News and insights

Thought leadership

Staying close to brand planning in a remote world

Thought leadership

Three global digital health innovations that may be here to stay

May 22, 2020

Looking at the innovative technologies that are being rolled out across the globe to help contain and track the COVID-19 pandemic, it is clear that these innovations are solving more than a temporary need. Marketers should harness these new technologies and leverage their speedy adoption to find new solutions for additional therapy areas and conditions and to better support overwhelmed hospitals and healthcare professionals.

Thought leadership

Personalization begins with a solid blueprint

May 19, 2020

In this installment of our series on personalization, we explore in three steps how to begin developing a forward-thinking architecture for tailoring meaningful experiences with a Brand Blueprint.

Thought leadership

Orchestrating success for multi-Indication franchises

May 12, 2020

These are unique products—even managed by separate brand teams—yet joined at the hip by a single name. They require a different promotional playbook, which becomes acutely apparent during multichannel planning.

Thought leadership

Leveraging an underutilized sales force

May 7, 2020

Brands have an experienced, capable, and available audience in their sales force, who are looking to help their careers. By deputizing them into marketing, brands can keep the work flowing, get ahead of their deliverables, build more effective tools, and generate higher usage by the sales team.

Adapting to a new trial landscape

May 5, 2020 Thought leadership

With the safety of all patients, researchers, and professionals a top priority, companies are now trying to understand how their current and future trials are affected. The FDA’s published guidance lays out how institutions and trial sponsors can rapidly adjust the way current trial participants are monitored to achieve maximum patient safety.

Evoke Names Kristin Volk Chief Strategy Officer

April 28, 2020 News

Charged with leading the group’s integrated strategic offering, Volk brings nearly 30 years of experience delivering strategic leadership to clients across the pharmaceutical and consumer industries.

Defining a CX strategy for today and tomorrow

April 23, 2020 Thought leadership

We have the opportunity now to reexamine your brand voice, brand tone, customer interaction points, and the overall customer experience. Here are some ideas for how you can get started.

Shifting focus from live events to adapting audiences

April 16, 2020 Thought leadership

When your yearly marketing plan, your next product launch, or label update relies heavily on live events and conferences, what do you do now that these opportunities are dwindling, maybe even evaporating altogether? Keep your customers top of mind by creating long-term strategies that are less location-reliant and more target-specific, enabling stronger connections centered on more agile customer profiles.

What to do if launch is deemed "non-essential"

April 8, 2020 Thought leadership

We recognize the tough decision many brand managers are facing today regarding what to launch vs. not launch. So, what do you do when your product or campaign launch gets put on hold indefinitely due to a pandemic?

Re-Engaging the “Forgotten” Prospects Within Your CRM Database

March 24, 2020 Thought leadership

Brands that have been on the market for years likely have databases filled with prospective patients who haven’t engaged with the brand in quite some time. Instead of forgetting about these “forgotten” prospects, creating a strategy to re-engage with them may help convert a percentage into new patients.

How to Take Customer Experience From Theory to Practice

March 17, 2020 Thought leadership

Customer Experience may not be a new concept for most pharma brands, but integrating CX as a philosophy requires leveraging new strategies.

Creating Effective Content: Make It Useful, Make It Usable

March 9, 2020 Thought leadership

Generating great content that has a clear business purpose starts with a clear content strategy. We have identified three key steps to help ensure more meaningful, measurable, and effective content creation.

Hello. My Name Is Artificial Intelligence.

March 3, 2020 Thought leadership

Although the pharmaceutical industry may be wary about fully embracing AI, there are areas where we can get creative in the types of tools we use and how we incorporate them.

Building the Next Generation of Customer Profiles in Pharma

February 20, 2020 Thought leadership

Pharma companies need to adopt an outward-looking approach that centers on agile customer profiles and shapes the relationship from the customer’s point of view.

