Many healthcare organizations face the same challenge: the reality of a condition doesn’t always match public perception.
That’s especially true for arthritis. Despite being the leading cause of disability in the United States, arthritis is often misunderstood as simply a condition associated with aging or minor aches and pains.
At ANA’s recent Masters of B2B Marketing conference, Mower’s CEO Stephanie Crockett sat down with the Arthritis Foundation’s Chief Marketing Officer Sabrina Sexton to discuss how organizations can use strategic storytelling to shape perceptions, build trust and create lasting influence.
Here are five key takeaways from the conversation.
Q: What is the biggest communications challenge facing the Arthritis Foundation?
Sabrina Sexton: One of our biggest challenges is that arthritis is largely invisible. It is the number one cause of disability in the United States, affecting nearly 60 million adults and children, yet many people don’t recognize its impact or understand it as a serious chronic condition.
That created a gap between reality and public perception. We realized we weren’t just facing an awareness challenge—we were facing a visibility challenge.
Q: How do you make an invisible issue visible?
Sabrina: One of the ways we approached that was through highly visible public activations, including landmark and building light-ups across the country during Arthritis Awareness Month.
Another great example is Green Heart Fridays, where artists create green heart artworks and place them throughout communities for people to discover and share about their experience online. Instead of simply telling people about arthritis, we’re inviting them to engage with the cause in a personal way.
What’s especially powerful is that these efforts don’t stand alone. They are part of a broader ecosystem of Arthritis Foundation initiatives, including Walk to Cure Arthritis and Jingle Bell Run events across the country. Together, they create a connected movement rather than a series of individual campaigns.
The goal isn’t simply to generate attention. It’s to create recognizable moments that help people see and acknowledge an issue that often goes unnoticed.
Q: Why are personal stories so important to healthcare communications?
Sabrina: Data helps explain an issue, but people create emotional connection.
Whether it’s parents advocating for children with juvenile arthritis, individuals navigating a new diagnosis or longtime supporters raising awareness and funds, these stories help people understand the real-world impact of the disease.
One of our strongest examples comes through our cycling events like the Carolina Hills Classic and California Coast Classic. The story isn’t the event itself—it’s the people participating. Every rider has a reason for showing up, and those personal motivations create powerful opportunities for connection and understanding.
Q: What advice would you give healthcare marketers looking to build long-term influence?
Sabrina: Consistency matters.
Trust is rarely built through a single campaign, media placement or awareness initiative. It’s built through repeated exposure over time. For us, moments like Arthritis Awareness Month, Juvenile Arthritis Awareness Month and World Arthritis Day provide opportunities to continue the conversation, introduce new voices and expand the narrative.
The organizations that build influence over time aren’t simply creating campaigns. They’re creating a consistent story people come to recognize and trust.
Q: How has the Arthritis Foundation expanded its role beyond traditional advocacy?
Sabrina: One of the most exciting examples is our Ease of Use® program, which certifies products and packaging designed to be easier to use for people living with arthritis or other mobility limitations.
What started as a conversation about accessibility evolved into something much broader. It became an opportunity to influence product design, consumer experiences and innovation across industries.
By connecting our expertise to everyday experiences, we’re able to move beyond advocacy and help shape broader conversations around accessibility, inclusive design and consumer innovation. It allows us to extend our impact beyond awareness and into helping improve quality of life for people living with arthritis every day.
Final Thought
The Arthritis Foundation’s work demonstrates that influence doesn’t come from a single campaign. It comes from building a narrative that evolves over time through consistent visibility, meaningful experiences and authentic human connection. For healthcare organizations, the challenge isn’t simply to generate attention. It’s to build authority that shapes how people think about an issue, long before they’re asked to take action.