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FEATURES << What to look for in a publication planning agency
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What to look for in a publication planning agency
Published 5 January 2009, written by Trevor Sills
Introduction
Companies use agencies for a range of publication planning services from technical writing support to development and implementation of global publication plans. For any given service the role played by external agencies may be as narrow as provision of a niche technical requirement, or as broad as provision of a ‘total solution’ including strategy, service-provider integration, project management and quality assurance. Not all agencies are created equal, and the importance of establishing the ‘right fit’ between your organisation’s business need and the capability and capacity of your partner agency is one of the most important strategic decisions your project team will make.
Finding an agency that suits you
Agencies must be able to work effectively with clients to collate and manage the fuel for the publication plan – the clinical studies. Selecting a partner that can efficiently capture clinical study data and successfully integrate this into the typical components of either a web-based or database-driven publication plan are essential.
Typical components of a publication plan
Pre-clinical and clinical development programme
Health outcomes and pharmacoeconomic programme
Brand positioning and key messages
Target audiences/stakeholders
Journal profiles
Congress profiles
Product bibliography
Publication planners in industry are versatile people and expect the same from the agency they work with. At all times, the agency must conduct themselves with integrity, sensitivity and honesty. When working with authors and internal stakeholders, there will be occasions when agency staff need to demonstrate diplomacy, problem solving and conflict resolution. In publication planning, more than other communications activities, your agency must work as a partner. There are a number of critical skills that must be evaluated before selecting a partner.
Sizing up the fit
In sizing up the fit, ask yourself two questions:
1. What are the key considerations in choosing your publication planning agency?
2. What are the core services you require and how can you effectively assess the experience and competence of potential agencies?
Consider the following key areas:
Writing skills
Ask to see examples of published work and meet the medical writers. The core outputs from the plan – clinical papers, abstracts and posters – will be driven by the writing and editorial teams, so check their competence. Proven experience in writing scientific papers and abstracts is far more important than experience in the disease area, as this can quickly be acquired.
People management skills
The agency will often need to act as facilitators between the industry sponsor and clinical professionals. People skills and the experience of dealing with opinion leaders at an international level are essential. Whilst ownership of the core editorial resides with the author(s), agency staff are able to harmonise differing views about content, both between authors, and between authors and the sponsor.
Ask the agency to provide examples of author management, including:
Content: How to balance the commercial expectations of the sponsor with the independence of the author.
Scheduling: How to incentivise authors to deliver on time. Can this be achieved with an honorarium?
Journal selection: How to assist authors with targeting potential journals, and avoiding unrealistic submissions.
Journal liaison: What is the agency view regarding contacting the journal offices on behalf of an author?
Article generation: The issue of ghost writing is a hot topic in the industry; what approach does the agency recommend regarding author recruitment? What assurances are provided to the author regarding ownership of content and transparency with the sponsor?
Staff dynamics
Good agencies are run like academic publishers, so expect a full complement of in-house writers, editors and production staff who understand the editorial process and the goals of the client. Understand the dynamics of the in-house team: do writers liaise directly with authors, or is this undertaken by a member of the account staff? Who will be your point of contact and project leader – what experience does this individual have? The best agency team leaders have experience in a number of related disciplines, including medical publishing, KOL management, clinical research and Pharma marketing. All of these are relevant in successful publication planning.
Powered by passion?
15 years ago a client described publication planning to me as ‘the non-sexy end of pharmaceutical marketing’. Thankfully this view is changing. Pharmaceutical executives now accept that establishing a robust bibliography is a key value driver – product claims cannot succeed without an actively managed publication programme harnessed to a commercial plan. That said, implementation of a publication plan can take blood, sweat and tears and requires agency staying power. There will be set-backs and at such times you will need a highly motivated and passionate agency. If the agency says it’s too hard, start looking around for a new one.
The knowledge
Expect your agency to have a full working knowledge of the requirement of academic journals. Articles should never be returned because of poor preparation. Agencies should also know before submission whether an article is suitable for its target journal (this is not the same as guaranteeing acceptance)
Understanding journal editors
Editors of peer reviewed journals have a single-minded approach to publishing – to bring novel, interesting and relevant research to their readership. Their commitment is solely to the readership – check that the agency understands this and ask them to provide examples where they have worked effectively with an editor.
Understanding authors
The relationship between the author and the writer/agency is critical in successful publication planning. Sponsors certainly understand this, and agencies that compromise an effective relationship risk the wrath of the planning team and being marginalised by the author. Experienced agencies with seasoned staff score highly here, less experienced agencies may seek your intervention and suggest that you manage all communication with authors.
