'GSK makes Brooke Shields the star of shingles vaccination push'

 GSK has turned to Brooke Shields to get the message out about shingles vaccination. The drugmaker has worked with the model and actor to talk to female celebrities and patients aged 50 years and up about the power that comes from aging and how shingles threatens their health.

Supported by GSK, which sells the shingles vaccine Shingrix, Shields directed a three-minute film that features people including football mom Donna Kelce, actress Gina Torres and reality TV star Susan Noles. The contributions are connected by the themes of how women feel increasingly empowered as they turn 50 but are simultaneously increasingly vulnerable to health threats such as shingles.

“Turning 50 felt like a superpower to me,” Shields says in the film. “The unfair reality, in all of it, is just as we're coming into this power as we age, we're also experiencing new challenges, new vulnerabilities. After 50, all I can think about is this moment. My time, your time, is now. Protect your power.”

Shingles vaccination is part of how Shields wants women to protect their power. Alongside the discussion of the positives of aging, the film features comments from celebrities about people they know who have contracted shingles and the firsthand experience of patients. One woman describes how she caught shingles when her husband had cancer, taking her away from him when he needed her the most.

As well as working with Shields on the film, GSK collaborated with photographer Pamela Hanson to take shots of women “embracing their power.” The film and photos are part of a national public health initiative, THRIVE@50+, that GSK is running to educate people 50 and older about their risk for shingles. GSK is encouraging people to ask their doctor or pharmacist about the risk and vaccination. 

The education campaign comes as GSK works to increase uptake of Shingrix in the U.S. Global sales of the vaccine fell 4% in the second quarter, driven by a 36% drop in U.S. revenue. The decline in U.S. sales was partly caused by “lower demand, driven by challenges activating harder to reach consumers,” Luke Miels, chief commercial officer at GSK, said on the company’s second-quarter earnings call in July.

“The most motivated people obviously sought out the vaccine and we've been able to penetrate those populations to a very high degree. In our number one segment, we're around 66% penetration,” Miels said. “We have to work harder to get less engaged people, less motivated people. There is a huge plan to do that.”

Miels said the new plan includes “changing our marketing mix to focus on segments who are tougher to activate.” Making Shields part of the marketing mix has enabled GSK to win mainstream media coverage, with the star going on "Good Morning America" to discuss shingles and speaking to publications including People.

https://www.fiercepharma.com/marketing/gsk-makes-brooke-shields-star-shingles-vaccination-push