What Pharma Brands Can Learn From the American Lung Association

Welcome to part 3 of this month’s edition of our Brand Breakdown series, a deep dive into markets, consumers, and brands through the lens of owned asset optimization (OAO), a new approach to building consumer connection.

In our previous two editions, we discussed how the RSV market in the U.S. could potentially reach $19 billion, and we analyzed 41 million searches to reveal the most important topics consumers want to know about.

Today, we’ll look at how the American Lung Association grew its organic search market share from 4.6% to 12% in one year by leveraging its owned assets to connect with consumers.

Connecting with patients through purpose

Pfizer’s ambition isn’t to “make $1 billion.” It’s to “change a billion lives a year.” Similarly, GSK aims to “positively impact the health of 2.5 billion people by the end of the decade.”

In other words, pharmaceutical companies are driven by the desire to help people live longer, healthier, and more meaningful lives. The medical breakthroughs they’ve developed have done just that.

But there’s an incredible opportunity to pursue that purpose more boldly and authentically by meeting consumers in their moments of need —?long before they seek treatment.

Being there for patients when they’re seeking information is vital for building brand awareness, trust, and loyalty. It’s one of the many reasons the American Lung Association grew its market share so significantly.

Prioritizing education and advocacy through content

The American Lung Association’s mission is “to save lives by improving lung health and preventing lung disease” through “education, advocacy, and research.” With education and advocacy in its purpose, the organization enables investments that amplify its mission of expanding awareness.

While pharmaceutical companies tend to prioritize treatment to impact lives, the American Lung Association prioritizes awareness. To accomplish this, it publishes an extensive library of RSV content, including a resource hub, blog posts, and videos to inform and engage consumers.

But it doesn’t have to be an either/or decision.

Pharmaceutical companies could invest in both brand awareness and disease awareness by publishing helpful content that answers important questions about symptoms, treatment, and prevention.

In fact, several pharmaceutical brands are already doing this. Websites like rsvandme.com, rsvuncovered.com, and knowingrsv.com are all owned by pharmaceutical companies and inform consumers about RSV.?

However, they’re just microsites with a few pages each rather than a rich library of content and resources designed to impact lives, tell stories, and guide decisions.

Connecting with “RSV information” seekers

Unlike the pharmaceutical companies, the American Lung Association (lung.org) offers a well-organized content hub to educate consumers seeking general information about what RSV is and who’s most at risk. The main page of the hub defines what RSV is and links out to more specific questions about the virus.

Within the RSV knowledge hub, consumers find key facts, statistics about hospitalizations and deaths, and videos about causes and risk factors.

The hub even has an index page to help consumers browse its extensive library of videos and resources.

Helping consumers understand “RSV symptoms”

The American Lung Association grew its organic search market share the most in the “RSV symptoms” category. In one year, it exploded from 5% to 26%, reaching about 2.1 million consumers annually with symptoms-related content.

Informing consumers about treatment and immunization

When consumers understand RSV risk factors and symptoms, they’ll feel more ready to explore treatment and prevention. Building trust along this entire learning journey is vital in the health space.

The American Lung Association explains treatment and prevention options through multiple videos as well as text content within its RSV learning hub. They give advice about immunizations, everyday prevention actions, and treatment to expect during hospitalization.

In addition, they publish multiple blog posts tagged with “RSV” that provide tips, advice, and firsthand experiences. These articles are highly valuable because they give readers peace of mind knowing others have been through this.

What can brands do better?

The American Lung Association’s RSV content library is vast and thorough, but there are opportunities to improve. For example, cdc.gov has more content about how RSV affects older adults, including an “RSV for seniors” overview page and a detailed FAQ page.

The CDC website also provides printable infographics and vaccination information. These resources help older adults understand the risks and prevention options that are most relevant to them without overwhelming them with irrelevant information about other demographic groups.

Seniors are a critical demographic to help because they represent the largest pool in need, have the highest risk of severe complications, and have a low vaccination rate compared to the flu.

With marketing budgets in the billions of dollars, pharmaceutical brands are well positioned to invest in large-scale initiatives to educate and empower these unreached consumers. Most importantly, these efforts could significantly improve RSV vaccination rates among pregnant women and the elderly.

Stay tuned for the next edition of our Brand Breakdown series!

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