MAM

How digital technologies are reshaping pharma marketing in India

Published

6 years ago

September 5, 2019

MUMBAI: India holds an important position in the global pharmaceutical sector. As per an IBEF report, it is the largest provider of generic drug globally and supplies over 50 per cent of global demand for various vaccines, 40 per cent of generic demand in the US and 25 per cent of all medicine in the UK. However, marketing and advertising spends of pharmaceutical giants have been minimal for the past many decades, focusing mainly on B2B aspects of it and catered mainly through newspapers.

But the advent of digital technologies, social media, and a whole new culture of evolving direct marketing, marketers associated with pharmaceutical and healthcare industries in India are exploring new ways to reach out to not only business partners but consumers as well.

MedTrix Healthcare founder and CEO Vimal Narayan feels that doctors and patients both have become comfortable in accessing medical information on the internet, thus increasing the scope for healthcare and pharma marketers exponentially.

He says, “With the rise of chronic illness, increased per capita income, disease awareness, and immediate access to healthcare facilities, marketers in India have plenty to room to innovate. The traditional marketing channel and campaigns may not work due to the above-mentioned reasons and we need a specialised marketing strategy for each disease/therapy areas. For instance, up until 6-8 years ago, patients were not comfortable searching for doctors online, but they are comfortable now and the trend doesn’t seem to slow down. This simple example illustrates that both patients and physicians are online.”

This increasing scope of opportunities to innovate and scale a client’s business has pushed pharma & healthcare marketers to spend better and across platforms.

‘Healthcare Advertising Expenditure Forecasts 2019’ report by Zenith indicates that India is the fastest-growing market when it comes to spends on healthcare, surging at an average of 26 per cent a year between 2018 and 2021. The report also states that rising incomes and increased access to health insurance are making healthcare more accessible and encouraging a more direct-to-consumer marketing of healthcare products and services.

Publicis Worldwide MD Srija Chatterjee notes, “Traditionally pharma marketing was all of a nattily clad medical representative with glossy literature trying to impress upon the doctor. Over the years, this has changed to a much more complex process. Hyper-fragmentation of the market, breakdown of legacy models, patient empowerment and changing definition of care has brought in greater opportunities for marketers. A number of global brands losing patents have led to Indian generics competing at lower price points. MR time with doctor has gone below 30 seconds. Hence, there is more emphasis on 1:1 relationship, richer consumer behaviour, newer sales model design and newer points of engagements.”

Mirum general manager-sales Srikant Subramanian adds that there has been a tremendous growth from the digital perspective in Pharma marketing in India.

He says, “With the advent of social media, and digital in general, in this post-Jio world, we see a lot of fragmentation of core audiences of doctors, patients, and policymakers. As a result, contextual communication becomes a necessary tool, and there is larger scope for innovative, creative marketing to be done across the entire marketing sphere of digital, social, ATL as well as BTL.”

Surely, the growth of digital medium within the country has given birth to newer dimensions of healthcare and pharma business. Online platforms such as Curofy, DocPlexus, Practo, Medshr, Lybrate, Healtho5 Solutions, myhCue and Docquity are helping doctors communicate with their peers. Online pharmacies such as Netmeds, 1 mg, Pharmeasy are offering stiff competition to the traditional high street pharmacies. Then there are portals such as VEEVA and AGORA while knowledge dissemination portals such as ‘Knowledge Genie’ (Abbott) are the latest examples of tech affinity.

Narayan shares, “Digital transformation is revolutionising pharma and healthcare industry and is expected to transfigure medical communication strategies of pharma and healthcare companies. Some of the most preferred technologies adopted by companies are smart apps, patient chatbots, virtual assistants, virtual reality and augmented reality. These technologies seem to be the most preferred part of the go-to-market (GTM) strategy of pharma and healthcare companies in India and in the global markets. The way these technologies communicate with patients and physicians 24/7 is something that is widely appreciated.”

Another important change that has occurred in healthcare and pharma marketing in the country and across the globe, in the past few years, is that the lines between the language used for B2B and B2C marketing are blurring for good.

Subramanian quips, “Bryan Kramer puts it best when he said, that "It’s Human to Human H2H". The idea is that B2B is no longer about communicating from company to company, but person to person. We have to understand that need, and look to appeal to the emotional needs of our customers and how it relates to their business.”

He further adds that the only difference in communicating with these two sets of consumers lies in the scale and frequency of marketing depending on the audience.

“In our healthcare business, for OTC, we still need to drive awareness and availability of the store, as digital has still not become de-facto for purchase, so the application of your strategy will still need to appeal to a larger audience set. In a B2B scenario, however, the audience scale will always be smaller in comparison, and the messaging for individual audiences will be different basis their current stage in the buying cycle.”