Getting Started With Personalization

February 5, 2020 Thought leadership

How do we make strategic decisions and investments that ensure personalization is a true value driver over the status quo, and not just a marketing novelty?

Biosimilar DTC Outlook—Is 2020 the Year of Opportunity?

January 28, 2020 Thought leadership

We have increasingly noticed biosimilar franchises advertising to patients, hoping to win hearts and wallets with the promise of more affordable treatments. A closer look at their varying approaches to patient marketing reveals the trends that could impact these franchises—and the reference drugs they aim to copy—in the year ahead.

Pharma Turns to Texting: A CRM Channel Growing in Popularity

December 23, 2019 Thought leadership

Given how much time we spend on our smartphones, more and more pharmaceutical marketers are turning to texting to communicate with patients, opening up a channel that is ripe with opportunity.

Evoke Names James Tsuyuki as Chief Technology Officer

December 16, 2019 News

With the promotion of James Tsuyuki to the role of Chief Technology Officer (CTO), Evoke proudly re-enforces its digital roots and prepares for future growth.

Double Trouble? Marketing Fixed-Dose Combinations

December 9, 2019 Thought leadership

Combination drugs are a valuable addition to the treatment landscape, whether offering patient convenience, a more powerful treatment, or both. To launch FDCs successfully with a clear path forward, marketers should first determine which strategic approach they will pursue.

Karsten Risch Joins Evoke as Chief Medical Officer

December 5, 2019 News

A leading global health and wellness agency, Evoke announces the addition of Karsten Risch, MD, PhD, MPH, as Chief Medical Officer (CMO) to the agency’s leadership team.

Brand Shaping is like a Marathon: Purpose and Stamina are a Must

November 25, 2019 Thought leadership

A lot of time and research go into developing a launch marketing strategy. Approaching marketing more like a sprint instead of a distance run doesn’t align with a product’s lifecycle, especially in disease areas with lots of competition. Marketers should approach brand shaping in the same way the greatest athletes of our time train and compete in marathons.

Crossover Indications: Threading the Needle Between Old and New

November 14, 2019 Thought leadership

Crossing an established product over into a new therapeutic area is an opportunity for the delivery of safe medicines to more patients, and marketers have a critical role in threading the needle between what is “old” and “new” in such a crossover indication.

California Consumer Privacy Act: What Does It Mean for Healthcare Brand Marketers?

November 5, 2019 Thought leadership

Beginning January 1, 2020, all companies with over $25 million in revenues who do business in California must comply with the California Consumer Privacy Act, or CCPA. Healthcare brand marketers, including pharma marketers, need to pay close attention to three parts of the law where they are likely to have the greatest exposure.

Seeing a Bigger Picture: Bringing the Hallmarks of Cancer from Bench to Brand

October 8, 2019 Thought leadership

The proposed model is still as influential as ever for the scientific community: countless research publications have supported, furthered, challenged, and critiqued the "Hallmarks of Cancer" framework. However, this holistic view of cancer has largely stayed within the academia, while pharmaceutical marketing to the oncology community often zooms in too granularly on specific mutations and biomarkers in lieu of the bigger picture.

Recap on our Summer 2019 Internship Program

October 14, 2019 Thought leadership

Evoke doesn’t only take a human approach to health, but also to its overall business model, including its internship program. The culture at Evoke is open, insightful, and driven. I never felt nervous to ask a question, but rather was always encouraged to engage in conversation.

Rethinking HCP Engagement at Digital Pharma East: Future-Proofing Your Brand With Empathy

October 7, 2019 Thought leadership

Future-proofing your brand engagement strategy isn’t about the race to any one fancy new technology, tool, or touchpoint. The future will be won by rethinking how to deliver tailored experiences of value that meet customers where they are (not where brands want them to be)—experiences that innately understand the realities of being an HCP today.

The Evolution of Women’s Health & Continuing to Change the Narrative

September 25, 2019 Thought leadership

In honor of Self-Care September, a month dedicated to reminding us that taking care of ourselves is essential, we started thinking about how we approach self-care today, and in particular, how this landscape and narrative has changed for women.

