How can UK pharma navigate the competitive digital landscape?

Online resources are clearly part and parcel of healthcare professionals' (HCP) daily working lives, but with so many available marketers must be savvy if they are to engage with them at relevant touch-points and via the right channels. 

Historically, the industry's tendency to rely heavily upon brand.com websites has been well documented and, indeed, often blamed for its failure to capitalise in the digital world, since HCPs favour independent, third party resources. 

There is a clear recognition now of the need to engage audiences within these third party resources, particularly as the traditional pharma sales rep model is under intense pressure. But this landscape is becoming crowded.   

One key online communication channel in the UK - NHS intranets - has traditionally been off-limits for pharma and other healthcare organisations. This critical and highly trusted source of information is used every day by all HCPs within NHS organisations, from the CEO downwards, with users spending about six minutes online per visit.  

However, this uncluttered staff channel has now opened up, thanks to an exclusive network created between the NHS and Fendix Media – the only organisation that enables pharma to use NHS intranets as messaging platforms.

Fendix Media, which is on track to have agreements in place with 35 per cent of NHS trusts by the end of 2014, currently reaches around 250,000 healthcare professionals, giving advertisers a valuable share of voice in the NHS work environment. Messaging campaigns generate click through rates that are four to five times the industry average and Fendix Media generates 35m page impressions across its network of trusts every month.

Pharma and other healthcare organisations can and are runing campaigns that include promotional messages, disease awareness information, corporate social responsibility (CSR), research and surveys. In addition to tailoring messages to healthcare decision-makers and measuring the results, Fendix can also target patients and the public through external NHS websites, if required. Programmes are simple to set up, implement and measure, and can be easily integrated with other engagement tactics.

While this form of messaging brings clear advantages for pharma, it also benefits the NHS financially, since Fendix Media shares advertising revenues with the NHS, enabling it to further improve patient care and its use of online tools particularly.

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