Saving a major pharma company with multiple business lines 50% in media intelligence costs

The Client

A major international pharmaceutical company, founded several decades ago, that performs R&D activities and product development based on a range of medical disorders including neurological, hematological, oncological, gastrointestinal, and other issues. This breadth of activities and corresponding therapeutic products means the company has several distinct therapeutic lines, each with their own unique set of products, branding, and PR/communications requirements.

The client’s several different therapeutic lines means it must track several distinct business lines and their brands simultaneously, along with its corporate brand and competitor mentions. But its prior approach to media intelligence services (including media monitoring, media analysis, and daily executive news briefs) was somewhat fractured: While the company used one SaaS platform for automated media monitoring across the organization, each therapeutic line employed a different PR agency for content curation, media tagging, and media analysis.

This approach to media data collection, curation, preparation, and analysis resulted in fractured outputs, inaccurate media data, siloed data between business groups, and inefficient workflows.

• Inconsistent methodology and formatting: Media reports and media briefs for each therapeutic line had different approaches, different metrics, a different look and feel, and were created using different methodologies
• Difficulty comparing KPIs: The lack of a consistent methodology often led to different numbers and confusing data between deliverables and business groups, making it difficult to benchmark and compare performance
• High cost: Each therapeutic line paid PR agency rates for overlapping content creation and article tagging, leading to significant unnecessary costs
• Erratic scheduling: While some therapeutic lines were on a daily news briefs schedule, others were only receiving monthly updates, making benchmarking and comparisons difficult
• Multiple points of contact: Because of all the different vendors involved, the company was forced to deal with a different POC for every deliverable and therapeutic line
• Lack of objectivity: Because the same agencies conducting measurement reporting were also running PR campaigns and media outreach, there was an appearance of potential bias
• Clunky ad-hoc requests: Because so many different companies were involved, adding a new deliverable or ad hoc request was a tedious process involving multiple contracts and legal reviews

Additionally, because media monitoring and media analysis typically falls outside the core competencies of PR agencies, the client’s media analysis reports were typically produced by staff without appropriate training or industry certifications.

The Solution

Fullintel’s approach to the client’s challenge was simple: Consolidate all media monitoring and media intelligence activities under a consistent methodology, to produce consistent media data and analysis insights across the entire enterprise:

• Consistency of methodology: Standardization of media monitoring and content curation methodologies across all business units and deliverables, for consistent data and a predictable approach
• Economies of scale: All content is now curated, toned and tagged via a centralized process (instead of each business unit doing it in a vacuum). Articles are now curated, toned and tagged just once, with that information then available to all business units and users
• Unbiased, certified media measurement specialists: Fullintel is a true third party, with media analysis reports produced by an AMEC-certified, dedicated media analyst team working full-time on the client’s account. Because our teams don’t run campaigns or PR initiatives, there’s no potential conflict of interest when it comes to measurement results
• Automated SaaS dashboard: An automated, real-time SaaS dashboard, which allows corporate users to drill down into each business unit’s performance (with accurate data across every unit), complements our high-touch expert curation and reporting
• One point of contact: Instead of dozens of POC’s depending on therapeutic line or deliverable, the client’s many business units and corporate users now have one dedicated POC knowledgeable about the entire account
• Consistent scheduling: All deliverables are now submitted to the client on a regular, unified cadence, with each therapeutic line receiving daily and monthly deliverables across the board on a set schedule
• Consistent design: The client’s media reports and mobile-friendly executive news briefs are now standardized to one agreed-upon look and feel, including the company’s branding and corporate colours.
• Flexible master services agreement: Because there’s just one contract that’s already been approved by the client’s legal group, new deliverables or ad-hoc reports can be requested quickly and efficiently