Pharma agency babble

HEY NOW: If you want a great example of why pharma needs to build expertise in-house and rely less on agencies, read the newest white paper from Intouch Group. I read the whitepaper, and it was full of vague obscurities that are, frankly, embarrassing.

Want a great example of agency babble? Read this..

“Pharma needs to turn what was a very smart, fast patchwork of change into something that becomes sustainable, durable and scalable, and start supporting HCPs in a complete shift in paradigm,” said Ariel Salmang, Managing Director, Intouch International. Now is the time to reinvent strategies to overcome challenges and improve outcomes.

What the?

But wait it gets worse…

Some things will return to normal and some things will never return to normal in the future.

Now that’s really eye-opening!

About the only thing I agree with is their assessment of sales reps.

“What we are feeling now are the effects of a historic over-reliance on the sales rep channel to the detriment of digital channels. Globally, we are seeing digitally- savvy brands fare better.”

When it comes to DTC the vague generalizations are just as bad..

Pharma needs to figure out how to better connect the digital with the people.”
— William Febbo, CEO, OptimizeRx

This white paper, which is nothing more than an agency marketing tool is a bad reflection on Intouch. Do you want to know the biggest challenge facing pharma companies right now?

1ne: It’s changing organizational bureaucracies so that they can better respond to the healthcare market needs.

2wo: Building media and digital capabilities in-house to rely less on agencies who need to cover overhead with expensive proposals.

3hree: Investing more in digital and being prepared to both fail and learn from mistakes.

4our: Recruiting disruptive (I know it’s overused) marketing and digital talent instead of prioritizing people who will “fit in.”

I’m hearing that many pharma companies are telling employees they will be working from home all year. This is a chance to eliminate meetings that don’t add value and empower employees to make decisions. Pharma executives also need to hire people who can challenge processes that aren’t relevant anymore.

Originally published at https://worldofdtcmarketing.com on January 15, 2021.