Innovex is a provider of international sales teams to pharmaceutical and biotech companies worldwide. In 2004, it wanted to reposition itself from being seen as a sales organisation to a company that handles all aspects of commercialisation for the pharmaceutical industry.
Over the next three years it developed a whole suite of commercial services including market-entry planning, pricing, analytics, medical communications, strategic handling of signage and the teaching of patients to administer their own treatment. Other services were being added all the time and all services were beginning to be offered internationally.
However in 2004, it was decided that it needed to reposition itself from being seen as a sales organisation to a company that handles all aspects of commercialisation for the pharmaceutical industry.
Innovex had changed so dramatically that the target audience of medium to large pharmaceutical and biotech companies in the US, UK, Italy, Germany, Spain and the Netherlands had been left behind. Such a radical change needed to be made firstly credible and attractive to vice-presidents and directors of sales and marketing.
Innovex needed to display a depth of intelligence and demonstrate parallels with the way big pharma went about its business.
The result was Innovex Business Science.
Sail away
Boat imagery was used to suggest that customers were being taken on a voyage of discovery, with Innovex as the pilot. Ads featured a boat waiting to embark from a quay and a line of boats pointing across a calm lake.
Direct marketing and exhibition stand give-aways consisted of the paper and instructions to make an origami boat. DM and advertising drove traffic to a new Business Science microsite where ten of the biggest how to commercialise’ questions were answered, proving that the new business model could address real concerns.
Conference hotels bathtubs were filled and little toy boats floated on them with a message to visit the Innovex stand. Hotel door signs were replaced with Innovex branded ones which said, Do not disturb, business scientist at work’.
The same creative was also used for internal marketing to tell staff about the campaign, let them know about the new direction and encourage enthusiasm. A conference at Budapest was also arranged for key staff.
International reach
The launch consisted of an international advertising campaign concentrating on the UK, US, Germany and Spain, but also covering the whole of Europe. Online advertising was included on the major pharmaceutical websites with links to the new microsite. Direct marketing pieces were sent to six countries and visits to the microsite almost doubled after they had been received. Most microsite visits were from the target countries but the campaign also generated significant interest globally. Innovex also attended an industry event in Barcelona.
The budget was around £1.1 million, of which £400,000 was spent on media, £150,000 on internal marketing, £100,000 on the customer launch and £50,000 on the microsite.
Jane Mackenzie-Lawrie, global marketing director at Innovex, says, “We’re tremendously pleased with the solid strategic thinking, the development and execution of the creative and the planned roll-out of the campaign. We believe it will deliver the results we need successfully to reposition the Innovex brand.”
