Preamble:
Between the last week of December 2023 and January 20th, 2024, “B-Black Belt Brand Builders” interviewed twenty-seven brand managers from leading pharmaceutical companies. These companies collectively hold a 62.34% market share, measured by sales revenue in the Indian pharmaceutical market. (Source: IQVIA January 2024) This research was for the “WORLD PHARMA BRAND MANAGERS WEEK – 2024”.
The brand managers were asked, “Do you or the organization you work for leverage the benefits of Generative AI (Gen AI), either the free version or a subscribed upgraded version?” The predominant response was no. (See pie chart below). Four respondents weren’t even aware of Gen AI. Only one said: “I have subscribed to ChatGPT on my own, although my company does not use it. Now I not only use it for my brand plans, comprehensive data analysis and other requirements and get a pat on my back from my boss, but I am also looked up as a superhero. What’s more, I also leave the office exactly at 6.00 pm and I can spend quality time with my daughter and family.”
We were perplexed. What could be the reasons for the reluctance to accept the benefits of Gen AI? Even when there is no cost involved.
‘B-Black Belt Brand Builders’ asked over half a dozen thought leaders in the industry about the resistance to leverage the benefits of Gen AI. The responses were varied. Here are a few thoughts by these theought leaders on why pharma brand managers in India might be hesitant to embrace the benefits of Gen AI.
Low curiosity levels: Low curiosity in a professional can have a cascade of negative consequences, impacting individual performance and the overall success of a team or organization. This can lead to complacency and reluctance to learn new things. This can hinder professional growth and personal development, making it harder to keep up with industry trends, acquire new skills, and advance in their career. Curiosity encourages people to ask questions, share ideas, and engage in collaborative learning. When individual curiosity is low, knowledge silos can form, hindering collaboration and innovation within the team. As a result, the brand manager might stick to outdated practices and miss opportunities to improve efficiency or explore innovative approaches.
Organization Is Ready for AI But Is Data? The rise of Gen AI is transforming the pharma landscape. Companies across industries are exploring ways to leverage AI to enhance their operations, increase productivity and gain a competitive edge. However, not every company is ready to take advantage of this technology. Gen AI readiness requires a combination of factors such as data integrity, accuracy, risk, liability and guardrails for extreme situations and more. Harvard Business Review perfectly captures that you’re not ready for AI unless your data is all buttoned up.
Resistance to change: The Indian pharmaceutical industry is traditionally risk averse. The owners and the leaders who have invested in their firms can be slow to adopt innovative technologies. They might be resistant to using AI due to a lack of understanding, concerns about disrupting established processes, or simply a preference for traditional marketing methods.
Lack of control and transparency: Owners might be hesitant to relinquish control over marketing promotional materials to an AI, especially as many cannot fully understand the creative process which goes into the development of medico-marketing material.
Lack of awareness and understanding: Many brand managers even in bigger firms, might not be aware of what Gen AI is or how it can be used. Lack of understanding breeds fear and resistance to modern technology.
Fear of the Unknown: New technologies often evoke fear and scepticism. Brand managers may be afraid of the potential consequences or unintended side effects of Gen AI, leading them to be hesitant about embracing it.
Concerns about job displacement: There are valid concerns that Gen AI could automate jobs, leading to unemployment and economic disruption. This is a significant worry in our country with over a thousand pharma companies in the organized sector and many more in the unorganized sector.
Lack of infrastructure and access: Implementing and utilizing Gen AI requires robust infrastructure and digital literacy, which might not be readily available in every firm in India.
Affordability concerns: Balancing the potential long-term benefits against the upfront costs becomes a critical factor in their decision-making process. More so, when brand managers or their firms go in for the subscription model.
These are the concerns expressed by the respondents. The specific reasons for resistance might vary from company to company depending on its leadership. Addressing these concerns would require a multifaceted approach. This could involve building awareness of the benefits of Gen AI, education, and engagement with communities who have benefited from Gen AI.
