Johnson & Johnson is expected to make the best use of digital marketing this year, according to an industry poll.

The Digital Futures 2014 survey, run by PMLiVE publisher PMGroup in association with Havas Lynx, saw J&J edge out competition from the likes of Boehringer Ingelheim to be voted the company to watch in digital in 2014.

The online survey involved nearly 250 people working in, and for, the pharma industry and commenting on J&J respondents noted the firm is “well established in this space” and highlighted its “proven capabilities”, “great culture” and strong approach to strategy.

J&J's pharma division Janssen is often at the forefront of digital marketing, from its ground-breaking use of social media in the UK to its European Digital Health Masterclass Challenge, the firm has a pedigree of innovation.

The company is also able to draw on its strengths in consumer marketing. As one respondent commented: “Their devices are marketed in areas that are less encumbered with restrictive regulation and internal fear of 'getting it wrong'.”

Much of the company's digital innovation within the pharma space comes from Janssen Healthcare Innovation (JHI), an entrepreneurial team within Janssen's R&D arm.

Speaking at the Health 2.0 Europe event late last year Marco Mohwinckel, a partner at JHI, said: “We understand the world around us is changing and we want to work with it to effectively shape the change.

“We really want to transform J&J from being product-centric to being a broader healthcare company.”

The 'master brand' for JHI's initiatives is Care4Today, which so far encompasses a digital adherence platform and heart health, orthopaedic and mental health initiatives.

“We are at an inflection point in healthcare. Change is accelerating and disruption is coming to this market, so we need to be part of that,” Mohwinckel added.

J&J may have topped the company category but hard on its heels was Boehringer Ingelheim, which draw praise for a “heritage in digital and social media and lack of internal restrictions” and the way it has “defined a clear strategy at a company level”.

The company has consistently tried to push the industry's digital boundaries, in gaming, social media and healthcare innovation.

Digital Futures 2014 survey

The survey was hosted online at PMLiVE.com and ran for one month from December 4, 2013. During this time it attracted 236 respondents, among them executives from companies such as AbbVie, AstraZeneca, Bayer, Boehringer Ingelheim, GSK, Johnson & Johnson, Lilly, Pfizer, Roche, Sanofi and Teva.

Just under half (48.5 per cent) of respondents came from the pharma, biotech or medical devices sectors, with the rest mainly split evenly between consultancies and agencies. By region, 46 per cent of repondents were located in the UK, with strong representation from Europe (29 per cent), the US (9 per cent) and Asia (8 per cent).

The survey attracted a comparable split between those in senior management (19 per cent), marketing (23 per cent), and digital and communications (both 17 per cent). Nearly half of respondents had global responsibilities, with local or regional responsibilities each claimed by just over a quarter of respondents.

• See also:

Pharma's social media priorities in 2014

Pharma's top digital challenge in 2014? Strategy

• Full coverage of the survey, and related analysis, can be found in the Digital Futures section of the Digital Handbook

Digital inspiration for pharma on mobile, social media, strategy, best practice, regulations and more