Careers in science: what is science marketing and PR?

Science marketing aims to drive an action in the consumer, but should still have an evidence base. Photo by John Schnobrich on Unsplash.

So you want to be a science writer?

I’ve pulled together a series of blog posts to detail the types of work that fall under the broad umbrella of science writer. This post focuses on science marketing and public relations (PR).

TLDR: snapshot of science marketing and PR

What is the objective? Trigger an action in the consumer, such buying a product, donating to a research institute, clicking through to a website, sharing content via social media, and raising awareness about a topic, issue or brand.

Who pays? Scientists, universities, media platforms and companies, research institutes, private companies.

Science marketing and PR in more detail

Marketing and PR are similar, but subtly different. Marketing is focused on promoting and selling a specific product, whereas PR is focused on maintaining a positive reputation for an organisation as a whole.

In science marketing and PR, writers and content producers aim to convince the public that a piece of research or a program of work or a team of scientists deserves support. If you accept a commission to produce this sort of content, you should feel comfortable the goals of the work are scientifically sound and consistent with your sense of ethics and social responsibility.

Here’s a few examples. The OVARIES. TALK ABOUT THEM campaign run as a collaboration between Camilla and Marc fashion label and Associate Professor Caroline Ford (head of Gynaecological Cancer Research Group at UNSW). Camilla and Marc have created a line of T shirts and hoodies for sale, with all proceeds directed towards funding research by Caroline and her colleagues for an early detection test for ovarian cancer. Caroline uses her personal and professional Instagram accounts to publicly share the sort of work she does in her laboratory, including publication of scientific papers, scenes from the lab, introductions of team members, and more. This is science PR, with the content used to build familiarity and trust of Caroline and her work, and associated marketing used to drive sales of clothing to benefit research.

Science PR and marketing are also clear in CSIRO’s diet and lifestyle content. CSIRO has conducted decades of research into nutrition and food choices, and has translated this evidence base into recipe books and lifestyle programs (The Total Wellbeing Diet is well known). The content posted across the CSIRO’s various dietary web pages and social media platforms is scientifically accurate, but also tailored to build trust in the brands, drive a shift in reader thinking and trigger sales of products.

Many research institutes don’t have specific products for sale, but do invest time and resources in running engaging websites and social media channels to build awareness of their activities. This sort of PR can pay off over the long term through building public confidence and trust in expertise and increasing the profile of researchers, which in turn can link with funding success and career opportunities for scientists.

This article was triggered by conversations with my IMNIS mentee Monique VanAcquoy, and an associated panel session I participated in recently. Run by Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering (ATSE), the IMNIS program connects motivated PhD students and postdoctoral fellows in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) with industry leaders in a one-year mentoring and professional development program.