Focus on the communication of big health, expand and empower the presentation of medical value

The pharmaceutical industry is recognized as a highly complex system, involving dozens of complex processes such as R&D, approval, production, logistics, and sales. However, no matter where you are in the upstream and downstream of the industry, they all point to the same ultimate goal: to benefit patients. In the pharmaceutical industry, which has extremely high professional barriers, the circulation and transmission of information, the promotion of the latest knowledge and ideas, and the achievement of social consensus all need to break through the "invisible professional wall", which is not only a major topic that cannot be ignored in the industry, but also gives birth to a unique health communication track.

As one of the senior leaders in the field of healthcare communications, Dr. Charles Houdoux, Global Chief Customer Officer and CEO of Havas Health Asia Pacific, shared his experience of working closely with the world's largest pharmaceutical companies for nearly 40 years and his unique insights into the Chinese market.

At the beginning of the 40th century, the value of the pursuit of great health communication has not changed

With an MBA and a Ph.D. in Pharmacy, Charles made the decision to pursue a career in medical communication 40 years ago. Talking about the original intention of choosing this path, Charles's eyes reveal determination and love: "Although my professional background is in medicine, I have found that I am better at and more passionate about influencing more people by spreading health knowledge than working directly in the medical field. I hope to use my expertise to help the public establish the right concept of health, prevent diseases and improve the quality of life. ”

In his nearly 40 years of work, his most notable achievement is to lead Havas Health to become Sanofi's preferred partner, and has created countless classic cases in more than a decade of cooperation.

"Through this series of communication efforts, we hope to make the pharmaceutical company's breakthrough treatment solutions known and accessible to more doctors and patients, and positively impact the health and well-being of patients, while helping our customers achieve better results on a commercial level," said Charles. He shared the star case of leading a team to leverage business performance through communication, helping a product increase from a sales expectation of 500 million to 600 million euros to more than 6 billion euros in actual sales. This is where the value of communication lies. Charles said.

The impact of the pandemic on the healthcare industry

As Global Chief Customer Officer, Charles' global footprint has been teased by his team members as an "International Employee" because he always travels back and forth between time zones and countries. However, the new crown epidemic that lasted for several years temporarily hindered his "flight plan", and also profoundly affected the development of the global health industry. Charles pointed out that this global event has not only changed people's lifestyles, consumption patterns and health concepts, but also promoted the vigorous development and innovation of the pharmaceutical and medical technology industries.

"This global public health event in the Internet age has made people more aware of the importance of health and pay more attention to physical health and mental health." Charles said, "In the post-epidemic era, although the performance of some pharmaceutical companies has been greatly affected, the global pharmaceutical industry as a whole has shown a growth trend. This reflects the combined influence of economic development, the increasing degree of aging, the increasing awareness of public health care, and the continuous improvement of the medical security system in various countries. "According to research by Statista, a global data analytics company, the healthcare market will reach $19.07 billion in 2023, with revenue reaching $57.86 billion, and the pharmaceutical industry is expected to grow at an average annual rate of about 7.5% between 2023 and 2028, with global drug spending reaching $2.3 trillion in 20281.

Customized strategies for the Chinese market

As an industry leader in the field of health communication for more than 40 years, Charles has personally experienced the rapid development of the global and Chinese pharmaceutical markets, and has unique insights into the layout of multinational pharmaceutical companies in the Chinese market. He pointed out that the Chinese government has made significant progress in improving access to medicines, deepening healthcare reform, and building a regulatory system that is in line with international standards, providing a broad space for multinational companies to develop and allowing the Chinese market to engage in closer dialogue with the international market, local Chinese pharmaceutical companies and global pharmaceutical companies.

Charles said that in China, the world's second largest pharmaceutical market, companies in the big health industry need to do a good job of internationalization and localization at the same time, and this standard also applies to communication companies. Charles, a China expert, shared that the 300 Chinese employees who have an international perspective and a deep understanding of the local ecology and wisdom are the cornerstone of Havas Health's effective communication. "In China's more digital healthcare system, we need to have a deep insight into the different needs of doctors and patients, and empower them through communication."

According to the sharing, Havas Health is currently carrying out customized communication according to the attributes and needs of different audience groups. "General practitioners, special disease doctors, self-pay patients, medical insurance patients...... Different groups have different needs, and our success lies in matching the Chinese media ecosystem and using customized and personalized thinking to carry out accurate and efficient communication. ”

Based on China's medical system and unique communication ecosystem, Havas Health can help customers deeply integrate into the ecological network including e-commerce and Internet medical system, and give full play to its advantages in media channels, so that content, channels and conversion can be integrated. With the traditional mass communication trend moving towards precision marketing and focus communication, Havas Health has launched a new "convergence" global development strategy to strengthen the investment in data, technology and artificial intelligence to meet customer needs in a faster and more cost-effective way. Today, Havas Health has developed a super-powered but still human-driven tool powered by artificial intelligence, data, and technology – Convergence, which has been applied to Sanofi's services with remarkable results. "We need to work in three directions to drive great communication: creating more meaningful content, improving communication efficiency, and establishing more scientific metrics," Charles said. ”

Looking to the future, Charles is confident in the development of the field of health communication. He said: "With the in-depth implementation of the 'Healthy China' strategy and the continuous improvement of people's health awareness, China's big health market will usher in a broader space for development. Havas Health will continue to cultivate the Chinese market, provide customers with better and more efficient services, and jointly promote the prosperity and development of the big health industry. ”