L.A. Biomed reveals 3 ways to show scientific leadership with a “Mission Moment.”

Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute (LA BioMed) is a non-profit scientific research organization that prides itself on innovation and scientific leadership. The institution asserts that over the past six decades LA BioMed’s physician-researchers have been responsible for some of the most important breakthroughs in medicine today. The key to bringing that claim to life lies in communications like their Mission Moment, a roughly 6-minute long video on the institution’s website that gets to the heart of what they do and makes it difficult not to support their work.

Here are 3 things we can learn from their approach:

Focus on Those You Help
LA BioMed’s Mission Moment tells the story of Mark and Jeanne Dant, whose son Ryan suffers from a rare genetic disease, mucopolysaccharidosis or MPS-I. The video begins by focusing on the impact this disease first had on the Dant family and how it threatened their personal hopes and dreams. This perspective communicates that LA BioMed is a compassionate institution that puts people first and that it values the human impact of its work even more than the work itself.

Show the Passion of Your Researchers
At the time of Ryan’s diagnosis, there were no researchers working on a cure. Yet one of LA BioMed’s researchers, Dr. Emil Kakkis, stepped in to give the family hope by using his expertise to innovate new treatments that vastly improved Ryan’s quality of life. As a representative of LA Biomed, the geneticist’s passion and dedication reflected back on the institution’s values. His work proved that the LA BioMed and its researchers value the impact they can have on one patient’s life more than potential profits from large-scale drug discovery.

Show Where Donations Go
La BioMed’s Mission Moment is a dramatic depiction of the institution’s values: scientific leadership and tireless dedication to bettering the lives of children through research. Sharing this story on their website is a powerful way to share that unique culture and to show how it drives scientific breakthroughs. It is this type of marketing communication that sways potential donors to give and builds a positive reputation that reaches beyond formal appeals.

How do you feel about LA BioMed’s Mission Moment? Is your Institution using similar storytelling tactics to show leadership and drive support? I’d love to hear your thoughts and stories. I may even include one in a future issue of Leadership Marketing at Work.

Contact me, Karan Cushman, calling 866-960-9220 or emailing karan@cushmancreative.com.