Awareness days, months and weeks give organizations, companies and individuals a unique opportunity to educate the general public about a significant medical issue or ethical cause. They also allow people to take a stance on something they are passionate about, consider causes that might be difficult to discuss otherwise, reduce certain stigmas and urge others to take action. For biotech and pharma companies, hosting an awareness event specific to their work allows them to engage with advocacy groups and particular patient communities, in addition to building brand ethos and acting on established corporate social responsibility standards. Although hosting an awareness event or launching an awareness campaign might seem challenging, here are a few tips to keep in mind as you get started.

Plan Ahead

Planning ahead is key to a successful awareness campaign. Our team recommends starting with a comprehensive communications plan to help identify key objectives and goals. Some companies may want to increase social media engagement, while others want to gain coverage in the media or engage with an advocacy group that they had not been able to previously. Identifying the specific intentions or hopes for the campaign will help pinpoint and distinguish which activities will be most effective.

Include Internal and External Initiatives

Successful and informative awareness campaigns can include both internal and external company initiatives. Internal company initiatives can be used to not only enhance corporate culture, but also to further educate employees. Some ideas can include themed newsletters to let the employees know what the company will be doing in honor of the awareness event, custom email signatures for employees to use throughout the event or inviting a patient or advocate from a local group to speak to the company.

External company initiatives can be done in partnership with advocacy groups or individually. Through working with an advocacy group, companies can tap into their network to further increase the reach of the campaign and inform the broader community. Additionally, companies can connect with patients and doctors through these groups for potential participation in media outreach or patient testimonials to share on social media platforms or corporate websites.

Use Creative Assets and Content

In terms of content creation and getting the word out there, the awareness campaign can consist of custom creative assets, social media posts and media outreach. With creative capabilities, custom and unique banner images, factsheets and graphics can be developed to share on company websites and social media pages to get the word out about the awareness event. All graphics should be consistent in color and format, and should include the company’s logo, the event name, event details such as dates and times and any relevant hashtags or social media accounts. We also suggest compiling these assets and housing them on the company website in in a media kit folder, so that they are accessible to all audiences. Additionally, companies can drive traffic to the awareness event media kit by sharing the link on social media channels and through the corporate newsletter. Reaching out to advocacy groups via email or tagging the groups on social media, when appropriate, is also another way to spread the word and generate more engagement.

Leverage Media Relations

Local, mainstream and trade media outreach can also be conducted to gain visibility ahead of an awareness event. Offering media outlets either a key opinion leader or a patient for interview can give reporters additional context about the specific disease, awareness event and patient experience. We also suggest sharing any photo and/or video assets with these outlets to enhance potential coverage.

Utilize Social Media

For social media, some campaign initiatives can include unique banner images for each platform, custom hashtags to promote the awareness event and a steady flow of content that not only promotes disease education, but also shares educational resources and patient testimonials.

Keeping patients and their voices at the forefront of companies’ efforts is of the upmost importance. Not only through effective and informative awareness day campaigns can companies differentiate themselves from their peers and position themselves as a leader within the space, but they can also use the events to amplify the patient voice to new audiences, generate meaningful conversations with the public and engage the patient community as essential partners.

Graphic created by: Autumn Von Plinsky