Social Innovation and Brand Insights

How Savvy Marketers Are Innovating and Reaching Customers

A LIVE DHCG ROUNDTABLE | WEDNESDAY, JUNE 18 | DEERFIELD, IL

Project: Patient Customer Experience

DHC Group at Amgen Chicago: How Social Innovation and AI Are Transforming Pharmaceutical Marketing—Lessons from the Rare Disease Frontier

At a private roundtable hosted at Amgen’s Chicago offices, DHC Group convened industry leaders to explore how social media, brand insights, and authentic engagement are revolutionizing pharmaceutical marketing. The June 18th session brought together executives from local pharma companies and selected DHC Group members to share breakthrough strategies emerging from rare disease marketing that offer powerful lessons for the entire industry. Discussion leaders included Alex Buchart, Associate Marketing Director, Lundbeck, Tony Dale, SVP Global Commercial Development, Sermo, Pam Flores, Account Director, LiveWorld, Dan Gandor, EVP, Head of Omnichannel & Digital Transformation of EVERSANA INTOUCH, Brendan McHenry, CRO, HealthCentral, Amanda Phraner, Senior Director, US Rare Disease Product Communications, Amgen, Kathleen Relias Industry Advisor, HBA, Kaitlin Russomano, Associate Director, Media, Strategic Marketing, Amgen, Scott Schappell, CRO, HealthUnion, and Courtney Seal, Senior Marketing Manager, Omnichannel Lead, Amgen.

The New Reality of Patient Empowerment:

Scott Schappell of Health Union opened with data that resonates across all therapeutic areas: today’s patients are digital-first investigators who often know more about their conditions than their doctors. His research revealed striking patterns in rare disease communities that preview broader trends: 30 million Americans suffer from over 7,000 different rare diseases—a population nearly as large as those with diabetes. Their journey to diagnosis averages five years, with 40% reporting healthcare providers don’t understand their concerns.

These challenges drive unprecedented digital engagement. Health Union found rare disease patients significantly more likely to use social media than general populations, with Reddit usage tripling in three years. While these statistics emerge from rare disease, they signal a universal shift: patients across all conditions increasingly turn to peer communities for validation, with 60% seeking information from condition-specific websites, patient communities and forums before consulting healthcare providers.

The Platform Revolution:

The panel’s enthusiasm for Reddit exemplified a broader transformation in pharmaceutical marketing. Reddit’s 47% year-over-year user growth and 1,328% increase in organic visibility represent more than platform statistics—they reveal fundamental changes in how all patients seek health information.

“Reddit serves as a single source of truth,” explained Pam Flores of LiveWorld. The platform’s upvote/downvote system creates community-validated information, naturally filtering misinformation. While particularly vital for rare disease communities asking “Has anyone seen symptoms like mine?”, this dynamic applies to all health conditions where patients seek authentic peer experiences over branded content.

The regulatory challenges—”We’re probably on our eighth round of questions from the compliance team” noted one participant—highlight obstacles facing all innovative marketers. Yet pioneers pushing Reddit through approval create precedents benefiting the entire industry.

Micro-Influence, Macro-Impact:

LiveWorld’s data challenged conventional influencer wisdom with findings that transcend therapeutic areas. While mega-influencers average 0.7% engagement rates, nano-influencers with under 1,000 followers achieve 8.8% engagement. For rare diseases with populations as small as 550 people, these micro-voices become megaphones—but the principle applies universally.

HealthCentral’s Brendan McHenry shared how shifting from broadcasting to fostering two-way dialogue with micro-influencers drove a 235% increase in engagements in one year. The lesson scales: purpose-driven creators who authentically share their health journeys outperform celebrities whether you’re marketing to hundreds or millions.

Healthcare Providers Go Social:

Tony Dale from Sermo revealed trends reshaping all HCP marketing: physicians increasingly learn about treatments via social media, with 50% willing to change prescribing behaviors based on peer insights. For rare diseases, this enables crowdsourcing diagnoses for “needle in the haystack” cases. For common conditions, it accelerates adoption of new treatment protocols.

