Remember mixtapes? I remember listening to Rick Dee’s Weekly Top 40 and waiting to hit record at precisely the right moment, patching together playlists of songs of different genres with abrupt track changes. Air Supply, Motley Crue, Elton John – all on the same mixtape.
Fortunately, today we have a new option. Carefully curated Spotify playlists allow us to select songs, each placed with a purpose, to create a soundtrack that is cohesive and intentional. Both are stitched together, but only one can set a tone, elevate a mood, or tell a story.
Mixtape Messaging vs. Tapestry Thinking
We see a lot of mixtape-style communications in early-stage biotech. A press release here, a data poster there and a website with just enough to say, “we exist.” Yes, these moments in time are important to communication. But why? What’s the purpose of these communications? What’s the story we are looking to tell? And as my mother once told me, you only have one chance to make a first impression. Done well, your narrative provides a bridge to all audiences: investors, partners, patients, and the media.
Many companies fall into a seemingly productive rhythm, churning out nonstop press releases. It’s all in the name of generating buzz with investors. Cadence does matter. However, in today’s world of information overflow, if your news cycle becomes noisy, you’re not creating real value. Putting a press release over the wire and relying on syndicated pickup doesn’t allow the media – or your audiences – to have a chance to get to really know you. Like a mixtape without a track list, fragmented messaging from early-stage biotechs can leave audiences lost until strategy ties it all together in a cohesive narrative.
Start Talking Before the Science
As Tara pointed out in Don’t Wait for Data, telling the science story alone is just a piece of the pie; it doesn’t build credibility and reputation. This is where strategic communications play a critical role in reaching multiple audiences and making the story relevant to each one.
A strategic narrative doesn’t pontificate about what you don’t have. It builds on what you do: your leadership’s vision, your founding story, your unique approach to addressing an unmet need. It’s not premature to speak before your trial data reads out. Without a product on the market, investors need a reason to believe, that means knowing the track records of your leadership, the skills and experience of new hires and the small steps you’re taking to build a strong foundation both internally and externally. This is the momentum the media and your other key stakeholders need to remember your name.
How We Walk the Talk
We worked with an early-stage specialty biotech that had a competitor that appeared seemingly stronger based on media visibility. When we started working with our client, the communications were solely based on data milestones, here and there, with no cohesive story. In other words, a “mixtape” approach. Our team started digging in, looking further into the science, the unmet need, and the company leadership. Feedback from KOLs showed that our client had a scientific advantage. So why were they not seen as the leaders? The difference: they were not telling their story. They relied only on data readouts and medical congresses to tell their story, which led to disjointed storytelling and no cohesive thread pulling everything together. Journalists are not mind readers and they don’t want to do commercials for companies. In this case, the media simply were not aware of our client’s story.
In this particular instance, we built a leadership platform that showcased the executives’ proven track records to bring clinical assets to market. We created messages that spoke to long term value, not just the next product milestone. Developing that corporate narrative that goes above brand delivers a different strategic approach, creating a backbone that allows other messages to flow from.
The Takeaway
This isn’t about having more data. It’s a communications strategy told consistently across paid, earned, shared, and owned channels.
It’s tempting to delay storytelling until you have more to say. And, it’s not so much refreshing your story or narrative every quarter, it’s about reinforcing your strategic core through cohesive storytelling while adapting the way you tell it. That’s what builds credibility and creates resonance.
Because when your company’s reputation is still forming, every touchpoint matters.
So, ask yourself: are you handing your audiences a mixtape or playing them a masterpiece?
