The New Media Playbook

At EHS Publisher Summit 2013 in NYC last month, Matt McNally, President of Publicis Health, shared his company’s view of the pharma media landscape and how it has changed. “Media is outpacing advertising,” he said. Consumers want bite-sized information, not long-form content. The number one thing European physicians look for is video-based, scientific, relevant content. It’s different out there.

Media buying was formerly a reach game. Now, it’s moving toward unbundling and distribution in a fragmented marketplace. It helps to have resources, like premier networks, for quality content distribution.

With the Internet, consumers are publishers. Social is not new; the number of connections is simply larger. People trust other people. Historically people with a condition went to social network sites for a sense of community. Now, they are one additional place to collect information.

In a broadcast model, we target audiences. In today’s engagement model, we reach individuals with relevant information. “We use search as a market research tool to show us what people are looking for,” Mr. McNally continued. “We see that health is more than a pill or treatment. Historically, we used to tell people about our product. Now, we need to partner with customers throughout their journey. We work with our clients to wrap their product around ever-evolving customer needs.”

Mr. McNally challenged the industry to look for ways to be effective despite tight regulation. Other regulated industries, like finance, are finding ways to connect with customers while staying in line with the rules. Pharma needs to do the same. The game has changed. Customers used to have very limited resources for learning about pharmaceutical products. Physicians spoke with pharma reps and patients spoke with physicians. Now, information is at everyone’s fingertips online, on their phones, and on tablets. Opportunity abounds, but no one can do it alone.

Health and wellness is the number one search on Google. People don’t have one go-to place for info any more. You need to understand how your brand shows up in the store, in the doctor’s office, and everywhere else. “We’re shifting from a broadcast (reach/frequency) model to engagement,” Mr. McNally explained. You can no longer simply talk about your brand. You need to pull the brand experience all the way through customer relationships.

You need to ask yourself: How are we doing things differently to match customer need? How do we show up across all different vehicles? How are physicians making decisions to help their patients? How are consumers making health decisions for themselves and their loved ones? “We’ve learned that the process must start by understanding your audience, not by writing copy and developing the creative assets,” Mr. McNally concluded. Leverage credible partners to understand audience needs and deliver relevant, personal experiences. Keep up with the changes and keep customer needs as your central focus and everyone benefits in the end.