INBOUND ACCELERATOR

As an agency offering integrated public relations and marketing solutions, we only succeed if our clients succeed. And that is why I love sharing success stories, something I plan to start doing regularly here on the Inbound Accelerator. I know there are things my readers can learn from hearing about what has worked well — in some cases, extremely well — for our clients.

If you have been following my 15 Lessons From 15 Years series of blog posts (this is post #11), you may remember that when I discussed the key steps to successful marketing in the healthcare IT arena, I said that integrating PR and marketing was essential.

In fact, it is so important for all industries, not just that one, that I felt I needed to revisit the concept and walk you through the steps we follow to ensure that all communications create a cohesive message and focus on reaching the same corporate goals.

Every industry has individual nuances in marketing tactics, techniques and needs. And while nearly every B2B market is also filled with industry-specific knowledge and vocabulary that marketers must understand in order to create credible content, when it comes to businesses in the life sciences sphere, the need for expertise and immersion in the field is even greater.

Life sciences, as a field, encompasses a wide range of businesses, most of which support the infrastructure that enables the healthcare system, from medical device manufacturers, to pharmaceutical companies, DNA research, and the contract research organizations that take on drug discovery, pre-clinical and clinical trial research for pharmaceutical and biotech companies.

More than 15 years ago, while I was still working with global PR agency Porter Novelli, I was handed an assignment that I was certain was punishment. I couldn’t think of a topic any more boring, any less engaging, any more difficult to turn into a public relations campaign that would garner media coverage.

I was assigned to support the sales of paper and ink. Really?

Successfully placing contributed articles — also called bylined articles or thought leadership — in industry publications isn’t always an easy task. It requires developing article ideas or abstracts that publishers find attractive, pitching to the right publications, and finally, crafting a high-quality piece that meets publication guidelines and earns you a reputation for submitting great work.

The philosophy we subscribe to at JONES, and have been able to bring to fruition for some of our most successful clients, is the idea that everything you do in marketing and public relations is connected. And it should all be pointing, ultimately, toward bringing in leads and closing deals.

Our client West Corporation has successfully done just that with its healthcare communications and patient engagement technology department, working with us to take communications strategies from concepts through research, writing and design, promotion, and inbound lead generation all the way to finalized sales that

There is no question that marketing and public relations are changing.

From the ever-changing (and ever-expanding) selection of channels and formats for communicating with audiences, to the demands of those audiences for instant information, and the way information and opinions can spread like wildfire, corporate communications on all levels will never be the same.

I want to personally congratulate our new biotech/pharmaceutical client QPS on the expansion of its U.S.-based Phase I clinical trial capabilities to support the growing needs of its pharmaceutical, biotechnology and CRO (contract research organization) partners.

To fill their drug pipelines, large pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies are buying promising drug compounds that have been developed by small biotech companies up to the point of candidate nomination. These promising compounds then become candidate drugs that the large companies put through rigorous testing and analysis before potentially being reviewed and assessed for approval by the FDA.

Media audits are a staple of the public relations world: It’s important to know who is saying what about your business, how often, where and when.

That knowledge is just as vital when crafting your marketing strategies, as all communications should be part of a cohesive strategy that works together.

When you create marketing content or write public relations materials, what are you doing? The first instinct would be to say you are selling something, or you are building a brand image.