Ask the Expert: Why Big Pharma is Adopting a Master Brand Strategy

For anyone following the pharmaceutical industry, it’s hard not to notice the dramatic shift that several leaders have made from putting their individual product brands front and center in marketing campaigns to focusing on their master brand. There is a shift happening that will continue to play out for years to come. We recently sat down with our head of Strategy, Kimberly Emrick-Bryan, to see what she had to say about this trend, and how other biotech and pharma brands can learn from this.
 

Q: Why do you think more pharma companies are focusing more on their master brand over product brands? 

A: There has been a cultural shift that has changed the way people think about medicine – as with food, clothing, and other things we consume, people are becoming more invested in knowing who, how, and where their medicine comes from. 

The notion that people don't know who makes their medicine is obsolete. Perhaps the biggest catalyst for the newfound importance of a master brand was, in fact, a change in consumer behavior as a result of COVID-19. The 2020 race to a vaccine put consumer attention on which brands, not pipeline candidates, were getting closer to approval. Even after the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine was given Emergency Use Authorization in 2020, it continued to go by that name until several months later when COMIRNATY was introduced. Now in 2024, the search keyword “Pfizer vaccine” still outranks “COMIRNATY vaccine” by a factor of 10 to 1, proving that a true paradigm shift has taken place. 

The most proactive companies are capitalizing on this shift to master brand recognition as they double down on becoming a known (and trusted) name and building trust and protecting their reputation before a trigger event like a diagnosis, so that when the time comes, a patient or caregiver will seek the option that they trust, believe in, and feel good about.

Q: What are some of the primary benefits of investing in a pharma company’s master brand?

A: The simplest answer is that it allows the brand to tell a better story that emotionally resonates with key audiences, all while giving the company credit for its achievements. 

By creating a framework to ensure that your biotech or pharma brand is showing up consistently, cohesively and compellingly across all channels, you increase your chance of building trust and credibility, which is essential for such a highly regulated and scrutinized industry.

First, this protects your brand’s consumer reputation from any consumer misperception and can help the brand stand out from the crowd. But this doesn’t just benefit the brand when trying to win new consumers – it is also useful in connecting with prospective talent.

For companies that need to grow and find the right talent in a competitive market like Boston, for instance, having a clear purpose, mission and vision can appeal when other factors like salary and career growth are impossible to differentiate on. Typically people who go into this field want to make a difference. A recent report found that younger workers view the pharmaceutical industry as “a force for good” in terms of its contributions to society, so it benefits your company to share why you exist and how prospective employees can contribute to the larger impact. 

Finally, there is also a halo effect when it comes to reputation amongst healthcare professionals. Despite the inability to market to HCPs in all the same ways that a SaaS brand can market to businesses, a strong corporate reputation for education and advocacy can also build brand affinity amongst these professionals. 

Q: If investing in the corporate brand is so valuable, what stops other pharmaceutical companies from following suit?

A: In my experience, there are two primary reasons:

First, not everyone outside of a corporate comms team will appreciate the value that investing in, and unifying around, a master brand can have. As you can imagine, commercial marketing teams are focused on the success of their assigned product(s), and thus may be cautious of dedicating marketing budget to the corporate brand. One of the most common justifications we’ve heard to not invest in the corporate brand is that patients don’t care who produces a medication or therapy, as long as they can conveniently and affordably access it. As we know now, this is no longer the case. 

In addition to budget is the issue of ownership: often, no one team has holistic oversight over how brand-level marketing comes across, other than in press releases. Healthcare companies tend to operate in silos, and different departments often have their own dedicated agency partners, which makes it hard to commit to a unified message. 

Q: What have you seen help convince some of your biotech and pharma industry clients?

A: It helps to remind our client partners that it’s not just about their point of view. If businesses want to continue to thrive, they need to reach all of their audiences. That means reaching patients in a way that resonates and builds trust before they receive a diagnosis, and also relating to job seekers who want to make an impact in addition to advancing their careers. 

What might be an exciting opportunity to the scientific community, for example, may not land as well with a patient whose life is in turmoil until a treatment is found. With more people doing their own medical research online, there is a good chance that your content will be found by multiple audiences, not just the one for whom you intended. The goal would be to have governance in place to ensure that any and all content that is public-facing would be singing from the same song book or, at least, working in concert together. Companies who have a clear content strategy to support the overarching brand are more likely to see the results they seek.
 

Q: Is brand-level marketing just a gimmick for big pharma?

A: Absolutely not. Any company whose business is going through a major change, whether due to an M&A or has a new business strategy or a specialized audience to reach, would benefit from revisiting how your brand is showing up to ensure that it is doing so accurately, authentically, and compellingly.
 

Q: What is one thing you’d like people to know?

A: I have two things (of course).

Even if companies aren’t ready to go all in on a full switch to a master brand-led marketing approach, my hope is that more will take the simple first step of creating user journeys and comparing how their brand shows up along the various touchpoints to assess effectiveness. It’s an eye-opening experience when we show our own client partners just how disjointedly the brand presents itself across multiple touchpoints along the external audience’s journey.

Also, results take time. You don’t have to have it all figured out at once, either. You start with a few messaging pillars that are core to your business — your reason for being, your mission, your vision and values, and you iterate from there. You can test and learn about what resonates and needs to pivot and what remains true. 

Does any of this conversation feel familiar? Let's talk about our experience and yours. Reach out for a 30 minute conversation with our strategy and creative leads. No sales people. We'd like to get to know you and chat.