Revolutionizing Pharmaceutical Marketing: The Rise of Gen AI-powered Brand Managers
In the dynamic backdrop of pharmaceuticals, where innovation is paramount and competition is fierce, the role of brand managers has evolved significantly. With the advent of Gen AI technologies, a new era of pharmaceutical marketing has emerged, promising unparalleled insights, efficiency, and effectiveness. This White Paper explores the transformative potential of Gen AI-powered Pharmaceutical Brand Managers and their impact on the industry.
Traditionally, brand managers have been tasked with developing and executing strategies to promote their products, differentiate them from competitors, and ultimately drive prescription growth. This has often involved extensive market research, analysis of clinical data, and creative marketing and advertising campaigns. However, the sheer volume of data has presented significant challenges to traditional approaches. For instance, comprehensive data analysis would involve collating data from prescription analysis, wholesale shop audit, internal MIS and data collected during fieldwork. It’s sheer colossal task! Enter Gen AI, a powerful tool poised to revolutionize marketing, and brand management. Imagine you can analyze vast datasets to identify unmet medical needs, craft compelling patient narratives, and generate personalized marketing materials at lightning speed. This is the future.
Gen AI-powered Brand Managers can leverage advanced machine learning algorithms to process vast amounts of data from diverse sources rapidly. These algorithms can analyze clinical trial results, patient demographics, physician prescribing patterns, social media discussions, and more, to uncover valuable insights. By identifying emerging trends, understanding patient needs, and predicting market dynamics, these AI systems empower you to make more informed decisions.
One of the most compelling capabilities of Gen AI-powered Brand Managers is the ability to create personalized marketing content at scale. By analyzing patient data and preferences, these systems can generate tailored messaging for different specialities to ensure relevance and resonance. The era of the same message for a cardiologist, a gastroenterologist, a paediatrician, or a neurologist is over. A personalized approach not only enhances engagement but also fosters trust and loyalty among patients and healthcare providers. This ultimately leads to better treatment adherence and outcomes.
Gen AI-powered Brand Managers excel in optimizing marketing campaigns in real time. By continuously analyzing performance metrics and feedback, these systems can adapt strategies on the fly, maximizing impact and ROI. Whether it’s adjusting advertising channels, refining messaging, or targeting specific patient segments, Gen AI enables brand managers to iterate rapidly and stay ahead of the competition.
Gen AI facilitates more effective communication with doctors. By synthesizing complex clinical data into digestible insights, these systems enable you to engage doctors in more meaningful conversations. Whether it’s educating them about the efficacy of a drug, a new indication, or providing evidence-based support, AI-powered tools empower you to build stronger relationships and drive prescription rates.
However, the adoption of Gen AI-powered Pharmaceutical Brand Managers is not without challenges. Concerns about data privacy – despite the THE DIGITAL PERSONAL DATA PROTECTION ACT, 2023, – algorithmic bias, and regulatory compliance must be addressed to ensure ethical and responsible use. Additionally, there may be resistance from traditionalists and laggards within an organization who are sceptical of AI’s capabilities or fearful of job displacement.
Gen AI-powered Pharmaceutical Brand Managers represent a paradigm shift in pharmaceutical marketing. By harnessing the power of AI, these systems enable you to gain deeper insights, deliver personalized experiences, and optimize campaigns with unprecedented agility. While challenges remain, the potential benefits for patients, healthcare providers, and pharmaceutical companies alike are undeniable. As the industry continues to evolve, embracing AI-driven innovation will be essential for staying competitive and driving positive outcomes in healthcare.
How to succeed as a Generative AI-powered Pharma Brand Manager?
Imagine you have a super-powered helper robot at your job that can perform human-like actions. Controlled by a computer it does jobs automatically. A robot, however, lacks the capacity for human emotions.
Gen AI is your aide and Man Friday. At first, many pharma brand managers thought AI and Gen AI would take over their jobs. Now they are realizing AI and Gen AI can be your sidekick! It can help you do jobs better and faster, just like a robot helper would.
So, instead of being scared of Gen AI, you as an enlightened brand manager or a marketing manager should be excited about what it can do for you. You have a robot friend at work to help you!
You should recognize the ability of Gen AI to do things for you, not to replace you. Gen AI is your genie from Alladin’s magic lamp, your all-powerful servant. Do not view Gen AI as a threat to your career or job. AI and Gen AI are enablers and enhancers that will help you to perform your current roles better. They are your super-powered assistants that never sleep. They can manage repetitive tasks in a flash. That’s what Gen AI can be for you!
