“VIRUS WIPES OUT 5 YEARS OF ECONOMIC GROWTH”
The headline on the record drop in US GDP for Q2 2020 at an annual rate of 32.9% and 9.5% from the previous quarter, The New York Times, print published July 31, 2020.
Will the recovery of local economies from the coronavirus pandemic take the shape of a V, U, Nike Swoosh, or W? The “W” shape is gaining more acceptance from economists as they consider the recession at a national level.1,2 Here we consider the possibility that local economies may go through an "Accordion Effect": a series of W’s as they navigate the next several quarters. Each of them waxing and waning differently; an ensemble of accordions.
On June 27, 2020, CNN reported the somber news that five states: Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, and even significantly low population density states like Utah and Idaho recorded their highest number of coronavirus cases in one day. Global deaths have reached half a million. 125,000 people have died in the United States.
Over the last several months, federal, state, and local governments as well as individual towns have made difficult decisions around applying and relaxing restrictions around social distancing to curb the spread of the pandemic. Leaders have been in the unenviable position of making difficult tradeoffs between sustaining public health and protecting the healthcare system from unmanageable spikes in COVID-19 cases, versus ramifications on the social and economic wellness of the population.
As of today, there is no vaccine or effective treatment for COVID-19. It is not known with certainty when one will be available. The approach of the fall and flu season will likely bring added burdens to the healthcare system with a further surge in COVID-19 cases. The degree to which these impacts happen will differ from geography to geography. A myriad of factors will affect the geographic variation in COVID-19 cases, including differences in policy decisions and the compliance of local populations to those policies and guidelines.
One likely possibility is that different geographies will go through an “Accordion Effect,” experiencing multiple cycles of reopening, reclosing, and reopening again until a vaccine becomes available, and the world starts recovering and moving toward a new equilibrium. The impact on local economies is also likely to oscillate during this uncertain period, as employers make decisions that shift in risk-appetite over time based on how their industry sector is evolving.
Today’s increasingly digital society is causing an evolution in pharma marketing strategies. Numerous digital channels have sprung up due to technological advancements, and they are changing doctors’ and patients’ habits. Digital platforms such as emails, digital ads, and paid search are available for pharma companies to target doctors based on their preferences.1 These channels are not deployed to substitute traditional channels, but as part of a synergistic multi-channel marketing strategy, to complement them.2
The Life Sciences analytics industry is progressing each day with AI/ML driven technologies and the exploding healthcare data, which is expected to cross 2,314 exabytes by 20201. New databases are emerging from sources like patient claims & electronic medical records (EMRs), social media, and digital channels. Stakeholders’ preferences are evolving as well, with pharma sales reps finding healthcare physicians (HCPs) more challenging to reach.
The life sciences industry is experiencing a digital transformation. Patients’ expectations have grown with the amount of health-related information available online, and almost 67% of healthcare professionals are set to become digital natives by 2020. Digital footprints are left at every stage of their journey and the Pharma industry must use all available insights to ensure relevant and contextual engagement.
Axtria conducted a workshop on Multi-Channel Marketing and Next Generation Engagement at the PMSA January Symposium in Las Vegas.
The flavour of the season, nay the flavour of the year in India is heavy discounting. If you look at online retail, there are deep discounts being offered on goods and services. The discounts are no longer restricted to FMCG (fast moving consumer goods) ones alone, but span across healthcare products, consumer durables, consumer electronics and even fashion accessories. If you look at modern retail stores – they indulge in full page advertising in newspapers with details of item-wise discounts to entice consumers to descend in hordes, often stretching their fragile systems and processes to points of near breakdown. There is a mob mentality, which has clouded the thinking of even the most rational and astute of retail strategists in the country: If there is no sale, there is no sell – that seems to be the morale of the story.
