Allen Putman

Few times in the evolution of a pharmaceutical company are as exciting as during the flurry of launch readiness activities focused on bringing a new drug to market. From the new drug application (NDA) submission to the Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) date, the brand team is fully engaged—selecting a product name, developing marketing programs, planning outreach, and onboarding and training sales reps.

The work is relentless, the dedication unwavering, all driven by a singular purpose: delivering innovative treatments to the patients who need them most. We understand. We’ve been there.

But here’s the reality: all that preparation doesn’t guarantee success. Surprised? Then maybe you haven’t been on a team that watched its drug miss the mark on pre-launch sales forecasts or analyst expectations.

According to a Deloitte Insights report, “Rethinking Market Access,” at least 34% of new drugs fall into that category.

One often overlooked major reason many drug launches underperform comes down to communications.

A brand launch strategy may seem solid, but if it focuses too much on external audiences, there is a risk for overlooking a critical internal one. Relying solely on the brand team and sales reps often leaves the broader employee base out. Yet when everyone understands and believes in the brand, they become powerful advocates.

Investing a bit more time, budget, and energy into engaging one’s entire workforce can pay off—transforming a launch from good to great.

Involving your entire workforce in a brand launch may seem daunting, but the payoff is significant. Informed, empowered, and excited employees become authentic brand ambassadors—building trust, boosting credibility, and amplifying your message beyond what any campaign can achieve.

According to the 2024 Edelman Trust Barometer,

 most respondents believe that when industry leaders speak on health topics, their statements are often perceived as “false or gross exaggerations.” However, the report also highlights a powerful insight: trust increases significantly when the messenger demonstrates empathy and when the message is echoed by multiple credible voices. In fact, it states that when people hear the same information three or more times from different sources, trust levels rise dramatically, from 44% to 79%.

 Just as the likelihood of a healthcare provider prescribing a new drug increases with more frequent and resonant interactions, empowering more employees to confidently communicate about a condition or therapy enhances the chances of building public trust through consistent and empathetic messaging.

The key is to start early. Even before launch, you have valuable opportunities to educate your broader teams—including finance, legal and human resources—about the unmet needs of the patient community, and how new research and innovative therapies can make a meaningful difference. Hearing directly from a patient about their journey, and how your team’s years of R&D and launch preparation could change their life, can have a profound emotional impact, cementing both company pride and commitment.

This impact is even greater when the therapy addresses a population with limited or no previous treatment options. Hearing firsthand how their work could change lives helps employees feel the true purpose behind the product, and that connection can inspire extraordinary commitment.

One of our pharmaceutical clients faced a unique challenge: a small brand team supporting a new therapy for a US patient population of just over 100 people. Despite the limited scale, the team was deeply committed to building company-wide support. They created a powerful, heartfelt video featuring one of those patients. The story captured the hearts and minds of employees across the organization, many of whom had little awareness of the brand. It transformed awareness into advocacy, proving that even a small patient population can inspire a big impact.

While excitement naturally peaks around launch, your strategy should also focus on sustaining long-term enthusiasm for the brand. Invest in communications and initiatives that not only maintain that momentum but also reinforce the culture you want to cultivate. In one client example, these ongoing efforts—combined with the arrival of new sales reps—led to a 6% increase in employee engagement and a 5% boost in company pride year-over-year. The takeaway? Strategic, sustained investment in internal engagement pays off.

Drug launches often fall short due to a lack of internal alignment, empowering all employees, not just the brand and sales teams, to becp,e passionate brand ambassadors.

Educating cross-functional teams early about patient needs and product impact builds emotional connection and compliance-minded advocacy.

Visible commitment from leadership and ongoing employee engagement efforts are critical to sustaining long-term excitement, trust, and cultural alignment post-launch.

Training your teams to talk (and feel) like advocates, compliantly

Naturally, expanding the employee base involved in a brand launch can raise compliance concerns—and rightly so. It’s essential to proactively design and deliver comprehensive, compliant training that covers the disease state, unmet needs and therapeutic options.

A dynamic launch event with interactive modules, immersive experiences, and VR-based disease-state simulations can transform traditional training into an engaging, collaborative experience. Bringing teams together in a celebratory setting not only strengthens cross-functional connections but also boosts knowledge retention and emotional investment in the brand.

However, these efforts must not take place in a compliance vacuum. All buzz-building activities must align with applicable government regulations and internal company policies. Reinforcing social media guidelines, clarifying expectations for event participation, and reviewing rules around Transfers of Value to healthcare professionals are critical safeguards. These steps help protect your organization’s reputation while ensuring the launch is both impactful and compliant.

Moreover, committing to training all employees—not just those on the brand team or in sales—sends a powerful message: their perspectives and contributions are valued and integral to the brand’s success. With proper compliance programs, policies, training, the broader employee population will better understand the appropriate guardrails guiding their engagement.

Employees take cues from leadership and when leaders visibly demonstrate commitment to an initiative, it reinforces its importance across the organization. Conversely, when leadership engagement in communications is lacking, it sends an unintended message that participation is optional, undermining motivation, alignment, and momentum.

More importantly, it misses a critical opportunity to spotlight the essential roles of R&D, pipeline investments, and support functions in bringing a brand to launch. This is a pivotal moment for your organization. Leadership must embody its significance—not just through town halls or approval-day messages, but through meaningful, high-impact experiences that reflect the magnitude of the milestone.

Remember, the success of today’s launch will help fuel future R&D work that will accelerate the next launch. Embrace the opportunity to support not only your newest patient population, but also the ones yet to come.

is a communications and engagement consultant, while Allen Putman is a senior communications and engagement consultant, both at Forty1 North America, an Inizio Engage Employee

1. Elener N, Jaeger J. Deloitte Insights: Rethinking Market Access–Delivering on the promise of product innovation. 

https://www.deloitte.com/us/en/insights/industry/life-sciences/pharmaceutical-market-access.html

2. Edelman Trust Institute. 2025 Edelman Trust Barometer, Global Report, Trust and the Crisis of Grievance. 

https://www.edelman.com/sites/g/files/aatuss191/files/2025-01/2025%20Edelman%20Trust%20Barometer%20Global%20Report_01.23.25.pdf

3. Edelman Trust Institute. 2025 Edelman Trust Barometer, Global Report, Trust and the Crisis of Grievance, 

4. Bulik BS. Trust in pharma and health care industries plummet with young people leading the way: report, 

https://marketingandpharma.com/trust-in-pharma-and-health-care-industries-plummet-with-young-people-leading-the-way-report/

Articles

Engaging the full workforce—from HR to R&D—can elevate launch outcomes, build trust, and create long-term brand ambassadors.