Date of publication
Sep 21, 2026
Category:
Essay
Science marketing: heresy or complement to science communication?
In an era of polarised debate, fragmented media, and eroding trust in institutions, how science is communicated has become as consequential as the knowledge itself. This essay proposes a science marketing lens for science communication: an ethically grounded, strategically designed approach that draws on marketing communication — especially storytelling, audience research, strategy, and evaluation — while remaining firmly committed to scientific integrity and public benefit. Rather than “selling” science, science marketing treats communication as an evidence-informed process that connects scientific work to people's values, emotions, and lived realities. Crucially, this essay does not present science marketing as a corrective to science communication, which already encompasses rich traditions of participatory, relational, and outcomes-oriented practice. Instead, it proposes a conceptual lens that may complement existing approaches and open productive dialogue between two fields that have more in common than is often recognised. The essay argues that marketing offers powerful tools for designing impactful science narratives, building relational “brands” for science, and supporting audience-centred engagement. Peter and Olson's *PeterOlson1983 claim that science operates in a marketplace of ideas is revisited as an early provocation, but serves mainly as a springboard for outlining a contemporary framework for science marketing and its implications for both the research and practice of science communication.
