Judges' and sponsors' comments on the categories for the 2003 PMEA

PRODUCT LAUNCH OF THE YEAR - The judge's view
“We'll launch with No .1 detail and loads of advertising!” How simple it used to be. Yet today's marketer must master a myriad of skills, mobilise an extraordinary range of resources, manage widely differing expectations and steer a path through an ever more complex minefield. And get it right first time.

Meticulous preparation on all fronts, honesty in profiling and positioning, challenging the received wisdom and motivating both internal and external stakeholders are key to realising a new product's potential. Too much to ask? Dream on - the submissions this year demonstrate that all these factors and more are alive and well in today's pharmaceutical industry.

Joe Eagle is an industry adviser on strategic and operational issues.

The sponsor's view
As sponsors of this year's Product Launch of the Year award, IDIS recognises the volume of hard work involved in the launch of any product. And it's great to be rewarded for hard work!

As experts in the management of named patient medicines we are frequently working in partnership with pharmaceutical companies in the pre-launch phase, especially when demand for your drug is high. Working with IDIS means that you can remain focused on your launch and we can take the pressure off by handling your customers, until you're ready for them.  

Paul Reynolds is international sales and marketing manager at IDIS

MARKETING CAMPAIGN OF THE YEAR - The judge's view
In 2003, pharmaceutical marketers in the UK dance on the tightrope of edgy brilliance without falling into the abyss of 'in your face' aggression. Winning marketing campaigns is about recognising that physicians are feeling increasingly threatened and somewhat powerless as the debate around costs, quality and good care heats up. Whoever reflects the doctor's world in their campaigns in a sensitive, but not overbearingly serious way, will receive a warm response from prescribers.

Professor Leonard Lerer is visiting senior research fellow at INSEAD.

BRAND REVITALISATION OF THE YEAR - The judge's view
With R&D productivity at an all time low and re-imbursement challenges facing the few new compounds coming through, many companies are having to fall back on their existing portfolio to find new sources of growth.

The Brand Revitalisation award explicitly acknowledges the importance of brand management throughout the product lifecycle. It recognises those marketers who have found new value in old brands or who have refused to settle for a sub-optimal launch and have challenged themselves to strive for higher performance, finding the angle that gives them a competitive edge.

Michael Thomas is director of pharmaceuticals CRM at IBM Business Consultant Services.

The sponsor's view
At Innovex, as market leader in pharmaceutical outsourcing, we are well aware of the importance of our brand and the values associated with it. So, we are once again delighted to be able to sponsor the Brand Revitalisation of the Year category.

This category recognises the effort and quality of outputs that is required right across an organisation to bring together cross-functional teams, all working towards the same objective - the value of the brand and ultimately the impact on sales.

Gary Hall is marketing director at Innovex (UK) Ltd.

PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT AWARD - The judge's view
In today's marketplace, well-executed portfolio strategies maintain a prominent share of mind with customers across multiple brands, while also increasing ROI through cross-brand synergies. For increasingly busy physicians, a partner who offers a coordinated solution tailored to their diverse patient base, or an integrated range of brands to allow effective management within a disease area, has many benefits.

Effective portfolio management overcomes internal conflicts between brands through developing an integrated strategy and coordinated tactics that together allow more effective resource allocation and greater impact in execution. The ultimate test is whether there is truth in the old adage that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts.

Dean Summerfield is a principal at ZS Associates in London.

The sponsor's view

Effective healthcare communications are the cornerstone to almost all pharmaceutical companies' strategic and promotional plans. The Healthcare Communications Association is committed to developing excellence in this vital area and ultimately, enabling marketers and their agencies to deliver more effective programmes.

The HCA is therefore delighted to support the Pharmaceutical Marketing Effectiveness Awards. Our aim is to encourage best practice in the industry and we congratulate all of this year's finalists who yet again have raised the standard of excellence to which we should all aspire.

Angie Wiles is chair of the Healthcare Communications Association.

CUSTOMER FOCUS AWARD - The judge's view
In an increasingly tough market, Customer Focus is becoming a key source of competitive advantage. Customer Focus is about converting customer knowledge into insights that can be used to develop innovative and impactful product strategies. To see the world through the eyes of the customer is to have perfect vision.

