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With an increasing amount of healthcare professionals going online, pharmaceutical companies looking to reach out to them are following suit. Publicis Healthcare Communications Group (PHCG), with 20 specialist agency brands in 41 offices across 11 countries and employing over 3,000 people, sees the momentum shifting to digital.
Speaking to Business Line , PHCG President and CEO Mr Nick Colucci, said, “Globally, the digital and mobile aspect of the business has grown to contribute about 23 per cent of our revenues. I see this going up to 40 per cent in the next three years. The trend is led by evolved markets.”
He estimates 65 to 70 per cent of PHCG's clientele are pharmaceutical companies, with food products, nutrition and wellness contributing the rest. Driven by health consciousness the world over, Mr Colluci noted that the non-pharma business is the fastest growing.
“Products and services consumed with health and wellness in mind are thought of differently by consumers, and what we bring to brands is this understanding of this consumer thinking and how to therefore reach them,” explained Mr Colluci, when asked about the agency's differentiation.
Specialist social media such as SERMO (for physicians in the US) are being used to reach out to physicians with relevant messages, informed the spokesperson. Information dissemination is also shifting from ‘paper-based' to ‘e-based', according to him.
The highest market by revenues for PHCG is the US, followed by Europe and then Asia. Five years from now, the company expects revenues from Asia to be higher than revenues from Europe, led by India and China.
“In the US and Europe, we're seeing the emergence of preference-based marketing, because physicians demand to be talked to in the way they prefer. Multi-channel preference marketing is the way forward, and digital is a key part of that. I believe that will be the future in India too,” said Mr Colucci.
PHCG made its entry into India with the launch of Saatchi & Saatchi Health in November 2010. It operates out of two offices in India, one each in Mumbai and Bangalore. In the next year, Saatchi Health will set up offices in Hyderabad and Delhi, informed Ms Malavika R. Harita, CEO.
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