are often sourced from specialty
or boutique agencies. We like to
consider ourselves savvy agency
marketers, and to that end we
have elevated digital competency
across our staff, and have also
developed a specialty digital firm,
ghg Healxx Digital, to address
the most innovative, cutting edge
technologies for clients.
Mike Hudnall: Three important
things to remember, though: 1) It’s
all about the leadership and talent;
2) For an agency to win, it has to
build significant cross-functional
capabilities; 3) It’s hard for one
agency to do it all, so I do think
there will always be a role and
benefit for specialization.
Q. Agency consolidation has
provided some companies with
the reach to service global brands.
How do internationally-based
clients differ from U.S.-based
companies in the way they
approach marketing?
Heather Aton: Quite differently.
Internationally-based clients place
a huge emphasis on localizing
assets. They are not set up with the
same marketing or sales resources
as U.S.-based companies. Also,
there is certainly a difference
between marketing in developed
markets and emerging ones, and
this is a significant brand strategy
consideration.
Cost structure, more socialized
environments, different regulatory
checks and balances, access or lack
thereof to certain technologies
and language differences all have
a marked impact on how to sell a
brand. And though it’s changing in
the world of social media, certain
approaches that can be taken in the
U.S. to link patient/caregiver/end-
user with physician cannot apply
in ex-US markets where healthcare
communications to consumers are
much more restricted.
Erin Byrne: The regulatory
environment often drives nuances
in international marketing.
Notably, the most important
difference for U.S.-based clients
is the ability to market direct
to consumers/patients. That is
prohibited in many parts of the
world, which is unfortunate as
the desire for information and
engagement is a global trend.
Global marketers are struggling
with how to satisfy consumers’
desire for information while
remaining compliant with local
regulatory requirements.
Mike Hudnall: U.S.-only
marketers tend to develop strategy
and execution approaches at the
brand level because they only have
to deal with one set of regulatory
guidelines and typically have
a large target market. Global
companies that practice true
global marketing have found
efficiency and effectiveness by
adopting global strategic toolkits
that can be customized by local
markets in accordance with local
regulations and budget parameters.
Oftentimes, they aggregate and
offshore tactical execution to
minimize production costs and
gain volume efficiencies
Q. Social media seems to know no
boundaries, and yet as agencies
and brand teams, we have to live
with constraints. How have you
had to adjust to the new FDA
social media guidelines?
Stephanie Brown: We actually
haven’t had to adjust greatly. The
guidelines largely confirm the
extent and limits of a company’s
responsibility for all portions
of any discussion they start—
whether they say something or
whether another participant in
the conversation does. For most
brands, and in most situations,
ramping up to handle that is an
enormous undertaking. We’re
continuing to help companies
understand when the investment
is worth the potential return—
and when it’s more effort than it’s
worth.
Mike Hudnall: The biggest impact
for us was that it clarified some
of the responsibility and risk for
non-client influenced UGC that
contains misinformation. This has
opened things up for us. There’s
more appetite and more ability to
try new things.
The guidelines are essentially
adjusting to meet the demands
of an increasingly empowered
consumer. One great outcome that
we are seeing is more collaborative
relationships between marketing,
legal and regulatory teams at
our clients. We see legal and
regulatory teams engaged earlier
in the strategic development
process. Our clients recognize that
new technologies and marketing
approaches require them to be
innovative and flexible and always
keep the needs of the customer
first.
Erin Byrne: While the current
guidelines are stacked against fair
balance, I do believe that having
clearly defined guidelines is critical
to helping patients sift through the
tremendous amount of content
