Omnichannel has become one of the most important concepts and tactics in healthcare engagement, promising a clear pathway to commercial benefit and energised patient outcomes.

By its nature, omnichannel offers an array of options to reach and engage with healthcare professionals (HCPs), key opinion leaders (KoLs) and patient group representatives. Open the right door and watch therapies prosper, healthcare pathways flourish and commercial landmarks fall into place.

It’s an Alice in Wonderland conundrum; a Long Hall of locked doors, which, in the movie adaptation, open enticingly then close frustratingly. Picking your omnichannel direction is not quite as mind-bending as the fairytale but it requires a disciplined, scientific approach.

The digital engagement landscape is maturing by the day and Indegene’s 2021-22 study of the digital habits of HCPs revealed a hunger for medical and clinical content, with 77% of those surveyed using digital channels for learning and development.

“Omnichannel offers a lot of creative opportunities but it does need a science and a structure to be successful,” says Paul Berressem, Omnichannel Director at 11 London, the creative healthcare agency that has a 50-50 split of clients from pharma and patient groups. “Lots of multichannel approaches involved attacking each channel separately with different messages often competing with each other, but with omnichannel you need to be more cohesive and consistent with rigorous reporting structures.

“There is plenty of benefit on offer, particularly as pharma companies are working more closely with HCPs. Digital technologies enable HCPs to share best practice more efficiently and also allow organisations to support that sharing, which all leads to better care and options and earlier diagnoses for patients. It can also help HCPs identify the patients who are going to benefit most from a particular product.

“This will only grow and grow and, as we see more personalised healthcare, we will see more personalised communication with HCPs.”

The ability to make precision-guided connections is the ultimate prize from omnichannel and synchronises with 11 London’s ambition to reach HCPs with its OmniLabs initiative that empowers brands to reach deep into patient and HCP groups across ethnicities and markets.

Whether you pick webinars, podcasts, video clips, banners or emails from the omnichannel toolbox, there is an imperative to create dynamic and consistent content that synchronises across the huge range of platforms stretching from TikTok to advertising posters.

“Consistency is vital and we also have to focus strongly on making it relevant and something that can disrupt a newsfeed and hold attention,” Paul observes. “We have learnt that from our social media work with charities that are, and can be, a little braver than pharma organisations. We’ve taken those learnings and used them as part of our ‘test and learn’ approach and, through OmniLabs, we are constantly amassing data and building intelligence, and using that to inform projects.”

Social media commentators highlight the fluidity of the sector and the often confounding feedback across clicks and engagement. 11 London ran a recent test campaign where one creative outscored another by six to one but at conversion time the differential almost evaporated.

“A more clickable banner doesn’t necessarily result in conversions, which is why you have to be in tune with touchpoints along the journey and watch the numbers,” says Paul. “The more data we can get in, the more we can make decisions about what’s working and what isn’t. We are learning at every point and adding results into our database to eliminate guesswork and make better judgments in the future.”

How omnichannel fits into a market strategy and an organisation’s use of CRM will vary with each case but, when applied with creativity and precision, it releases the potency of MSL and other field forces to reach contacts and direct them to webinars, videos and congresses. The goal is greater campaign fluency and increased capacity to build productive relationships.

Omnichannel’s surge is being limited by codes of practice and a disconnect between business intelligence units and marketing teams, observes Paul. “There is an obvious reticence about the code, even though that is relaxing,” he says. “But we have witnessed internal disconnects, with business intelligence sitting somewhere else in the company and the data on offer not being integrated or interpreted well enough. Too often, the data ends up in a bit of a black hole. This is a big challenge.

“Omnichannel has grown over recent years but compared to other e-commerce FMCG sectors, we are way behind.”

11 London sees huge progress in engaging with digital opinion leaders (DoLs) alongside KoLs and tapping into the vast experience of patient influencers. “It is an evolution and we will see DoLs and KoLs more aligned, which will help organisations build trust with patient communities.

“There are legal considerations working with patient influencers but we are excited about what can be achieved. Patients with lived experience are the people you want advocating for you in a non-promotional way. This really brings together the health and humanity aspect of the business and promises better results for both patients and organisations.”

‘The race is on to realise the full potential of omnichannel marketing to engage, inspire and enable transformative collaborations’

A key area of omnichannel benefit is sharing and delivering knowledge across scientific and research communities. A 2024 research report commissioned by the Copyright Licensing Agency (CLA), the not-for-profit company that distributes revenues to rights holders, revealed that 75% of content used by medical and pharmaceutical professionals is digital or web-based, with 83% copying the content they use via digital means, such as taking screenshots and using copy and paste.

“This really highlights how these professionals mostly expect to receive and consume information through digital channels, favouring the convenience and speed of online access,” says Tim Cooper, Head of Marketing at CLA, which facilitates the reuse of content by businesses, universities and schools via more than eight million print and online publications.

“Digital capabilities have evolved significantly since I started my career in marketing and we can now reach huge audiences and personalise messaging and user journeys, as well as measure impact with greater precision. This has completely transformed how we engage with our audiences and allows us to make data-driven decisions and continual optimisation. As a result, we’re able to deliver more relevant and timely content, which really helps to improve customer engagement and strengthen brand loyalty.”

CLA amplifies the need for consistency across delivery with strong messaging, visuals and positioning statements. Tim adds: “This consistency ensures that anyone who comes across CLA’s message, regardless of the channel, will have a clear understanding of who we are and what we do. This ultimately raises awareness of the importance of copyright licensing and ethical content sharing, which fosters a culture of respect for copyright and allows for a thriving creative ecosystem. This ultimately benefits HCPs, patients and society as a whole.”

Its approach acts as an accelerant to ethical and effective content sharing that promotes collaboration and discovery. CLA signposts to Springer Nature’s Leslie Lansman’s recent comments about its pivotal role in knowledge advancement.

“As Lansman highlighted, the CLA Pharmaceutical Licence simplifies copyright compliance for pharmaceutical, life science and medical communications professionals, reducing administrative burdens and ensuring the use of verified, reliable content,” Tim comments. “This not only streamlines the sharing of vital information but also protects the integrity of scientific communication.

“Our Pharmaceutical Licence was developed in consultation with the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) and publishers, as well as leading pharmaceutical firms such as GSK and AstraZeneca.