Client Overview
The Medical Affairs team at a top 5 pharmaceutical company realized they needed to transition from a tactical to a strategic approach in their operations. They wanted a more comprehensive vision with specific team goals and metrics to accurately measure the effectiveness of their programs and decide where to focus their time, effort, and budget.
The Challenge
Individual tactics were not consistently effective or adequately tracked. With limited ability to measure how each tactic was performing, the client could not determine their programs’ effectiveness — if their messaging reached their targeted HCPs, or if their existing plan would even drive success — which is crucial given the role of Medical Affairs in the pharmaceutical industry.
There was not enough clarity on how to prioritize their efforts and resources, making it difficult to allocate the right amount of focus to the right strategies.
Building the Way Forward
The client reexamined their approach with our methodology and framework.
1) Define a Strategic Framework
Instead of creating an “omnichannel plan,” we recommended implementing a strategic framework using the OZ Launchpad and OZ Ignite methodology. This approach helped the client build consensus — on their vision, mission, goals, KPIs, gaps, opportunities, customer preferences, and other factors they had yet to consider when planning and implementing HCP outreach programs — identify the programs to focus on and more importantly, why they should allocate resources, time, and budgets to those specific tactics.
2) Bring Ideas and People Together
We used our digital strategy and innovation expertise to guide the client through the OZ Ignite-driven strategic process — incorporating the OZ Launchpad platform — which included a pivotal workshop with all key stakeholders (both internal and external to the organization) to define the strategic direction. The workshop allowed the team to brainstorm and evaluate potential programs and develop a detailed and strategic roadmap that identified the client’s current situation and desired path to success.
The workshop had three main sessions:
- Current State Analysis: The first session involved a thorough assessment of the client’s current business environment, existing programs and tactics, gaps, and areas of improvement. The analysis allowed the team to come to a mutual understanding of their current state before continuing the workshop activities and discussions.
- Future Vision and Goals: In the second session, the team established a clear vision, mission, and specific goals and KPIs to measure their progress. They identified the desired outcomes — such as improved HCP engagement, greater brand awareness, and higher-quality data collection and analysis — which helped them shape their strategic direction with the help of OZ Launchpad.
OZ Launchpad helped the team understand the strengths and weaknesses of their current approach and new initiatives, allowing them to focus on the most pressing issues and highest-value programs. - Plan of Action: The final session focused on creating a detailed and actionable roadmap to achieve established goals, leveraging OZ Launchpad’s prioritization and decision-making
capabilities. The team identified the necessary steps, resources, and timelines to execute the plan effectively, ensuring each program aligned with the overall vision, mission, and other identified criteria.
Project sponsors took ownership of each selected program’s budgets, team, and approach before the workshop concluded, ensuring the chosen tactics could immediately be scheduled into the 12-month plan and 36-month roadmap.
3) Rethink, Refocus, and Reimagine Success
The collaboration between OZ and the client’s teams — driven by the OZ Ignite methodology, Launchpad, and the workshop — facilitated the creation of a forward-looking plan and the
implementation of a framework that helps the client make data-driven decisions, positioning them for continued long-term success.
Each program aligns with the overall vision and mission, and current business environment, allowing the client to track the effectiveness of each program’s specific impact on the overall success of the Medical Affairs team.
The workshop also fostered a sense of ownership and commitment among the team members, who were actively involved in shaping their strategic direction.
Results
OZ addressed the client’s legacy issues, modernized their processes and procedures, and positioned them for continued growth.
- The detailed and strategic roadmap created during this engagement enabled the client to fully understand their current situation and the path to their desired state, setting the foundation for the comprehensive 36-month strategic and sequenced roadmap. This project demonstrates how our methodology’s focus on innovation — particularly through the workshop — can drive transformative change in an organization.
- The client’s Medical Affairs team, empowered with a clear strategic vision, established goals, and a data-driven framework, can now measure program effectiveness and prioritize efforts. The OZ Ignite methodology helps them make more informed decisions and allocate resources more effectively, ultimately improving HCP engagement and driving overall success.
- The Medical Affairs team remains focused on its strategic direction, adapts to industry changes, and continues to drive innovation.
- The OZ Ignite methodology proved crucial in driving innovation and establishing a strategic framework. By focusing on the needs of the Medical Affairs team and fostering collaboration, the client was able to develop a plan that aligned with their business.
- The client transformed their Medical Affairs team’s approach from tactical to strategic. The detailed roadmap and data-driven framework established during this engagement addressed the client’s immediate challenges positioning them for continued growth and success in the ever-evolving pharmaceutical landscape.
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