Best Practices for Internal Communications Regarding Brands & Disease States

Summary

Study Overview

When A Promising New Pharmaceutical Product Fails to Meet Expectations, Poor Brand Communications May Be A Contributing Cause. Successful Brand Leaders Today Must Understand How and When to Deliver Complex Key Messages to All Audiences -- Including Internal Stakeholders -- to Realize The Best New Product Results.

This Study Is Designed to Help Product Teams Avoid Common Pitfalls in Internal Communications That Can Hinder Brand Performance. The Research Also Identifies and Details 10 Best Practices for Internal Brand and Disease State Communications. Also Covered Are Tactics, Strategies and Channels That Are Most Effective for Pre-Launch Disease State Communication to Employees across All Job Levels, Corporate Functions and Therapeutic Areas.
This Report Is Intended for Pharmaceutical, Biotech and Medical Device Managers and Executives Who Supervise or Interact with Brand Communications or New Product Development Teams. The Research Will Help Pharma Leaders to Communicate The Right Internal Message to The Right Employee Segments at The Right Time to Give The Best Possible Support to Product Launch.

Key Topics

• Ten Best Practices for Internal Disease State Communication Excellence
• Effective Communication Channels & Use of New Communication Technologies
• Timing of Communication Activities by Product Development Phase
• Advantages & Disadvantages of Employee Message Segmentation
• Tracking Internal Message Effectiveness
• Preventing Sensitive-Information Leaks
• Developing Science-Based Communications
• Using Kols to Influence Employees
• Special Challenges for Products Treating Socially Sensitive Conditions or Diseases, First-in-Class Products, or New Disease States or Conditions
• Needs Creation Marketing Tactics
• Success Factors & Guidelines

• Key Metrics
  • Timing of First Communication to Key Employee Groups
  • Most Important Topics of Communications before and after Nda Filing
  • Relative Effectiveness of Internal Communication Channels for Disease State Education
  • Best Metrics for Evaluating Internal Message Effectiveness for Three Product Types:
    • Established Disease State Products
    • New Disease State/ First-in-Class Product
    • Product Treating Socially-Sensitive Disease
  • Expected Usage Levels of New Communication Technologies and Channels
  • Companies Customizing Disease State Communication for Various Management Groups
  • Most Important Types of Employee Segmentation for Three Message Types:
    • Established Disease State Products
    • New Disease State/ First-in-Class Product
    • Product Treating Socially-Sensitive Disease
  • Top Challenges in Internal Communication about New Products before Launch

Methodology

The Research Involved A Total of 32 Research Participants Who Referenced Their Combined Experience with More than 100 Product Launches at 22 Different Companies. Best Practices, Llc, Used A Two-Pronged Approach for This Benchmarking--An Online Benchmark Survey and in-Depth Interviews with Pharmaceutical Brand and Communications Leaders. in All, 11 Executives Were Interviewed. The Survey Focused on Capturing Quantitative Data. Interviews Harvested Executive Insights, Process Descriptions, Best Practices and Pitfalls.

Contents

• Research Overview
  • Objective and Approach
  • Research Participants
• Key Findings
  • Channels for Internal Communications
  • Timing for Internal Communications
  • Segmentation of Internal Communications
  • Effectiveness Measures for Communication
  • Selected Challenges & Success Factors
  • 10 Best Practices for Internal Disease State Communications
• Excellence
  • Name or Brand The Condition
  • Put A Human Face on The Disease
  • Use A Structured Approach to Communication and Education
  • Build Communication on Solid Science and Clinical Data
  • Prepare for Rapid Response to Controversial Issues
  • Engage Kols and Influencers to Win Employee Support
  • Use Segmentation - Cautiously - to Customize Education
  • Conduct Education/Communication in Waves for Best Retention
  • Use A Mix of Channels - Including Technology
  • Monitor Internal Messages for Effectiveness
  • Summary of Internal Communication Challenges and Tactics
• Survey Response Data
  • Channel Ratings Support ""Portfolio"" Approach to Communication
  • Least Used Communication Channels Suggest Slow Pace of
  • Technology Innovation
  • Social Media, Podcasts, and Online Video
  • Prior to Nda, Communication Focuses on Medical Background
  • after Nda, Competitors & Burden of Illness Topics Gain
  • Customized Messages Mostly Reserved for Executive Management
  • Top Ranked Segmentation Types
  • Align Internal & External Messages to Navigate Key Challenges
• Insights & Recommendations
• Benchmark Participant Demographics
• List of Participating Companies
  • Experience Level
• Participant Job Function, Department and Job Level
• about Best Practices, Llc