New approaches to international healthcare media
Internationalisation, technological innovation, new media strategies: WEFRA MEDIAPLUS GLOBAL HEALTH, the international joint venture between WEFRA LIFE and Mediaplus, stands at the centre of a communications transformation in the healthcare sector. The new division has an objective of providing strategic support to global companies with integrated media and communications solutions. A digital masterclass from WEFRA LIFE examines how these solutions can be put into practice with success.
The launch of WEFRA MEDIAPLUS GLOBAL HEALTH, the joint venture between agencies WEFRA LIFE and Mediaplus, has created a new source of impetus for international healthcare communications – as a targeted answer to global pitches, digital innovation and evolving market requirements. So, what is this healthcare division’s mindset? What are its structures and strategies? A look behind the scenes is offered here by Marina Sperling and Adrian Haack, both in the management team at WEFRA MEDIAPLUS GLOBAL HEALTH.
Decades of experience and expertise combined in one division
Adrian Haack says that when WEFRA MEDIAPLUS GLOBAL HEALTH was being launched, there was one thought above all in mind: ‘Internationalisation combined with healthcare know-how, and that’s because internationalisation is moving at full speed,’ the marketing communications expert explains, ‘Clients are centralising their activities and consolidating their regions.’ The journey of this still relatively young company began just under two years ago with the international direction of one of the two highly successful joint ventures of WEFRA LIFE and Mediaplus: ‘Together, we brought CMS in Paris on board last year so that we had a market leader occupying each of Europe’s two strongest markets.’
According to Marina Sperling, the decades of healthcare know-how at the three media agencies has resulted in a successful, high-performance merger. And, tangible benefits for clients: ‘A high degree of flexibility in the organisational structure; custom media solutions for HCPs, patients and family members; and efficient and fast implementation based on data-driven innovation.’
International connections
A central foundation for the success of WEFRA MEDIAPLUS GLOBAL HEALTH is its strong, international network. ‘Our clients particularly appreciate our independence,’ Sperling explains, ‘For us, independence means quality in media decision-making and not media planning driven by specifications. We stand for quality over quantity.’ She says that being the largest owner-operated, independent agency lets it focus on collaborative partnerships with clients instead of applying investor-defined specifications. The motto is ‘client centricity’, which is what leads to long-standing client loyalty. There are a variety of different cooperation models on offer, depending on the needs, from central management approaches to balanced ones as well as decentralised approaches. It is a level of flexibility that represents a clear USP in comparison to rigid network structures. ‘We don’t believe in “one size fits all”. We always take an individual approach with an aspiration of having the perfect set-up for the client.’
‘As an owner-operated group of agencies, we can put our long-term vision above short-term success,’ adds Adrian Haack, ‘And thanks to our international footing, we can scale innovations such as AI-based processes and data-driven campaigns globally, all based on our deep healthcare expertise in both B2B and B2C.’
Communicating creatively, consistently and with legal certainty
International pitches are a part of everyday business at WEFRA MEDIAPLUS GLOBAL HEALTH. As Marina Sperling explains, these pitches are not just for media either, with tasks such as creation or PR forming part of the work, too. She believes that expert knowledge, passion and commitment are essential for making a compelling impression. On top of that, she says that it is important for the future team to have a presence on the ground. In general, she says, WEFRA MEDIAPLUS GLOBAL HEALTH profits from the wealth of pitch experience that the parent agencies have, ‘This ensures structured processes and professionalism.’ With access to media experts at locations around the world, a presence can also be ensured in a wide variety of regions.
Alongside that, the SPOC model has also been established within the new healthcare division in recent years. It involves a single, central point of contact being created on the agency’s side to act as the interface for communication. ‘We’ve received very good client feedback about this model,’ says Adrian Haack with delight. To maintain consistent communication across national borders, he says, WEFRA MEDIAPLUS GLOBAL HEALTH focuses on multiple aspects: ‘A central coordination unit; global strategies and standards; KPIs and benchmarks; quality assurance; consolidation of all stakeholders; and local expert teams who contribute their local market know-how when implementing the strategy.’
For legal protection in the face of local regulations, the new healthcare division makes use of a ‘general legal check’. It is complemented by ‘legal playbooks’ for different markets, and they are updated on an ongoing basis. Local legal expertise is also sought for individual cases. ‘As an agency, we act as a strategic partner who proactively incorporates the regulatory environment into the planning,’ Sperling makes clear.
AI ensures better data
The legal environment is not the only thing with dynamism relevant to the work done by WEFRA MEDIAPLUS GLOBAL HEALTH. The field of AI in particular has a spectacular influence on the development of media activities, and Marina Sperling says it is chiefly for the purpose of improving efficiency. According to her, the improvement is primarily attributable to better and better analytics which enable sound decision-making and audience-specific conclusions – and even more so when these analytics are dynamic and in real time.
The new healthcare division furthermore uses optimised tools and dashboards to pack even more of a punch in campaign implementation. In the B2C segment, they include the AI-based Growth Investor Pharma, which identifies the most effective media mix for holistic decision-making on investments. ‘The tool combines all critical media factors of all important media measures in one system,’ Sperling explains, ‘Costs, audiences, reach and, most importantly, ad effectiveness, from awareness to sales.’ She says that this means Growth Investor Pharma ensures a maximum return on media invest across all channels which can then be planned in detail and executed by the relevant channel specialists. The teams at WEFRA MEDIAPLUS GLOBAL HEALTH also use artificial intelligence to optimise budgets.
In the B2B segment, the Healthy Programmatic tool ranks among the most successful instruments. This WEFRA-exclusive technology has a purpose of reaching HCPs after login programmatically and in a legally compliant way. ‘Digital ads are displayed to defined audiences – without waste – based on interests, specialisations and locations,’ Adrian Haack explains. Clients benefit from an exclusive publisher network with it, too: ‘Just in Germany alone, there are over 50 publishers and platforms which are part of it. On top of that, we can display ads specified for a particular specialisation or indication to over 40 different audiences.’
Are you in the international healthcare business yourself and interested in the services offered by WEFRA MEDIAPLUS GLOBAL HEALTH? Or, do you have questions about this masterclass? You are welcome to get in touch by email at: masterclass@wefra.life
