< PreviousDISTRIBUTION10Pharma Business International www.pbiforum.netmanagement company, ARI, the timingof a vehicle begins with effectiveplanning. Plans, however, are piecemealwithout strict adherence. Ghosh arguesthat a successful replacement strategystrikes a balance between maximisingthe useful life of a vehicle andunderstanding when it would cost moreto keep it in your fleet verses what it’sactually worth. Lacking a proper strategycan give way to rising operating costs –including increased fuel, repair andmaintenance expenses – which can pushup a vehicle’s total cost of ownership.Moreover, leaving a vehicle in servicepast its useful life can also lead tosignificant increases in downtime, eatinginto a company’s productivity andbottom line. The best replacement strategy shouldtake much more than simply age andmileage into consideration, Ghosh says.By tracking the vehicle’s data throughoutits entire lifespan, managers can revealthe true wear and tear it hasexperienced. Think of it like running anemployment check on a prospective newstarter, and seeing their work life laidbare. Any gaps can indicate periods ofunemployment or myriad other issues,leaving hirers able to make smarter, moreinformed decisions. The same is true inthis context. © Shutterstock / monticello08-11_Layout 1 07/08/2017 11:07 Page 3Pharma Business International 11www.pbiforum.netDISTRIBUTIONFor managers deciding to pull the plugon a vehicle, Ghosh advises to considerfuel consumption, repair history andmaintenance expenses in addition to theaforementioned mileage. Some of thelatest technology allows managers toview an assortment of aspects in amanager’s fleet in real time, as well asdrilling down into the data. It’s easiernow more than ever to see whichvehicles are disproportionatelyconsuming more fuel or are sitting idle ina repair shop longer than theircounterparts. For companies increasinglybeing hold to account for theirsustainability strategies (or lack thereof)being able to see the worstenvironmentally performing vehicles canbe a real boon. Pairing the aboveinformation against how long it will takeits replacement to arrive are two essentialelements to sound replacement strategy. Faced with the complexity of avehicle’s life cycle and ongoing pressureon team resources to manage a fleet,especially as more and more companiesare adding technology to track theirfleet’s data in real-time, it’s important tonot forget about strategy along the way.Ghosh argues that thoughtful planningand decision-making at every phase of avehicle’s life span will bring only positiveeffects to a company’s bottom line.08-11_Layout 1 07/08/2017 11:07 Page 4HARDWARE & SOFTWARE12Pharma Business International www.pbiforum.netThe introduction of smart phones ushered in a newdawn. The totemic device quickly became the must-havegadget, toppling televisions and laptops as the mostenduring emblem of capitalism. It wasn’t simply theprospect of easier, more interconnected communicationsthat struck a chord with consumers and investors, but thatmost iconic element of the smart phone – apps. It’s hard to conceive of a mobile phone or operatingsystem that doesn’t feature gridded tiles for everythingfrom texting and email, to music, games and everything inbetween. The iPhone celebrates its tenth birthday thisyear, a decade after disrupting and redefining the mobilephone and consumer electronics market. Of all thepractical applications and tantalising possibilities offeredby this tactile new piece of tech, it was the promise ofhealthcare that whetted the appetite of investors, medicalprofessionals and consumers. This was supposed to be asign from on high of a healthier, more informed society. Healthcare apps would finally allow consumers andpatients to take their medical destiny into their own hands,better understand their conditions and lessen the burdenon healthcare companies and insurers. For a while, thisseemed to be the case, with many of the toppharmaceutical companies rushing to bring their own appsto market. This was revolutionary for an industry that canbe slow to adapt or embrace new technologies.Healthcare start-ups, meanwhile, were utilising thisdisruptive new tech as a means of spring-boarding newproducts. The years since have seen the rise of wearables,helping to monitor everything from sleep to step count.The commercial realisation of virtual reality has alsoenabled an entirely new vocabulary to enter the healthcareand pharmaceutical