Pharma marketers have their work cut out when it comes to developing sales messages for their brand. Not only do they have to adhere to the highest ethical, legal, regulatory and industry standards but their therapy area is often so competitive that many messages can become more of a hygiene factor than a point of difference.

On top of that, healthcare professionals are a highly educated audience but also a very busy one. It’s not unusual for us to be privy to the frustrations of time-poor healthcare professionals who find pharma marketing too clever or complicated for its own good.

“A lot of times you are multi-tasking... you are also seeing the patient... my brain doesn’t work to do complicated things and work things out” – Australian Specialty Healthcare Professional

After conducting message testing research in many different therapy areas since we first opened our doors, we often find one thing is lacking in brand messages: simplicity.

Understandably, there is much to be conveyed when a brand comes to market - or needs to grow or defend market share - but it’s all too easy for this to lead to overly long and complicated key selling messages. On top of that, doctors tend to be more left- than right-brain thinkers, meaning that highly creative messages are often lost on them.

To ensure brand messages are simple, memorable and have impact, we always evaluate Key Selling Messages with two critical aspects in mind:

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1. Getting the right message – gauging the power of messages in terms of their potential to influence behaviour
2. Getting the message right – discovering and fine tuning alternative ways in which messages can be communicated to increase their value

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By considering both aspects of communication, we can help develop a solid sales story with insights on:

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• Content – how credible and compelling the claims are
• Clarity – how clear the wording is
• Execution – how the propositions engage target customers
• Impact – likelihood to encourage prescribing and advocacy

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As Maurice Saatchi said, “I argue that the future of advertising, whatever the technology, will be to associate each brand with one word. This is One Word Equity. It's the modern equivalent of having the best site on the high street, except the location is in the mind”.

A single word for a brand may be out of reach for pharma marketers, but a strong focus on simplicity is certainly a step in the right direction.

If you’d like to evaluate your key selling messages for simplicity, memorability and impact, get in touch with us today info@sowhatresearch.com.au