, the marketing chief said Novartis will be tracking the tangible moves that individuals make after coming into contact with the “Still Working” content, whether that’s scanning a QR code on a poster or downloading a patient guide or other support materials from the campaign’s website, for example—“because they’re an indication that people are taking action,” Horwood said.
“For us, it’s about patients seeking doctors’ opinions and then treatment, if necessary,” she explained. “We look and measure at any place a potential patient or consumer is touching our materials and then taking an action.”
Horwood noted that some of the hallmarks of the campaign—including its focus on telling authentic stories and its distribution plan of reaching potential customers where they are—are similarly key to Novartis’ larger marketing strategy.
The company’s approach to consumer outreach is in the midst of an “evolution,” she said, by aiming to share patient advocates’ stories “in a more authentic, relatable and, frankly, empathetic way.” She pointed out that the “Still Working” videos show a real connection between Lauper and Bernstein, who were able to bond over both being working moms in “very visible,” creative jobs, both of which were impacted by their respective conditions. Horwood’s team further encouraged that relatability by placing the pair “in settings that are natural to them.”
Their genuine connection is “really lovely” and “makes the story even more relatable,” Horwood said. “People relate to authentic stories, and it doesn’t matter if it’s a drug that’s been on the market a long time or one that’s just entering the market—we’ve used and are starting to do this more as a best practice for how we’re helping to bring information to more people.”
As for actually getting that information in front of people’s eyeballs, Horwood said that she spends “a lot of time in digital channels” to better understand where the company’s patient populations are spending their time.
“As we know, attention is hard to come by. People are busy. They don’t necessarily have time to engage with content on our terms. Just because we want to tell them something doesn’t mean that they are ready to listen to it,” she said.
To that end, Novartis has “recently revamped all of our websites to be very mobile accessible, very easy to get all this information,” she said, noting that the “vast majority” of visits to the campaign’s “PS Connection” website have so far come via mobile device.
“So, what does that tell me? It tells me people are living their lives, they’re on the go, they want the information when and where they need it, and we’re providing that for them,” she said. “We really have a laser focus on how patients or doctors are engaging with our brands, are looking to communicate with us.”
And Novartis is taking a “more holistic” approach to connecting the many various digital and traditional channels where someone might see its content, according to Horwood. In the case of “Still Working,” for example, that included ensuring its segment on “The Drew Barrymore Show” led viewers to the campaign’s website.
“We don’t just activate a lot of channels—we make sure that we’re following behaviors,” she said. “What’s required now with the changing behavior of how people are getting information is we need to make this information available across many channels consistently.”