Life, Science and Marketing

Hosted by Paul Avery

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May 2024

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About the show

Airing monthly, BioStrata CEO, Paul Avery, engages in insightful conversations with leading science marketing experts from across the globe, delving deep into their life and career story, the areas of science that inspire them, and the marketing tips and tricks they have learned along the way. Our aim is to provide life science marketers with the perfect resource to help them navigate the ever-changing and competitive landscape of our industry. We're hoping to arm you with industry-leading perspectives, expert insights, and innovative strategies, so you can stay ahead of the curve. The right knowledge can be your secret for success - access it by listening to Life, Science and Marketing.

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14 recent

May 14, 202441 min

John Kennett: Orchestrating marketing harmony across teams, simplifying complex science and embracing curiosity to drive innovation

Life, Science, and Marketing Podcast: Episode 14Guest: John Kennett, Director of Global Marketing, Brand & Solutions at ForteJohn's Background:20+ years in marketing roles across the life sciences industryPrevious companies include Medaxial, Covance, Envigo, and LabcorpOriginally studied electronics engineering and made a transition into marketingMasters degree in psychodynamic psychotherapyKey Discussion Points:Enjoyment of constant innovation and progress in the life sciences industryThe importance of storytelling to make complex science understandableBuilding bridges between science and marketing through curiosity and conversationsOrchestrating marketing messages across teams for clarity and harmonyBalancing business priorities while still focusing on peopleKey Quotes:"Our ability to have a strong working culture means that we ought to be thinking about how we compliment one another rather than compete with one another.""Go ask dumb questions, because there's no way that I could know everything even people with a doctorate in bioscience don't know everything about someone else's specific research area.""Culture eats strategy for breakfast - if you've got a good culture in place, then you can have the best strategy in the world, but if you don't have the culture to deliver on that strategy, forget it."

April 9, 202457 min

Haydn Boehm: Applying a scientist's curiosity to continuous marketing experimentation and the impact of AI on pharmaceutical R&D

Life, Science, and Marketing Podcast: Episode 13Guest: Haydn Boehm, Product Marketing Excellence Lead at Agilent TechnologiesHaydn's Background: PhD in organic chemistry Deep technical expertise combined with marketing roles at various life science companies (Sigma Aldrich, Johnson Matthey, Merck, Thermo Fisher, Agilent, etc.)Key Discussion Points:Shift from sales-led to marketing-led organizations due to digital transformation Identifying where target audiences go to learn and providing valuable content therePerspectives on lead nurturing, inbound marketing, and the rise of outbound outreachThe promise and limitations of AI in drug discovery processes Applying scientific thinking and a problem-solving mindset to marketing strategyKey Quotes: "You don't wanna employ sales people to act as marketers. They need to speak to people who are engaged and say, right, what are we gonna do now?""Assume nothing. And validate everything. And so you look at, so it always gives you quite sort of fresh eyes into a sort of a situation.""If people learn to like to learn on their own, it's about putting the right content that's really valuable is a lot rich in terms of education."

March 12, 202449 min

Paul Kippax: Leveraging deep scientific expertise to uncover hidden customer insights and open up new marketing opportunities in life science

Life, Science, and Marketing Podcast: Episode 12Guest: Paul Kippax, Sales Operations Director at Malvern PanalyticalPaul's Background: PhD in physical chemistry25+ year career with Malvern Panalytical in various roles spanning product management, marketing, and salesKey Discussion Points:Collaborating deeply with customers to uncover hidden insights and new analysis approachesBuilding cross-functional understanding between technical and commercial teamsLeveraging scientific knowledge to extract more value from analytical instruments in customer workflowsDelivering sustained value to your core customer “tribe”Continuously experimenting to drive incremental marketing improvementKey Quotes:"I need to do a job where what I do means something.""Curiosity drives your interest in the customer. You start asking questions about the customer rather than yourself.""If you try to appeal to everyone who doesn't get you, you'll dilute the unique value you could offer." "I want the grit. The grit polishes the stone - it reveals the beauty.""Most people don't deliberately come to work to do a bad job. Approach things assuming people want to succeed."

