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If companies used the same process to hire chief marketing officers that they use when selecting advertising agencies, the wheels of commerce would grind to a halt. Imagine a CEO saying “We need a new marketing vice president. Call purchasing

According to USFDA, a combination product is one composed of any combination of a drug and device; biological product and device; drug and biological product

.” This is happening in corporate America as the advertising business is seen as a commodity entrusted to the lowest possible bidder.

Gone are the days when advertising agencies were selected on chemistry, powerful ideas, and personal insigh

; or drug, device, and biological product and fixed dose combination would include two or more combinations of drug.

Examples of combination products may in

ts that translate into industry defining work.

Today, among the last considerations are chemistry and quality of interaction between agency teams and client. Many clients are dictating price, service terms, and advertising strategy in a take-

lude drug-coated devices, drugs packaged with delivery devices in medical kits, and drugs and devices packaged separately but intended to be used together.

it-or-leave-it approach that leaves agencies scratching their heads.

“Advertising purchase decisions are often handled by corporate purchasing agents. The process is becoming ritualized around return on investment,” says Jim Copacino, founde

here is enormous increase in the number of combination products entering the market in the recent years. Combination products have proven advantages but fixe

of Copacino+Fujikado. “I don’t see this changing soon. The only way that agencies can combat this is to focus on creativity and their ability to demonstrate that powerful ideas can change consumer behavior.”

That’s tough to do when more adv

d dose combinations are still in the process of convincing regulatory authority on their advantages over the single ingredient formulations.

Combination pro

ertising reviews often keep contact with agency people to a minimum. Good matches between clients and agencies used to be made by with a healthy dose of interaction between parties looking for the right talent match, expertise and fit. Agenci

ucts have become life saving products for the pharmaceutical companies who doesn’t have many innovative molecules in their product pipeline and have been inc

es inspired to invest in learning a client’s business were greeted with an open door. Clients would form an opinion of an agency by the quality of the questions asked and the thoroughness used in investigating the opportunity. Today’s politic

easingly used in the product life cycle management. Even the companies having product patents are trying to extend their product life cycle through the combi

ally correct advertising review process deemphasizes interaction. For example, my recent request for an input meeting with a potential client was met with this voicemail reply: “Send me your questions in writing, and we will respond via email

nation products and maximize the revenues. But the companies involved in this practice are overlooking that they are burdening the patients both economically

to all the agencies. It would be an unfair advantage if we were to answer your questions in person.” The process isn’t about being fair. It is about finding the firm best suited for the job.

If companies hired marketing leaders the way many

and physically. They need to rightly judge the benefits of the combination products and they have to even look at the risks involved when combining the produ

select agencies today, hiring mistakes would be rampant. Several candidates would be expected to write complete marketing plans without any interaction with the company or its people. Research wouldn’t be shared. Budgets would be kept secret

ts. Some of the combination products were well accepted by physicians while others suffered. Companies involved in development of combination products are fi

. Each candidate’s first meeting would be in front of several people where they would be expected to present their plan. Chemistry would be inferred from how the candidates present to a group.

Hiring success is not about skills alone. Attitu

ding difficulty in defining their combination products and facing various challenges from selecting a combination to marketing it.

Following aspects would a

de, chemistry, leadership skills, personality, building bridges between departments, personal charisma, and personal interest in the product or category are what matter most. This is why companies invest so much management time getting to know

dd to the challenges in developing combination products:

Which markets to tap where the combination products can do fairly well?
Which combination prod

their top candidates and finding out what makes them tick.

When the right ad agency joins your team, revenues can escalate and market share can advance. To make the right choice, invest time and effort to narrow the list of candidates to app

cts are meaningful and rational?
Which therapeutic categories to select?
Which Combinations can address unmet needs of the patients?
Do combin

ropriate finalists. Then, invest more time to get to know them in a way that will help you predict what it will be like to work with them over the long haul. Resist all temptation to make the review process an arm’s length transaction. Rath

tions increase the patient compliance?
What would be the developing cost?
How to tackle the risks encountered during combination product developmen

er, develop a three-tier process that:

1) Allows you to look at many agency portfolios. The more the merrier. You will be surprised by what you see, and this will help you to develop a quality list of semi-finalists. And, by all means, don’t

t?

As combination products don't fit into the traditional categories of drugs, medical devices, or biological products, the USFDA is in the process of devel

require submission of 100-page capabilities statements and financial details at this stage. Chances are the best agencies will decline participation. That won’t serve the process of finding superior talent to get the job done.

2) Provides

ping new procedures for reviewing their safety, efficacy and quality.

Professional from academic institutions, pharmaceutical industries, health care indust

pportunities for semi-finalists to present their capabilities. This should be an open process, inviting each agency to interact with you as they see fit. This will tell you a lot about working with each.

3) Narrows the field to no more than t

y and representatives from various regulatory agencies are working out to design the regulatory requirements for manufacture and sale of combination products

wo or three of the most qualified firms. These are the firms that will invest their time, creativity, and resources into demonstrating that they are best for you. Part of the evaluation process should be to rate the way they gather informati

.

As there is an increasing trend of the combination products companies manufacturing such products should be able to tackle the problems involved in the de

on and how capable they are in gaining insight into your markets. Most of all, let the process be a bit messy. It will tell you a lot.

If clients and agencies alike would follow this process, we’d all be in a better position to do the best wo

elopment. They need to be wiser in analyzing the market trends and the regulatory requirements.

Companies that provide selfless information through particip

rk of our lives, and what could be better than that?

If this column hits a collective nerve, let’s continue the conversation by phone or e-mail and possibly organize a seminar or webinar with industry leaders on the RFP topic for a later date

tion in industry events and feedback to regulatory authorities would be able to face the challenges and will be successful in developing combination products

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Conference organizers are a group of professionals who make all necessary arrangements to make a conference a great success. These organizers work with guidelines to make the conferences uniform and unique. Guidelines generally apply to all conferences, symposia and workshops with the exception of an annual meeting, which has its own set of guidelines. The primary role of the organizing committee is to design the technical program, including the selection of themes, invitations to plenary speakers and the scheduling of all sessions. The committee also reviews proposals for contributed presentations, posters and short courses and chose to accept or reject proposals.

Warning! The following article was written tongue-in-cheek! Learn about being a flop at customer service for your business. Then do the opposite!

One of the biggest shortcomings of many managers and business owners is the lack of ability, willingness or time required to plan. Planning involves a variety of issues, steps, agendas, requirements and time. In the long run, my experience tells me that managers who spend adequate quality time planning an activity, project, strategy, campaign or any business event will save money, time, energy and will contribute greatly to their bottom line, competitive position and overall reputation and success.

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