Gen AI can automate boring tasks, freeing up your talent to focus on what you should actually do – concentrate on creativity and innovation. You get more time to read and write. This means you can get more done, get sparks, and more latest ideas to help you to beat the competition.
But like any powerful tool, it’s important to use Gen AI responsibly, with “smart rules” in place to keep things on track.
Empowering brand managers with Gen AI magic!
Think of Gemini, ChatGPT, and Copilot as the faces of Gen AI you meet online. They not only teach you what Gen AI is, but they also show you how it can change the way you work. These tools remind you that the future is about humans and technology teaming up, doing things together that you cannot even surmise.
For pharma brand managers, these Gen AI helpers are a meaningful change. They help you with the boring tasks, freeing up time for the fun stuff, like producing great ideas. It’s like having an assistant who thinks with you and gives you space to be innovative and creative.
This is all speeding up the way you use Gen AI. Increasingly. Let it become a normal part of your life, just like using your PC, laptop or Smartphone.
Forget robots stealing your job! Instead, imagine Gen AI helping you become a marketing superhero. That’s what Gen AI does. This innovative technology can boost your efficiency, performance, and overall success.
Need to create tons of content quickly? Generate it in a flash with AI and Gen AI! Want to make sure your work is accurate and on point? Gen AI helps catch errors and keeps things on track. Plus, it frees up your time to focus on more strategic tasks.
Think of it this way: Gen AI is your ultimate marketing assistant. It doesn’t replace you; it makes you better. So, don’t worry about losing your job, get excited about unlocking your full potential with your genie from the magic lamp!
The Practical Impact of Gen AI on Marketing
For quite some time, many brand managers across the globe have relied on AI to analyze data and tailor communications to individual preferences. By employing machine learning algorithms, AI, and Gen AI, you can generate valuable insights about doctors and patients, enabling you to forecast doctors’ behaviours and create targeted segments for digital marketing endeavours.
As you face the challenge of achieving greater returns on investment with limited resources, you can seek avenues to leverage Gen AI more extensively throughout your campaigns.
This entails harnessing Gen AI’s capabilities to enhance speed, efficiency, and overall performance. The predominant areas where Gen AI is making significant strides are automation and optimization.
Below, we delve into each of these categories, illustrating how marketers are integrating AI tactics into their campaigns with real-world examples:
Free Brand Managers from Mundane Tasks with Gen AI: More Time for Innovation Creativity and Strategy, Less on Admin
Creating an automated campaign through SMS, email, or mobile apps can be quite time-consuming. Brand managers often find themselves bogged down by a multitude of repetitive tasks, such as sending circulars, drafting cycle plans for field teams, and crafting detailing stories. Many brand managers would welcome the assistance of Gen AI in alleviating these operational burdens.
The brand manager who has subscribed to ChatGPT Plus expressed frustration to Team ‘B – Black Belt Brand Builders.’ “I dislike engaging in repetitive tasks that don’t stimulate my cognitive and creative faculties. I am just wasting my time and talent. I get these tasks automated through my Man Friday. I am now able to spend more time with doctors and patients who provide insights. This has given me the freedom to make informed human decisions.”
Boosting Creativity and Productivity with Generative AI
Gen AI focuses on content creation. You can now use Gemini, ChatGPT and Copilot for content creation. The author of this White Paper, Vivek Hattangadi, got his latest book “AILMENTS IN MEDICO-MARKETING COPYWRITING: THE Rx” proof-read and copyedited with the help of Bard (now Gemini). Forget spending hours crafting email subject lines or battling writer’s block. Gen AI helps you to overcome writer’s block and spark your creativity. You can use ChatGPT Plus to do a comprehensive data analysis for your brand. You can do it regularly. But the interpretation and strategic decisions have to be taken by humans – you the brand manager.
See how you can generate brand names for your new product in a flash.