February 13, 202445 min

George Fradley: Bringing the patient voice into marketing through empathy, storytelling, and visionary leadership

Life, Science, and Marketing Podcast: Episode 11Guest: George Fradley, independent marketing consultantGeorge's Background:Started career as a chemist, discovered strengths in understanding patients and cross-functional communication15 years at 3M Healthcare developing and marketing asthma inhalersNow an independent marketing consultant across life sciencesKey Discussion Points:Transitioning from scientific roles into marketingComparing large vs. small company experiencesEstablishing credibility for visionary industry changeUsing storytelling and empathy to connect with audiencesBest practices for thought leadership and contentKey Quotes:"Understand your value, understand what you're good at, understand what you love, and find a way to do that because it's always value in that.""I can spot a ChatGPT article a thousand miles away...it doesn't understand the market, your brand voice, where you're trying to take things.""Thought leadership shouldn't just tell people what to think or regurgitate existing ideas.""You have to back up claims with honest and consistent messaging."

January 9, 202436 min

Jaleel Shujath: Applying scientific rigour to marketing through continuous experimentation, data analysis, and learning

Life, Science, and Marketing Podcast: Episode 10 Guest: Jaleel Shujath, ex-scientist turned marketing expert Jaleel's Background: Ex-scientist with a biology degree and lab experienceOver 20 years working in life science marketing at GE Healthcare, ATCC, Absorption Systems, and morePassionate about science and discovery from an early ageKey Discussion Points:Applying scientific principles like hypothesis testing and data analysis to optimise marketing efforts Embracing both successes and failures as learning opportunities to improve campaigns Tracking marketing data rigorously to showcase value and defend budgetsTailoring marketing approaches to each unique company’s needs and market landscape Using curiosity to fuel impactful messaging and innovative tacticsNetworking consistently to build relationships and learn from othersKey Quotes:"As scientists, we always promote the successes right and the successful experiment, the new discovery...people rarely show the failures.""Make sure the data is solid because in science, scientists will always critique each other’s experiments right? And they're looking at it with a hard eye.""I think if we were to go to anybody, any marketer...what percentage of your endeavours or initiatives are you know, knockout out of the park type of initiative? If they were being honest...maybe 50 percent, maybe 40 percent."

December 5, 202339 min

Regis Grenier: Unlocking internal insights to guide strategic marketing, always providing value to scientists, and building trust through genuine content

Life, Science, and Marketing Podcast: Episode 9Guest: Regis Grenier, sales and marketing expertRegis’ Background:25+ years in sales and marketing roles at companies like Bio-Rad and TecanNow an independent marketing consultantKey Discussion Points:Strategically positioning products or services in the minds of target customersCreating content marketing that truly resonates with scientistsTapping internal knowledge to guide sales and marketing strategyConsistently delivering value to science-driven buyers Building trust by leading with credible content rather than aggressive sales pitchesKey Quotes:"My daily obsession is 'Am I delivering value?' Especially in technical, scientific areas I constantly challenge myself on that when creating content.""The goal is creating marketing that doesn't seem like marketing - valuable content solving problems.""Especially in scientific segments, deeply understand the market value of what you're marketing before exaggerating claims. Be realistic - scientists will know if you overstate things.""Take advantage too of partners eager to co-market integrations or other strengths once you start sharing those externally."