Unsticking the Stuck: The Psychology of Inertia in Healthcare

August 29, 2019 Thought leadership

Overcoming decision avoidance isn’t easy, but it is a tangible strategic opportunity for healthcare brands. In order to relish this opportunity, there are 3 key steps healthcare marketers should be doing to achieve the behavior change they seek for their brands.

Martin Gaul selected for 2019 Clio Health Awards Jury

September 10, 2019 News

Martin Gaul, Evoke's Chief Creative Officer, Europe, will join an esteemed panel of industry leaders and innovators this November in NYC to evaluate an international pool of submissions across multiplatform categories and determine the work that set the barometer for excellence in the highly specialized field of health & wellness and pharmaceuticals.

Is Your Website Performing? An Introduction to Google’s AMP Initiative

August 29, 2019 Thought leadership

The main benefit of implementing AMP is a better user experience through faster-rendering pages. This is achieved partially through the limits built into the specification, but mostly through a crucial piece of the AMP ecosystem—caching.

Three Approaches to Building a Successful Pharma Franchise

August 14, 2019 Thought leadership

In a rapidly evolving market with increasingly crowded disease and/or treatment categories, pharma companies are starting to take active measures in developing franchises anchored in these 3 strategic approaches. A true franchise powerhouse will successfully balance each of these strategies without sacrificing the equity of the individual brands within its portfolios.

Preparing for Take-off

August 1, 2019 Thought leadership

Every launch is unique. Teams face different challenges that must be overcome—but can gain key opportunities to capitalize upon. However, the prelaunch phase is probably the most critical time in every brand’s lifecycle.

Navigating Facebook’s Shift to Private Communications

July 24, 2019 Thought leadership

Given the growing demand for secure personal data, trust is a must for the social media titan. So, what does Zuckerberg’s privacy-focused vision for Facebook look like, and how might it offer new marketing capabilities for pharma and healthcare brands?

Why Differentiate Digital Health from Health Tech?

July 16, 2019 Thought leadership

Insights From Digital Pharma West 2019. What’s the difference between health technology and digital health? This question was posed by one of the presenters at this year’s Digital Pharma West (DPW).

Evoke Appoints Jennifer O’Dwyer as President, North America

July 8, 2019 News

Evoke today announces industry veteran Jennifer O’Dwyer has joined the agency as President, North America. O’Dwyer brings more than 20 years of industry experience, serving in senior client services and account leadership positions.

Evoke Nominated for MM&M Hot Shop Award

July 9, 2019 News

To get an inside perspective of what makes Evoke a “Hot Shop,” we asked a few of our newest hires and some of our longest serving team members for their ideas on all the buzz and what makes Evoke unique.

Debunking the Digital Divide: Older Americans & the Adoption of Digital

June 10, 2019 Thought leadership

While it may be true that seniors make up the bulk of Americans who lag in tech adoption, that does not mean they as a whole are tech resistors. Let’s unpack the myths to better understand tech adoption and consumption patterns of aging Americans.

A Week at Cannes: Creativity with a Strong Conscience

June 19, 2019 Thought leadership

First-time juror, Emily Spilko, reflects on her experience at the prestigious festival and how reviewing, discussing, and recognizing the best can push us all to do great work.

Evoke Acquires Specialty Health Communications Agency KYNE

May 21, 2019 News

KYNE and Evoke PR & Influence, Evoke’s existing communications business, will join forces to create a new, integrated global agency named Evoke KYNE. From day one, Evoke KYNE becomes one of the world’s largest health communications agencies, representing a robust set of services, and backed by the creative, digital, and data firepower of Evoke.

Emily Spilko Named Cannes Lions 2019 Pharma Jury Member

May 20, 2019 News

The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity has announced that Evoke's Executive Creative Director, Emily Spilko, will sit on this year’s jury for the Pharma Lions, part of the Health Awards Track. The Festival is being held from June 17 through June 21, 2019.