In the UK, as elsewhere, the complexity of the influence network for prescribing decisions is increasing. The influence of patients and payers is rising while that of physicians is in decline. The winning product teams understand and respond to the shift in the dynamics of demand for their products within this networked healthcare environment.

Alasdair Mackintosh is vice president at Cap Gemini Ernst & Young.

The sponsor's view

At Lilly, our top priority is to 'create a passion for the customer' by modeling, recognising and rewarding customer focused behaviour throughout the organisation. Our sponsorship of this award reflects our desire to see greater customer focus, not only throughout Lilly, but across the industry as a whole.

The PMEA Awards generate a healthy competitive spirit among our business partners. More importantly, they foster continuous improvement and shared best practice, which is what will ultimately drive the future success of our industry. 

Ian Knowlton is business unit director, mental health and urology at Lilly.

INNOVATION - The sponsor's view
Innovation is at the heart of all successful and effective marketing. Without innovation - new ideas and approaches to delivering marketing messages - developing brands and increasing sales becomes a relentless task. Continually using the same marketing methods can lessen the overall effectiveness of campaigns and results in having to do even more to achieve the same results or less! Innovation breaks this cycle and enables growth to happen.

This is why Doctors.net.uk is proud to sponsor the Innovation Award and help celebrate the foresight and intelligence of those companies that embrace change and forge new and exciting ways of marketing.

Erik Jan Scholten is commercial director at Doctors.net.uk.

INTEGRATED MARKETING TEAM OF THE YEAR - The judge's view
The Integrated Marketing Team award is focused on rewarding a truly integrated approach to marketing. Companies are now leveraging every angle of their organisation - from production, through R&D and into every aspect of customer interactions - to develop and maintain the optimal brand 'personality'.

This award shows that when a talented and integrated marketing organisation reaches out to harness the strength of the entire organisation, the resulting 'sum' can be significantly more powerful than its constituent parts.

Anne O'Riordan is partner, health and life sciences, at Accenture.

The sponsor's view
PAN communications have been extremely enthusiastic about the concept of the PMEA right from the start. We were heavily involved in initiating and preparing the winning submission for Tritace in the 2001 'Brand Revitalisation' category.

It's great to see marketing achievements studied and celebrated in what has arguably been more of a sales-led industry. As an ad agency, we tend to get very involved in all parts of the marketing mix, which is why we chose to sponsor the new 'integrated marketing team of the year' category. If these awards encourage more innovation and excellence in marketing then it will ultimately make our role much more challenging and enjoyable!

Ben Davies is managing director at PAN Communications.

COMPANY OF THE YEAR AWARD (Less than £100m) - The judge's view
In an environment that continues to be dominated by mega-mergers, this award seeks to recognise those companies that have demonstrated an excellent sales performance across their entire product range, despite the fact they may not have access to some of the marketing funds available to other major pharmas.

In such situations, these companies have to consistently be able to both demonstrate and deliver marketing excellence in order to maximise the return on the available marketing budget.

Jon Bolter is an industry consultant in business development services.

The sponsor's view
GlaxoSmithKline is committed to excellence in pharmaceutical marketing and implementation and, as twice past winner of Company of the Year, we are pleased to sponsor this new category for 2003.

Excellent principled marketing of ethical pharmaceuticals can lead to more rapid understanding of new treatment options by healthcare professionals and better outcomes for patients. At its best, it has the possibility to enhance both the performance and reputation of individual companies and the industry as a whole. We are determined to keep pushing our standards upwards, and to learn all we can from others.

Dr Cameron Marshall is vice president, primary care, at GlaxoSmithKline.

PMEA COMPANY OF THE YEAR - The Sponsor's view
In today's fiercely competitive market place, companies need to develop integrated cross-functional marketing strategies that draw on the skills and experience of everyone in the organisation. Delivering that strategy successfully in a cohesive way truly defines the pharmaceutical company of the year.

As the premier Contract Services provider in the UK, Ashfield Healthcare is proud to sponsor the PMEA Company of the Year. Whether you are looking for contract sales teams to enhance your existing sales-force, nurse advisers to help you make better use of healthcare resources, a vacancy management approach to sales-force recruitment and retention or professional training, Ashfield Healthcare have the answer!

Graham McIntosh is business development director at Ashfield Healthcare.

Kindly reproduced with permission from PMLive.com.

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