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Developing IQVIA’s positions on key trends in the pharma and life sciences industries, with a focus on EMEA.
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EMEA Thought Leadership
Developing IQVIA’s positions on key trends in the pharma and life sciences industries, with a focus on EMEA.
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Middle East & Africa
EMEA Thought Leadership
Developing IQVIA’s positions on key trends in the pharma and life sciences industries, with a focus on EMEA.
Learn more
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Blog
Darwin's Brand Plan
How adaptive thinking, agile execution, and evidence-based decisions are defining the next generation of brand plans
Aug 23, 2022
We probably owe Darwin an apology. That his legacy and contribution to our understanding of biology and the natural world, and ultimately to the very mechanism of genetics, is often boiled down to the platitude of “Survival of the Fittest” is an unfortunate misreading.
Darwin’s theory of evolution was not that we were destined to be surrounded by the pinnacle of fitness and aptitude; animals were not on a linear course to perfection (though enough time spent with a giraffe, or even a casual viewing of Shark Week, may make you think otherwise). No – Darwin’s insight was about the reward of recognizing value and choosing new over familiar.
It’s not a perfect analogy – but it holds a critical lesson for life sciences companies who are faced with a rapidly shifting landscape when it comes to promotional strategy. Much like Darwin’s Galapagos finches who needed sharper beaks to crack a new breed of seeds, brand leaders need a sharper, more precise approach to designing brand plans in an omnichannel world.
Consider this: Following the COVID-19 pandemic, HCPs were 34% less likely to see a rep in person. In fact, 52% of HCPs surveyed want to have more input in the promotion mix to tailor channel and message1. The rising tide of digitalization, personalization, and ‘always on’ nature of information has transformed both the experience and the expectation of engagement in healthcare.
So, the old way isn’t as tenable, in both the short- and long-term horizon. The old tools are slow, and the rules that once guided the allocation of sales and marketing resources to find and engage doctors aren’t just inefficient – they are outdated.
In its place, brand strategists must flex a new muscle – agility. More than just the flexible, fungible allocation of resource, agile brand promotion is a more relevant, more intelligent connection of personal (human) and non-personal (digital) channels to connect with audiences and achieve brand goals.
From an advantage to an imperative
Life sciences companies have, of course, always debated how best to reach their customers, and they’ve long had the opportunity to refine and balance how to use sales and marketing channels to achieve their aims. But the process has been hard, lacking in evidence and operationally myopic.
A post-COVID-19, digitally savvy, and on-demand stakeholder environment is accelerating the natural process of evolution. Also heating things up are increasingly complex patient journeys that demand even more information to put the brass ring of care – right patient, right medicine, right time - within reach.
For the brand manager, the decision-making process is now exponentially more complex, requiring a continuous loop of listening to what HCPs want, delivering on those preferences, measuring what’s working and what isn’t, and responding appropriately.
In other words, a single mutation in strategy simply won’t do. To survive and thrive, a new, interconnected series of adaptations and intelligent connections must be allowed to multiply. By definition, this isn’t creating something new – it’s evolving along an already well-trodden path to achieve better outcomes. The six core paths, once separate but now increasingly dependent include:
- Ready access to customer data
- Diverse, differentiated, and fit-for-purpose field roles
- Omnichannel engagement
- Local adaptation
- Hyper-personalized experiences
- Advanced analytics built to separate signal from noise in the cacophony of healthcare data
The implications are significant; evolution is not a painless process (physically or psychologically). Companies will need to apply fresh thinking. Be open to different organizational structures. Define and reward new roles and processes. But those who do will have an advantage, and over time these advantages – these new abilities - will become part of their organizational DNA. This isn’t about building short term brawn and fitness; this is the long game of adaptation for survival.
In the months to come, IQVIA will provide additional resources and a deeper dive around the concept of agile brand promotion and its various components. In the meantime, if you’d like to discuss what true agile brand promotion looks like and how you can achieve it, please contact us to speak with an expert.
1 BrandImpact 2022
Fact Sheet: Agile Brand Promotion
Pharmaceutical companies are reconsidering what an effective healthcare professional (HCP) engagement model looks like. IQVIA brings together a comprehensive mix of best-in-class data, advanced analytics, digital media, deep therapy insights, and cutting-edge technology to determine which investments to make, and how to reach the right HCP, at the right time, with the right message to achieve the desired results with precision. We help companies understand where every dollar spent adds the most value while optimizing total customer experience.
Take the next step. Move beyond siloed thinking and make connected and integrated promotion decisions to maximize brand performance.
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