Staying Ahead in Healthcare Marketing: Lessons from Digital Pharma East 2024

Last week I attended Digital Pharma East (DPE) in Philadelphia—a four-day event that pulls together some of the brightest minds in healthcare marketing to share insights and forecast the trends shaping the industry’s future.

When I wasn’t playing with adorable puppies at the GoodRx booth (yes, that was a thing!), trying my hand at Health Monitor’s golf simulator, sipping lattes from PulsePoint’s coffee bar, or spinning Phreesia’s wheel of fun, I made sure to soak up as much knowledge as I could during the general sessions. With so many thought leaders in one place, the experience was enlightening and full of actionable insights.

Here are the three main themes that stood out to me from the event:

1. Know Your Audience!

This theme isn’t new, but it remains as relevant as ever. In healthcare marketing, understanding your audience is non-negotiable. More than anything, solving real customer needs should be at the forefront of every strategy. It’s not enough to have a plethora of data; it’s about using that data to understand your audience better.

2. Data is Ubiquitous, But Insights Are What Matter

Data is everywhere, but as Jim DeLash from GSK put it, “We need to torture the data until it confesses.” In other words, data alone won’t do much without the insights that can transform it into actionable strategies.

One critical challenge that surfaced during the discussions is that data remains highly disconnected. The growing issue of data literacy also plays a role in making it harder for teams to make the most of the information they have at their disposal.

3. AI is Everywhere—But Let’s Be Realistic

Yes, AI was definitely the buzzword of the event—if I had a penny for every time someone said “AI” or “omnichannel,” I could have treated myself to a nice dinner! But amidst all the excitement about AI’s potential, industry leaders also shared an important caveat: we need to be thoughtful about where and how we apply it.

As Samer Ansari from Takeda aptly stated, “It’s so easy to get distracted by the shiny new toy in Gen AI. We need to focus.” That means keeping business goals and customer needs front and center. There’s no denying AI has the potential to create efficiencies, but it’s crucial to implement it with intention and purpose.

Other Thought-Provoking Themes:

1. Taking Things in-house: A commonly shared thought among companies is the trend to bring more work in-house, from strategy to measurement to execution. Agencies are increasingly challenged to prove our value in this new landscape and be a true partner helping our clients stay on the leading edge of innovation, achieve their business goals, and ultimately help more patients.

2. Prescriber Time Management: As prescribers move between their “white coat time,” “blue jean time,” and even take a “pajama shift,” we should identify how best to help them rather than inundating them with materials they don’t need or want.

Overall, the week was a whirlwind of fresh ideas, discussions about the future of healthcare marketing, and, yes, plenty of fun moments between the sessions. The key takeaway? It’s more important than ever to stay focused on the customer—it’s all about solving real problems for real people.