Case study: How strategic multichannel marketing defends a brand's leadership positions

Traditionally, brands have used multichannel marketing (MCM) to build awareness across a broad range of targets. Building on that foundation, we worked with a large life science company whose established, multibillion dollar brand was facing stiff competition and a diminishing ROI for traditional promotion. Corporate leadership wanted to use this flagship brand as a testing ground for measuring the impact of MCM campaigns at scale.

Through thoughtful solution design, we were able to launch a coordinated campaign that maximised intensity and share of voice - creating proof-of-concept and delivering measurable results in the short term.

The campaign included a series of digital communications 'touches' to target healthcare providers - engaging them in content that fits into their daily workflow. These touches complemented the client's field force visits, priming the audience for face-to-face visits and giving the reps good intel for pull-through.

That's where it got interesting. Fairly quickly into the campaign, we noticed that while digital communications timed right after a sales call tended to dilute the impact of the impression, those touches that were made at least five days after a sales call created an important 'bridge' between sales calls that boosted overall performance.

With this finding in hand, we were able to quickly adapt the campaign to take advantage of this ideal cadence - thus boosting HCP engagement across multiple tactics. In this case, it led to a significant, measurable lift in new prescriptions over a 22-month time frame, effectively bolstering the brand's market position.

It's a great example of how the MCM model is evolving from what used to be broadcast advertising. Now we know better - we can use our data and past behaviours to focus our efforts where and when they will do most good, and with whom.

• Is your multichannel marketing offering the kinds of insights that yield optimal performance today, and inform strategies going forward? Visit www.aptushealth.com/europe
  

By Brad Davidson, PhD, SVP, strategic planning, Aptus Health