Dudnyk’s favorite posts for pharma marketing managers

Dudnyk employees share their picks for the best posts on our blog.

Sharing ideas is what we do here every day at Dudnyk. To showcase our collaborative branding expertise to even more decision makers in the industry, we decided last year to take some of those ideas to the cyber world, in the form of a blog. In the first year of our Dudnyk blog, 90 posts coached brand managers on everything from stress management and work/life balance for mothers  to identifying the best data sources, providing advice for staffing your dream team,  ramping up digital campaigns,  thinking creatively, growing your brand with care, and giving unbranded materials a try. A couple handfuls of agency authors contributed ideas, as well as two industry experts (graphic designer/author David Airey and veteran pharma expert Nancy Bacher Long in guest posts.

We also had a little fun in our posts, referencing Survivor, Austin Powers, Jimmy Buffett, Justin Bieber, Jay-Z, Samuel Beckett’s play Waiting for Godot and the car buying proclivities of one of our colleagues. But never fear: the posts ultimately relate to the same kind of insightful advice about bold branding that we are known for giving to our clients.

Here is a roundup of our favorite blog posts:

Arresting Images Are Winning Images

One of the most viewed posts was Why shouldn’t my campaign show a smiling patient? by president Frank X. Powers. Several Dudnyk staff members chose it as their favorite post of the year, for its recommendation of always striving for arresting creative ideas. In his post, Frank discusses three award-winning ads and elaborates on their merits.

“As a creative person I couldn’t agree more,” said Tara Walther, Creative Director, Art. She said it’s a disservice when a biopharma company chooses to stop short of pushing for the imagery that will be most evocative for its brand.

“If more than 80 percent of healthcare ads are focusing on personal fulfillment, it makes sense to strive to create something more unique and memorable to have the greatest impact in today’s healthcare marketing environment,” said Chris Tobias, PhD, EVP, Chief Scientific Officer and Director of  Business Development. “Frank’s post was a good reminder for marketing managers to inspire their teams to explore the unexpected.”

Proper Communication Prevents Curveball Surprises

Speaking of Frank, what was his favorite post of the year? That honor went to It’s launch time: do you know what your position is? by Laurie Bartolomeo, Creative Director, Copy. “Everyone in our organization should read, study, live, and practice the advice in this column,” he shared.

And there’s meat in it for your company, too. Send your thanks to Laurie for a succinct formula for launch-time success: Take the research you get from your audience, craft a laser-focused position, get buy-in on it from colleagues, and use that position as the guiding principle for brainstorming, so there are no “late-inning curveballs from those who have not ‘bought in’ on the idea.”

In addition to Laurie’s post, another popular post also examines the importance of receiving buy-in on projects before proceeding. Don’t let the buzz words get in the way of achieving your brand goals, by Barry Schmader, EVP, Chief Creative Officer, was a hit not only for the hockey vocabulary roundup it included (which sparked some interesting conversations among our office mates), but also for its practical advice.

“Barry’s right that during a brand launch, or during the creation of a crucial tactic, there is no time to waste on semantics,” said Scott Greisler, SVP, General Manager. “Brand managers should always use simple, clear language and confirm that their teams are on the same page with them on the details.”

A Tale of Two Thoughts on Taglines

Also on the short list of popular articles was Frank’s post Taglines don’t matter in biotech branding. Ellen Schneider, VP, Professional Services, pointed out that this post, and another one written by Scott Harper, Account Group Supervisor, entitled Are taglines a must for biotech brands? offer opposing opinions that a brand manager can use to inspire debate among the members of his or her team.

Frank’s post describes what a tagline is, but gives the opinion that taglines are out of vogue because there are no longer premium tactics (like pens and notepads) for which a pithy one-liner would be the sole means of reinforcing positioning. These days, as Frank notes in the blog post, positioning and messaging communicated by the sales team, innovative tactics, and nonpersonal promotional strategy should all be used to address the theme.

Scott’s post, however, argues that taglines are a quick, relatively inexpensive way to increase brand recognition, which may reduce the amount of time it takes for a new brand to get noticed and acquire loyal users in the marketplace.

“These posts demonstrate that there is no one right way for all companies to market themselves,” Ellen observed. “Brand teams, with the help of their agencies, will need to take stock of their objectives and their budgets to determine which school of thought will give them the biggest return on investment in the time frame they have in mind.”

More Advice on Clear Communication

Use of social media in the medical marketing industry—a strategy that has garnered much interest but is governed by murky guidance, at best—was examined in various ways in several posts. Bridget Sullivan, Assistant Account Executive, gave her vote for favorite article to Social media: no country for credibility gaps,  by Danielle Campbell-Angah, Senior Copy Editor. “I am the queen of cutting my Facebook status into Word before posting it because my mind works faster than my fingers. I’ve made some interesting typos when trying to update from my phone,” she said, encouraging brand managers to remember their personal experiences with social media gaffes to understand why it’s necessary to be even more vigilant with company communications.

Offering similar advice for e-mail was Senior Copywriter Kristin Morris’s favorite blog post, Before you hit send! written by Joe Chelius, Senior Copy Editor. “[Joe’s post] reminds us to stop and check for editorial mistakes before sending out a mass e-mail, but I think it also does something bigger. It makes us slow down and really think about what we’re sending.” The same reactive thinking that sometimes goes into responding to one e-mail could also be informing a host of short-term decisions that, taken together, damage a brand’s long-term strategy. “Even though Joe’s blog is specific to checking e-mails, I think it has a larger, more important lesson,” Kristin concluded.

Other favorite posts were:

• 4 rules every biotech manager should know about presentation slides, by Chris Tobias, PhD
• Six tips for adding vigor to your writing, by Joe Chelius
• Your biotech brand needs a good uniform…but that’s not all, by Marielle Albanese, Junior Copywriter
• Use color to build and differentiate your brand, by Tara Walther
• If you ain’t first you’re last! How to act like the market leader, by Frank X. Powers
• Make a good first impression with typography, by Chuck Jeffries, VP, Creative Director, Art
• Hey doc, look at me! by Frank X. Powers
• What can a biotech brand manager learn from the 2011 U2 360 Tour? by Monika Johnson
• The brand barbershop: satirical advice for male marketing managers, by Barry Schmader 
• Laser focus required to position biotech brands, by Frank X. Powers

 What will 2012 bring on our blog?

Check back regularly, as we will be posting articles this year with an expanded roster of Dudnyk authors. Upcoming posts include valuable lessons from a former brand manager now experiencing life on the agency side, a “baby shower” of ideas for teams that are anticipating a brand launch, and a guest post from a sales veteran who explains that AIDA and professional speaking for success is about more than Egypt and operatic singing.