Exploring Genentech’s SPACES

Exploring Genentech’s SPACES

Q&A with Michael Dunn of Genentech

By Christiane Truelove • [email protected]

July was Disability Pride Month, and Med Ad News had an opportunity to speak with Michael Dunn, senior director of marketing at Genentech, about the SPACES campaign featuring the music video of the same name. Genentech markets the spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) drug Evrysdi (risdiplam). SMA is a rare disease that affects nerve cells in the spinal cord that control muscles and other tissues, and leads to weaknesses that can affect walking and other movements.

Launched in November last year, the “SPACES” music video, with its original song by singer/songwriter/actor James Ian, addresses the phenomenon of how disabled people are seen in the media. Genentech turned to its “SMA My Way” patient community, those living with SMA such as Ian, video participant/brainstormer Amber-Joi Watkins, and director Dominick Evans (who directed the video remotely while in bed from his home in Detroit), to craft a message that disabled people must be seen and heard, their talents and achievements deserve to be celebrated, and they belong in all spaces, including those traditionally occupied by non-disabled people. 

The video, and the making-of piece, can be found on YouTube.

MedAdNews: What was the inspiration for the SPACES campaign?

Michael Dunn: SPACES is the first-of-its kind musical collaboration, which was really designed around the intent of highlighting the talents of people with disability to a broader audience. It was made by the SMA community, for the broader disabled community. And really, the intent there was to co-create spaces from beginning to end, so everything, from the concept of doing a song to brainstorming what the messages would be, the themes, the writing, performing the songs, storyboarding, directing the music, the video, designing the art, everything from kind of soup to nuts was really all done by the SMA community for the broader disabled community.

There were two big reasons why the video was made. Number one, disabled people remain largely unseen and unheard in the media. There are roughly one in four individuals in the U.S. who have some form of disability. And we obviously don’t see that level of representation in the media. And furthermore, when individuals with disabilities are in the media, often they’re labeled as inspirational and brave, rather than actually talking about their kind of day-to-day lives and their real achievements, whether they be teachers, or artists, or musicians, etc. And so that’s where it all comes together – where we had a brainstorm with the SMA community, and they shared with us music that was the underlying theme, and that’s where SPACES came from.

MedAdNews: A pharma or biotech company is not typically a music video producer. Why would Genentech put itself out there like that?

Michael Dunn: As you might be aware, we make an SMA treatment, but for us, it’s more than just a medicine alone. One of our responsibilities is really looking at how do we serve the communities that we that we work with. [We have] an unbranded program called SMA My Way; this is a corporate commitment campaign that we have, to the community and to the individuals with SMA. And SPACES is one element of the corporate commitment. So that’s why we we entered into it, as it’s for us, it’s about [thinking] beyond any individual medicines, and how do we deliver and provide for the community what they need.

MedAdNews: Who came up with the idea for doing the song? Was it the patient ambassadors or was it someone at Genentech who decided this would be a good idea?

Michael Dunn: It was the patient ambassadors. One of the big things, which isn’t always typical of organizations, is we relinquish control of the entire effort, so that it was truly by the SMA community for the broader disabled community. Everything from the brainstorming of the messages, the themes, all the way through to the actual video editing and everything that happened – we really put it in the hands of the individuals that were leading it. And we were there to help provide guidance and other types of support for it. Rather than actually trying to drive the effort and do something that we thought was right, we really wanted to relinquish control, and put it in the hands of the community.

MedAdNews: Were there any particular challenges in putting together this video?

Michael Dunn: It was in the middle of COVID, so there’s obviously the challenges of how do you keep safe distance and mask while shooting music videos. The other really unique piece of it was everyone that took part in it had SMA. And we had a director who we believe is the first ever who directed a music video from bed with SMA as well. It was all digitally done, so that this individual could direct the entire video [remotely]. Furthermore, to talk about the diversity piece of this whole thing, the director, Dominick Evans, he’s also trans. 

MedAdNews: What has been the most interesting feedback you’ve gotten from this effort?

Michael Dunn: What’s been most interesting, at least personally for me, has been, regardless of whether or not someone has a disability or not, if you listen to the lyrics, everyone has been able to relate to the lyrics in some way or not. And the concept behind SPACES was really, disabled individuals should fill all the same spaces that able-bodied individuals do. And as an able-bodied individual, listening to the lyrics, I can still relate to them. And I can still understand the message that’s being shared. It’s really a song for everyone, even though it was really designed for the disabled community, and I think a lot of people can relate to it.

MedAdNews: Are there more plans to do similar kinds of projects, with other patient groups at Genentech or with this particular patient group?

Michael Dunn: As an organization, we are constantly listening to the communities that we work with and serve. More specifically to the SMA group and SMA My Way, the short answer is they are full of ideas and full of amazing different ways that they like to be both recognized, understood, and connected. And so we’re always looking at different ways to engage with the community. We have a laundry list of elements that we’re sorting through, so we’re constantly in touch with them. Now that SPACES is out, we’re looking at what might be next. 

Chris Truelove is contributing editor of Med Ad News and PharmaLive.com.