I find talking to people who don’t understand me very frustrating.
I’ve yet to meet anyone who does.
That was the problem faced by an advertising agency who sought clients in the agricultural community.
There was a clear cultural difference between the agency and their potential clients.
The agency’s solution to a set of well acknowledged agricultural industry problems was innovative, insightful and extremely effective.
They started a farm…and posted a blog on its progress.
The farms don’t always make a profit, but the agency is doing very nicely.
In fact, they now run two farms, 49 employees and 205 acres of real understanding.
Is this what it takes for an agency to create the cultural rapport with Pharma?
Conversely, is this what it would take for Pharma to convince a hugely sceptical client base that it does, or at least is trying to, understand the communities it is attempting to serve?
And what would Pharma be writing in a daily Blog?
Would it tell …..
Would it tell of the trails, tribulations and triumphs experienced by the consumers of its products?
An Agency Perspective
Not so long ago I headed-up the fledgling division of a large European Direct Marketing Agency.
The agency had already made two attempts at creating a profitable digital capacity.
Success had not been forthcoming. Clients were often more digital savvy and better organised than the agency.
The core problem didn’t lie in the quality of previous digital leadership or the staff, rather it was the cultural divide between traditional agency staff and the new kids on the block.
Whilst the classic human frailties of fear, ignorance coupled with scepticism, the initial absence of a common language and a willingness to change were all at play the persistent failures at integration were more fundamental.
The cultures didn’t match and a change management program, a re-structure and a change in senior management were not going to be the quick-fix solutions.
A Digital Agency to Pharma Perspective
Is it possible that the intra-agency problems with digital were reflected not only within Pharma but also between agencies and Pharma?
Did e-Marketing and Sales divisions within Pharma experience the same cultural integration problems with the established marketing & sales and brand team structures?
The dialogue between the digital arms of agencies and Pharma meshed well together, they talked the same language. However, as both experienced difficulties with their parents the power and velocity behind the relationships was often less than significant.
Do the same Cultural Divides Exist between Pharma and its Client Base?
If so how can these cultural divides be bridged?
Culture has been eminently defined as:
“A pattern of shared basic assumptions that the group learned as it solved its problems of external adaptation and internal integration, that has worked well enough to be considered valid and therefore, to be taught to new members as the correct way to perceive, think, and feel in relation to those problems.” (Edgar Schein. 1993. Organizational Culture and Leadership. Pp 373-374)
The challenge for digital communication within and across organisations and communities has been, and arguably still is, to integrate individuals into an effective whole and for them to adapt effectively to the rapidly evolving external environment in order to thrive.
Groups and individuals tend to find solutions to these problems over time. They engage in a kind of collective learning that creates a set of shared assumptions and beliefs.
They create a new culture.
Time is the key. The problem in the world of Pharma marketing & sales communication is that digital has accelerated the rate of change so significantly that there is disconnect between cultural adaption across and within the relevant stakeholders.
Therefore, shouldn’t Pharma find ways of fast-tracking their response to the cultural changes the evolution in communication is forcing if it is to avoid becoming marginalised?
Pharma’s Own Farm?
Is there a lesson to be learned from the AdFarm experience?
If Pharma is to keep pace with the rapidly changing communications world, to create a platform for understanding and building rapport with its client communities, maybe Pharma should consider creating its own digital community?
The opportunity beckons.
(Tomorrow’s Blog: Pharma’s Journey in the World of the Infonaut)
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