The document discusses how pharmaceutical marketers can engage the power of simplicity despite increasing complexity in their market environment. It argues that the most successful brands from any sector relentlessly pursue simplicity in their ideas, execution, and focus. This allows them to cut through complexity and get better returns. The document provides examples of pharmaceutical brands like Cialis and Viagra that demonstrate simplicity through a clear brand idea focused on understanding key customer groups. It concludes that achieving simplicity requires clarity of focus on customers, a simple core brand idea, and relentlessly consistent execution across all aspects of the brand.

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Engaging the Power of Simplicity By Richard Bates, European Pharma lead at Clear
What’s the most overused claim in marketing? Probably: “my market is different
and unique because.....” It is claimed by marketers in every sector from Financial
Services to internet retailers, to hotels. In every sector it is used as a reason why
approaches and ideas from other sectors cannot be employed or learnt from
directly.
Arguably, pharmaceutical marketers have more right to claim this than any other.
Given the amount of science and data required to launch and explain each product,
the regulatory environment, the mix of different audiences that must be engaged -
from patients to physicians and payors – as well as the level of investment required
and the diversity of products and indications all combining to make it a daunting
environment for marketing.
What’s more this complexity is only going to get worse. As the functional
differentiation between products gets narrower, regulatory cost reduction pressure
on the sector increases and as pharmaceutical companies put greater emphasis on
developing ever more sophisticated ‘world class’ marketing processes.
However, the real issue is not the level of complexity, but the sector’s inability to
create brands that cut through it. That’s why we believe, more than ever,
Pharmaceutical marketers need to learn from other sectors where the most
successful brands all have one thing in common: the power of Simplicity.
The most successful brands grow because they relentlessly pursue simplicity: in
their Ideas, Execution and Focus. They cut through the complexity by being more
selective and by making difficult choices. The result is that they are leaner and get
better returns from their marketing investments.
What do we mean by Simplicity?
Why is it biotech companies are better able to innovate and be more responsive?
One reason may be that complexity is often encouraged by a large Pharmaceutical
organisation’s hierarchical culture. In many companies complexity becomes
reassuring and comforting. If an idea is complex and needs to be explained by
masses of data it must be clever, well thought through, be robust and have taken
time and effort to create....No?
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Simplicity is notthe Power of Simplicity
Engaging about “dumbing down”, or skimming over the detail. On the
contrary it is about working through the detail to understand what matters. In many
ways, it is far harder to achieve than complexity. If you take some of the most
The truth is that finding and selling the most motivating benefits is not
successful ideas from any field, what shines through is the way something
inherently complex has been worked at to make it simple to engage with and
understand: Einstein’s law of relativity or the engineering of the Apple iPhone are
well worn examples of such beautiful simplicity.
Another good example of the power of Simplicity at work would be the Ryanair
brand: now the third-largest airline in Europe and the world's largest in terms of
international passenger numbers. The idea that directs this brand, and that it
communicates at every opportunity is very simple: ‘the lowest cost airline’. It never
deviates from its message or from trying to drive down the base cost of flying. Some
would argue this is at the expense of all the enjoyment! But that in itself
demonstrates the power of simplicity. Ryanair looked at the market and the
customers in it, and their needs and frustrations with what existed. It then chose to
focus on those customer groups who put value ahead of comfort. Ryanair
understands these consumers and doesn’t try to appeal to anyone else. Indeed the
brand revels in the fact that not everyone likes it, because that just makes its
message and identity stronger.
Offering a very different level of service is Ocado. Ocado delivers the gold standard
for shopping delivery by focusing on a more up-market customer segment. They
have understood their target customers’ needs in detail and identified what kind of
service they will pay for. Ocado has then built its brand around the idea of: ‘friendly
reliability’. This idea drives everything about Ocado: from their one hour guaranteed
delivery window, good customer services delivered by the man in the van or via the
phone, reliable regular text updates & customer guarantees, and user-friendly
website & phone apps, even colour coded bags - Everything is built with the purpose
of delivering this simple idea.
Can Simplicity be achieved in Pharma?
It may be harder, but we believe it can, and there are examples, of brands that have
achieved it already.
Cialis and Viagra are both ‘simplicity’ brands and demonstrate that simplicity is not
just the privilege of the first treatment to market. Viagra is truly explicit about
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communicating its core brand idea – especially in markets where advertising
standards are less strict! The brand is very male oriented, focusing on those
patients who see erectile dysfunction as reducing their masculinity. In contrast to
The truth is that finding and selling the most motivating benefits is not
Viagra’s brand idea of ‘rediscovering your masculinity’ the Cialis brand is built on
the idea of ‘be spontaneous’ recognising that there are patients and couples who
miss the spontaneity that is lost due to erectile dysfunction and the existing
treatments. Both brands are driven by a very clear and simple brand idea, derived
from focusing on one well understood customer target and consistently
communicated through everything they do.
Whether by default or design Avastin is also a brand that demonstrates the power
of Simplicity. At the core of the brand is the idea of ‘progress = success’. As an idea
it is one that resonates strongly in all areas of oncology where there is a consistent
desire to maximise both the quantity and quality of life patients can enjoy. As a
result Physicians have to make calculated choices when it comes to treatment -
Weighing up the potential benefits. What they lack is certainty, and in this
environment the idea of progress or ‘breaking convention’ gives greater confidence.
This idea is maintained via a sustained succession of new trials and indication
listings as well as extensive use of real world patient results in their
communications and publications.
How do you get greater simplicity?
There is no process for achieving simplicity. Rather, as we’ve already stated
simplicity can be achieved by ensuring the brand has 3 things:
1. Clarity of focus
2. A brutally simple idea at its heart
3. Relentlessly consistent execution
Therapy areas are complex and treatments can offer a range of potential benefits,
but that’s why Simple brands succeed. Because they stand out clearly, are easy to
understand and make the choice easier for customers. Achieving simplicity is
dependent on having a clarity of focus. This comes from truly understanding what
makes you market and customers tick. What drives customers: both rationally and
emotionally, what are their needs, frustrations, fears? You also need to know your
competitors as well as they know themselves - not just their data but what space
they are trying to own in the therapy area - how they are communicating this and
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Engaging the Power of Simplicity
how this might change. This amounts to having deep market insight. Insight that
can inspire the development of your brand idea by identifying truths and tensions in
the market and the resulting challenge the brand can address.
The truth is that finding and selling the most motivating benefits is not
Insight on its own is not enough. Many brands have the insight, the understanding
of market dynamics and their competitors but they fail to make choices. Which
customers, insights and competitors are important and which can be left alone?
It may be a complicated road that leads to the ‘big idea’ that sits at the heart of your
brand. But once it has been found, working at it until you have absolute simplicity
is essential. The idea needs to be relevant to your chosen customer, to resonate
with them, but it also must be something that everyone understands and is inspired
by, regardless of who they are. If you can’t write your brand idea on a napkin so that
your mum understands it, it’s not simple enough.
If you enter any successful brand’s offices and ask the first person “what their brand
stands for?” They’ll know, and be able to tell you how it has influenced the part of
the operation they work on. Everybody understanding the idea and what the brand
is about is just the start point for ensuring consistency of execution. Once the idea
has been created everything the brand does must be consistent with that one big
idea....travel anywhere in the world and brands like Coca Cola or Nike stand for the
same things. The adverts or where you find the brand may differ but they are always
instantly recognisable. Consistency of both tone, and message drives recognition
and ensures customers understand what your brand brings to the therapy area.
So we believe the pharmaceutical brands that succeed in the future will do so
despite the complexity of the market environment, by understanding and engaging
the power of Simplicity.
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