The New Rules: Disclosing Drug Prices in DTC Advertising

May 16, 2019 News

Less than a year after the release of President Trump’s American Patients First plan, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has finalized the first rule implementing the blueprint—aimed at increasing transparency for patients and bringing down overall drug costs both for patients and for the Medicare and Medicaid programs.

Effectively Positioning Pharmaceutical Brands

May 16, 2019 Thought leadership

Since the FDA relaxed legislation and allowed DTC advertising in 1997, the pharmaceutical industry has increasingly embraced the fundamentals of consumer marketing, making patient insight the cornerstone of all patient-facing work. However, many consumer marketing tools have been dropped into the pharma marketing world with little thought given to the differences between the two environments.

Evoke PR & Influence Bolsters Leadership with EVP Barbara Box

May 16, 2019 News

Evoke PR & Influence, the global award-winning public relations and influencer engagement division of Evoke, announces the appointment of Barbara Box to the position of EVP, Strategy and Business Engagement. Barb will lead a New York offering for Evoke PR & Influence driving client strategy and business development.

Dynamic CRM: Engage Customers and Enhance Relationships With a More Fluid Experience

May 2, 2019 Thought leadership

Customer relationship management (CRM) is a vital component of today’s marketing ecosystem, often used in patient adherence initiatives and disease education/awareness campaigns. These programs allow brands to maintain a continuous conversation with patients long after their first interaction.

Jessica Soens Deepens Global Oncology Experience at Evoke as Senior Client Partner

May 2, 2019 News

Evoke announces today that Jessica Soens has joined the agency as Senior Client Partner, London. Bringing over a decade of dedicated oncology experience, Jessica will be an integral part of the Evoke team, working with current clients while supporting the agency’s continued growth.

Have You Overlooked One of Today’s Most Visited Websites?

March 26, 2019 Thought leadership

Facebook and Instagram have long dominated the social media market with advertisers flocking to these platforms to reach their target audiences. In the process, marketers have become guilty of ignoring what is currently the sixth most visited website in America: Reddit.

Evoke Appoints Alix Critchley to Lead Planning in London Office

April 3, 2019 News

Alix Critchley has joined the agency as Planning Director in the London office. Critchley brings more than 20 years of experience in brand strategy and consulting for pharmaceutical and other healthcare clients, as well as in the consumer packaged goods sector.

The Millennial Will See You Now: Marketing to the New Generation of Healthcare Professionals

January 30, 2019 Thought leadership

As millennials become the largest age demographic, they are not only a critical audience as consumers of healthcare, but they also make up an increasing proportion of today’s healthcare professionals (HCPs). As HCPs, millennials have adopted digital into all aspects of their lives, including how they are learning medicine and managing patients.

#FyreFestival: Influencer Engagement Gone Wrong

February 13, 2019 Thought leadership

As communicators and marketers, there were many cringe-worthy moments watching both the Hulu and Netflix documentaries, but what really stuck with us was the mismanaged influencer engagement.

Industry Veterans Kathy Magnuson and James Pietz Join Evoke to Serve in Senior Client Partnership Positions

January 30, 2019 News

Evoke today announces the appointments of industry veterans and innovators Kathy Magnuson and James Pietz. Magnuson and Pietz, both join Evoke in the role of Executive Vice President, Client Partner amidst continued growth across the agency.

Millennials Demand More From Healthcare— Is the Industry Ready?

January 17, 2019 Thought leadership

A major disruption in the healthcare industry is coming as more millennials engage with the system. It’s important to understand what makes these consumers different and find new ways to meet their needs.

Evoke Welcomes Lauren Heinemann and Lisa Quartley

March 26, 2019 News

Evoke is excited to welcome two healthcare industry leaders who have joined our growing team. Lauren Heinemann joins Evoke as EVP, Business Engagement Lead, and Lisa Quartley comes on board as SVP, Planner.

