Let's look at things that keep us up at night.

It’s October and amidst the jack-o-lanterns, gigantic bags of candy (that I find myself buying wayyy too early), and contemplating what costume I should wear, I wondered what’s the scariest part of our jobs as Market Access Marketers? And, even more importantly, how do we overcome our fears to successfully deliver?

Let’s look at things that keep us up at night.

Account Dracula: When the client thinks the creative bites.

It’s every agency’s worst nightmare. You’ve put your neck on the line. Your blood literally runs cold. The most important person in our relationship isn’t digging the ideas presented. And there’s no other way to say it. This just sucks. ?

Hopefully, this is a rare occurrence. But there are strategies you can cross off your list to help ensure a creative presentation is sharp, has teeth, and doesn’t drive you batty. The first is after the request and initial discussion, you create a detailed creative brief. This provides an opportunity to get client buy-in, reach consensus on the goal of the initiative, bring in the right experts, and sculpt the fog together.

Thirst for a few ideas. If you only have one direction, and it’s not received well, then that’s a nail in the coffin. Invite additional members of the team into your brainstorming sessions to feed off each other’s thoughts. Hang around together. Who knows? You may tap into a new vein of thinking that pulses with possibilities.

It’s also important to have the proper timelines to develop well-executed ideas. If not, that could mean you’ll be creatures of the night. Order a pizza (hold the garlic). There’s rarely just one way to tell a story. Hopefully among your collection of ideas, there’s one that flies.

Frankenmarketing the Creative: When different campaign ideas get stitched together.

You’ve outdone yourself. Not only have you presented a winning idea. You’ve presented three of them! The client loves them all. So much in fact, they want to bolt them all together. This conglomeration can give life to an unwieldy beast.

You had that lightning bolt of inspiration for a reason. It illuminated a more distinct way of communicating a key message. What does one do? Here are a few thoughts:

1.???? Conduct a focus group for concept testing; gather a few stakeholders to see which concept is most electrifying.

2.???? Go back to your creative laboratory to see if a best-of-breed approach may actually give life to an even better campaign.

3.???? No time or budget for testing? Then grab your torches and help the client see your way.

Having a robust, agreed-upon creative brief can be one of your most helpful tools when reviewing the presented work to see which direction truly embodies a monster idea.

The Pit and Pendulum of Review: Getting cut, comment after comment, by legal/medical.

It’s perhaps one of the most painful experiences you can experience. Presenting your work to a manufacturer’s legal and medical review board to seek their guidance and approval only for them to slice off specifics and nuances, bit by bit.

If you’ve been faced with tortuous meetings like this, there are strategies to help reviews swing more smoothly, and with certainly less bloodletting.

1.???? Start with a well-thought-out and detailed concept review.

Before actual creative work ensues, having a legal/medical approach strategy is key. A three-part approach can start with a concept review where you share the overall intent of the initiative, the audience, the goal, how effectiveness will be measured, and the critical success factors, budgets, and timeline/development cycle. This is your opportunity to glean insights into the review team’s areas of concern and guidance before the work starts.

2.???? Provide a progress check-in before final review.

Beyond the initial concept review, if your schedule and protocols permit, allowing the review team to see concepts in development before arriving at finalization can be highly beneficial. Any watch-outs or course correcting can be acted upon. And since the review board has had an opportunity to be socialized along the campaign’s development, when you present the final review, there should be little surprises for them. And your beautiful idea won’t get sliced to ribbons.

3.???? Build a rapport with the review team.

It varies from manufacturer to manufacturer, but the best outcomes occur if you can build a relationship with one consistent review team from the onset. This gives you an opportunity to know more about the reviewers, their points of view and caution, and treat them as an essential part of the development team instead of your idea’s potential executioners.

?

Howling and Hairy Deadlines: They can make you feel like a lunatic.

In my younger days, I dreaded deadlines. But as I’ve transformed into a seasoned professional, I’ve actually come to love them. Deadlines give you focus. They provide guidelines on timing, and I’ve developed a healthy respect and appreciation for what they offer. But when you’re juggling a time-sensitive initiative, like a product launch, and have a large number of tactics all requiring precise synchronization, multiple demands can feel like they’re ripping your attention apart.

This is where a quality project manager is your silver bullet. A good project manager trims the claws off deadlines. Daily hot sheets, consistent communication, and their guidance on prioritization keep your tactics from going feral – and you from losing your mind.

Aliens From Another World: Doing something that’s never been done before.

We’re lucky to work in one of the most innovative industries our planet has ever seen. Our clients are all about pushing the limits of the unknown. There is a need to promote being first, yet so often we’re faced with situations where fear of new bold messaging or using fresh media approaches can feel so alien that we curtail our curiosity to explore and remain on trusted terra firma.

How do we deal with UFOs (unusually fresh options)? Start by researching the viability of new thinking. Is our audience utilizing new media channels? Probe for changing attitudes that challenge the status quo. This can provide evidence for possibilities beyond the been there, done that. And we can’t forget that success in this realm also requires a trusting client who is ready to champion smart risk-taking and out-of-this-world thinking.

Mad Scientists: When HEOR isn’t in lockstep with Market Access.

The brilliant minds of health economic outcomes researchers are essential to building robust value propositions. Having direct and early involvement with Market Access teams to pinpoint a new therapy’s unique selling proposition leads to stronger category differentiation, better depiction of unmet needs, and the identification of additional studies to fill gaps in evidence requirements.

However, sometimes these two groups – HEOR and Market Access – aren’t necessarily working together as closely as they could be. Cencora has multiple strategies ensuring both teams benefit from a shared perspective on evidence generation needs. From multidisciplinary value workshops to wargaming exercises, we often act as a bridge between both to help focus on which studies yield the most salient information to guide go-to-market positioning in both pre-launch and post-launch efforts.

Are you terrorized by any of these fear monsters? Together, we’ll battle our demons, and most importantly, triumph to bring life-enhancing therapies to the patients who need them most. We’re value drivers and problem solvers. Contact us for a quick capabilities presentation, and let’s not give fear a ghost of a chance when it comes to telling your strongest access and value story!

This article is intended to communicate Cencora’s capabilities which are backed by the author’s expertise. However, Cencora strongly encourages readers to review all available information related to the topics mentioned herein and to rely on their own experience and expertise in making decisions related thereto as the article contains marketing statements and does not constitute legal advice.

?

?