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Tracking the evolution of storytelling in pharma
A panel discussion at the e4m Health & Wellness Marketing Conference explored how pharma storytelling is shifting from efficacy-driven messaging to emotionally resonant, trust-based narratives
At the e4m Health & Wellness Marketing Conference, industry leaders came together to discuss the evolution of storytelling in pharma marketing and how brands must now go beyond product efficacy to create meaningful, trust-driven engagement with wellness-conscious consumers.
The session featured Atul Suri, Senior Vice President & SBU Head, Alembic Pharmaceuticals Limited; Balaji Borlepwar, Executive Vice President, Micro Labs Ltd; Sushree Mishra, General Manager - Global Corporate Strategy, Corporate Communications & In-licensing, JB Pharma; Sangeeta Barde, Co-founder & Director, Organization for Rare Diseases India (ORDI); Sudheendra Chokkasamudra, Chief Revenue Officer, DoDOOH; Rajesh Ramadurai, Co-founder, Executive Director & COO, Inzpera Healthsciences Limited; and Vaibhav Kohli, Head - Marketing, Strategy, Market Access & Commercial Excellence, Roche Diagnostics India and Neighbouring Markets. It was chaired by Harbinder Narula, CEO, BW HealthCare.
Narula opened the discussion by framing the shift that the pharmaceutical marketing landscape is currently undergoing. He observed that the industry had moved from a sole focus on drug efficacy to building brands, and is now entering a phase where genuine patient engagement has become a central priority. "We talk about patient centricity, but we now have a responsibility to prove it and establish real connections," he said.
To kick off the conversation on storytelling, Narula turned to Suri and asked how the concept has evolved in a world where audiences are increasingly emotionally driven and wellness-oriented. Suri began by outlining the theoretical backbone of storytelling. He broke it down into what he described as the “famous five Cs”: character, context, conflict, climax, and closure.
According to Suri, today’s storytelling must particularly focus on the first two (character and context) because these are what have evolved the most in recent years. “To stay relevant, you must understand both the people you're speaking to and the environment they live in,” he said.
Suri then introduced what he called the “five Rs” of effective storytelling, i.e. relatable, resonant, rememberable, recallable, and reproachable. “The fifth R is the most important. Your story must be beyond reproach. It must be something people believe in,” he emphasised.
He pointed out how product detailing has transitioned from highlighting efficacy and therapy benefits to a more patient-centric narrative. “Today, everyone is talking loosely about patient centricity, but at the heart of it, storytelling has shifted to holistic health management,” he explained. According to him, this overarching theme should form the consistent thread of modern pharma narratives.
Focusing on the ‘character’ aspect, Suri said marketers must align their messaging with the values of wellness conscious generations, primarily Gen Z and millennials. These are people, he noted, who value authenticity, transparency, and clear communication. “This generation talks about healthy ageing, not just ageing gracefully. They care about weight management, sleep, sexual health, and gut health,” he said.
Marketers, he noted, must tailor stories around these specific concerns to create meaningful engagement. “We must speak to their truth. You can't just humanise a message; you need to back it with clear science. People no longer want vague claims wrapped in fluff,” he added.
Suri also underscored the importance of personalisation and clarity in communication. Stories should highlight the hidden impacts of health conditions, speak in a straightforward manner, and present the brand as a partner in holistic health. “At the end of the day, this generation wants to improve their quality of life,” he said.
To illustrate his point, he recalled an old Vicks commercial that used the simple line, “Gale mein khich khich, Vicks ki goli lo, khich khich door karo.” It was effective, but storytelling has moved far beyond that. He concluded by stating that storytelling in pharma is no longer evolving. It has already evolved.
The panel continued with a discussion on the delicate balancing act that marketers in healthcare must perform, aligning commercial objectives with brand authenticity and purpose, while earning the trust of both consumers and healthcare professionals.
Narula turned to Mishra, noting their earlier conversation about how marketers must align with corporate goals, whether it's building brand equity or delivering shareholder value. However, such internal metrics rarely feature in external-facing campaigns. “How do you balance business requirements with how we present ourselves to the end-user, buyer, or healthcare professional?” he asked.
Mishra answered by emphasising that brand and product communication should always be rooted in a broader narrative. “All brands and products, and even purpose-driven values with a commercial angle, are part of a larger story,” she said.
She reiterated a line she’s held close throughout her career: “Content is king, but context is power.” Mishra explained that while authenticity, empathy, and purpose are critical in communication, they must also tie back to organisational objectives. “When that starts happening, marketing is no longer a cost centre. It becomes a profit centre,” she said.
She shared a practical example. When a company aims to expand its market, brand communication must focus on raising awareness, building trust, and generating leads, strategies that directly support business growth. Similarly, if a company’s objective is to increase access to products, then marketing must reflect affordability and accessibility narratives. “It cannot deviate from the corporate context,” she stressed.
