Pharma’s Successful changing marketing approaches

LONDON, September 8, 2008 / b3c newswire / – The looming recession certainly does not seem to have hit the European pharmaceutical industry yet. With more than twice as many registered attendees as in past years, eyeforpharma’s upcoming Marketing Summit Europe, October 20-21 in Zurich is shaping up to be the biggest event of its kind ever.

Companies obviously know that thriving in today’s market means staying on top of their game and perhaps nowhere is that more important than in the rapidly changing pharmaceutical space.

Ultimately, the most successful pharmaceutical companies, says Michael Zaiac, assistant vice president medical affairs EMEA at Wyeth, will be those who invest heavily in understanding the industry’s new stakeholders – especially patients, payers and policy makers – and employ an early feedback loop into their clinical discovery and development programs to steer products toward better meeting the needs of these stakeholders.

Companies that are quick on the uptake and willing to invest in the necessary skill sets to connect with these new customers, by either acquiring them from outside or training existing employees, Zaiac says, can positively differentiate themselves from their competitors and bring products to market more successfully.

Baba Awopetu, Manager of Brand Strategy EMEA at Stryker, says more stakeholders mean a more complex and complicated environment, and pharma marketers must consider where the power base lies and how much influence each group has given a company’s specific circumstances. Companies may find they have primary and secondary stakeholders, depending on the therapy area, product lifecycle or other factors, he suggests.

With a wider audience, pharmas will need to focus, prioritize and better target their messages, Awopetu says. “We have to cover a lot more with less, so our messages must be better targeted and our marketing efficiency is being forced to improve,” he says.

To learn more about marketing to pharma’s changing customer base, join Zaiac and Awopetu, who will be speaking and chairing sessions at eyeforpharma’s Marketing Summit Europe, October 20-21 in Zurich. For additional details or to register, visit www.eyeforpharma.com/marketing08/