sectors. But apps seem to have losttheir allure for big pharma.Even leading companies are struggling to gainsignificant downloads within their target group. Mobile appindustry consultancy company, Research2Guidance, foundthat although companies have cumulatively doubled theirnumber of active apps available on Apple App and GooglePlay, most have simply added to the growing number ofunder performers. Indeed, only 0.5 per cent of all apps published by theupper twelve pharma companies have managed toachieve annual downloads of over 100,000, according toResearch2Guidance’s second edition Pharma AppBenchmarking 2017. To put that in perspective, last yearThere’s anapp for thatMobile applications promised a new dawn for consumerhealthcare, but pharma’s love affair with apps is on the decline.Pharma Business International investigates. 14 Á12-15_Layout 1 07/08/2017 11:09 Page 1Pharma Business International 13www.pbiforum.netHARDWARE & SOFTWARE© Shutterstock / NOBUHIRO ASADA12-15_Layout 1 07/08/2017 11:09 Page 2HARDWARE & SOFTWARE14Pharma Business International www.pbiforum.netNiantic’s ‘Pokémon Go’ achieved 100 milliondownloads. Although this is something of aunique case – the game isn’t owned byApple, Google or Facebook – it doesdemonstrate the growing gulf between thetop pharma apps and those that resonatewith smart phone and tablet users. It’s not that pharma companies aren’tregularly releasing apps, they are. In fact,companies have, on average, bolstered theirapp portfolio releases from 65 to 153, butaverage per app annual downloads remainlow. The main reason behind this dearth ofdownloads is an increased competition frommobile health companies. While apharmaceutical company will have itsattention on a number of different pursuits, amobile health company has its attentionfirmly fixed on maintaining, developing anddesigning apps. Moreover, pharmaceuticalapps traditionally have a significantlynarrower targetaudience than their mobile healthcompetitors. The average pharma app willoften focus on a single topic or condition.Health apps, on the other hand, have a muchwider focus, be that on healthy eating,exercise or overall wellbeing. There is alsothe crossover appeal, with non-targetdemographics taking to a health app in thesame way that simply couldn’t happen with apharma specific example. Were the industry truly lagging, therewouldn’t be such a need to keep releasingnew apps to market. Johnson&Johnson(J&J), for example, published three of the fivemost downloaded pharma apps for 2016.This trio all boasted over 200,000 downloadsfor the same period, with the companyreporting higher successes for their appswhen compared to 2014. J&J have alsoproved that diversification is the key. Its ‘7Minute Workout’ app debuted to muchfanfare, and showed that in order for pharmacompanies to compete, breaking out into thewider healthcare category is a lifeline. All leading pharma companieshave also grown their internalapp portfolio size since 2014,with all but Abbott andSanofi having boosteddownloads. Of course,this is something of adouble-edged swordas the growing appportfolios of Bayerand Novartis – andthe highdownloads of J&J– have left half ofthe topmost pharmacompanies withportfolios that fall wellbelow the average-line.Companies can takeheart in the J&J example,though, in which just two orthree successful apps can resultin pharma app market leadership. © Shutterstock / Sasils12-15_Layout 1 07/08/2017 11:09 Page 3Pharma Business International 15www.pbiforum.netHARDWARE & SOFTWARE© Shutterstock / Alexey Boldin12-15_Layout 1 07/08/2017 11:09 Page 4the same. This doesmean, however, thatpeople can becometrapped inside theirown political and socialbubble without evercoming across acounterargument oropposing view. It’s this very phenomenonthat enabled the propagation of so-called“fake news” to spread like proverbialwildfire and – allegedly – influence theoutcome of the US election. Marketers are now able to conduct in-depth analysis of online activity,ensuring they target only the desiredMARKETING16Pharma Business International www.pbiforum.netAdvertising has come on in leaps andbounds since the days of newspapers,billboards and the television screen. Theinternet, perhaps the single mostdisruptive force of our times, hasprovided new avenues for marketers toexplore. It wasn’t simply a case of havinganother platform in which to extol thebenefits of a new product or service, butrather the ongoing evolution