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Medical Communications agencies – uncovered !. Dr Diane Sutherland Editorial Director Fishawack Communications. Introduction to the ‘Office’. A brief personal history Medicom agencies – they come in all shapes and sizes! Small Medium Large Unique mix of skills and personalities.
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Medical Communications agencies – uncovered ! Dr Diane Sutherland Editorial Director Fishawack Communications
Introduction to the ‘Office’ • A brief personal history • Medicom agencies – they come in all shapes and sizes! • Small • Medium • Large • Unique mix of skills and personalities
Content overview • Through the agency door – the department mix • A walk through each department • Stopping in the Editorial department: • Roles and responsibilities • Teamwork • Career structure • Getting started
The Department mix Sales/business development Editorial IT/multimedia Account handling Conference/events Finance/HR Design/layout
Bringing in the business Business development/ Sales dept
Sales/business development team New business • Detective work – investigating and identifying potential opportunities in pharma for medicom services • Making contact – establishing introductory appointments • Managing pitches and proposals requested – selling agency services and skills • Maintaining database of contacts/therapy areas and on-going progress • Sales budget and target establishment Repeat business • Same product, new project types • Same company, new products • Same client, new company
Delivering the business • Editorial • Conference • Design • Multimedia • Account management
Meeting and greeting – conference/events department • Managing and delivering all meetings-based projects • venue and 3rd party supplier liaison; speaker, participant and on-site management • Ensuring that projects are delivered to budget, schedule and quality • Advisory boards • Stand-alone meetings • Satellite symposia
Visual appeal and that professional look – design and multimedia • Creative concepts, designs and producing visual materials – internal (e.g. pitches/presentations) and client • Artwork and layouts for written project outputs • Scientific and technical illustrations for the presentations/project outputs • Interactive options – web-based, animation
Keeping us all in line – account/project managers • Project specification and cost estimates • Schedules • Monitoring project status according to specification • Tracking hours and budget • Liaising with client on the above
Behind the scenes Project support IT Human resources/personnel Finance
Getting down to business Editorial dept
Writers Editors Editorial assistants Trainee/junior Senior Principal Manager Account team leader/account director/editorial team leader Scientific director Director/head of department Editorial team: roles/titles
Key tasks of the writer • Developing (through research, writing, editing) high-quality material for a variety of projects • according to the brief • within budget and timelines • with correct use of English and scientific accuracy • Liaising with clients, authors and colleagues to progress projects effectively • Mentoring, training and managing writers • Preparing cost estimates for editorial tasks • Actively participating in account development/ new business opportunities • Managing workload (personal/across team)
No writer is an island – interacting with other departments Conference/Events Design/Multimedia Sales/BD Account/Project management
Career progression within the editorial team – an example Experience (time; range of projects) Skill set ≥5 yrs • Internal: • training • procedures Principal Writer ≥5 yrs 2.5–5 yrs ≥4 yrs 0–3 yrs Senior Medical Writer Editorial Manager Editorial Director Medical Writer Scientific Director • External: • BD support • Account dvlp ≥5 yrs
The Process • Application • Covering letter • CV • Writing and editing tests • Interview • Presentation • Editorial • Other departments
What the agency is looking for: Writing skills Attention to detail Therapy area experience/potential Suitability to role Team fit Creativity Enthusiasm! Some considerations for a potential new writer: Do you enjoy writing? Are you a good team player? Do you have an interest in the pharmaceutical industry? Are you enthusiastic about learning a wide range of areas of medicine? Are you able to work flexibly and to tight timelines? Boxes to tick
Never a dull moment! • Variety • Project types • Therapy areas • Team work • Ownership • Job satisfaction