Reflections on Pharma New Media Adoption (Change) Management

For much of my 20 year pharma career I have worked in new media change agent roles.



For much of my 20 year pharma career I have worked in new media change agent roles. I first encountered this as Media Director at Communications Media, Inc convincing product managers to invest in prescription pads and other office media, then at J&J Merck getting management comfortable with eDetailing, then at Ortho McNeil convincing marketers of the benefits of search media, and now at Novo Nordisk where we are working to grasp the promise of rich and social media.

In reflecting on common success factors in these situations, not that they all succeeded, I gleaned a few learnings which have worked well pretty consistently and whose adoption I hope will improve the odds of your new media adoption projects succeeding.

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1. Think in 2 year cycles. I have found pretty consistently that no new medium is adopted in less than 2 years. The first year is the education phase. The second year, the piloting year but only with the one innovative brand manager, usually on a small brand and looking to make a mark, that any change agent must find and nurture to succeed. The successful pilot results broader adoption in later years and the unsuccessful pilots usually result in the medium being shelved.

2. Link it to the business or let it go. A good screen for new media adoption is rationalizing how much it will fit into the media lifestyle of the customer, and consequently benefit the brands business. If you cannot come up with this rationalization, dont expect adoption. That said, this rationalization often materializes as you show the medium to various stakeholders and co-create (or co-denigrate) its value to the business.

3. It takes a village to adopt a new medium. New media are like babies that need a village to believe in, adopt and care for them. Any successful adoption I have engineered has always required gaining the championship of organizational innovators, financiers and influencers able to see the new mediums potential for the customer and the business. It is these people who are the village that nurture innovation until it becomes standard marketing practice. It is critical to identify and influence this village for your new media projects.

4. A good story can be worth a thousand facts. Often, when we are working to convince stakeholders about a new mediums benefits, we rely too much on the facts and neglect to tell stories, those irresistible building blocks of understanding and persuasion. We underestimate stories about how the medium is used in the customers life to make them richer, smarter and happier, how it enhances the brands identity and communications, how it will differentiate the brand from its competitors, etc. These stories are at least as important as the facts as they paint the picture of the true potential of the medium to transform the customers experience with the brand. Note that sometimes, the best story is the one the stakeholder experiences as they use the medium for themselves. There is no more convincing story than those we experience (and tell) ourselves.

5. Disparage your own innovation. I have learned that overselling a new medium can damage its adoption. It has helped the mediums (and my) credibility to talk proactively about the downsides and risks of using the medium. This balanced approach allows you to shape the anti-story before your naysayers get to do it for you entirely. It also allows you to make the point that any new innovation only succeeds ultimately through iterations of incremental trial and learning. Often wanting adoption too badly can cause it to slip away from you.

6. Seek first to understand. When selling in a new medium, seek to draw out your potential stakeholders risk perceptions, impracticalities, issues and objections. Do so by listening, empathizing, acknowledging, and then gathering and presenting evidence to lower risk to an invest-able level. Often people just want to be heard and have their issues addressed. Be willing to relegate to a someday maybe list those media that do not make the cut, today. This builds your long term credibility and makes it easier for people to see your point when you come with additional innovations. Use stakeholder feedback to evolve your story (#4) and gather champions (#3) in support of your new media.

7. Measure & learn. In support of #2 and #6 above, look for key performance indicators which validate the mediums business contribution and which are meaningful to your stakeholders. This is achieved by doing the upfront understanding work and them by devising the measurable business links (or letting it go). Because some new media will not have readily available meaningful measures, it is important to also understand that learning, both about the medium and the customer who interacts with it, is a measure.

8. Leverage the 3Cs of external pressure: customers, competitors and consultants. Being mindful of the saying that a prophet is not honored is how own village, it is important to leverage the 3Cs of external pressure in new media adoptions. Facts and stories related to the mediums adoption by customers and competitors and the good recommendations of respected consultants and thought leaders often prove to be the tipping point in getting stakeholders to invest in new media. This is especially the case for late majority adopters.

Well, these are my reflections on this topic and I welcome additional reflections from fellow new media change agents out there.

Craig A. DeLarge, Associate Director, eMarketing & Relationship Marketing, Novo Nordisk Inc, USA