Clik here to view.
Getting schooled at closerlook
I’m often asked why I never went back to get my MBA. We have two of the best b-schools in the world right here in Chicago. My answer is simple – closerlook is my grad school. Everyday I have the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Pharma’s Tahrir Square
Our work has taught us many lessons, but probably none as important as the impact of relationship marketing on a pharmaceutical company’s organization and culture. Taking Baby Steps Relationship...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Start Me Up
Until just a few years ago, conventional wisdom held that the pharmaceutical industry would continue its trend towards consolidation. The investment premise was that healthcare reform and pricing...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Transforming Physician Insight Into Actionable Pharma Strategies
As marketing as evolved from mass advertising and promotion to a more sophisticated interactive approach, marketers have many new choices. But in this new environment, marketing decisions must be based...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Don’t Be Kodak
Kodak recently announced that they expect to come out of bankruptcy this year. Founded by George Eastman in 1888, Kodak became a cherished household brand name, and the “Kodak Moment” entered the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Three Steps To Restoring Relationships in Pharma after a “Pinch”
At closerlook, we think a lot about relationships. We think about those that we have with our pharma clients, those that our clients have with their customers and especially those that we have with...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Pharma Banner Ads vs. Brand Websites – Where Should You Invest Your Marketing...
A recent study by the online research company comScore offered fresh data on the impact of various forms of digital marketing. What we’re beginning to see is a very interesting and dramatic comparison...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Bold Leadership in Healthcare
What’s happening at CVS Caremark is an emerging business case study in visionary leadership. CVS made headlines for its decision to discontinue selling cigarettes, capturing the gratitude of many...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Closed Loop(s) Marketing – It’s More Than Pharma Sales Rep Tablets
As I re-read a recent Gartner report on Closed Loop Marketing (CLM) in pharma, it struck me that while Gartner was very focused on the shortcomings of current tablet-based sales applications for...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Achieving Escape Velocity from Pharma Corporate Inertia
After a few recent client meetings I’ve begun to reflect not just about the challenges facing pharma, but the nature of those challenges. More specifically, I wonder if they reflect normal cyclical ups...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Is pharma doubling down on TV? Really?
The data is out on consumer ad spending in 2013. It wasn’t a surprise that TV and magazine ad spending was down significantly while digital spend was up. If you own a TV network, you can’t ignore the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Publi-com: the whole was less than the sum of its parts
The dissolution of the Publicis/Omnicom merger (or was it the Omnicom/Publicis merger?) provides a helpful cautionary tale for all of us. The moral of the story is not that you should decide your CFO...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Pharma and its Love of Deal Making. All Good This Time.
The recent 3-way deal between GSK, Novartis and Lilly represented a major transaction for all three companies. The deal has been scrutinized by the Street like a master chessboard swap of assets, in...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Expectations on the Rise for Digital Marketing in Pharma
I’ve begun to observe among our clients a distinct shift in expectations for the role of digital marketing. Even though pharma marketing budgets continue to invest in the traditional channels of...
View ArticleClik here to view.
When did Pharma miss the Innovation Pride Parade?
A recent article identified four basic skills that new leadership in pharma needs to be successful in the arena of consumer health. The author, Michael Winter, addresses the topic from his perspective...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Is it Digital Marketing or just Marketing?
In a recent article about the future of pharma, Craig DeLarge was quoted extensively about how to organize a “center of excellence” within a pharma company to ensure it is taking advantage of digital...
View ArticleClik here to view.
More Than Half of Doctors Refuse to See Reps
A recent report from ZS Associates affirms a decade-long decline in pharmaceutical rep access to physicians. The reasons are well known: doctors have busier schedules, they’re joining large practices...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Pharma and its Innovator’s Dilemma
A recent conversation with a friend in the pharma industry validated my thoughts and concerns about the systemic challenges that pharma is facing. The pivotal insight came from my friend’s comment that...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Four Cs of Customer-Centric Marketing Culture, Part II
In the last blog post, I covered the first two Cs of Customer-Centric Marketing for pharma, Commitment and Courage. We need to make a Commitment to building a data and insight culture. This begins to...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Wrapping Services Around Products: The New Pharma Model
“The home is ultimately going to be the major site of care for all but the sickest patients.” This from an interview with George Halvorson, CEO of Kaiser Permanente, in which he expounds about...
View Article