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BASICS << Strategic Publication Planning: what is it?
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Strategic Publication Planning: what is it?
Published 2 July 2008, written by John Gill and Jane Grills
Publication planning has been around for over 10 years, and for many is now an established part of a medical communications programme. Indeed, we are now seeing roles described as a ‘publication planner’ or ‘publications manager’.
In this short introduction and overview, we will look at where publication planning came from, what it is designed to do, identify some of the key elements in a plan, and discuss the role of agencies.
In the beginning
We are all familiar with the long process of drug development, the scale and cost of phase III trials, how product claims need to be supported by robust clinical evidence, and the importance of a timely product launch. Traditionally, once clinical development was completed, there would be a ‘handover’ of the new drug from medical to marketing (and never the twain would meet). However, as drug companies strived to shorten development times to maximise patent life, and marketers tried to ensure that the product met medical needs in the marketplace, medical and marketing departments discovered the need to work together more closely. Their shared aim was to build a strong profile for the drug earlier in the clinical development process, such that at launch the drug would have a clearly defined positioning and a strong platform of published, citable evidence (and opinion leaders) to support claims. This would allow more rapid sales penetration, and maximise drug company return on investment (ROI).
Part of this overall process was deciding what could be said about the drug based on trial data (key messages), to whom (target audience), where (journals, conferences) and when. Importantly, it also involved taking more control of the communication process, and driving the process pro-actively. This structured approach to publishing clinical data became known as ‘publication planning’.
The publication plan must be implemented within the parameters set out in a number of guidelines such as the good publication practice (GPP) guidelines, the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICJME) uniform requirements and statements from the Committee on Publishing Ethics (COPE). Full disclosure of sponsorship and editorial support for clinical trials, presentations and publications must always be made.
Medical or Marketing?
So who should drive the process of publication planning: the medical department who devised and managed the clinical trials; the marketing department who need to position the product in the marketplace and help drive sales, or a third party?
Publication planning, or developing a publication ‘strategy’, is a core part of the marketing mix. The purpose of a publication plan is to identify what needs to be achieved (the strategy) and how to achieve it (the tactical plan) using a framework of key clinical and product messages. It may be driven by the medical department, an in-house publications team, the marketing team, or an agency, but as a process/discipline publication planning is about helping to get a product to market successfully and profitably by ensuring that key clinical data are published in as effective and timely manner as possible. The content of the publications will provide the future platform of reference information about drug efficacy and safety that will be used by the drug company, their competitors and clinical researchers worldwide.
That said, for any plan to be successful it will require team work from both medical and marketing departments. It is vital to invest time at the beginning of any strategic publication planning process in discussions designed to get the right team and balance of skill sets together, identify the hierarchy of communication within the team, and who should drive the plan. It’s in the interest of all involved to have an effective publication plan, and team; the alternative is to waste time, opportunity and budgets.
Why have a publication plan?
Timely dissemination of clinical trial data
Full disclosure of trial programme
Build product platform/key messages
Build/maintain share of voice amongst target audience
Identify ‘gaps’ in support for key messages
Highlight position of drug vs competitors
Highlight areas for future clinical studies including use in new indications
What’s involved?
Each publication plan will differ depending on the needs of the drug and the pharmaceutical company, as not all plans are for a new therapy which will change the way medicine is practised. Some plans will be for a second, third, fourth or even fifth drug to market. The drug may not have a first-choice positioning; it may be for patients who fail to respond to established therapies. It may be a local or regional plan that is based on the international publication plan. It may even be a plan for a medical device.
Publication planning is a professional skill, involving a logical series of development steps. Broadly, the principal stages include:
Clinical data audit (clinical trial database)
Key message analysis
Target audience identification
Audit of communication channels (target journals/meetings/websites) (a publication plan is not just about primary papers in peer reviewed subscriber journals)
Gap analyses (where are you now vs competitors, vs key messages, vs future plans)
Advocacy development plan (investigators, opinion leaders, authors)
Plan of publishing and communication activities (some think this is the plan; in fact this is the tactical output from the publishing strategy)
Budget
The secret of a successful publication plan is communicating the right messages to the right people at the right time!
Who’s involved?
A wide range of people may be involved in a publication planning team. The make-up of the team will be different for every product, depending on the marketing situation involved (e.g. international plan, position within the company portfolio, etc). Members will be drawn from:
Clinical research teams
Contract research organizations
Marketing team
Lead study investigators
Representatives from the key country affiliates (for an international plan)
Medical communications agency personnel and/or freelance medical writers
Publication planning relies upon building an effective team. Teams should not be too large, or the logistics involved in managing the plan will fail. Good communication, particularly of any changes affecting the plan, is paramount.
Issues
Publishing strategy can have a wide-ranging influence. Consider the impact on corporate image…
There is a lot of coverage given to the troubles faced by companies such as Schering-Plough and Merck & Co as they face US federal investigation and subpoenas over delays in reporting trial results. And how JAMA feels it was duped by ‘ghostwritten’ research articles. And now there appears to be an impact on drug usage.
‘A weakened [corporate] reputation also puts patients at risk – as they are more likely to stop taking their medicines.’ [our brackets]
Time for a new image. Pharmatimes 2008, June: 20-22.
There are a wide range of issues to be considered in publication planning (e.g. role of an agency, optimizing the team, global vs local publications etc), and these will be covered in future articles.
About the authors:
Both John Gill and Jane Grills have been involved in publication planning since its inception in the 1990s, and work together on a wide range of strategic communication programmes. John has an NHS and pharma industry background, as well as agency experience, and currently runs his own medical and consumer communications agency, PCL Communications. With high-level agency experience in all aspects of medical communication and publication planning, Jane now offers consultancy, training and freelance medical writing to a wide range of clients.
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Feedback: Do you have any comments about this article? Contact the Editor, Mary Greenacre.
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