I wanted to generate a fictitious name for a company manufacturing medical nutrition foods. I asked all three, Gemini, ChatGPT and Copilot to generate thirty names each. In a jiffy, I had ninety names. I glanced through all ninety. I then told ChatGPT that I was not happy and that I needed ten more. ChatGPT took less than 30 seconds. I now had one hundred names. It took me less than 20 minutes to finalize the name NutriGenix. This entire exercise took me less than 20 minutes. This made me recall my days as a brand manager. I went back to 1992 when my team had to generate a brand name for Cisapride. The exercise took us exactly 2 weeks before we brainstormed and finalized the name Ciza (Intas). Of course, in real-time, you will have to wait for trademark and legal clearance.
Think of this in another way: You are struggling with an emotional and attractive headline for your new brand Brandex (fictitious). When you input the correct prompt into a generative AI tool, you might achieve your desired result. However, it’s common need to tweak your prompts multiple times, perhaps even a dozen times, to reach the outcome you seek. Effective prompts often emerge through experience and learning. This “test and learn” approach is key to marketing success, and Gen AI makes it faster and easier than ever.
Marketing personalization has advanced from solely relying on data and technology to effectively tailoring messages for specific moments and contexts.
Gen AI takes personalization to the next level, getting you closer to your ideal experience. It’s not just about general recommendations; it understands your unique preferences to deliver tailor-made content and suggestions. It’s as if you have your personalized universe. This capability enables marketers to stay competitive, improve outcomes, and secure long-term success in marketing endeavours.
Previously, you had to manually draft multiple copy options for testing. With Gen AI, one idea can spawn multiple options swiftly, streamlining the testing process while maintaining creativity.
It’s crucial to distinguish between using Gen AI to inspire creativity and completely automating the creative process. While automation can boost efficiency, the aim is to offer specific suggestions backed by data insights, leaving the final decisions in the hands of the brand manager. Gen AI is not a replacement for your creativity. It’s your ‘partner-in-crime’, not a robot takeover! It doesn’t write your copy for you, but it fuels your imagination with personalized suggestions and inspiration.
Gen AI is like having a constant brainstorming partner who is always accessible and understands your audience well.
Optionality and Explainability – Future of AI in Pharma Brand Management
The next phase of automation includes Gen AI providing broader guidance to brand managers, shaping the core of AI marketing’s future, which is still in progress. Optionality and Explainability: Whats that?
Imagine you’re at a restaurant. Here’s how these terms apply:
Optionality:
- This is like having a menu with different choices. You can pick the dish that best suits your taste and budget.
- In the world of technology, especially AI and machine learning, optionality means having different approaches or tools to solve a problem. You can choose the one that works best for your specific needs and situation.
Explainability:
- This is like the ingredients list on the menu. It tells you what’s in the dish, so you can understand how it’s made and if there’s anything you might be allergic to.
- In AI, explainability means being able to understand how a system arrived at its decision. This helps build trust and transparency, especially when dealing with important decisions.
Together:
- Ideally, you want both optionality and explainability. You want a variety of choices you can understand and trust.
- This is especially important in complex situations where AI is used to make decisions that can impact people’s lives.
Example:
- Optionality: You can choose to travel by car, train, or plane, depending on your needs.
- Explainability: You can understand why a loan application was rejected by looking at the factors considered by the system.
Now let’s look at “Optionality” and “Explainability” in the context of AI.
Optionality: Optionality refers to having choices or alternatives. In AI, it means designing systems in a way that allows for flexibility or different options in decision-making. For example, in an AI system for recommending movies, optionality could mean providing users with different genres to choose from, or allowing them to customize their preferences.
Explainability: Explainability means the ability to understand and explain how an AI system makes decisions or predictions. It’s important because it helps you tp trust and rely on AI systems more effectively. For instance, if an AI denies a loan application, explainability would involve understanding the factors it considered and why it reached that decision.
So, in simpler terms, “Optionality” is about having choices, while “Explainability” is about being able to understand and explain why AI systems make certain decisions. Both are crucial for making AI systems more transparent, trustworthy, and adaptable to different situations.
To synopsize, optionality and explainability are the future of Gen AI in pharma brand management because they enable you to customize your strategies, ensure regulatory compliance, gain valuable insights, prioritize patient needs, and maintain a competitive advantage in the market. Optionality and explainability are not just features, but essential principles for the future of AI in pharma brand management. By embracing these principles, the industry can leverage the power of AI responsibly, ethically, and effectively to achieve better healthcare outcomes.
