Barbara Pantazopoulos
Senior Director, U.S. Hematology
Baxalta, Inc.
Elevating Unbranded Efforts
When Baxalta launched as an independent company in July 2015, Barbara Pantazopoulos was tasked with leading the rebranding efforts for the company’s unbranded channels in the Hematology division. She reinforced Baxalta’s commitment to reaching the broader hematology community and, through her efforts, amassed nearly 60,000 followers on Facebook and launched the first patient-focused Instagram presence not only within the hematology space, but also within a pharma franchise.
Under Barbara’s strategic direction, the Baxalta Bleeding Disorders Community consumer Facebook page relaunched with a new focus. She recognized that simple promotion of the company wasn’t the way to connect with the bleeding disorder community. What the community wanted was content that spoke to patients and their supporters. What they wanted was content that fostered inclusiveness, provided education, and celebrated and supported what matters most—the people living with bleeding disorders and those who support them.
Meanwhile, Barbara is also making waves on Instagram with @BleedingDisordersCommunity, which offers visually fresh, meaningful posts that celebrate the community’s positive spirit. Content is posted in real time at conferences and fundraising/awareness events and features real community members. As of April 2016, the handle already has 209 followers and a 14% average engagement rate since launch.
Inclusivity was also key for Barbara as she led the efforts to digitize the company’s educational program materials and create a more streamlined process for translations into other languages. Under her guidance, original, acculturated content was developed for the Hispanic community.
Her commitment to demonstrating both Baxalta’s values and its promise to patients also revealed itself at the National Hemophilia Foundation’s Annual Symposium (the largest event for hemophilia patients and caregivers) in Dallas, Texas, through a complete revamp of the entire conference experience and event footprint, which provided easy access to information and resources for patients and caregivers.
Barbara’s overarching efforts have made it possible for Baxalta to provide compelling, educational, relatable content in a new channel for the hemophilia community and their supporters.