Evoke Appoints Liz Kane as Executive Vice President of Planning

January 24, 2019 News

Liz Kane has joined Evoke after more than eight years in the Havas network. Kane will serve as Executive Vice President, Planning with responsibilities that extend across the agency’s US and global locations.

The Next Frontier for Pharma

December 11, 2018 Thought leadership

As we enter into the new year, healthcare delivery is in the midst of rapid upheaval because digital transformation is sweeping the industry. But what has me most excited are the emerging and evolving therapeutic and treatment categories that will continue to grow in 2019 and beyond. These emerging categories are big—with even bigger potential for growth.

Thriving in the Mobile Age

November 29, 2018 Thought leadership

Mobile now accounts for two-thirds of all time spent on digital devices. And in 2019, mobile will eclipse TV to become the #1 medium for US adults by share of time spent. However, the data alone do not tell the full story about our media behavior. This new era is about more than optimizing display media for a smaller screen and building responsive sites. To engage consumers, marketers need to understand evolving user behaviors and how the technology continues to change.

Discovering Opportunities at the Dawn of Data Democratization

November 7, 2018 Thought leadership

While healthcare marketing is not yet at a point of data democratization, the current situation creates a huge opportunity for brands that are willing to go deeper with agile, analytics-led marketing.

Evoke Names Chief Strategy Officer: Michael Cole to Lead the Group's Integrated Strategic Offering

November 13, 2018 News

Evoke announces that Michael Cole has joined the agency as Chief Strategy Officer. Cole has more than 18 years of experience differentiating brands and building integrated strategic service offerings.

Industry News

November 1, 2018 News

On the heels of a proposed federal regulation that would require the inclusion of drug prices in television ads, it appears more change is underway for pharmaceutical advertising.

Shelley Rahe Bolsters Evoke’s Global Client Partnership Team Amidst Continued Growth

November 7, 2018 News

As Global Client Partner, Shelley Rahe will ensure brand engagements receive a unified, integrated approach across disciplines, audiences, and geographies resulting in work that pushes the boundaries of creative bravery and shifts market dynamics.

Evoke CEO Named a 2018 "Health Influencer" by PRWeek and MM&M

October 31, 2018 News

Evoke's CEO and founder Reid Connolly has been named to this year’s Health Influencer 50 list. The annual list of healthcare leaders, assembled by the editors of MM&M and PRWeek is in its third year, recognizing the innovators, trailblazers, and change-makers influencing all aspects of the industry.

Leveraging the Power of Microinfluencers in Healthcare

October 31, 2018 Thought leadership

While influencer marketing began with celebrity and top-tier influencers touting follower counts in the millions, social algorithms have changed, engagement rates are declining, and follower count no longer serves as a primary indicator of success. Enter the “microinfluencer.”

Evoke Welcomes New Chief Creative Officer

October 24, 2018 News

Collette Douaihy has joined the agency as Chief Creative Officer (CCO). Douaihy brings more than 28 years of experience to her role leading the agency’s cross-office creative teams.

The Digitization of the Healthcare Industry

October 17, 2018 Thought leadership

The explosion of digitization within the last 5 years is fueling rapid market transformation that will redefine our next 5 years. Understanding the impending market changes is imperative to getting ahead of them.

Proposed Regulation Mandates Drug Pricing in DTC Advertising

October 17, 2018 Thought leadership

For months there have been increasing rumors and conversation swirling around the hot-button issue of proposed legislation that will require pharmaceutical drug manufacturers to list drug prices in their Direct to Consumer (DTC) advertising in an effort to increase consumer transparency, and lower drug costs.

Evoke Taps Beck to Lead Philadelphia and Chicago

October 17, 2018 News

Amidst continued growth, industry veteran and innovator Beth Beck takes the helm. She brings to Evoke more than 25 years of healthcare marketing and advertising experience.