The rise of Advanced Practice Providers amplifies this opportunity across all therapeutic areas. With APPs writing 30% of prescriptions and demonstrating higher social media engagement, every brand must develop strategies for these digitally-native professionals who prize practical, patient-centric content.

AI as Innovation Accelerator:

While AI references were peppered into the day’s discussions, its most practical applications offer universal lessons. Companies report using AI to accelerate content creation and mine unstructured patient insights. As one panelist noted, AI helps brands increase speed to market—crucial whether you’re competing in crowded markets or reaching niche populations.

Health Union demonstrated how combining AI analysis with patient data identifies optimal messaging—an approach that scales from ultra-rare conditions to blockbuster drugs. The key insight: AI amplifies rather than replaces human creativity, allowing teams of any size to compete effectively.

The Omnichannel Evolution:

Dan Gandor of EVERSANA INTOUCH kicked off the session by framing the day’s focus against his omnichannel framework, which proved prescient throughout the discussions. His model —customer at center, surrounded by all channels (both online and offline), with bidirectional data flows to capture and ultimately leverage data everywhere— developed through his experience as a leading digital marketer, came alive through the attendee’s shared real-world examples. One rare disease marketer noted that for ultra-rare diseases affecting fewer than 2,000 patients, digital amplifies rather than replaces in-person connections: “These disease days are the only time a patient will likely see another patient who gets it.”

This insight extends beyond rare disease. Whether marketing to thousands or millions, success comes from orchestrating meaningful connections between touchpoints. An inspired challenge from the group: “How are we taking ourselves out of the spot we’re in and thinking about all of our connection points?”

Competing in the Attention Economy:

The panel confronted a universal challenge: “We’re competing with the whole of the world that is happening”. In an environment where users are what one panelist called “zombies scrolling for something to make them chuckle,” breaking through requires radical authenticity.

Marketers also shared the finding that unpolished, user-generated content outperforms glossy productions applies across all therapeutic areas: “The less marketing it looks, the higher engagement we’re seeing.” One rare disease marketer recalled even received a comment saying, “Thank you. I’ve been looking for this information. I’m going to talk to my doctor”—proving authentic engagement drives real action regardless of audience size.

Universal Strategies from Constrained Innovation:

The roundtable revealed five strategies that apply whether you’re marketing to hundreds or millions:

Platform-Native Excellence: Each social platform has unique cultural norms. Success requires native content, not repurposed assets, whether targeting niche Reddit communities or broad Instagram audiences.
Embrace Micro-Influence: Nano-influencers deliver higher engagement than celebrities across all therapeutic areas. A patient with 500 engaged followers often drives more action than a celebrity with millions.
Orchestrate Ecosystems: Think beyond channels to create interconnected experiences. Coordinate patient communities, advocacy organizations, HCPs, and caregivers into unified networks.
Prioritize Authenticity: Real patient stories and genuine community engagement outperform polished brand messages, whether for rare or common conditions.
Prepare for AI-First Discovery: As search transforms to AI summaries, every brand must optimize content for AI interpretation or risk invisibility.

Innovation Through Constraint:

Many breakthrough insights emerged from brands with limited budgets—proving constraint breeds innovation. These resource-conscious strategies offer blueprints for any brand:

Partner with existing communities rather than building from scratch
Focus on engagement quality over reach quantity
Use AI to democratize sophisticated capabilities
Develop platform-specific strategies rather than one-size-fits-all approaches

The Bottom Line:

The Amgen roundtable revealed that rare disease marketers, by necessity, are pioneering the future of pharmaceutical marketing. Their innovations—born from reaching small, dispersed populations with limited budgets—offer powerful lessons for all brands navigating today’s fragmented attention economy.

As one attendee summarized: “It’s not about having all the spokes on the wheel—it’s about making sure the arrows between them actually connect.” This wisdom applies universally. In modern pharmaceutical marketing, authentic connections aren’t just nice to have—they’re the competitive advantage that separates thriving brands from the forgotten.