From products to job opportunities, chemists are bombarded with marketing messages vying for their attention. How marketers can earn that attention from this hard-to-reach audience becomes the most critical question. Our data shows that marketers should consider centering chemist stories in their marketing. Why? People coverage is popular and engaging, and well, human. There is great power in allowing people to tell their stories.

C&EN’s people coverage consistently performs well among scientific audiences. Editorial franchises like Black Chemists You Should Know About and C&EN’s Global Top 50 chemical firms embrace the human side of science and celebrate the people powering innovation in our industry. 

Our custom content studio C&EN BrandLab works with clients to achieve marketing goals through compelling storytelling. These campaigns often celebrate the stories of people who are pushing the frontiers of science, but don’t get the kind of recognition they deserve. To execute a successful people-centered campaign, authenticity, deep reporting and connections are key. See below for BrandLab’s top tips for featuring chemist stories as well as examples of successful campaigns.

How To Bring Chemists Into Your Marketing

Pharmaceutical, life sciences, chemical and instrumentation brands are competing for a limited amount of attention from scientists. Those that can create content that engages them will be rewarded with higher quantity and quality of attention. To craft compelling content that features chemists, here are three questions to ask: 

1. What people or successful chemist stories do we want to highlight?

Start by making a list of target experts in your network. Consider leveraging your lab relationships to interview chemists who are not only using your products, but using them to make a discovery or develop a new drug. These natural connections will align your brand with experts who are vetted and highly regarded in the industry. You can also reverse engineer finding the right sources. Start with a significant discovery or new drug and determine what chemists were responsible for the innovation.

2. What do we most want to promote?

Get specific. If you’re a product company, determine what you want chemists to know about using your product in the lab. If you’re a company that’s trying to hire chemists, determine the qualities of your workforce and work experience that are most important. 

3. How can we support and celebrate chemists?

Chemists are goal-driven problem-solvers. The more you can be part of the community that supports and celebrates them, the more you’ll be embraced as a preferred solution or workplace. 

Successful Campaigns Featuring Chemist Stories

Need more inspiration? Here are four examples of successful C&EN BrandLab campaigns that center the stories of chemists:

1. Solving the Ink Chemistry Puzzle

‘Solving the Ink Chemistry Puzzle’ tells the story of how chemists were able to develop latex inks after 30 years of work. Beyond celebrating the chemists’ accomplishments, the aim was to brand HP as a hub of innovation. The broader goal was to show readers that cool science is happening over at HP and drive new interest.

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2. Marking 100 Years of Excellence in Chemistry

Marking 100 Years of Excellence in Chemistry, sponsored by The College of Chemistry at Nankai University, discusses the type of research conducted at the university, and is coupled with a virtual collection of academic journal articles written by their scientists. The goal of this campaign was for Nankai University to show that they have a strong chemistry department, people who work there get published in high-impact journals, and to garner interest in joining their team.

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3. Committed to Diversity

Committed to Diversity highlights how Pfizer approaches workplace inclusivity. The effort included a social media campaign that posted weekly profiles of accomplished Black chemists in various career stages and locations. 

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4. How Robert A. Welch Left a Legacy That Shapes Science in Texas

How Robert A. Welch Left a Legacy That Shapes Science in Texas, commissioned by the philanthropic Welch Foundation, brings the human side to the important work chemists do. BrandLab also interviewed winners of the prestigious Welch Foundation award to understand what research the prize funded.

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