How a global pharmaceutical company reached Ireland’s podcast audience with its first disease awareness series
Podcasts speak directly and personally into the listener’s ear, creating a closer connection than most digital channels offer, in a form that is accessible and easy to fit into daily life.
Ireland has one of the highest rates of podcast listenership in Europe. For a global pharmaceutical company looking for new ways to raise public awareness of a chronic disease, that audience presented a clear opportunity in a format the company had never worked in before. This case study describes how the pharma company worked with SciencePOD to plan and deliver a four-episode podcast series, from concept through to post-production.
The challenge
Pharma teams widely understand why they need to reach audiences through digital channels. The harder question is how, particularly when the format is unfamiliar. The client wanted to create meaningful experiences for audiences in Ireland and deepen public understanding of a chronic disease. Given the country’s appetite for podcasts, audio stood out as an untapped channel to explore.
The pharma company had never produced a podcast. Therefore it had no editorial framework for interview-based content, no process for briefing hosts and guests, and no experience of keeping a conversational format within compliance boundaries. The series also had to remain strictly non-promotional and unbranded, serving disease awareness alone. The client needed a partner it could trust to advise through every stage, from strategy and messaging alignment through to execution and delivery.
The solution and approach
Following discovery meetings, SciencePOD and the client agreed on a collaborative process to plan and implement a four-episode series featuring digital key opinion leaders: healthcare professionals with relevant expertise, alongside a guest speaking from personal lived experience of the disease. This pairing allowed each episode to combine credible, evidence-based discussion with a perspective listeners could recognise from their own lives.
SciencePOD developed a detailed concept and roadmap document setting out the series storyline, episode themes, interview questions and editorial strategy. A content creator with expertise in podcasting and science communication led its development, working with a medical writer to ensure every question and talking point remained evidence-based and compliant. The editorial principles kept the language plain, led with empathy, and balanced structure with spontaneity, so that conversations sounded natural whilst staying within a clear editorial line.
Recording and audio editing sat with the client and its production partners. SciencePOD provided consultancy and editorial direction throughout, delivering:
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A concept and roadmap document for the full series
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Briefing meetings with the client, host and guests