We all love a good buzzword. While they come and go, the best ones succinctly convey meaning, while the worst ones are cringeworthy. So, what about agile? The word has been used in software and technology circles since the 1970s and 80s, but why has it been cropping up in Pharma spaces so much over the past 5-10 years? To many, it is, erroneously, associated with speed, flexibility and an ability to adapt to a changing environment. To Pharma marketers under pressure to deliver value to market at an increasing pace to remain competitive, agile is a compelling offer.
Everyone in business today, especially for those working agency-side, must be agile. Period. It’s table stakes to remain in the game. It’s a buzzword without teeth.
True capital-A Agile, however, is the Holy Grail. It is the difference-maker for an industry that is both highly regulated and eagerly looking to transform. The solution cleanly presents itself, not in new process with increased reactivity, but through the consistent and structured application of the Agile growth mindset to transforming culture, upskilling teams, collaborating and evolving ways of working with a focus on the ultimate outcome: accelerated value delivery.
So how do we achieve accelerated value delivery? Digitas Health’s Agile Center of Excellence co-leads Tereze Kunkel and Bill Rusnak say that “It begins with a way to think before a way to do … anything.” Digitas Health has taken the agile buzzword and purpose-built AgileRx, an accelerated Pharma value delivery system that shows consistent results across the board. More collaborative, earlier work-in-progress reviews create faster times to and through medical/legal/regulatory, faster time from brief to campaign development and higher-quality work. The way of thinking drives how we problem solve, learn, craft, use tools and processes, and engage with each other and with our client partners. Deeper than that, it’s how whole teams and organizations embrace values such as empirical thinking, the encouragement to take chances and the embodiment of trust and safety across all stakeholders within a work system. All of this translates to increased business predictability, faster time to market and stronger client partnerships. Rusnak concludes, “This transformation has also positivity reinvigorated our experts in ways we never thought possible.”
Our client partners are asking for efficiencies; they need to move faster and deliver better value to their business and their customers. This infusion of Agility has radically transformed how we work and partner with our clients to deliver value sooner and create meaningful connections between them and their audiences. At Digitas Health, our vision of Connected for Good is predicated on the belief that connections are essential for growth. The connections we create are directly reflected in the brand experiences we design — from the largest and most complex to the niche and breakthrough.
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