November 21, 202355 min

Andrew Bertera: Combining scientific expertise with marketing and sales leadership, fostering cross-functional empathy, and keeping the customer at the centre

Life, Science, and Marketing Podcast: Episode 8Guest: Andrew Bertera, Executive Director of Marketing and Sales at New England BioLabsAndrew's Background:Studied microbiology at King's College LondonStarted in R&D at Amersham developing molecular biology products Now leads global marketing and sales at New England BioLabs for 14+ yearsKey Discussion Points:Making the transition from R&D to marketing rolesTaking on combined marketing and sales leadership positions Embracing technology while still connecting with customersThe importance of customer centricity and focus for marketers Perspectives on trade shows and maximising valueReinvigorating existing products over their lifecycleKey Quotes:"When marketing and sales report to the same leader it's easier to set unified goals and get them collaborating.""While digital experiences are important, we don't have the depth of consumer data in life sciences.""To me, marketing is about growing the business by developing best-in-class customer experiences." "Directly interacting with customers is critical to truly understand them."

November 8, 202355 min

Harrison Waid and Nick Clare: Key takeaways from a special edition episode focused on debating life science marketing vs sales

Life, Science, and Marketing Podcast: Episode 7Guests: Harrison Waid and Nick ClareHarrison's Background:Co-founder of SuccessionPreviously in software sales at Synthego before pivoting to biotechNick's Background:Co-founder of SuccessionExtensive experience in life sciences and drug discovery having worked with pharma companiesCurrently Interim CBO at DefinigenKey Discussion Points:Perception gap between marketing and sales teamsConfusion over lead qualification terminologyMarketing content often lacks value for sales teamsImportance of not distracting sales with customer issuesStrategies for marketing to gain credibility in sales-driven organisationsBenefits of RevOps function to align goalsAdopting a commercial team mentalityKey Quotes:"Focus less on categorising leads and more on their level of intent and interest based on actions taken.""Provide sales with bite-sized, easily digestible content nuggets rather than long case studies.""Adopt more of a commercial team mentality focused on overarching business goals rather than siloed department goals."

October 25, 202338 min

Noah Konig: Combining psychology and marketing in life science, reaching niche expert audiences, and balancing confidence with continual learning

Life, Science, and Marketing Podcast: Episode 6Guest: Noah Konig, Marketing Director at PrecisionLifeNoah's Background:Dual degree in psychology and marketing16 years of experience in life science marketing rolesRecently named “Life Science Marketer of the Year” by SAMPSKey Discussion Points:Combining psychology and marketing training for a career in life science marketingConveying complex scientific concepts effectivelyReaching niche expert audiences like pharmaceutical R&DBalancing confidence and imposter syndromeThe importance of immersing yourself in your audienceBlending traditional and digital marketing tacticsKey Quotes:"The psychology side provided extensive training in understanding human behaviour, cognition and the underlying neurological processes.""I’ve improved audience targeting through directly engaging with key leaders at scientific conferences and events to understand their priorities and pain points.""Scientific conferences and events are an irreplaceable platform for engaging such niche groups of busy experts."

October 10, 202347 min

Chris Thorne: The importance of proactive networking, conveying science effectively, and overcoming common obstacles in life science marketing

Life, Science and Marketing Podcast: Episode 5Guest: Chris Thorne, Director of Marketing at AsimovChris' Background:PhD in cancer cell biology from University of LiverpoolWorked in R&D, operations, and marketing roles at biotech startups like Horizon DiscoveryExperience spanning scientific research, startups, and product marketingKey Discussion Points:Importance of proactive networking and relationship-building throughout your careerConveying complex scientific concepts clearly and telling compelling storiesOvercoming common marketing obstacles like budget constraints and short attention spansTaking calculated risks with bold, differentiated messaging to stand outTracking marketing impact with tools while accepting some attribution uncertaintyKey Quotes:"Proactively building and maintaining professional relationships provides access to resources, referrals, new opportunities, and other support that aids your initiatives.""While having a clear, authentic message resonate with your audience is crucial, I've found that the relationships within a company are also essential to achieve success.""My top advice is to keep marketing capabilities sharp, but also proactively nurture your network. The connections you build will always be invaluable, providing support as marketing continues to evolve."