Handling rejection
Rejection is hard to take, but rejection in publication planning is especially difficult to manage. Ask that your agency invests wisely in careful selection of a target journal – there are ways to optimise success rates. To find out more see ‘value adding services’
The planning process
Preparing a manuscript, getting approval from multiple authors and achieving a successful submission is a lengthy process that can get stuck if not properly managed. You need an agency that can keep the momentum going. The agency should drive the planning process by pulling together a committed publication planning team of pre-clinical, medical, communications and regulatory personnel from the sponsor company to identify opportunities and co-ordinate dissemination of material/data. This team will be the decision making hub for directing publications activity. For some companies, this process means bringing research and development staff together with sales and marketing staff, with often conflicting priorities and views. It is here, particularly, that an external agency can help, by acting as a buffer and a facilitator, by keeping the team focused, and by ensuring deliverables are achieved in the required timeframe. The success of the planning team should be measured by both the quality and extent of the product bibliography.
Seeing the big picture
Successful publication planning fuels additional brand building initiatives, specifically:
PR plan: Publication and presentation of emerging data can also drive the PR plan. Ensure that the agency is aware of this and that successful interaction with internal and external public/corporate relations is demonstrated. It’s important that PR activities do not compromise or even negate publication opportunities, so test the agencies' knowledge on pre-publication of data.
Advocacy development: The path from lead author to brand champion is a natural one and agencies need to be aware of the potential utility of the authors that they interact with. Agency staff are well placed to develop and manage KOL activities, including speaker tours, slide kits, clinical communications and guideline development. Is your agency smart enough to undertake this?
Strategic insight
A core objective of the publication plan is to deliver the evidence to support the key product messages and positioning. Thus, the first step in the process is to achieve a clear understanding of what these should be. Can your agency manage this process? Seek confirmation from the agency that they have a robust process, usually in the form of a brand workshop, for developing core messages and claims.
Value adding services
Expect your agency to offer more than just implementation services. Involve them in the brand plan and share the vision for the brand with key account staff. Expect more in return, for example, one particular client asked that I raise the acceptance rates of submitted articles from over 70% to 90%. Introduction of an ‘independent review service’ certainly helped and we achieved acceptance rates of over 80%.
The first steps (checklist)
I’ve listed below a six-point plan, in the form of a checklist. The list will help guide your thinking before selecting an agency, and when it comes to briefing your agency.
1. Have you set realistic objectives?
• What’s your target and is this achievable?
• What’s the publication performance of your competitors?
2. Have you set the budget?
• Agencies should be accommodating – if you haven’t got much money they’ll work around it
• For big plans consider a retainer, otherwise request costs for items of service
3. Have you ‘primed’ the internal stakeholders?
• Agency staff require full co-operation from the relevant divisions of medical, regulatory and marketing
• Have you secured full buy-in from the stakeholders?
4. Have you defined the agency roles and responsibilities?
• How do you want to manage the agency? Has the project lead been identified, and have you agreed the details including who will contact authors and follow up, lead the Publication Planning Team and communicate with internal stakeholders?
5. How is the performance of the publication plan to be monitored and managed?
• What methods are in place to track the progress of the plan?
• How can the plan be used to map out anticipated claims?
• How can messaging and positioning be linked to the publication plan
6. Celebrate success
• Enjoy and share publication successes with the team and reap the rewards!
Conclusion: Finding the perfect partner
Like any relationship, finding a long term publication planning partner can be a tricky business. You will want to be wooed by charm and personality but also seek assurances regarding depth of understanding and experience. Also, never underestimate the power of passion in sustaining a potentially rocky road ahead. There will be times when the relationship is tested and working with like-minded individuals will certainly help galvanise a long term future.
Choose an agency that puts themselves in your shoes and who fully understands the responsibilities that go with empowerment. There is more at stake than simply facilitating the publication of data – internal and external relationships should never be compromised.
Like any relationship, when you choose carefully, you will experience the benefits of longevity, success and shared joy.
About the author
Trevor Sills has spent the last 20 years working on both sides of the fence; in R&D and Clinical Research in global Pharma, and as a Publication Planner at Ogilvy Healthworld, where he partnered extensively with major European and US Pharma companies. Trevor is currently Director of Medical Education at Allori, based in Sydney and Melbourne, Australia, and has recently launched ‘The Citation Map’ – a new service for publication planners.
“I’m pleased to be able to offer thepublicationplan.com insights into what to look for in a Publication Planning agency. You will have your own views on what makes a great agency partner, and I hope that some of these match my own.”
To contact Trevor, please email: trevor.sills@allori.com.au
To find out more about Allori, please visit www.allori.com.au
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Feedback: Do you have any comments about this article? Contact the Publisher, Peter Llewellyn.
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