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I joined CPC in November 1995, then known as CPC Loyalty Communications. At the time, I was pitching relationship marketing programs to mostly non-healthcare clients. While working on these programs, we realized there was an untapped opportunity in pharma marketing, specifically around the issue of poor drug adherence. So, we did some research and started pitching our solutions to numerous pharma companies. This led to a big break with our first client MediTrust, one of the early pioneers in electronic prescription services and managed care solutions. Soon after, we got the chance to work with Abbott Laboratories, developing early relationship marketing programs for Similac and Ensure. What was once called “baby clubs” and “nutritional support” evolved into what we now know as CRM – a cornerstone of modern marketing.
These new clients led to the creation of CPC Healthcare Communications and in 1997 we turned 100% of our attention to healthcare. In those early days, we were scrappy, creative, and resourceful. Back then, a “PowerPoint presentation” often meant overhead projectors and a stack of acetates.
1997: The Dawn of Digital Possibility
Back in 1997, the world was a whole different place. Most people were just getting their first home computers, often running Windows 95 or Mac OS 8 with a whopping 32-64 MB of RAM and 1-4 GB of hard drive space. Getting online meant listening to the unforgettable screech of a dial-up modem. If you were browsing the web, you were probably using Netscape Navigator or Internet Explorer 3.
Email was starting to replace fax machines, but social media wouldn’t exist for almost another decade. Even “Googling” wasn’t possible yet – Google wouldn’t launch until 1998. Cell phones were the size of bricks, with no cameras, no colour screens, and no apps. PDAs like the PalmPilot were the cutting-edge “smart devices” of their day.
Entertainment meant VHS tapes, cable TV, and CDs. If you wanted to rent a movie, it meant a trip to Blockbuster or Rogers Video. Maps were actually made of paper. We got information from newspapers, not notifications.
And yet, right in the middle of that shift from analog to digital, there was a spark of innovation that would soon transform nearly every industry, including healthcare marketing.
Building a Business in a Pre-Digital World
Our first pricing experience was a lesson in recognizing our own value. A client told us to quadruple our quote because our pricing was far too low. That kind of honesty and pricing – and the simplicity of business relationships is something we don’t often see today.
Our first Agency of Record (AOR) assignment was for Xenical, a weight loss drug from Roche. We built a behaviour modification program that helped patients succeed beyond the pill. This philosophy would shape our approach to pharma marketing for decades.
Even in the early 2000s, we were passionate about patient adherence programs, showing that the most powerful results are seen when you engage and support patients, not just sell to them. Yet, year after year, the bulk of pharma budgets still went to sales force support – a reality that continues to evolve only slowly.
Memorable (and Sometimes Unbelievable) Moments
After three decades in pharma marketing, I’ve gathered more than a few unforgettable stories.
There was the time a client, frustrated by a project timeline, asked in exasperation: “Why does it take so long to edit a vis aid? Don’t you just fwap the new info on?” If only it were that simple.
Then there was the day a client asked us to buy golf gear and pay for a trip to South Carolina for three of us and bill it back to them – different times, indeed.
And one of my personal favourites. We once wrote a blog called “The Worst Client We Ever Had.” For weeks afterward, nearly every client called or emailed asking (half-jokingly, half-seriously) “It’s not me, is it?”
Those moments remind me that even in an industry built on science, data, and compliance, relationships and humour have always been at the heart of what we do.
Stories from the Trenches
Not all lessons came from campaigns. I remember one pitch where multiple agencies were on a group call to bid live on pricing per tactic. During that call, I happened to be on the phone with someone from a competing agency and we quietly agreed that neither of us would undercut the other. It was a strange, unspoken moment of solidarity in a fiercely competitive space.
Then came the cannabis era, when legalization in Canada sparked a wave of opportunity and confusion. We partnered with Aurora to help launch their brands, navigating a brand-new market filled with energy, uncertainty, and shifting regulations.
And of course, nothing was as disruptive as COVID-19. Overnight, our office went dark, replaced by Zoom calls, cloud storage, and figuring out how to collaborate from our kitchen tables. What felt impossible just weeks earlier quickly became business as usual. Out of this chaos came creativity – and a new model for how pharma marketing could look in a digital-first world.
2025: A Fully Connected Future
Fast forward to today. The world runs on high-speed broadband and 5G/6G networks. Our devices – phones, tablets, laptops – are all cloud-connected, syncing our work (and our lives) in real time.
AI assistants and automation handle tasks that once took days. Smartphones are no longer just communication tools. They’re our cameras, wallets, GPS devices, and even creative studios. Streaming platforms dominate entertainment. Virtual and augmented reality have entered mainstream use, from gaming to healthcare training.
And maybe most importantly, data-driven personalization and AI-powered creativity are reshaping marketing itself. The core principles we’ve always built our business on – understanding the audience, supporting their journey, and delivering meaningful engagement – are still the same. They’ve simply evolved into smarter, digital forms.
Looking Back, Moving Forward
Pharma marketing has come a long way in 30 years. We’ve moved from acetate slides to AI analytics, from fax machines to omnichannel ecosystems. But at its core, our mission hasn’t changed: connect patients, healthcare professionals, and brands in ways that genuinely improve lives.
The tools will keep evolving, the technology will keep accelerating, but the heart of good marketing remains the same: insight, empathy, and trust.
Here’s to the next 30 years.