Case study of NutriGenix, which is a clinical nutrition food company.
NutriGenix markets PrediabeNutri targeted towards pre-diabetics.
Optionality: You are the brand manager handling PrediabeNutri. The sales of PrediabeNutri are stagnant for almost a year. You want to increase sales and build up loyal customers.
You ask the genie from Alladin’s magic lamp to suggest a campaign.
The genie gives several options and from these you opt for the suggestion of establishing a ‘Golden PrediabeNutri Club’.
‘Golden PrediabeNutri Club’ offers to the members of this club certain privileges through a mobile-based app. You want to boost membership of ‘Golden PrediabeNutri Club’ so ultimately, they become loyal customers. You now develop a campaign.
Now the explanation. For someone to become a loyal customer, they must first be a customer in the most basic sense. This means they must have purchased PrediabeNutri at least once.
You target pre-diabetics who have purchased at least one containers of PrediabeNutri. Gen AI generates the target audience for this campaign. It explains and communicates the benefits of downloading this app. The benefits include discounts, reminders for refills, and the latest news for pre-diabetics to delay the onset of diabetes.
You trust Gen AI and you get detailed and profound actionable insights for future strategies. This helps you further your personalization marketing.
Human Intelligence is also at play in optionality and explainability. You can take the bold decision to override the recommendations of the system.
Now let’s break down “Optionality and Explainability” in the context of AI in pharmaceutical brand management using another simple example.
Imagine you’re a pharmaceutical company launching a new medication for a particular health condition. You’ve developed an AI system to help you manage the branding and marketing of this medication.
1. Optionality: Optionality refers to having the flexibility or freedom to make choices based on various possibilities or scenarios. In pharmaceutical brand management, AI can provide optionality by analyzing different marketing strategies, such as targeting different demographics, adjusting pricing models, or launching promotional campaigns through different channels. The AI system can simulate these options and predict which ones are likely to yield the best results based on factors like market trends, competitor actions, and consumer behavior.
Example: The AI system might present you with different options for pricing the medication, such as offering discounts for bulk purchases or implementing a tiered pricing structure based on income levels. By considering these options, you can choose the pricing strategy that maximizes sales while ensuring affordability for patients.
2. Explainability: Explainability refers to the ability of AI systems to provide understandable explanations for their decisions or recommendations. In pharmaceutical brand management, explainability is crucial for understanding why certain marketing strategies are being suggested and gaining insights into how they align with business goals and ethical considerations.
Example: Suppose the AI system recommends targeting a specific demographic group for advertising the medication. It should be able to explain why it made that recommendation, such as citing demographic data showing a higher prevalence of the health condition in that group or indicating past successful campaigns targeting similar demographics. This explanation helps you understand the rationale behind the recommendation and assess its validity before implementing it in your marketing strategy.
In other words in the future of AI in pharmaceutical brand management, optionality enables companies to explore various marketing strategies, while explainability ensures that decisions are transparent and based on sound reasoning. This combination allows pharmaceutical companies to make informed choices that drive successful branding and marketing campaigns for their medications.
This is a case study of ‘Optionality and Explainability’ that is now at work!
Campaigns in the era of Generative AI: A Shift towards Personalized Experiences
In the age of AI, traditional marketing campaigns are likely to be obsolete. Today’s pharmaceutical brand managers must adapt to delivering real-time, personalized experiences tailored to doctors and patients.
However, achieving this level of personalization is no easy task. With an increasing number of channels, unique doctors-patient preferences, and a growing demand for immediate responses, brand managers face significant challenges.
For years, delivering personalized messages has been hindered by excessive data analysis, numerous versions, and lengthy setup times. Gen AI technology offers a solution, allowing brand managers to transcend segmentation and provide individualized experiences to millions of doctors-patients simultaneously.
Gen AI is poised to revolutionize marketing by providing actionable insights, streamlining operations, and optimizing campaigns on a scale previously unimaginable.
To succeed in AI-driven marketing, you must move beyond conventional targeting methods and embrace journey-based marketing, prioritizing individualized communication strategies over audience cohorts.
