Life Science Marketing Group

The virtual reality industry is projected to grow to $34 billion by 2022. Virtual reality is a groundbreaking technology and represents the next major technology shift after web and mobile devices. It allows marketers to provide a new, immersive experience for customers to engage with products and services.

How are life science companies utilizing this technology to create engaging, interactive experiences? Has the COVID-19 pandemic made virtual reality a more important marketing tool as corporate marketers struggle with being socially distant from customers and potential customers? Attendees heard from two local virtual reality corporate leaders. They shareed success stories on how life science companies are integrating virtual reality into their marketing mix.

Speakers

Jason Cooper is the chief digital officer at Horizon Productions. Jason has helped evolve this 38-year-old, Emmy award-winning production company into a premier virtual and augmented reality provider. Jason leads Horizon's team that focuses on the non-gaming applications of virtual reality/augmented reality – research, education, training, marketing, filmmaking and real-time immersive experiences for health care, life sciences and other industries.

Joshua Setzer is the CEO and co-founder of Lucid Dream VR. Fascinated by the intersection of creativity and technology, Joshua’s professional background includes experience in design, manufacturing, and corporate sales training. As a passionate entrepreneur, Joshua loves building great businesses that challenge employees and customers to continuously grow.

There is real opportunity for marketing and innovation to have a significant impact across the organization. In today’s fast-moving world that is a necessity. For the May program, Tom Triumph covered the five fundamental pillars of every organization and how marketing professionals can positively impact the entire organization.

Real-world examples and puzzles illustrated how to:

• Understand how intentional evolution leads to success
• Discover what NASA taught us about creative genius
• Identify areas in your company where you can compound improvement
• Change your perception of the difficulties you encounter in work and life
   

Speaker

Thomas Triumph helps companies grow by helping them reinvent their business, technology and product development. Along the way he has helped large Fortune 500 organizations act nimbly and small, entrepreneurial companies scale. He has been a participant in two global technology revolutions and has been part of some remarkable success stories and some misfires. He is the author of the book Evolve or Die: Lessons for World-Class Innovation & Creativity.

Tom fulfilled a childhood dream of living aboard an ocean research ship and tending to the mini-sub (Cousteau was on the Board) and has wrestled in the Olympic trials. He resides in North Carolina and is an ultra runner.

Social media is an integral part of today’s life science marketing programs. Now more than ever brands are rarely successful without a strong social media presence. Social media provides an opportunity to engage with important audiences and helps to build strong relationships with your brand.

However, it is difficult for marketers to keep up with all that is happening in the ever-evolving digital landscape. This session covered practical tips and tricks to maximize results of your social media efforts:

• Tactics for gaining high visibility on popular social platforms
• Marrying content marketing and social media marketing and why it’s important to have both
• The types of content that are resonating with modern audiences
• Tracking relevant key performance indicators to measure ROI

Speakers

At some point, all marketing professionals will be involved in launching a new product or service. Product launches are an important opportunity. If done well, a product launch can generate revenue, create a competitive edge, and build trust with your target market.

This program detailed a tried-and-tested method for launching innovation. In this presentation, we covered:

• Discussing new marketing and sales strategies for launching innovative products
• Challenging conventional thinking and provide new strategies and tactics
• Exploring the cost and risks of getting it wrong
• Providing a framework for anticipating and recovering from inevitable missteps

Speaker

Chris Morrison is the founder of ViaVerus, a life science and healthcare consulting company focused on the strategy of introducing new products to market. Prior to launching ViaVerus, Chris headed sales and marketing at Expression Analysis, a genomic services company. Earlier in his career, he held various sales and business development roles at healthcare and medtech companies. Chris earned a bachelor of science degree in engineering at the University of Vermont.

Whether you are having coffee with a local reporter or helping a company executive prepare for an interview with a national news outlet, engaging with the media presents a crucial opportunity to deliver strategic business messages to key stakeholders. With preparation and practice, you can develop strong relationships with the media and guide conversations to achieve optimal outcomes. 

During this session, the do’s and don’ts for interview preparation and management, including proper research, appropriate body language, the use of strategic techniques to successfully deliver key messages, as well as how to bring mainstream relevance to technical information were discussed.

  Speaker

Karyn Ostrom is an account director based in the Raleigh office of G&S Business Communications, where she supports corporate communications for one of the agency’s key agribusiness clients. In this role, she helps her client navigate the changing media landscape and advises on issues management and profile-raising media opportunities. Prior to joining G&S in 2012, Karyn advised companies in the corporate legal and emergency management sectors. She holds a Master of Science degree in journalism from Columbia University.

Websites are a critical branding and sales tool. They often create the first impression that visitors will have of your company and have the power to make or break your reputation. It’s imperative to know your audience, have a measurement plan in place and have stakeholder buy-in in order to be successful online.

Whether you are launching a new website or looking to refresh your current website, attend this program to gain insights on website development and analytics. Get the answers to all your questions on how to create a great user experience while optimizing for search engines and mobile-friendliness.

