We would still be on iPhone 1, with some licence extensions!

In a fast, digital world where most things are instant, transient and DONE, why is our industry so slow? I’ve been having a few ideas…

AS THE WORLD HAS SPED UP PHARMA HAS GOT SLOWER

When I first started in a pharma agency a big brand would update its materials 4 times a year. And we would do this for 3-5 sales forces, who all might have different materials. I worked on one brand that had ~1000 reps selling one product. Each quarter we got data on what was working well, or not, and we refined the content based on that intel.

Crikey! Clients worked with a pace and intensity that I found quite exciting. Projects developed an unstoppable momentum that made the impossible, possible. Important evidence got to customers, fast.

And remember, there was no internet so everything was transferred between agency and client in person; print was very quick compared with some digital builds and teams were much smaller with more autonomy.

Of course, the downside was that we did not have all the wonderful omnichannel opportunities, rich with all their data insights that we have today.

The need for speed is back

2024 has been the year when many med coms/ healthcare agencies reported that more project momentum was what they craved most. Delays, slow starts and stalling projects were the blight of the year. And the worry is, this has an effect on how quickly patients get the benefits of our marvellous medicines and devices.

The good news is that client momentum is now gathering. I am hearing a need for speed has returned! Huzzah!

What’s the cost of lack of momentum to your projects? How can you unblock the blockers? What would happen if all your stakeholders met every deadline?

At Wordbird we love a pacy project. Drop us a line at hello@wordbird.london if you’d like to hear more.