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 Editorial IT/multimedia Finance/HR Account handling Design/layout Conference/events Sales/business development

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 3 rd 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 IT Project support Finance Human resources/personnel

Getting down to business Editorial dept

Editorial team: roles/titles  Writers  Editors  Editorial assistants  Trainee/junior  Senior  Principal  Manager  Account team leader/account director/editorial team leader  Scientific director  Director/head of department

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 Editorial Materials Speakers PPT Reports On-site Concepts Layout Site map Functionality Costs Schedules Pitches Proposals Insight Contacts Sales/BD Conference/Events Account/Project management Design/Multimedia

Career progression within the editorial team – an example Medical Writer Editorial Director Editorial Manager Principal Writer Senior Medical Writer Scientific Director 0 – 3 yrs 2.5 – 5 yrs ≥5 yrs ≥ 4 yrs ≥5 yrs Internal: training procedures External: BD support Account dvlp Experience (time; range of projects) Skill set

Getting started

The Process  Application Covering letter CV  Writing and editing tests  Interview Presentation Editorial Other departments

Boxes to tick 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?

Never a dull moment!  Variety Project types Therapy areas  Team work  Ownership  Job satisfaction