Business Mint- INDIA’S LEADING & MOST CREDIBLE MARKET RESEARCH FIRM annually conducts “Nationwide Pharma Marketing Excellence Awards”. The purpose behind the award is to acknowledge the outstanding contribution of a marketeer towards the brand building or an initiative deviced to improve patient outcome.

Under the banner of the awards, We got an opportunity to interact with Mr. Brijraj Sinh Gohil, the winner of “Nationwide Pharma Marketing Excellence Awards” in the category of “Excellence in Marketing-Gynaecology”. Mr. Brijraj Sinh is a distinguished marketeer, currently associated with the leading pharmaceutical organization Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. as a Marketing Manager and brings in rich experience of 10 years in marketing. He is scripting his marketing career in specialty gynaecology with a specific focus on therapies for IVF & prevention of pre-term birth. After congratulating him, for winning “Nationwide Pharma Marketing Excellence Awards” for “Excellence in Marketing-Gynaecology”,We had an informative dialogue with Mr. Brijrajsinh. I am sharing a glimpse from an insightful and inspiring conversation for the benefit of all readers.
 

Q.1: Today you have been awarded as the best Marketeer in the gynaecology specialty, tell us, what inspired you to pursue a career in the profession of pharma marketing at first?

When I pursued my B. Pharm, I had started evaluating the streams available for specialization. Thereafter, I started interacting with some seniors of my college while I was at Nirma University. I understood the professions at the industry level. I found that the pharma marketing is one such stream that involves lots of challenges and creativity. In India, marketing is a wonderful opportunity to develop a successful career.

Q.2: Can you tell us about your journey as a marketeer, your learning curve & what was that inflection point in the journey that transformed you into a successful Marketeer?

My journey has been full of learning and experience. I was fortunate enough to handle a big brand in the initial phase of my career. While it came with a lot of responsibilities, it also gave me good recognition. Secondly, I received an opportunity for a new product launch. This was an exceptional experience as it allowed me to work in various phases, starting from product designing, positioning, targeting, and segmentation. I have also been a part of various product launches and I had earlier worked in acute and semi-acute therapies. Later, I also gained exposure to chronic therapies where I also learned about licensing a patent and a brand. Digital marketing has also been a part of the experience. These milestones have led to exponential learning in my career.

Q.3: Being a successful brand manager, according to you, what are the traits of trade that a brand manager should inculcate to excel?

I firmly believe that a brand manager should have analytical skills to analyze the data. Secondly, creativity is highly relevant in the Indian market. You have to create one brand among various other brands and creativity makes you stand apart in this case. Communication with the field force and the doctors is very important. Interpersonal skills are essential because a pharma Marketeer has to be in constant communication with the purchasing team, marketing team, doctors, and other field force people.

Q.4: For the year 2022, you have been awarded as the best marketeer in the gynaecology specialty, tell us something about your last year’s marketing initiatives that make you stand tall in this highly competitive industry.

My brand emerged with an indication of progesterone for pre-term birth. In my brand, the most important strategic initiative was to use a 360-degree approach to percolate the use of progesterone in preventing pre-term birth. We reached out to each and every stakeholder out there. We utilized doctor-doctor communication, and we also connected with the patients directly to raise awareness. To spread the word to doctors, we approached the FOGSI, a national body of gynecologist doctors to conduct around 19 programs to spread awareness of the risks of cervical cancer, it’s association with preterm birth, and the use of progesterone in preventing preterm birth. We also created a publication to reach the masses. November is celebrated as a prematurity awareness month and we were very active during this phase where we were spreading awareness regarding pre-term labor.

Q.5: How did your marketing initiatives improved the quality of life of the patients?

Preterm birth is one of the leading causes of neonatal mortality in India. Around 25% of global preterm births occur in India. This can be prevented by early diagnosis and treatment. Therefore, if we can educate both doctors and patients, we can improve the quality of life of the patients. We delivered patient education extensively through posters, digital media, and so on to ensure that all patients are aware of this risk.

Q.6: Every specialty has a typical success lever, according to you what are those levers of success in the gynaecology specialty?

In the gynaecology specialty, scientific communication is essential to share evidence-based therapy. Scientific evidence plays an important role in changing doctors’ perception. Incremental innovation plays an important role. For instance, our brand has a sustained-release medication of progesterone. This is beneficial to take during pregnancy when the patient does not require to take the medication three times a day. A sustained-release formulation also provides several benefits. Lastly, a marketeer should be able to help the doctor in managing their patient profile. This is also one of the biggest success factors in this specialty.

Q.7: At last, what would you like to tell, the budding Marketeers, hoping to carve out their career in pharma brand building?

The budding Marketeers should have all skills such as communication, analytical skills, creativity, interpersonal skills, and thorough understanding of the doctors. Lastly, I would like to say one should be prepared for the future. Having a vision of the future may help pharma Marketeers to be successful in brand building.