A 2018 study published in PLOS One reported that 51% of patients fail to recall recommendations and important treatment information made by their physicians. HEMLIBRA, a first of its kind medication for a rare bleeding disorder, wanted to improve education about their product for people with hemophilia A that worked differently than any other hemophilia medication.

Introducing Zero: the world’s first musical medication guide, available on Spotify. We transformed all the information that would typically go into an educational piece, into verse (including our clinical trial data), and composed the first-ever branded pharmaceutical song.

Studies showed that when people hear music, it triggers a part of the brain that recognizes patterns and associates them with memories. To reach an audience that doesn’t engage with health information in the usual places, and to do it in a way that would make our brand information stick, we leaned into the one thing in this world that we are wired to remember—song lyrics.

We planned to release the song on Spotify, a place where young men wouldn't expect to be learning about a medicine for the hemophilia A, and drive them their through targeted media.

First, we identified all of the information that needed to go into the song. Every key data point, piece of safety information, brand benefit, and government requirement for a heavily regulated boxed warning product. Then, we worked all of these into song lyrics and sent it to the FDA to provide guidance on a never been done before piece of content –– a fully branded, stand-alone, pharmaceutical product song.

We found the perfect artist to collaborate with––a member of the hemophilia community who knows first-hand what it’s like to be treated with HEMLIBRA. Tamar brought honest emotion into the track, ensuring it was made by and for the hemophilia community.

In early 2023, we released the song on Spotify with no video, no visuals, and no on-screen disclaimers, just pure audio. The way music was meant to be.

“Zero” became an anthem for the hemophilia community. People turned to social media to post videos of themselves dancing and singing along, reciting every word. The first-ever branded pharmaceutical song showed the world what’s possible when we make health education a little more human. Within days, the song had been played in cities throughout the US, and picked up by members of the hemophilia community on their personal social media accounts.