When Ali Sullivan enrolled at Indiana University, she thought she wanted to become a speech pathologist. Midway through her college career, however, she changed her mind and her career path.
She decided instead to major in media advertising, and the two different interests ultimately came together in healthcare and pharma marketing, a career that her sister helped her discover.
“She’s in healthcare PR, and she knew about Spectrum’s fellowship program where you can explore all the different aspects of an agency to see what you really like and figure out if healthcare PR or marketing are even a fit at all,” Sullivan said in a recent interview. “I decided I’ll try it, and that’s kind of how I fell into that.”
She joined Spectrum Science after graduating in 2022, and this October she was promoted to account supervisor.
In a Q&A for Fierce Pharma Marketing’s “Rising Stars” series, Sullivan reflected on her work on a celebrity-fronted branded campaign and discussed the importance of staying open to new ideas, even from unexpected sources.
Responses have been lightly edited.
Fierce Pharma Marketing: What led you to a career in pharma marketing, and what keeps you motivated?
Ali Sullivan: I went into Spectrum’s six-month fellowship program thinking I’ll just see if I like it, and I ended up loving it. I loved the fast pace of an agency, and I loved that I was helping patients in a way that was different than what I had originally imagined I might do in speech pathology.
Even if it is only in a small way, my work is encouraging a patient to talk to a healthcare provider, or they’re learning about a condition through something that I worked on. When I started working on specific projects, I realized that I want to learn more about the different conditions, and I started to feel passionate about them.
FPMK: What has been the most rewarding or challenging project you’ve worked on so far?
AS: It’s one that I’m still currently working on: Neurocrine Biosciences’ first branded celebrity campaign with Carnie Wilson, the “ConnectING with Carnie” campaign. It’s a branded awareness campaign for tardive dyskinesia, which is an involuntary movement disorder that is associated with the long-term use of antipsychotics.
I found it so interesting as I didn’t know about tardive dyskinesia before working on this campaign, but I’ve found myself curious and wanting to learn more and wanting to help patients with this underdiagnosed disorder. Most people don’t know what it is, but about 800,000 people in the United States have it.
I’ve loved this campaign, and I got to see it from the ground up. Seeing it all come together has been a true reflection of the team’s hard work. It was also great to see how much Carnie has resonated with patients.
FPMK: If you could give one piece of advice to industry veterans, what would it be?
AS: Stay curious and open to new perspectives. It’s easy to get stuck in your routine and think, “These are the people I work with, this is what we know, this is what we do.” But some of the best ideas come from more junior team members or people you don’t work with every day, or even clients or patients. There are so many people you can get fresh perspectives from. Be open to everything.
FPMK: What do you like to do outside of work?
AS: I love to hang out with my friends, and we also love to read, so we started our own book club. We meet once a month, and I feel like it’s a great way to have something new to talk about. It also keeps me reading—[otherwise,] it’s so easy to stop and just look at my phone. I love it.
Know a standout early-career pharma marketing pro? Send your nominations for future "Rising Stars" honorees to apark@questex.com.