Launching a lifesaver. 

 

Emergent Biosolutions & NARCAN​

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I pitched, won, and led the NARCAN® business at a pivotal moment: the brand’s transition from prescription and first-responder use to over-the-counter availability. This was not just a launch. It was the creation of an entirely new life-saving category, with enormous cultural, ethical, and operational complexity.

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Working directly with the most senior client stakeholders, I guided the work from inception to launch, leading a cross-disciplinary team of roughly 30 people. Together, we built the brand strategy, defined the creative and communications platform, and designed a full ecosystem spanning retail, media, digital, social, and earned attention. The work centered on a clear and human idea, Be NARCAN® Ready, grounded in compassion, preparedness, and the belief that saving one life saves everyone who loves them.

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The launch landed on a national scale. On the day the OTC switch was announced, two sitting U.S. Presidents publicly acknowledged the moment, driving more than 5 billion impressions and firmly positioning NARCAN® as both a cultural symbol and a practical act of care. The result was a brand that showed up not with judgment or fear, but with clarity, humanity, and readiness.

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Contributions

• Pitched, won, and led the business end-to-end

• Defined brand strategy, values, personality, and creative platform

• Authored the creative brief and guided campaign development

• Steered retail strategy, comms planning, and ecosystem design

• Directed media strategy in partnership with channel teams

• Oversaw website redesign and social content strategy

• Led audience research across quantitative and qualitative methods

• Established brand equity measurement and performance framework

• Senior client counsel from strategy through launch

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Agency

VML New York​​​​​