A deep dive into brand and audience data revealed that African-Americans 50+ are highly affected by diabetes but significantly under-diagnosed due to social and behavioral factors: fear of the healthcare system, a tendency to be reactive towards their health, and a strong sense of fatalism. This key insight allowed me to make the case for an unbranded partnership, easing pharmaceutical compliance restrictions slightly, as the primary objective was simply to drive awareness for the disease state and symptoms — get people to their doctor!

Leveraging the creative alignment, scale, and impact of Grey’s Anatomy, we developed a first-ever storyline integration to build awareness for diabetic nerve pain through entertainment, a ground-breaking innovation for both Pfizer and the health category.