Best Practices in Internal Brand Communication: Timing, Technology and Success Measurements

STUDY OVERVIEW

Disease state education is an important part of a successful product launch, particularly for unknown or socially sensitive diseases. While biopharmaceutical organizations have long relied on disease state education to inform critical stakeholders such as physicians, patients and payers, leading companies also understand the importance of internal disease state education for employees for new products.

This Best Practices, LLC study explores several issues related to internal communications regarding a new product: timing of messages, channels used, and success measurement. Best Practices, LLC conducted this timely research to help organizations better understand the optimal timing of messages for employees as well as the mix of communication channels to maximize reach and approaches to gauge the effectiveness of communication efforts.

Brand and communication leaders can use this study to optimize internal disease state communication and education and build employee support for a successful new product launch. Additionally, the study gives particular attention to communication challenges around products that are first in class or treat conditions that are largely unknown or stigmatized.

KEY TOPICS

• Conducting education and communication in waves to allow for optimal message retention.
• Using a mix of channels, including new technology, to maximize employee reach when communicating disease state education.
• Monitoring internal message effectiveness—at least on an informal basis—to gauge overall communication success.
• Insights, recommendations and lessons learned.

• Product development period when disease state communication begins for various employee groups.
• Rankings of the top four most important topics for communicating new product disease state information to employees before and after NDA filling.
• Effectiveness rating of various channels for educating employees.
• Percentage of companies providing customized education for management.
• Ranking of the top four most important employee segmentation types used to optimize internal communications for products treating an established disease state, new disease state and socially sensitive condition.
• Top key challenges and concerns when communicating to employees about a new product before and/ or during product launch.

• Generational issues may reduce the anticipated speed of new technology diffusion for internal education. Nearly half the participants are not yet using blogs, wikis, hotlines or online videos internally, even though many are experimenting with these channels for external communications.
• Top disease state education topics before NDA filing include medical condition background, treatment state, biology and burden of illness. After NDA filing, disease background is still the main topic but other priorities change, with competitive information becoming increasingly important.

Best Practices, LLC researchers surveyed a total of 32 executives, directors and managers representing 22 leading corporations in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device industries. In addition, the research team conducted in-depth interviews with executives and directors at 11 of the surveyed companies.

Industries Profiled:
Health Care; Pharmaceutical; Diagnostic; Biotech; Chemical; Medical Device; Consulting


Companies Profiled:
Abbott; Novartis; Actelion; Novo Nordisk; Boehringer Ingelheim; Pfizer; Eli Lilly; ProPharma; Genentech; Roche; GlaxoSmithKline; Sanofi-Aventis; Janssen; Takeda; Vertex; Merck; Sharp & Dohme; Watson; Nektar; Schering-Plough; Xanodyne Pharmaceuticals

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