Lauren Lawhon
President | Health Union
May 2026
In this DHCG Disruptive Dose, Mark Bard speaks with Lauren Lawhon, President at Health Union, about the strategic value of community-based marketing in pharmaceutical engagement. Lawhon emphasizes that online health communities offer high-intent audiences, rich first-party data, and authentic patient voices that traditional channels can’t replicate. She discusses why community members actively seeking information represent fundamentally different audiences than broad demographic targets, and how peer-to-peer trust creates unique engagement opportunities. Lawhon addresses misconceptions about community scale and offers practical guidance on evaluating partnerships—emphasizing editorial integrity, member authenticity, and alignment between brand objectives and community needs over impression volume or CPM efficiency.