Dendreon ups its Provenge marketing game with help from NBA all-star Grant Hill
It’s been more than a decade since Dendreon’s prostate cancer immunotherapy, Provenge, won FDA approval. Now, after a lackluster launch, a bankruptcy and multiple ownership changes, the biopharma is upping its marketing game—enlisting an NBA all-star as its first-ever celebrity spokesman.
Retired Detroit Pistons and Duke University basketball great Grant Hill, now part owner of the Atlanta Hawks, is the face of Dendreon’s new “Start Strong” awareness campaign for prostate cancer.
The branded campaign aims to appeal especially to Black men who, as the campaign notes, are twice as likely as Caucasian men to get prostate cancer and 2.5 times more likely to die from it.
“We’re trying to first educate and build awareness [about the disease and treatment options] and also showcase that our treatment does have a very positive effect on the African American population,” said Chris Fong, Dendreon’s senior director for marketing and research.
December 8, 2021
Dendreon is using the campaign to tout real-world data showing that Black men treated with Provenge may live longer than white men who receive the treatment.
The campaign website cites the company's registry study (PDF), called PROCEED, of nearly 2,000 men with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) who were treated with Provenge between 2011 and 2017.
The data show African American men in the study had a median overall survival 9.5 months longer than white men. The survival benefit was even more pronounced (20.9 months longer than white men) among a subset of patients who had a baseline PSA (prostate-specific antigen) below the median when receiving the treatment.
The Start Strong campaign, which began in September and runs through the middle of next year, marks a shift in the company’s marketing game plan.
“We’re much more patient-centric than we have been in the past,” Fong said. “We’ve added a lot of new people within our organization with a lot of experience when it comes to advocacy, patient marketing and HCP marketing.”
Dendreon is promoting the campaign on its website and on digital and social media channels. On the HCP side, Fong said the company is using its sales force to distribute educational materials to doctors’ offices.
As for Hill, Fong said he was a perfect choice to be the company’s first celebrity partner, citing his character, passion for men’s health and his large reach with the target audience.
During a spot on nationally syndicated "The Dan Patrick Show," Hill told the former ESPN personality and sports talk show host that the campaign “is really just about game planning. You know, preparing as you would as a team in the NBA or the NFL, with your health.
“I’ve had loads of injuries during my career, but I understand the importance of taking ownership, taking control,” Hill added. “We’re encouraging all men, but particularly African American men, to do the same.”
