Why—you may ask—are our faces plastered all over our Website? Don’t we staff art directors that can scour stock photo sites for symbolic, motivational imagery? Don’t we have any copywriters that can come up with clever verbiage to communicate what our customers can expect from us as an agency? Or are we really just that self-involved?

Well, to be honest, we sort of are. Not self-involved in the traditional sense, but in the sense that the only ones involved—in our agency and in our clients work—are ourselves. The expectation we want to set is that what customers can come to expect from our agency is us.

We believe in candor—we come correct with each other as well as with our clients. If we show up at your office and promise to dedicate ourselves to your account, we’ll deliver on that promise. Unlike larger agencies that send senior management to the pitch but assign your business to a junior team back at the office, with us, who you see is what you get. And what you get are six people who know better than to sell themselves with marketing buzzwords and stock photography. Six people who will show that same discern for your business and your brand. We promise.

Remember when the success of an advertising campaign was measured by how many people bought your product? The strategy was simple: bring something new to market—ideally, something that fills an unmet need—and then convince people to try it, if even just once.

And for years, what worked for GE and General Mills worked for Merck and Pfizer as well. But we’ve entered a new age in pharmaceutical advertising. An age where a product is not just a pill, it’s a promise of a better, healthier future. An age where patient profiles—more than product profiles—drive marketing initiatives and (the hope is, at least) increase sales down the line.

Because, let’s face it, we live in an age where medication is no longer just for the infirmed. An age where Lipitor, Cialis, and Propecia are the brands filling the 6-o’clock news spots. Now don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of products out there (not enough, actually) that really do save lives. Products that, without which, people quite literally would not be able to get out of bed in the morning. I’ve worked on products like these, and I’ve even felt good about it. But the influx of lifestyle drugs can’t be ignored, and they’re setting the bar for all the rest.

Today, pharmaceutical companies want to offer products that come with built-in support systems. Products that promote not just a chemical or biological change, but a lifestyle change. Products that not only make people feel better, but make them live better, live longer, and live stronger. Products that people will not only try, but will keep taking for years to come.

And this shift in focus hasn’t come a moment too soon, with the market flooded with generics and the FDA watching more closely than ever before.  But it means that we’re now tasked with satisfying a different kind of marketing strategy. One that is less about boosting initial sales and more about bolstering compliance down the line. Clients want campaigns that are more patient-centric, messages that are more end-benefit oriented, and support programs designed to enhance the patient experience, if you will. In other words, pharma’s getting personal.

For the early adopters out there—the companies willing to sacrifice out-of-the-gate sales in an effort to increase compliance and solidifying future profits—the potential benefits are huge. And what’s good for the goose is good for…well, the guys the goose pays to do its advertising.

Last week, some of the Vertiyo Health staff made it out to the 3rd Annual Digital Pharma conference to interact with industry peers regarding the state of social and digital in pharma marketing. It was a great three days and for a great synopsis check out  Steve Woodruff’s blog.

We agree with Steve that the highlight of the entire conference was the true unconference Town Hall session at the end of the third day.