Our client was preparing to launch a first-in-class therapy in a condition poorly served by new drugs in recent years. It had been overshadowed by a major disease in the same area, and despite the clear unmet need, interest among clinicians was low.

The client’s first priority was to convene an advisory board of secondary care opinion leaders; a panel of experts in the wider field who had no special interest in the condition, but who were well placed to explore the state of current care and the obstacles to the introduction of new treatments. We took on the task knowing that the obscure therapy area was just one of the difficulties facing us: it was mid-summer, and with a bank holiday approaching, none of the client’s first-choice KOLs were available. After clearing Zinc, we were left with less than two weeks to recruit a new roster of experts.

Kendle’s engagement team briefed our KOL identification division on the participants needed. It took our researchers the inside of a day to produce an extensive list, which became the bible for our communications staff: over the next few days, the team worked around the clock to contact preferred invitees, and to develop an agenda that would engage the participants and inform the client’s brand strategy for the coming year.

Against the odds, we identified, engaged and recruited nine non-specialists, and delivered the ad board on the required date. The agenda stimulated a lively discussion, and both sides – clinician and client – told us it had been time well spent.