Case study

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Company: PBL InterferonSource (now PBL Assay Science)

Problem Statement: Google Analytics showed that most visitors to the interferonsource.com website were males between 45-55. How could we achieve interest in interferons and increase brand recognition among graduate students, post-docs, and young scientists?

Solution: Research had shown that comic books were an effective way of communicating science. However, the science comic books were generally geared toward children and only covered basic biological topics. Leveraging the fact that there are several interferon subtypes with different properties, we imagined a world where interferons were superheroes, fighting diseases such as influenza, lupus, and multiple sclerosis. Based on the latest scientific literature at the time, it appealed to a broad spectrum of biologists beyond just immunologists.

Result: From its initial release at the American Association of Immunology, Interferon Force was a big hit, prompting an article in The Scientist magazine, been added to the prestigious Wellcome Collection Library, included in an MSc thesis, and was even featured in a song! The result prompted a great deal of buzz about interferons and, subsequently, PBL as THE interferon source.