This approach enables brands to respond rapidly to the unique signals from doctors and patients, delivering tailored messages that meet their specific needs – a cornerstone of patient-centred marketing.
While AI possesses the capability to analyze signals and optimize messages at a granular level, brand managers must supplement AI with a deep understanding of their customers to fully harness its potential.
Is Gen AI the ultimate? Way back in 1943, Thomas Watson, the then-CEO of its IBM, said: “I think there is a world market for maybe five computers.” He perhaps thought the computer was the ultimate.
In the ever-evolving and dynamic world we live in, the answer is NO,
there isn’t an “ultimate” in innovation and creativity. Thomas Watson wrong prediction has proved this. Innovation and creativity are inherently driven by progress and pushing boundaries. Reaching an “ultimate” would imply stagnation, which contradicts the very nature of these concepts. Each innovation opens doors to new possibilities, constantly raising the bar for what’s deemed “ultimate.” So Gen AI is not the ultimate.
Now think of Neuro-inspired AI. What is it?
Imagine a big computer made up of lots of tiny parts called neurons – just like you have in your brain.
These neurons communicate with each other in the same way the neurons in your brain help you think, feel, and do things. Neuro-inspired AI is like trying to make a computer act more like your own brain.
Instead of using traditional computer methods, it tries to mimic how your brain works. So, just like how your brain learns from experience and adapts, Neuro-inspired AI tries to do the same thing. It’s like teaching a computer to think more like a person! Neuro-inspired AI is like teaching computers to think more like how your brain does.
How do Gen AI and Neuro-inspired AI differ? What are their strengths and limitations?
Generative AI’s strengths and limitations:
- Strengths: Can create entirely new data (text, images, videos, music etc.) automate tasks, personalize experiences, and boost creativity.
- Limitations: Can be biased, produce misleading content, and lack true understanding or reasoning.
Neuro-inspired AI’s potential:
- Strengths: Can overcome limitations of Generative AI by learning and adapting like the human brain, potentially leading to more robust, adaptable, and interpretable AI.
- Limitations: This field is still in its preliminary stages, and replicating the complexity of the brain with current technology is a major challenge.
So, is Gen AI the “ultimate”?
The answer is NO! While powerful, it has limitations. AI research is a vast landscape with diverse approaches, and Generative AI is just one piece of the puzzle.
Instead of thinking in terms of a single “ultimate” AI, consider the future with:
- Different AI approaches: Each with its strengths and weaknesses, tackling different problems and tasks.
- Collaboration: Combining various AI techniques, including Generative and Neuro-inspired AI approaches, to achieve complex goals.
- Focus on responsible development: Addressing ethical concerns and ensuring AI benefits all of humanity.
Ultimately, the “ultimate” AI may not be a single technology, but rather a dynamic ecosystem of diverse approaches working together for good. The future of AI is likely to involve a combination of various approaches, including Gen AI, Neuro-inspired AI, and others. Each approach has its strengths and weaknesses, and ongoing research will continue to push the boundaries of what AI can achieve. Therefore, it’s challenging to predict whether neuro-inspired AI will specifically succeed generative AI, but it certainly has the potential to contribute significantly to the advancement of AI as a whole.
In conclusion, what is the future of the Gen AI Powered Pharma Brand Manager?
Forget about pushy prescription generation tactics, transactional marketing, and impersonal messages. The future of pharma marketing is all about connecting with doctors and patients on a deeper level. It will focus on creating a personal connection with doctors and patients, guiding them through an emotional journey with your brand. It’s about the emotions you can evoke and the experiences you can share with them.
Traditional branding principles are evolving to blend smoothly with customer relationship management practices. Marketing goes beyond mere transactions; it’s about creating shared experiences that touch the hearts of our audience.
Branding isn’t just about logos and slogans anymore; it’s about building relationships that matter. It is about creating something that truly resonates with who your audience is and what they care about.
The Gen AI is not a replacement for human expertise, but rather a powerful tool that can augment and amplify human capabilities. As the technology matures and ethical frameworks are established, Gen AI will play an increasingly important role in shaping the future of pharmaceutical branding, ultimately leading to better patient care and improved public health outcomes.