In 2021, the name Moderna became synonymous with the COVID vaccine it developed. Kate Cronin, who joined as Moderna’s chief brand officer the same year, has made sure the brand retains that high visibility now that lockdowns have ended.
As Cronin told Ad Age in April, when Moderna’s “Welcome to the mRNAge” brand awareness spot debuted, the average person getting a vaccine probably couldn’t name its brand before the pandemic. COVID changed that—and Cronin’s Moderna is reacting accordingly.
Cronin has helmed multiple brand awareness initiatives that communicate how Moderna is “more than just a COVID company.” Cronin was behind the “Welcome to the mRNAge” spot that compares mRNA (which stands for messenger RNA, molecules that carry the genetic information needed to make proteins) to a piece of particularly powerful floating string.
In 2022, Cronin helped take Moderna out of the pharmacy and onto the tennis court by partnering with the US Open Tennis Championships—the brand’s most extensive sponsorship to date, she said. That effort also included an endorsement from tennis legend Billie Jean King, called “Change Makers,” in reference to King’s leadership in improving the way women are paid in the sport. The line tied into Moderna’s “This changes everything” slogan, which also appeared in the “mRNAge” ad.