Narayan insists that there has been a significant difference in approaches that marketers and companies adopt for B2B and B2C activities. He mentions that platforms like 1mg, Medlife, Practo, and Healthkart, etc, have used digital technology and communication methods to build B2C domains from scratch, which is very different from healthcare and pharma companies. The strategies adopted by pharma companies, in general, is driven by physician engagement level with other dynamics such as market growth rate, competition level, awareness matrix and so on.

“B2B marketing in this space is categorised under “One-Time Digital” solution and “Systematic Scalable Modular” solution. Many marketers prefer the latter, as they can replicate the model and fine-tune the marketing development plan at the execution stage year-on-year. At the same time, some pharma and healthcare clients prefer developing a custom Health CRM platform for their internal and external communication activities. This is an early sign of adoption of Systematic Scalable Modular solution, as you can integrate Medical Case player and email marketing along with Health CRM platform,” he elaborates.

Chatterjee also notes, “Communication in the health and pharma industry is complex. For one, it is heavily regulated, as it should be. Therefore, marketing to the consumer is largely on disease awareness, patient care, post-procedure maintenance care etc. For example, you can talk of diabetes and how to manage it, but you cannot advertise the drug because most of the complex drugs are ‘prescription only’.”

She further says, “To the HCP (health care professional) on the other hand, it is all about how they can help their patient. At the core of it, the communication is based on science – what the drug does, how the molecule can help, what research went into creating it, what studies were conducted on the drug and what were the outcomes and of course, advantages over a competitor drug. These are communicated through various channels, some borrowed from other industries like advertisements, information leaflets, etc. but more importantly, seminars, ISPs (international speaker programmes), camps. There has been a lot more adoption of digital channels in recent years.”

Marketers can fine-tune their strategies further using the heaps and bounds of data available online to strengthen their core strategies and curate personalised solutions for their respective audiences.

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Netflix India names Rekha Rane director of films and series marketing

Streaming giant bets on a seasoned marketer who helped build Amazon and Netflix into household names

Published

1 week ago

February 9, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

MUMBAI: Netflix has put a proven brand builder at the helm of its films and series marketing in India, naming Rekha Rane as director in a move that signals sharper focus on audience growth and cultural cut-through in one of its most hotly contested markets.

Rane steps into the role after seven years at Netflix, where she has quietly shaped how the platform sells stories to India. Her latest promotion, effective February 2026, crowns a run that spans brand, slate and product marketing across originals, licensed content and new verticals such as games.

A strategic marketing and communications professional with roughly 15 years’ experience, Rane has spent much of her career building technology-led consumer businesses and new categories, notably e-commerce and subscription video on demand. She was part of the early push that introduced Amazon.in, Prime Video and Netflix to Indian homes, then helped turn them into everyday brands.

At Netflix, she most recently served as head of brand and slate marketing for India from March 2024 to February 2026, leading teams across media and marketing for global and local content portfolios. Before that, as manager for original films and series marketing, she led IP creation and go-to-market strategy for titles including Guns and Gulaabs, Kaala Paani, The Railway Men* and The Great Indian Kapil Show, spanning both binge and weekly-release formats.

Her earlier Netflix roles covered product discovery and promotion in India and integrated campaign strategy to drive conversations around the content slate, product awareness and brand-equity metrics.

Before Netflix, Rane logged more than three years at Amazon in brand marketing roles in Bengaluru. There she handled national and regional campaigns for Amazon.in, worked on customer assistance programmes in growth geographies and contributed to the go-to-market strategy for the launch of Prime Video India.

Her career began well away from streaming. At Reliance Brands in Mumbai, she worked on retail marketing for Diesel and Superdry. A stint at Leo Burnett saw her work on primary research for P&G Tide, mapping Indian shoppers’ paths to purchase. Earlier still, at Orange in the United Kingdom, she rose from sales assistant to store manager, running a team and owning monthly P&L for a retail outlet.

The arc is telling. As global streamers fight for attention in a crowded Indian market, executives who understand both mass retail behaviour and digital habit-building are prized. Rane’s career sits at that intersection.

For Netflix, the bet is simple: in a market spoilt for choice, sharp marketing can still tilt the screen. And with Rane now leading the charge, the streamer is signalling it wants not just viewers, but fandom.

Brands

Orient Beverages pops the fizz with steady Q3 gains and rising profits

Kolkata-based beverage maker reports stronger revenues and profits for December quarter.

Published

1 week ago

February 9, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

MUMBAI: A fizzy quarter with a steady aftertaste that’s how Orient Beverages Limited, the company that manufactures and distributes packaged drinking water under the brand name Bisleri closed the December 2025 period, as the Kolkata-based drinks maker reported improved revenues and a healthy rise in profits, signalling operational stability in a competitive beverage market.