Presenters:

Gary Towning, executive vice president of digital services, Trone Brand Energy

Laura Flugga, director of digital experience, Trone Brand Energy

Innovation is the key to growth. Thus, life science marketers must dedicate some time and effort to identify opportunities for innovation.

Fun-filled exercises inspired thinking by using real-world examples of marketing innovations. Small teams were created to brainstorm, prioritize, and unlock keys to success for innovating marketing programs for the new year.

Life science marketers must be adept at product naming. However, naming new products and services can be challenging. How do you develop a name that fits with the company brand and properly conveys the product brand? How do you ensure that regulatory requirements are met? 

Workshop attendees learned the art and science of naming and discovered the process and timelines for gaining company stakeholder buy-in and clearing regulatory hurdles. Naming strategies, global linguistic considerations, legal hurdles, and market research techniques to develop optimal names were explored to conceptualize brand strengthening. The Life Science Marketing group also explored differences in product naming for biotech/pharma vs. medical devices vs. animal health.

Speakers

Clayton is president and CEO of Brandsymbol, headquartered in Matthews, North Carolina. He began his career in 1993 with Addison Whitney in Charlotte, where he developed comprehensive industry knowledge while working with some of the world’s largest companies. He helped Addison Whitney develop some of the world’s most memorable brands such as Advair, Escalade, and Outlook. Quickly rising to the rank of president and CEO, Clayton turned Addison Whitney into one of the top 10 branding agencies in the world. After the sale of Addison Whitney, Clayton revitalized his branding process with Brandsymbol. Clayton is a graduate of UNC Asheville. 
 

Ben is a senior brand consultant at Brandsymbol. He helps clients establish project objectives and manages resources to achieve optimal results. He leads client projects involving branding strategy, research, nonproprietary and brand naming, and more for pharmaceutical, biotech, and medical device companies. Ben earned a bachelor’s degree from the Bloch School of Business at the University of Missouri-Kansas City.

Networking event for life science marketing professionals was held at Brier Creek Carolina Ale Houses. Attendees were encouraged to mingle and discuss their individual marketing challenges and successes and learn about our fall program lineup.

This session covered aspects of market research and why is a critical tool for life science companies at every stage of growth. It helps companies to:

• Understand and monitor the competitive landscape
• Establish baseline requirements and pricing for products and services
• Gain insight into customers' receptivity to current and future offerings
• Come and learn basic primary and secondary market research techniques to get to the data and insights needed to make informed business decisions.  Discover how to tap into affordable, readily available market research resources to support all stages of the product/service lifecycle.

Speakers

Amy DeWinter
Founder, Ascenda Medical

Amy DeWinter, founder of Ascenda Medical Marketing, is a seasoned medical marketing professional with more than 20 years of experience in both startups and established company environments.  She has a strong background in emerging technologies and has used market research to plan product launches and business development ventures.

Amy has successfully assisted multiple organizations in everything from product naming to clinician training programs and market planning. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of San Diego.  

Lori Melliere
Outreach and Client Services Librarian, NCBiotech

Lori Melliere, is the outreach and client services librarian with Life Science Intelligence (LSI) at NCBiotech. LSI works with North Carolina's life science entrepreneurs, delivering targeted market and scientific insight needed to inform strategic decisions. Lori helps clients with their research needs by connecting them with LSI's resources and expertise.

Lori obtained her Master of Science degree in library science, and a master's degree in public administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

The organization of a marketing department must evolve as a company moves from startup through various stages of growth.

Insights from a medtech expert, Brian Regan, touched on the ideal marketing structure for each stage of a company's life cycle. Clearly defining roles and responsibilities is crucial for optimal performance, along with strategic marketing practices for setting and achieving goals at each stage of a startup.

Speaker

As vice president of marketing and development at TearScience, Brian led his marketing team from a few-person startup through company acquisition when TearScience was sold to Johnson & Johnson. Brian has held a variety of marketing and sales leadership positions at medtech companies. He earned his MBA at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management.

Whether your company is a small biotech startup or an established pharmaceutical company, brand building is important. Strong brands can:

• Differentiate an offering from the competition
• Build recognition, credibility & confidence
• Boost customer preference & loyalty
• Help attract investors & top talent

Speakers

This panel of experts shared their insights on building a brand strategy from scratch and help us evaluate if it’s time for a brand refresh. Learn the best practices for maximizing your brand.

This session was all about lead generation. Attendees learned how to:

• Set your lead generation strategy based on your overall marketing goals
• Measure ROI on lead generation campaign
• Employ different lead generation tactics by market segment
• Analyze and use data to continually improve your efforts

Speaker

Karen is a talented and experienced marketing professional who has held positions in a diverse array of organizations.  For the past 13 years, Karen has worked for life science and biotech fims, specializing on planning and implementing marketing initiatives.  She has worked with industry leaders such as IQVIA, Expression Analysis, Metabolon and Epicypher.