approval of retailers (such as chain
drug stores). They may have their
own set of conditions and opinions
about acceptable creative, so that
needs to be taken into account as
well.
Sam Cannizzaro: Some conditions like erectile dysfunction and
low testosterone naturally enable a
more lighthearted approach compared to life-threatening diseases.
In addition, unbranded communication generally translates very
nicely toward a more edgy approach because it’s used ahead of
product approval to help support
condition awareness, lead generation and market preparation. In
my past experience, medical device advertising can offer creatives
the ability to be edgier because
these organizations were built with
innovation at the core, so they
generally are more open to ideas
that have never been done before.
Finally, what’s on the horizon
for creative in our industry?
Will the emergence of more
Biopharmaceuticals change
things? Will mergers and
acquisitions give you more
complicated administrative
cultures to deal with?
Al Muzaurieta: We are seeing a
large number of RFPs from small
pharmas who in ten years will be
fantastic mid-size companies who
are inventing great new products
to treat a number of serious conditions. We hope that as they grow
they elect to grow organically and
remain independent.
Stephen Neale: I think the new
generation of physicians, who’ve
grown up as consumer users of
digital and social media, will
have high expectations of how
pharma approaches them as doc-
tors. They’ll want the same level
of customization in how they get
content from brands, they’ll expect
value-added objects/apps to help
them in their practices, and they’ll
demand that drug manufactur-
ers have causes aimed at diseases
beyond their product offerings.
We’re already seeing it. I think
pharma products that are cam-
paigning around a cause or disease
in addition to their products, and
somehow connecting the two, will
be standard in any new marketing
plans. I think new physicians are
expecting it.
Julie Hogrefe: Intriguing people
with strong, memorable creative
will be important whether you’re
talking about a vaccine, a specialty
drug, or a traditional drug. And
we have already dealt with many
mergers and acquisitions over
the 15+ years we have been doing
business. You just have to keep up
with the changes as best you can,
and be up for anything!
Norbert de Laclos: As someone
who has lived through four mergers, I can definitely say that they do
complicate work, and more importantly, they can mess up your life!
My advice to anyone who learns
that their organization is part of a
merger or acquisition is the follow-
ing. First, look at each merger as
a new job. Be prepared to rebuild
trust levels with your teams, and
to prove yourself, your skills, and
abilities. Pay careful attention to
the new lexicon and vocabulary
being used by your “new” com-
pany, because the incoming man-
aging team will have “redefined”
marketing and communication,
renamed the various departments,
and added the “words of the mo-
ment” to the company’s vision,
mission, and value propositions.
On the creative horizon, I see continued diversification of products
and brands: more devices, more
cross-science and medical fields,
more digital, and more real working apps for mobile platforms. I
also see more industrialization:
companies will produce the app
and the device themselves. As
creative leaders, our challenge will
be to find writers who have the
skills to work across channels. And
of course, we need to educate and
train our employees, both young
and experienced, on mastering
their cross channels.
Sam Cannizzaro: Building experiences while blurring the lines further between the real and digital
worlds—this new breed of creative
will be referred to as a “
fusionist.” They will act as the “fusion”
between research, art, engineering, and science. The ad agency of
the future will continue to evolve
and construct more physical open
spaces outfitted with more touch
screens (fewer laptops); moveable
walls; an electronics workshop
for building devices, generating
virtual reality experiences on demand, and replacing color printers
we use today with 3D printers. We
will prototype and build things
in real-time in an effort to get the
involvement of our consumers and
clients to experience, research, and
buy in to these innovative ideas we
create. •
