5 Things to Look for in a Marketing Analytics Partner
Even in challenging economic environments, biopharma brands continue to make significant investments in direct-to-consumer and HCP marketing. Working with an experienced marketing analytics partner to measure and optimize those investments can improve marketing performance and unlock millions of dollars in media value. In fact, all of the top 17 biopharma companies work with a marketing analytics partner to connect their marketing and advertising campaigns to health outcomes.
With the proliferation of health and media data, biopharma brands have many marketing measurement options at their disposal and more seem to be added every day. Here are five things to look for when choosing a marketing analytics partner.
1. Objective, third-party perspective
When choosing a measurement partner, consider the company’s core capabilities. Is measurement a focus or is it an “add-on” to enable the company to measure their own media buying solutions?
In today’s media environment, if a measurement partner also sells media inventory, they are asking their competitors for access to confidential performance data. Many media sellers will be hesitant to share the proprietary data necessary to accurately measure results across channels.
2. Robust, connected data sets
Successful measurement ultimately comes down to understanding who your campaigns are reaching, and the impact on health behavior. To do that, you need access to robust health, consumer, and media data sets.
While many health and consumer data sets are available in the open market, marketing analytics partners need to be able to connect these disparate data sets quickly, accurately, and in a privacy-safe way.
The infrastructure and relationships necessary to do this well are built over time. As the industry looks to the future of digital media without third-party cookies, measurement will rely on direct feed integrations from media partners. Does your analytics partner have those integrations in place?
3. Transparency and privacy
Methodology, data sources, metric definitions, statistical significance, and sample sizes make up the foundation of an advanced analytics platform. These metrics should be available to you and your team, to prove you are making business decisions based on accurate insights.
While many marketers rely on their internal analytics partners to evaluate the data science, brand teams should also ask these questions and look for openness and transparency from their partners.
Some vendors also claim that Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) compliance ensures a privacy-safe methodology. HIPAA, which passed into law more than two decades ago, wasn’t designed to cover the complexities of today’s digital world. HIPAA is necessary but not sufficient when it comes to privacy and the use of data to measure the impact of marketing campaigns.
The Network Advertising Initiative (NAI) is the leading self-regulatory association dedicated to responsible data collection and its use in digital advertising in the United States. The NAI’s guidelines for ad delivery and reporting are specifically focused on the appropriate and ethical use of data to measure advertising effectiveness. Look for a partner that is a member of the NAI to ensure that digital data is used responsibly, and consumer privacy is protected.
4. Track record of innovation
How prepared is your analytics partner for tomorrow’s complex media environment? Do they evaluate emerging channels, from streaming video and audio to social and walled gardens? Have they established media partnerships to integrate data after third-party cookies go away?
The best analytics partners are constantly innovating. They push boundaries and unlock new opportunities for data-driven omnichannel marketing.
At Veeva Crossix, we continue to expand our offerings to unify audience measurement, across HCP and DTC marketing initiatives as well as connect marketing and sales activities. Our latest solutions—Crossix Omnichannel Boost and Crossix HCP Trigger Data—support new ways to bring together data from field activities and DTC and HCP campaigns. Using this data, marketers gain real-time insights into omnichannel performance, helping to break down organizational silos and deliver key information to customers.
5. Proven ability to execute
Look for a partner with experience measuring complex, cross-channel campaigns over a long time period. Even with access to robust data sets, it’s very difficult to accurately connect marketing and health data across channels and platforms.
Veeva Crossix has a proven track record. We’ve implemented the Crossix Measurement Suite more than 2,500 times, providing marketers and media agencies ongoing access to performance data. The Crossix Measurement Suite is used by 8 of the top 10 biopharma companies and we have measured more than $6B in advertising spend.
Effective measurement requires objectivity, connected data, transparency, a track record of innovation, and a proven ability to execute. Your marketing investments are too valuable to trust promises without proven results.
Learn how Bayer leveraged HCP Trigger Data to provide insights from their patient marketing campaigns to their field team and saw results such as new prescribers and positive ROI. Read the case study.