Lessons learned from a Top 10 Pharma
The volume of content increased 60% in the past 6 months1. With the proliferation of digital
channels, life sciences companies continue to evolve their content globally. Companies are
exploring new ways to reconcile the high volume of content creation with the need for more
personal messaging.
One large pharma company embraced a modular approach to generate localized content
faster while enforcing global brand consistency. Knowing this would be a major undertaking
they developed a strategy to launch the new program that serves as a robust model for other
organizations looking to adopt modular content.
Modular content is the process of assembling and reassembling pre-approved
components (or “modules”) into different types of content for use across
regions and channels. This approach enables a more streamlined and
effective way to meet the requirements of both local customization and
global brand consistency, without slowing down content production.
Key Steps for Launching a Modular Content Strategy
Step 1: Establish a core team responsible for global strategy
The main objective of the core team was to develop the guiding vision and strategy for establishing a modular
content process and driving adoption through all the local affiliates.
One of the key goals the company identified was to “teach people how to fish.” They wanted to equip the
affiliates to self-serve. Establishing central processes and tools enabled everyone to learn the same system
and understand how new modules and templates worked together.
Step 2: Understand the essential parts of a modular content strategy
Approved Research. While different content pieces use the same foundational studies and
research, teams must review this information each time it appears in a new asset. Rather than
going through the entire review process multiple times, approving core claims, and references
first saved significant time on reviews.
Standard Formatting by Channel. The organization needed a streamlined way to create content
quickly across channels. Creating standard templates within each channel allowed for modular
content to be assembled faster.
Global to Local Module Libraries. The organization created global module libraries and channel
templates that were all approved for use by regional teams. This gave regional teams the ability
to quickly create, review, and approve local content by clearly identifying pre-approved content,
checking for local context, and reviewing exceptions. This increased the pace of content
development and helped ensure brand consistency across affiliates globally while allowing for
flexibility around regional and local requirements.
Global System for Content Sharing. Finally, the teams needed a way to manage and share
materials across the world. Through their digital asset management (DAM) solution, they were
able to share, store, and manage all content types, including modules, templates, approved
documents, etc. By owning the licensing and content at the corporate level, they maximized
utilization and created efficiencies.
Step 3: Launch the Program
The company knew that the only way to drive global consistency was for headquarters to fully support the
initiative. They adopted a “globally orchestrated, regionally managed, owned by countries” mantra used to
communicate the benefits of the new program.
The global team started by identifying “must-win” markets. “Lighthouse” pilots helped them ensure what they
built would meet the demands and needs of the market. Once these lighthouse markets were up and running
with the new process, they launched the remaining regions.
Benefits of a Global Modular Content Strategy
To further drive adoption across regional and local affiliates, it was important to clearly communicate the
impact this strategy had on the business.
In the end, the company was able to achieve a real impact. Not only did they increase their average speed
to market by 28%, but they also reduced the cost of content creation by 19% and the number of review
cycles by 22%. The organization continues to evolve its modular approach to drive further value across its
content ecosystem. They expect to see further improvements in their speed to market and continue to
optimize workflows.
Are you looking to adopt a modular content approach? Learn more.