Pharma Brand Teams Have Negative View of Digital Agencies

[JohnMack]

Source: Press Release

PRESS RELEASE
April 24, 2012, 9:07 a.m. EDT
Pharmaceutical Digital Marketing Outsourcing Has Room for Improvement, Finds Cutting Edge Information
Brand Marketing Teams Increasingly Look to Agencies to Meet Urgent Social Media Needs


RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C., Apr 24, 2012 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Pharmaceutical brand teams are generally dissatisfied with their outsourced digital marketing, according to a study by Cutting Edge Information. However, the need to make agency relationships successful is more important than ever as digital media rapidly becomes a key part of the pharmaceutical marketing media mix.

Respondents for "Pharmaceutical Digital Marketing and Social Media: Managing Growth, Mitigating Risk, and Mastering Strategy" rated external agency performance on a scale from "very poor" to "very good." Performance categories included:

-- Developing digital marketing strategy

-- Moderating interactive forums

-- Understanding the regulatory environment

-- Maintaining regulatory compliance

-- Executing digital marketing strategy

-- Demonstrating digital marketing ROI

In surveys and interviews, executives acknowledged the challenges that their industry presents to external communication agencies, not the least being the lack of clear regulatory guidelines for pharmaceutical digital marketing. Despite that, pharmaceutical brand teams' opinions of agency performance are generally negative. Across all activity categories, only 21 percent of responses were "good" while 35 percent were "poor." No respondent ranked their experience with outsourced digital marketing as "very good."

Though the overall sentiment is negative, certain activity categories offered more positive signs for digital marketing outsourcing. 'Executing digital marketing strategy' -- the category most widely outsourced -- garnered "good" ratings from 39 percent of respondents, indicating a potential advantage for teams seeking implementation rather than development.

One trend reshaping digital marketing outsourcing and potentially its performance ratings is the rise of specialized agencies. "A growing niche of digital marketing agencies focuses on navigating Pharma's complicated regulatory landscape," said Casey Ferrell, senior research analyst at Cutting Edge Information. "These agencies only work with pharmaceutical and biotech companies. They understand how to make digital media effective within the industry's confines."

"Pharmaceutical Digital Marketing and Social Media" ( http://www.cuttingedgeinfo.com/resea...-social-media/ ) helps marketing teams:

-- Prioritize objectives with case studies that illustrate successful digital marketing goal-setting

-- Build a team structure to manage both internal and external relationships, emphasize compliance and mitigate regulatory risks

-- Create a team equipped to meet current digital marketing needs and adapt to future challenges

For more information on digital marketing, social media, and pharmaceutical marketing strategy, visit http://www.cuttingedgeinfo.com/research/marketing/ .

SOURCE: Cutting Edge Information