Becky's blog
Shark tank branding—advertising surprises of the past year
In our stimulating, unpredictable environment we’ve learned we can count on one thing: the world of pharma is forever changing—and it never grows old.
When the shark tank broke in a Shanghai shopping mall, I realized that one thing is true—you can never really predict what’s going to happen. One minute you’re watching the lemon sharks and the next minute they’re flying past you.
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5 ways to get your focus back
Disconnecting yourself each day from the incessant demands of the smart phone and the laptop can give you the focus you’ll need for taking on challenging, complex tasks.
We live in a multitasking world. We secretly write emails while talking on the phone, we tweet while we watch TV, and we text while driving to and from work (yikes). We search Google instead of thinking hard about a problem, and we check our smart phones as though it’s our job.
What’s the result of all this world of busy?
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Are you a slave to pharma speak?
Have these 4 phrases crept into your pharma vocabulary?
Bottom line. Chime in. Pushback. It’s always fun to track the words and turns of phrase that come into fashion in pharma. These come and go, making their appearance in company meetings, agency halls, and biotech boardrooms. No one is immune. Often these expressions are passed along so quickly that we don’t even realize we’re using them. Until someone points it out. Here are 4 commonly heard favorites:
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The 6 biggest public speaking blunders (and how to avoid them)
Can you identify with any of these personalities?
Pitching an idea? Presenting a brand plan? Leading a workshop? You don’t have to be Tony Robbins with a room full of coal walkers to hold the attention of the audience and get your points across clearly. But you should be aware of some common pitfalls that can sabotage your delivery and dilute your message. Here are some speaking blunders you may recognize:
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Make mine a sugar pill! Why the next blockbuster may be no drug at all
Biotech brand managers—how would you market placebo?
A surprising treatment regimen is showing great promise and generating buzz in biotech and big pharma. It works for several debilitating diseases, costs next to nothing, and best of all, has no adverse events.
What is this new drug and how can you get in on the launch team? It’s that stalwart star of many a study arm, good old placebo.
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Hey, biotech brand managers—do you have a personal brand?
How building a strong personal brand can help you stand out, move up, and forge ahead when people think about you.
You can differentiate a product. Position against competitors. Launch a strong, memorable, blockbuster brand.
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Lessons on biotech brand building from 4 famous brand managers
Cleopatra, Joseph Goebbels, Jimmy Buffett, and Lance Armstrong are famous (or infamous) brand managers whose strategies can teach you about successfully launching your biotech brand.
When we study successful branding, this cast of characters may not come immediately to mind. But each has had a major impact on how people behave, what they buy, and what they remember. And this is largely due to the strength of the brands they have built.
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Lady Gaga and biotech brands
How to be true to your audience by keeping it new.
Have you heard Lady Gaga’s newest song, “Born This Way”? All I could think as she was carried onto the Grammy stage in a translucent egg was, “Hey! That’s a Madonna song!” It may be called “tribute” in the music industry, but in the world of biotech branding, it’s just a recycled idea.
Pass the stereotype!
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Biotech brand names: how’d you choose THAT?!
Xerese, Zovirax, Orencia, Alkeran, Tarka. How do companies come up with the goofy, unpronounceable drug names that sound like B-movie bad guys?
If you’ve ever been involved in naming a new compound, you know that it’s way harder than naming a baby, with everyone from potential customers to the legal department and FDA weighing in.
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Women want it all: secrets of mothering AND managing biotech brands
How to build a career without messing up the kids.
Sure, it’s true that men are much more involved in caring for kids and keeping the household from chaos than they ever have been before. But for women who want a successful career AND a flourishing family, the challenges are still great.
I think this is partly because women think they should be able to do it all, and they feel guilty when they have to make choices. Either they’re leaving work too early or they’re not home with the kids early enough. Either they miss the big meeting or they miss the big field trip [insert here: concert, award ceremony, softball game, play].
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