Vaccine Choice Comes Down to Brand

I'll be First in Line for Pfizer Vaccine

This morning, Ugur Sahin, CEO and co-founder of BioNTech, said on CNN that the Pfizer and BioNTech partnership could have a Covid-19 vaccine ready for regulatory approval by mid-October. Hey -- take a moment to send Ugur a note of encouragement on LinkedIn! 

Of course, this doesn’t mean “shots in arms” for the general population in October, but it could be an incredible step forward in the fight against the pandemic.

But if approved (and by the time it trickles down to the general population) will people take it? In my opinion, the choice for individuals will come down to brand. That’s something that pundits aren’t really talking about. And I think this is also a learning moment for #WorkTech companies. 

People make purchase decisions at the crossroads of their personal attitudes, behaviors and beliefs and the brand perceptions of companies offering solutions to big problems. Speaking only for myself, I believe in the efficacy of vaccines in general. Furthermore, I believe that an effective and reliable Covid-19 vaccine is essential to getting the world back on track. But I won’t take a vaccine simply because a politician (any politician) tells me that it’s a good vaccine, because another pillar of my belief system is that most politicians will frame any issue based more on its political efficacy than its public health efficacy. Doesn’t mean I’m right … that’s just what I believe. And frankly, when it comes to public health, politicians in most political parties around the world don’t have great brands.

Pfizer Has a Good Brand

But when BioNTech and Pfizer come out and say, “Hey … we tested this vaccine and we have proven it is safe, effective and reliable,” I’ll be first in line, pulling up my shirt sleeve and taking the damn shot. Why? Because I recognize the Pfizer brand, I know what they do and I have a positive perception of their company.

And by the way, Pfizer achieved much of their growth and brand power through marketing, “a practice it pioneered back in the 1950s by purchasing unprecedented advertising spreads in medical journals.” (Corporate Research Project) Since then, Pfizer has led the pharma industry in both marketing spend and innovation (along with controversy). But we’ll come back to that.

Pfizer was founded in 1849. And over the course of nearly two centuries, they have produced drugs like Advil, Bextra, Celebrex, Diflucan, Lyrica, Robitussin and Viagra (ahem). 

More significantly, in 1882, they successfully developed a smallpox vaccine. In 1906, it was diphtheria. In 1941, they shipped typhoid vaccines to support the war effort. In 1948, they introduced a combined vaccine for diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis. 1963 - oral polio vaccine. They were instrumental in wiping out the smallpox. They also played a significant role in delivering influenza vaccines. And since 2000, they have introduced at least 5 major vaccine innovations.

Finally, the joint pledge they plan to sign with other pharmaceutical companies to prevent rushing vaccines through the approval process because of the political pressure to have a good-news story before the U.S. presidential election is another major factor in my willingness to take a vaccine introduced by a trusted brand.

So Back to Work Tech

Companies have big employee experience and productivity problems right now, and they are looking for solutions. I’ve talked to several CHRO’s over the past few weeks to gain a better understanding of what they are doing to address the current crises from a Work Tech perspective, and you need to know that they are looking at every piece of technology they own and every service contract they have and asking themselves a simple question. “Does this technology or service improve the employee experience and help distributed workforces get sh*t done, or do I need to replace it?” And, overwhelmingly, they are rapidly spinning up plans for new tech and service stacks that are better suited to the new, suddenly-present future of work.

So who are they going to buy from? If past is prelude (and it is) Work Tech customers are going to buy from brands based on three brand criteria:

• Knowing the company (brand recognition)
• Knowing what they do (functional association)
• Knowing what they are like (brand attributes)

These factors may not drive their final decision in all cases (in most cases they will). But if they can also combine these criteria with the knowledge that other people they trust have used them and recommend them, then it’s game-set-match.

Same with Covid-19 vaccines, right? If you believe that vaccines are a good idea and a brand you know and trust produces a vaccine, you’re more likely to take it. But you’re even more likely to take it if you know someone who rolled up their sleeve and benefited from the experience.

Big Picture

Pay attention to the brand dynamics at play in the race for a Covid-19 vaccine. Notice how brands that are broadly recognized and trusted have a more significant impact on public opinion about vaccines than politicians or little-known pharma brands. (Russian vaccine bad. Pfizer vaccine good.) And then ask yourself if your brand is strong enough to convince people to buy your Work Tech solution as part of the answer to their big problem. If not, you’re going to miss the boat. And these outcomes will echo through the decades. But the good news is you can do something about it.

That first level of brand power is critical - brand recognition. Functional association and brand attributes cannot be effectively cemented in the minds of Work Tech customers if they don’t even know who you are. Awareness of your brand is the first step that makes all the other steps possible.

I’ve written several articles in September about how brand recognition is the invisible hand that improves multiple outcomes for tech companies, from demand generation results to future market share. The primary strategy for increasing brand recognition is paid media advertising. Earned and owned media strategies are necessary, but not sufficient. Your brand needs to be front of mind as companies evaluate their options for retooling their Work Tech software and services, and you can only achieve that by exposing customers to a critical mass of marketing impressions in the media channels they consume. 

Going back to Pfizer, that’s what they did starting back in the 1950s. And whether we are aware of it or not, that’s one of the big reasons (if not the primary reason) that people are more likely to trust them over politicians or lesser-known brands.

So as we’ve said every day during the month of September, it’s time for Work Tech companies to W.O.R.K. 

Wake up. Own Up. Ramp Up. Keep it Up.

#letsWORK