Evoke Again Named a Best Place to Work for 2018

October 11, 2018 News

Evoke was again ranked as a Best Place to Work in NYC by Crain’s. The award, which is celebrating it’s 10th anniversary, identifies those employers who share a commitment to creating a supportive, collegial and empowering workplace.

Planning for Peaks and Pivots: Why we should evolve the way we think of detailed marketing plans

October 11, 2018 Thought leadership

Bryan Russiano, Evoke's Managing Director, Consulting, advocates for a new kind of detailed marketing plan—one that not only contains everything needed to execute against brand objectives and strategies, but that also plans for constant evaluation and agile adjustments to in-market forces and learnings.

96 Hours at Advertising Week: Four Key Takeaways

October 9, 2018 Thought leadership

Last week in New York City, thousands of advertising professionals attended Advertising Week—the premier industry conference of the year. Evoke's EVP of Business Transformation breaks down the key themes discussed throughout the four days.

Facebook’s New “Info and Ads” Feature Creates Opportunity (and Concerns)

October 9, 2018 Thought leadership

In response to highly publicized criticism over privacy and an inability to combat misinformation, Facebook pledged to increase transparency around advertising and the nature of business pages by creating the new Info and Ads tab earlier this year.

Get Ready for a Telehealth Boom

October 1, 2018 Thought leadership

Virtual healthcare delivery received a major boost this month from the American Medical Association with the release of their 2019 Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) codes. The AMA included new codes for connected health services to encourage Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to cover the use of these technologies by physicians.

Evoke Acquires Navience Healthcare Solutions, LLC

September 27, 2018 News

Evoke's new Navience acquisition adds depth and breadth in the high-growth market access and payer marketing sector. Navience helps clients navigate the complexities of the ever-changing market access landscape by identifying, developing, and executing tailored solutions, backed by a robust analytics offering.

Evoke Group Simplifies Structure, Unveils New Identity and Vision

August 20, 2018 News

The collective talent, expertise and legacy of Evoke Health, Firsthand, Fabric, Traverse HealthStrategy, Nitrogen Health, Tonic Life Communications and AboveNation Media will form the new Evoke - a fully integrated global agency brand purpose-built to navigate the complexities of today's health and wellness landscape.

Evoke Makes a Bold Statement With Giant Acquisition

July 17, 2018 News

Evoke Group welcomes San Francisco-based Giant Creative Strategy to its collection of leading health and wellness marketing companies. Giant is a full-service creative healthcare agency focused on healthcare professional and multi-channel marketing, backed by a robust data and analytics offering.

On-Demand Delivery: Building a Digital Supply Chain

July 1, 2018 Thought leadership

Non-pharma DTC brands are breaking down walls and changing the retail landscape by cutting out the middleman and building direct relationships with their customers. There are lessons to be learned from how they are creating modern, seamless experiences-with new supply chains-to meet evolving consumer expectations.

Industry Veteran Marci Piasecki Joins Evoke Health

July 12, 2018 News

As Managing Director of Evoke Health's New York and Los Angeles offices, Piasecki will be responsible for multiple pharmaceutical, biotech, and device clients around the globe, while growing and developing the teams that deliver the high level of service the agency is known for.

Are you GDPR-Ready?

May 20, 2018 Thought leadership

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) comes into effect on May 25, changing the global landscape around data privacy for any organization offering goods or services to, or monitoring the behavior of, people in the EU.

Facebook's Privacy Challenges and Their Impact on Pharmaceutical Advertisers

April 5, 2018 Thought leadership

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has once again found his company on the receiving end of widespread criticism in light of a privacy scandal that rocked the company-leading to a $50 billion stock plummet and an exodus of high-profile advertisers from the platform. What does it mean for brands?

Evoke Group Acquires AboveNation Media, LLC

February 22, 2018 News

Ad Tech and Media Firm AboveNation Expands Integrated Health, Wellness and Lifestyle Offering