of the webhas forever changed the way in whichpeople interact, consume media andshare information. Targeted advertisements, userpreferences and cookies have made it sothat no two people’s online experience isdemographic for a new product orservice. TV viewing is on the decline asconsumers turn their back on theterrestrial in favour of curating their ownviewing – namely, online streaming. Thishas presented new opportunities. Videomarketing has never been more effectiveor relevant having evolved to keep upThedigitalissue Video sharing, social media and smart phoneshave left video marketing a powerful tool forpharmaceutical companies looking to connectwith consumers, raise awareness of social issuesand showcase new products. 16-19_Layout 1 07/08/2017 11:10 Page 1Pharma Business International 17www.pbiforum.netMARKETINGwith the times. The consumption of video content ison the rise, with video sharing platformsforming the lion’s share of somecompany’s marketing and digitalstrategy. The biggest influencer here,though, is social media, where userslike, share and comment on content.This offers companies a valuableinsight into the effectiveness of theircampaigns, as well as gaining firsthand feed-back. This was the kind ofinsight that marketers could only havedreamed of in the dark days before theinternet. Marketers now are preoccupied withchasing ‘viral’ videos. It’s difficult - oftenimpossible – to predict which videos aregoing to become viral hits. This mayhappen inadvertently, for reasons acompany might be keen to avoid – i.e.bad production values, poor acting etc.© Shutterstock / REDPIXEL.PL18 Á16-19_Layout 1 07/08/2017 11:10 Page 2MARKETING18Pharma Business International www.pbiforum.netBut if all press is indeed good press, thenthis can only work in a company’s favour.Provided a video campaign goes viral, itwill likely be picked up by major mediaoutlets, exposing it to an even greateraudience than might have seen it without.For this reason, marketing companiesmight try to replicate popular videos,hoping to capture some of that samequality that resonated with and/oramused consumers. However, marketersmust remember that the internet is fickleand what may have been a hit one weekmay not be the week after. Consumers have grown more cynicalof traditional adverts, especially thecoveted millennial demographic, whichhas come of age surrounding by mobilebrowsing and digital technology. Thissame age bracket hungers forexperiences, as well as media thatreflects them. This demographic is alsofamed for its rejection of traditionalgender and sexual norms. So, in orderto secure the coveted millennium dollar,marketers need to make connections.The days of a doctor in a lab coatwaxing lyrical about a new drugproduct or medical device are over.Instead, companies should try andconnect through inspirationalmessages, inject a feel good factor anddemonstrate good corporate socialresponsibility. Pfizer, Sanofi and GSKhave all put this into effect withsuccessful video campaigns which put16-19_Layout 1 07/08/2017 11:10 Page 3Pharma Business International 19www.pbiforum.netMARKETINGyoung people, inspirational messagesand charity front and centre. And theresults speak for themselves. Companies might want to alsoreplicate the success of some of theweb’s most popular video bloggers (orvloggers). Often these videos will involvea personality talking directly to camera,discussing a new product or experiencewith their viewers. This removes theboundaries between the two parties,making viewers feel very much a part ofthe wider discussion. Indeed, viewers areoften invited to share their own thoughtsin the comments. A company could evenreach out to any vloggers that coverhealth, fitness or pharmaceuticals andforge connections. This kind ofengagement has been seen in food andbeauty, so why not pharma?Many of the top pharmaceuticalcompanies also maintain a strong socialmedia presence. Although companieshave been wary of Twitter and Facebooket al in the past, those earlierreservations appear to be passing.Engaging with consumers on socialchannels is a great and low-cost meansof spreading a company’s message andanother example of how advertising haschanged over the last decade. A fewposts online may be just as effective nowas a printed advert. The times arechanging and like the products theyserve, the pharma industry needs toevolve or be overtaken.© Shutterstock / Mooshny16-19_Layout 1 07/08/2017 11:10 Page 4Next >