It’s that special time of year again. Our renowned Trailblazer Awards Gala will once again honor pharma’s most innovative and creative companies, marketers, brand managers—and a new group this year, Marketing Teams.
Many of you may remember the belly laughs our emcee elicited, Emmy Award Winning, Judy Gold, an extraordinary comedian, actress, and blogger, who hit the bull’s eye with her unique humor and sharp wit. Brace yourself now for another great night. This year’s Trailblazer Awards Gala is poised to be even better. And if anyone deserves such a night—it’s you!
This year’s Lifetime Achievement Award Winner is Douglas G. Watson, former President and CEO of Novartis Corporation, the U.S. subsidiary of Novartis AG. Throughout Watson’s career, which began in 1966, he envisioned the need for patient centricity coming before anyone else did. That led him and his team to create several innovative patient-centric programs—but we don’t want to give too much away just yet.
Things have changed rapidly in our industry. Payers are in the cat-bird seat, and market access for brands is a challenge that requires intricate value propositions—a skill requiring specialized knowledge. But marketers are stepping up to the myriad of challenges, creating new ways to connect with patients and physicians, becoming more creative in their campaigns, embracing new technology, and partnering with those who can help them reach their goals—not to mention saving pharma’s less than stellar reputation. The entire industry is shifting once again, but these individuals prove they can shift with it—with remarkable results.
Come join us at NYC’s elegant Gotham Hall for the gala, September 23. The day before, we host our annual Brand Champions Circle of Excellence Roundtable, which is followed by a festive dinner at Manhattan’s incomparable gourmet restaurant, David Bouley—and we offer a special thanks to our generous Premier Brand Champion and Roundtable Sponsor, Health Monitor Network. Come to the gala, honor your colleagues, and enjoy the industry’s best party event of the year—and look for our coverage in the October issue!
But now, check out the features in this month’s issue. Marketers are sure to benefit from their solid, actionable insights—among them, Differentiate Your Brand by Understanding What Physicians and Patients Want, by Linda Ruschau, Modern CSOs Must Provide More than Just Head Count, by George Esgro and Peter Lammers, and our Think Tank: Effectively Harnessing Big Data. Flip through the pages to learn where our industry is headed.
See you at Trailblazers!
