Actelion claimed the prestigious title of marketing company of the year at the PharmaTimes Marketer & Communications Team of the Year awards last night.
The 2015 winners were announced at a dinner and awards ceremony in London at the Chelsea Harbour Hotel, attended by hundreds of key industry figures from a wide spectrum of companies.
More than thirty global pharmaceutical companies and communications agencies were represented in the 2015 edition of this annual competency-based benchmarking competition. Uniquely amongst pharmaceutical marketing competitions, the finalists are not judged on past work, but are tasked with an ‘on-the-day’ role-play challenge based on current healthcare trends. They must demonstrate creativity, knowledge and strategic thinking to a judging panel comprised of senior marketing and healthcare leaders.
The Aspiring Marketer category allows pharma professionals who are not currently in a marketing role but wish to make the move in the future to assess their competencies and skills against other would-be marketers in a protected environment. Matt Callaghan, currently a regional business manager at Celgene, scooped the winning spot for 2015.
New Marketer of the Year went to Thom Renwick of Roche, whilst Brand/Product Manager was a joint win for Nick Syndercombe of Bayer and Jane Richardson of Actelion.
Lundbeck’s Adam Chapman was PharmaTimes’ Brand/Product Manager of the Year 2014, and last night was announced as the winner of the Senior Marketer category for 2015 – a truly commendable achievement.
The award for Cross-Functional Marketing Team went to Actelion, which also won the award for Marketing Company of the Year for an excellent all-round performance across all categories.
The Communications Team of the Year 2015 saw entries from finalists ranging from small independent healthcare communications agencies to global agencies. The International Challenge was won by Tonic Life Communications, and the NHS Challenge winner was MHP Communications.
Click here for the full list of Marketer Winners, Highly Commended & Commended
Gill Chalk, head of events at PharmaTimes, commented: “We were delighted to recognise the country’s top marketing and communications specialists in a glittering celebration of excellence last night at the Chelsea Harbour Hotel. Congratulations to all the winners and highly commended – the standard of entries has remained very high and competing in the finals is a fantastic achievement. The Marketer & Communications Team of the Year awards, now in its 22nd year, is growing from strength to strength, but wouldn’t be possible without the input and support of our sponsors.”
Nick Rodgers, strategic solutions director Bedrock Healthcare Communications and chair of the competition’s steering committee, said: “The competition still remains the only way aspiring or professional marketers can test the mettle against their peers, in a safe environment. The feedback gained from entering will bolster the participants’ development plans now and for the future,” said Nick Rodger, strategic solutions director Bedrock Healthcare Communications and chair of the competition’s steering committee.
Luke Robinson, haematology franchise head at Novartis Oncology and co-chair of the steering committee added: “The PharmaTimes awards are unique in that they focus on assessing, recognising and rewarding competence, capability and potential through real time challenges where individuals and teams pitch their talents against a fresh ‘on the day’ exercise that’s designed to test a dynamic combination of knowledge, creativity and strategic thinking and is assessed live by peers from across the healthcare industry.”
Harry Brady, Director Policy & Communications at MSD, was a judge on the Communications Team panel. He commented: “I thought the finalists this year really threw themselves into the challenge, thinking on their feet and providing some great insight and ideas. With the standard of entries going up each year, I have had a keen eye on the team dynamics and the role of each team member in the pitch.”
Recognised as the leading awards for pharmaceutical marketing professionals, the Marketer and Communications Team competitions are unique, competency-based programmes that invite individual and team finalists to compete in a real-life challenge devised and judged by senior marketing and healthcare leaders. The aim of the competition is not only to recognise and reward marketing excellence but also to provide professional development through extensive feedback, peer benchmarking and mentoring, as well as providing wider industry learnings on marketing skills and competencies.
PharmaTimes would like to thank all the sponsors and supporters of the Marketer & Communications Team of the Year. Binley’s, part of Wilmington Insight, sponsored the Senior Marketer category. PI Partnership sponsored the Aspiring Marketer category and provided the feedback and development reports, whilst Redbow Consulting sponsored the Cross-Functional Team category and facilitated the Team Finals Day.
Oberoi Consulting sponsored the Brand/Product Manager category and provided the gifts for the tables. Quintiles provided the venues for the Finals Days, whilst STAR Medical, part of the Uniphar Group, sponsored the Company of the Year award. Chase sponsored the name and table cards.
Photos from the event will be available shortly.