For the quarter ended December 31, 2025, Orient Beverages posted standalone revenue from operations of Rs 39.98 crore, up from Rs 36.42 crore in the previous quarter and Rs 33.53 crore in the same quarter last year. Total income for the quarter stood at Rs 42.24 crore, reflecting consistent demand and stable pricing across its beverage portfolio.

Profit before tax for the quarter came in at Rs 3.47 crore, a sharp improvement from Rs 1.31 crore in the September quarter and Rs 0.39 crore a year ago. After accounting for tax expenses of Rs 0.79 crore, the company reported a net profit of Rs 2.68 crore, nearly three times the Rs 0.99 crore recorded in the preceding quarter.

On a nine-month basis, the momentum remained intact. Revenue from operations for the period ended December 31, 2025 rose to Rs 117.66 crore, compared with Rs 106.95 crore in the corresponding period last year. Net profit for the nine months climbed to Rs 5.51 crore, more than double the Rs 2.18 crore reported in the same period of the previous financial year.

The consolidated numbers told a similar story. For the December quarter, consolidated revenue from operations stood at Rs 45.06 crore, while profit after tax came in at Rs 2.06 crore. For the nine-month period, consolidated revenue touched Rs 133.57 crore, with net profit of Rs 4.49 crore, underscoring the group’s improving profitability trajectory.

Operating expenses remained largely controlled, with cost of materials, employee benefits and other expenses broadly aligned with revenue growth. The company continued to operate within a single reportable segment beverages simplifying its cost structure and reporting framework.

The unaudited financial results were reviewed by the Audit Committee and approved by the Board of Directors at its meeting held on 7 February 2026. Statutory auditors carried out a limited review and reported no material misstatements in the results.

In a market where margins are often squeezed by input costs and competition, Orient Beverages’ latest numbers suggest the company has found a reliable rhythm not explosive, but steady enough to keep the fizz alive.

MAM

Washington Post CEO exits abruptly after newsroom cuts spark backlash

Leadership change follows layoffs, protests and a bruising battle over trust.

Published

1 week ago

February 9, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

MUMBAI: When the presses are rolling but patience runs out, even the editor’s chair isn’t safe. The Washington Post announced on Saturday that its chief executive and publisher Will Lewis is stepping down with immediate effect, bringing a sudden end to a turbulent two-year tenure marked by financial strain, newsroom unrest and public backlash.

Lewis’s exit comes just days after the Bezos-owned newspaper announced sweeping job cuts that triggered protests outside its Washington headquarters and a wave of anger from readers and staff. While newspapers across the US are grappling with shrinking revenues and digital disruption, Lewis’s leadership had increasingly come under fire for how those pressures were handled.

The Post confirmed that Jeff D’Onofrio, a former Tumblr CEO who joined the organisation last year as chief financial officer, has taken over as CEO and publisher, effective immediately. In an email to staff, later shared by reporters on social media, Lewis said it was “the right time for me to step aside.”

The leadership change follows the announcement of large-scale redundancies earlier this week. While the Post did not officially confirm numbers, The New York Times reported that around 300 of the paper’s roughly 800 journalists were laid off. Entire teams were dismantled, including the Post’s Middle East bureau and its Kyiv-based correspondent covering the war in Ukraine.

Sports, graphics and local reporting were sharply reduced, and the paper’s daily podcast, Post Reports, was suspended. On Thursday, hundreds of journalists and supporters gathered outside the Post’s downtown office in protest, calling the cuts a blow to public-interest journalism.

Former executive editor Marty Baron described the moment as “among the darkest days in the history of one of the world’s greatest news organisations.”

Lewis defended his record in his farewell note, saying “difficult decisions” were taken to secure the paper’s long-term future and protect its ability to publish “high-quality nonpartisan news”. But his tenure coincided with growing scrutiny of editorial independence at the Post.

Owner Jeff Bezos faced criticism for reining in the paper’s traditionally liberal editorial page and blocking an endorsement of Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris ahead of the 2024 US election. The move was widely seen as breaking the long-standing firewall between ownership and editorial decision-making.

According to a Wall Street Journal report, around 250,000 digital subscribers cancelled their subscriptions after the paper declined to endorse Harris. The Post reportedly lost about $100 million in 2024 as advertising and subscription revenues slid.

While the wider newspaper industry continues to battle declining print advertising and the pull of social media, some national titles have stabilised. Rivals such as The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times have managed to build sustainable digital businesses, a turnaround that has so far eluded the Post despite its billionaire backing.

As Jeff D’Onofrio steps into the role, the challenge is stark, restore confidence inside the newsroom, win back readers who walked away, and prove that one of America’s most storied newspapers can still find its footing in a brutally competitive media landscape.