Inclusive Marketing: Engaging with Purpose

A lack of diversity in pharmaceutical marketing causes problems attracting and engaging with patients from underrepresented populations. This problem is compounded when pharma marketing doesn’t include members of patient segments that make up a significant percentage of people suffering from the disease. A lack of representation not only makes it harder for groups to feel like a medication is being marketed to them, but it can also make it more difficult for people to recognize certain symptoms.

Mohamed Issa

Within this context, Pharmaceutical Executive recently spoke with Mohamed Issa, former vice president of marketing and rheumatology at Johnson & Johnson, who helped shepherd the company’s ad campaign for Tremfya (guselkumab) in moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis (PsO). The campaign was launched based on the results of the VISIBLE clinical trial for Tremfya, which was fully dedicated to observing the impact of PsO on people of color. According to Issa and J&J, they hope that this campaign kicks off a new trend of what they refer to as inclusive marketing.

PE: Can you explain the origins of this campaign and what makes it unique?

Mohamed Issa: The marketing campaign is best contextualized if I give you a little bit of perspective as to what inspired J&J to do it. The fact of the matter is, there is data that suggests about a quarter of people living with psoriasis in the US are people of color. Yet, while this is a somewhat conservative estimate, only 14% are represented in clinical trials. Somewhere between 4% to 19% of the imagery in dermatology textbooks shows patients of color or the condition on darker skin. This leads, we think, to a pretty significant restriction in both providers and patients in understanding the impact of the disease and, more likely than not, results in people of color living with psoriasis facing a multitude of challenges that range from misdiagnosis, delayed diagnosis, and even access to treatment barriers.

Before we even thought about the campaign, we took on an initiative that really looked at studying our transformational medicine Tremfya in patients living with psoriasis who have skin of color. That was the VISIBLE study, which was a first-of-its-kind clinical trial that was dedicated to people of color living with plaque psoriasis to address these gaps in representation. We believe that this groundbreaking study is educational on multiple levels.

It’s currently ongoing, and it’s evaluating the efficacy and safety of Tremfya in people with skin of color with this moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis. To date, the data is very promising. It reinforces that the medication is safe, effective, and that it’s providing a durable treatment response in all patients across a range of skin tones, which is what you would expect. Prior to this, however, there was never really any hard data to prove it, and now the data is showing that.

The other thing that this study provided us with was insights into some of the burdens of the disease that may impact people of color specifically on their treatment journey. That was really the inspiration behind the new TV campaign.

The learnings from the VISIBLE study showed us how the disease presents on different skin tones. It also showed us that many of the patients were diagnosed relatively late in their treatment journey. And it gave us the inspiration to honestly and authentically depict how these patients might manifest the disease and how it may impact them, which really gave us a lot of background and perspective on how we can showcase this TV campaign. Furthermore, the study also provided us an expansive library of clinical images that were since captured in an educational format called the Tremfya clearance photo library. This is now available to providers and patients alike, and it really shows the disease on a range of skin tones with before and after pictures of treatment. This gives patients the perspective that they’re not one the only people living with this disease, and also provides information about what they can expect once they decide that treatment is best for them.

PE: How effective are campaigns like this at educating and capturing these underrepresented patient populations?

Issa: It’s hard to tell because there haven’t been that many. However, there’s a reason why direct-to-consumer advertising is a big lever that the manufacturers deploy. No. 1, it certainly increases brand equity. But really, at the core of it, it’s an educational tool for patients, their caregivers, and even providers. Most of the psoriasis commercials that are currently on air will inadvertently portray this kind of one dimensional picture of life with psoriasis. In many cases, because it’s presented in a 30-to-45-second slot, it’s limited in its ability to communicate the complex challenges of diverse people, let alone people with skin of color.

You might find this intriguing: in about 93% of TV ads, the subjects are white, despite the prevalence that I mentioned earlier that probably more than a quarter of patients living with psoriasis in the US are people of color. This is an opportunity to educate people on what this disease may look like and the fact that advanced therapies may exist.

This is setting a new standard in inclusive marketing with the launch of this commercial spot. It is the first-ever dedicated, branded pharmaceutical psoriasis ad that blends culturally competent care with relevant product information. We hope this ad educates people on the options that exist and that it inspires patients to speak to their provider about their disease and hopefully accelerate their path to an appropriate treatment.