𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘢 𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘳 𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨? Our Strategy Partner Yavuz Dilmac shares key takeaways from this year’s Reuters Pharma Customer Engagement Europe 2025 - where AI, creativity, and collaboration took centre stage. From Agentic AI and unified engagement to reimagined brand growth and co-creation with real customers, Yavuz explores how technology and human insight are converging to shape the future of healthcare marketing. Dive into his full reflections below - a must-read for anyone rethinking how pharma connects with HCPs, patients, and payers. #PharmaMarketing #CustomerEngagement #HealthcareStrategy #DDBRemedy #RECustomerEU
Where is pharma brand marketing and customer engagement heading? Here’s my take after two days surrounded by the industry’s key players at Reuters Events Pharma Customer Engagement Europe 2025 — where AI, creativity, and collaboration collided. 1. The AI hype is clear — but the direction isn’t. Agentic AI, human-in-the-loop systems, and the so-called shift from B2B to A2A (Agent to Agent) were hot topics. We’re talking about a future where AI augments marketing, co-pilots decision-making, and shapes compliant customer conversations in real time. And GEO is the new SEO. As global search moves to LLMs like ChatGPT, the industry is exploring compliant ways to influence generative AI responses towards customers. Conversational interfaces are expected to become mainstream for pharma web experiences - both for external customers and for internal use cases including field force training. 2. The “unified customer engagement” movement is gaining pace. Across commercial, medical, and access, everyone agrees on the why — fewer silos, better coordination, more value for customers. But the how still varies wildly. Some pioneers are testing shared roles, cross-functional training, and single points of contact for healthcare professionals. It’s early days, but the industry seems more serious than ever about breaking old organisational habits. 3. Measuring effectiveness is the new obsession. The question isn’t if we’re engaging customers — it’s how well. From Marketing Mix Modelling (MMM) to smarter success metrics, brands are rethinking how they define their success. It’s less about reach, more about relevance — and whether engagement actually changes behaviour. 4. “Optichannel” didn’t quite stick. The term got a collective eye-roll since optimisation is already part of omnichannel marketing. But everyone agreed that true optimisation is still rare. The ambition remains: make omnichannel meaningful, measurable, and genuinely customer-driven. 5. Pharma’s approach to brand growth is being reimagined, drawing fresh inspiration from both B2C and B2B marketing. Just giving your trial data to customers through sales reps won’t make the cut anymore. ‘Distinction’ over ‘differentiation’ and how to generate ‘mental availability’ through creativity and emotional resonance are being discussed as CX and brand marketing become inseparable. 6. Real co-creation is paying off. Beyond market research, teams are embracing a ‘service design’ approach, co-developing with HCPs, patients, and payers. It’s refreshing — and far more effective — to solve real problems with real customers instead of hypothesising in internal echo chambers. Obviously, my (and our agency’s) views on these topics go deeper than a single post — if any of this resonates, I’d love to continue the conversation. Drop me a message! #REcustomerEU #CustomerExperience #PharmaMarketing