The news: Sanofi and USA Pickleball are partnering on a new campaign to raise awareness and educate older adults about the Nuvaxovid COVID-19 vaccine, developed by Novavax and commercialized by Sanofi. For context, Nuvaxovid is a protein-based, non-mRNA COVID-19 vaccine that is far less known than Pfizer’s and Moderna’s. The campaign aims to reach consumers during peak respiratory illness season through pickleball players and personalities and fan experiences at major events, including USA Pickleball’s National Championships in November.

Why it matters: Nuvaxovid entered the market more than a year after Pfizer’s and Moderna’s mRNA vaccines, leaving it with a small share of doses administered.

Sanofi is hoping that its protein-based vaccine can overcome older adults’ apprehension about side effects.

• Concern about side effects (26%) was the top reason US adults 50 and older skipped the COVID-19 vaccine in the past year or ever, followed by believing they didn’t need it (25%), per a January University of Michigan poll.
• Sanofi is positioning Nuvaxovid’s generally milder short-term side-effect profile compared with mRNA vaccines as an answer to that hesitation.

Implications for pharma marketers: For pharma brands with products that have limited name recognition, reaching relevant audiences can make an unfamiliar product more approachable. But education must quickly explain why a lesser-known product deserves consideration over better-known alternatives.

For Sanofi, the campaign shifts COVID-19 education into interest-based communities and away from traditional vaccine messaging, which can fall flat. Partnering with USA Pickleball gives Sanofi a non-clinical setting to reach an active, older audience. Timing it around peak respiratory illness season makes the message immediately actionable rather than abstract. At the same time, declining perceived personal risk and general COVID-19 fatigue work against any single campaign effort, even if it’s well-targeted.

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