Mishra pointed out that sometimes the brand identity may eclipse the corporate brand, and marketers should be comfortable leveraging the stronger entity. “There’s absolutely no ego attached here. We should be humble enough to piggyback on a larger leverage,” she remarked.
She also highlighted the growing ease of understanding consumer sentiment, thanks to modern digital platforms. “You can hear patient-centric conversations on Reddit, on Discourse, and that makes you understand how peer-to-peer communities are talking about your brand or company,” she said. With such transparency and access, she argued, there's no reason for dissonance between content and corporate strategy.
Narula then directed the discussion to Rajesh Ramadurai, posing a question around trust. “We’re a high-impact industry with a lot at stake,” he said. “But while the end user consumes the product, it’s the healthcare provider who recommends it. How do your teams build confidence among practitioners while sustaining trust with consumers?”
Ramadurai began by acknowledging that when he walks into a clinic or a chemist and says “we’re part of the Tata Group”, that trust is already established.
He clarified that while being a wellness company offers creative freedom, wellness products are still viewed as less credible than pharmaceuticals. “It’s not taken as seriously. It’s still seen as frivolous because it’s not truly evidence-based,” he said.
To counter that perception, Ramadurai said the company builds trust through rigorous clinical validation. “Every product we launch is first in category, first in market and studied like a drug would be,” he explained. These aren’t case studies or consumer trials; they are full clinical studies conducted in reputed centres by credible clinicians.
Beyond clinical evidence, the effectiveness of the product itself is key. Authentic communication was his next point. “The tendency is to exaggerate. But we’re very conscious about what we promise, because we already have the evidence to back it,” he explained.
He concluded by highlighting Inzpera’s consumer-centric approach. For eight years, the company has focused exclusively on children, a challenging segment given that communication must address not the child, but the parent, doctor, or chemist. “Our products are completely tailor-made for kids,” he said.
Next, Kohli talked about Roche's efforts in cervical cancer screening. “You’ve heard a lot about cervical cancer vaccination, which has been spoken about in various political forums as well, but not a lot of people are speaking about screening,” he said.
Highlighting Roche's market leadership and diagnostic footprint, Kohli explained, “We had to pick a couple of priorities for ourselves on what we want to invest in, in terms of getting the right testing to the patient. When we got down to our research about two years back, we realised that about 80,000 women are losing their lives to cervical cancer in India every year, and those are just the counted numbers.”
Roche Diagnostics has been working with state governments to shift the focus from vaccination to screening, especially for women aged 30 to 59. “We’re promoting the importance of screening more than the importance of vaccination because you need to vaccinate a girl before the age of 14, but screening can be done from 30 to 59,” she added.
According to Kohli, stigma remains a major challenge. “Unfortunately, cervical cancer has a stigma attached to it, and it's difficult to recruit patients. So we are creating communication where we position this as a curable form of cancer which, if diagnosed early, can be completely cured.”
He concluded by emphasising a shift in mindset: “Moving from treatment to being more focused on early screening, early diagnosis and therefore the right treatment.”
The session also addressed the importance of authentic collaboration between social organisations and pharmaceutical companies. Sangeeta Barde stated, “When it comes to pharma industry collaboration, it’s extremely valuable. As a social organisation, it is important to establish your credibility, and that credibility can come with the backing of a pharma organisation.”
Beyond credibility, Barde noted, such collaborations bring hope, scale, access, and scientific support. “It’s not just about giving us medicines but going beyond the call of duty into diagnostics and management of very rare conditions,” she said. “When you have pharmaceutical companies alongside you, what you get is that kind of confidence that what you're doing is right.”
But the emphasis, she noted, must be on authentic partnerships, adding that pharma companies should not assume a leadership role in these engagements. “You cannot be the masters of what we are trying to do. You can be great partners, great facilitators, great enablers.” Pointing to successful examples, she added, “Roche is doing an extremely good job when it comes to partnering with us. Sanofi and Takeda are also aligned to our missions. That is authenticity to us.”
Borlepwar echoed the importance of trust as the centre of modern pharma marketing. “Today’s patient centricity is stepping beyond the imagination because trust is the most important factor when you connect with patients,” he said. “When your brand is trusted, when your communication is trusted, then things will move according to your wish.” He acknowledged that the digital shift has changed the playing field: “People are much more aware. So, winning their trust is the most important factor.” He cited Dolo as a brand exemplifying this trust.
Lastly, Chokkasamudra reflected on the blurring lines between pharma and consumer health. “One major contributor to that is access to information. The number of people connected to the internet, and having access to information, influencers, peers, word of mouth has completely changed the picture.” He illustrated the shift with a personal example. “I have a teenage daughter who uses different products - something for acne, something for hair fall, something for whitening. These things do not come from a doctor. It’s from content she sees on Instagram and from her peers.”
He noted that pharma and consumer health are not just blurring; they are converging. “There’s so much more that pharma companies do today apart from the prescription part of it. But from a risk point of view, believing in the right information becomes so important. There’s so much coming at you.” Despite the risks, he was optimistic about the potential. “It opens up an entire market for you.”
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