Times Are a Changing…
In speaking with a dozen-plus agency CEOs and presidents for this month’s cover story, it became apparent that these industry leaders are in fact leading the industry in many respects. They are like orchestra conductors, tasked with making sure their talented creative teams achieve harmonic synchronicity amid a cacophony of divergent movements.
They are tuned in to advancements being made in high-science brands, and in some cases are sitting at the table with science leaders and innovators.
They are ahead of the curve on many of the current trends, having already put in place departments or teams to begin strategizing around technology advancements such as chatbots and voice assistants and new channel opportunities that go beyond Facebook and Google. For example, the rise of conversational artificial intelligence (AI) has changed the search landscape. Analysts say by 2020, 50% of search queries will be voice searches. Healthcare agencies need to be one step ahead, and many of them already have linguistic teams in place to manage complex algorithms and create authentic, credible, and compliant messaging.
Additionally, with YouTube now being the second-largest search engine and the No. 1 search app with more than 4 billion searches per month for content in the United States alone, marketers need to think beyond static images and craft communications that translate into live video. Digital Marketing World has predicted that by 2021, 13% of all Internet traffic will consist of live video. And that is just one chunk of the whole video gamut. With almost every major social media platform now supporting live video streaming, it is only expected to soar in 2020.
The implications are far-reaching. Video could be the answer to the age-old issue of compliance and address health literacy in a way that has yet to be solved.
Agency leaders are being called on to make their organizations more agile in response to client requests even as current talent pools are stretched to capacity.
Many big consultancies are touting the advantages of agile organizations, which is defined as being quick to respond to changes in the marketplace or environment. While agility can mean something different for every single client, agencies are adapting and applying the same agile processes they use for pitches to the work they do every day for clients.
Clients want “wow" campaigns that reflect current social norms and attitudes. Cultural influences are testing the courage of marketers and they are stepping up in big and small ways. Healthcare advertising is beginning to reflect the real people and patient populations of those who are actually using the medications being prescribed.
Every agency CEO/president is hypercognizant of the bottom line and some agencies are adopting different models or even changing their calling cards to reflect a broader take on the services they provide beyond traditional advertising tactics.
It’s an exciting time to be in healthcare advertising — boundaries are being erased and creativity is being championed.
Taren Grom, Editor
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Their word…
Denise Myshko
Managing Editor
Biopharma companies are teaming up with academia and patient groups to translate promising candidates to new therapies.
Robin Robinson
Senior Editor
As partnerships between pharma and health tech companies increase, so do the opportunities for creating better health outcomes.
Kim Ribbink
Features Editor
Some exciting developments with big data are emerging for the pharmaceutical industry, such as predictive modeling.
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Coming in October
Virtual Health
Relationship Marketing
Microbiomes
Gender Parity: Update
Artificial Intelligence
Patient Solutions
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Masthead
The forum for the industry executive
Volume 19 • Number 8
Publisher Lisa Banket
Editor Taren Grom
Creative Director Marah Walsh
Managing Editor
Denise Myshko
Senior Editor
Robin Robinson
Features Editor
Kim Ribbink
Design Associate
Ariel Medel
Director of Sales
Cathy Tracy
National Account Manager
Suzanne Besse
Webcast Network Producer
Daniel Limbach
Circulation Assistant
Kathy Deiuliis
Copyright 2019
by PharmaLinx LLC, Titusville, NJ
Printed in the U.S.A.
Volume Nineteen, Number Eight
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