Navigating Disruption in Pharmaceutical Marketing: How to Achieve Precision Breakthrough?

Editor’s Note: In recent years, amid shifts in the broader industry landscape, precision marketing has become a focal point of the pharmaceutical and health sector, as well as a key strategic direction for many enterprises. Within this context, the concept of “omni-channel health ecosystem operations” is gaining increasing importance in pharmaceutical precision marketing, representing a critical trend that the industry must urgently recognize and capitalize on.

How to Comprehensively Build the “Whole-Domain Health Ecosystem Operations” Chain? What Tangible Outcomes Can It Actually Deliver for Pharmaceutical Companies? Through interviews, industry data analysis, and case studies of leading enterprises, this article seeks to answer these questions and provide reference insights for the industry.

With the implementation of policies such as volume-based procurement (VBP), the “Two-Invoice System,” and Diagnosis-Related Groups (DRGs), the pharmaceutical industry has faced mounting pressure in recent years. On one hand, continuous declines in drug and medical device prices have strained corporate revenues; on the other, tighter regulatory oversight has led to sluggish growth in traditional pharmaceutical marketing models, creating an urgent need for pharmaceutical companies to control costs.

Thus, a profound transformation has begun in the pharmaceutical industry: the era dominated by extensive marketing practices is over, while the age of digitalized and precision pharmaceutical marketing is accelerating.

From an industry perspective, marketing-related expenses have become a significant cost component for pharmaceutical companies. According to the financial reports of certain listed companies, the ratio of selling and general expenses to revenue among top-tier global pharmaceutical firms has approached 50% in recent years. This trend is driving pharmaceutical companies to place greater emphasis on the return on investment (ROI) of their marketing efforts, favoring strategies that maximize marketing returns at more controllable costs.

Therefore,Patient-centric digitalization of pharmaceuticals or precision marketing has become a prerequisite for pharmaceutical companies to stand out in an increasingly competitive market.

Currently, the digitalization and precision of pharmaceutical marketing have expanded into diverse business directions, such as new media platforms represented by short videos, online promotion of academic projects, SaaS cloud services, and physician platforms.Among these, new media video platforms have garnered widespread industry attention, becoming the primary “traffic” carrier on the internet and a key channel for digital pharmaceutical marketing.

The popularity of general health content on new media video platforms remains exceptionally high. Data from major mainstream platforms corroborates this trend: According to the 2023 Douyin Health Science Popularization Data Report, 200 million users accessed health-related educational content on Douyin; WeChat Open Class revealed that in 2023, pan-knowledge content, including health science popularization, saw a year-on-year growth of 109% on WeChat Channels; and the 2024 Kuaishou General Health Industry Data Report indicated that user interest in health content on Kuaishou continued to rise, with the daily average number of users watching general health videos exceeding 40 million. These figures reflect the growing public attention to health knowledge.

Therefore, seizing the opportunities presented by new media video platforms will help companies entering the market today achieve rapid growth.

However, it is important to note that new media platforms are merely a medium,Only content that is scientific, professional, and highly shareable truly matters.key. The reason is that health and wellness content has a high professional barrier; only authoritative and professional information can be convincing.The “Guiding Opinions on Establishing and Improving the Mechanism for the Publication and Dissemination of Health Science Popularization Knowledge Across All Media,” jointly issued by nine departments including the National Health Commission and the Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, emphasizes the need to clarify the entities and responsibilities for the publication, dissemination, and regulation of health science popularization knowledge, standardize the mechanisms for its publication and dissemination, and continuously enhance the quality of such knowledge.

In their paper “An Analysis of Media Dissemination and Management Strategies for Health Information on the Douyin Short-Video Platform,” Associate Professor Guo Shouyun and his team from the College of Urban Culture at South China Normal University argued that short videos providing detailed health science popularization are more popular on the Douyin platform. Furthermore, competition in the new media platform sector is becoming increasingly intense,Only higher-quality content can stand out amidst the vast sea of information.

Meanwhile, major new media platforms are also boosting the production of high-quality content.For instance, the "Douyin Community Medical Guidelines" encourage the creation of scientific, rigorous, and high-quality popular science content. They advocate for disseminating information within one's professional expertise and specialized departments or fields, or on diseases and medical knowledge that have been thoroughly studied. Furthermore, when sharing medical knowledge, the guidelines recommend adhering to authoritative medical guidelines or reflecting the medical consensus established through evidence-based medicine verification and statistical facts.

In summary, the curtain has risen on precision pharmaceutical marketing centered around holistic health content.

As new media platforms have surged, an increasing number of enterprises are entering the fray.The wellness content entrepreneurship sector is heating up, with rapid market growth.According to iResearch, the market size of the digital marketing and traffic value ecosystem centered on the pharmaceutical industry is projected to reach RMB 100 billion by 2025.

The market is vast, but not all entrants have a chance. In addition to the high barriers to entry in general health content mentioned earlier, this is also because user experience and scenario-based services impose stringent requirements on participating companies.

VCBeat has observed that, against the aforementioned industry backdrop,A dark horse company has rapidly grown. Named Knowledge Matrix, the company was founded in 2020 and currently boasts over 50 million followers across all online platforms for its proprietary IPs. It has established a big health IP matrix through new media platforms and has completed its Series A+ financing round.

On the evening of May 9, at the awards gala for the Top 100 companies at the 8th Future Healthcare Ecosystem Expo, the organizers released the 2024 Future Healthcare 100 list. Following a rigorous selection process, Knowledge Matrix was honored with two prestigious awards: “Top 100 in Healthcare and Health Innovation Services” and “Innovative Enterprise of the Year.” Launched in 2015, the Future Healthcare 100 list is the first domestic ranking focused on innovative medical companies that are not publicly listed. It is jointly issued by VB100, VCBeat, and VCBeat Research Institute. The initiative aims to identify Chinese innovators who truly represent the future of healthcare, uncover the core driving forces behind China’s future healthcare industry, and promote innovation and transformation within the health and medical sector.

(The image shows the Knowledge Matrix booth at the 8th VBEF Future Medical Ecology Exhibition)

How Can a Knowledge Matrix Rapidly Break Through? Only by Returning to the Industry for Observation Can We Identify a Company’s Value Coordinates.

"WeCentered on content, we have cultivated a complete ecosystem loop targeting high-health-demand groups such as those focused on maternity, parenting, women’s health, and the silver-haired demographic.“Ding Zhaoliang, Founder and CEO of Knowledge Matrix, revealed to VCBeat that on new media platforms dominated by short videos, user demand for popular science health content is robust. However, these platforms are flooded with general health content of varying quality. How to meet user needs and build a service system accordingly has become a key breakthrough point for the market.”

(Ding Zhaoliang, Founder and CEO of Knowledge Matrix, delivers a speech at the 8th VBEF Future Medical Ecosystem Exhibition)

The primary focus should be on ensuring the scientific rigor, practicality, and engaging nature of the content.In response, Knowledge Matrix strictly adheres to medical guidelines for content production and review during the IP incubation process. It engages numerous renowned physicians in deep collaboration and has established an in-house medical team, thereby ensuring that all published content undergoes a three-tier review by physicians, the medical team, and the publishing platform to guarantee scientific accuracy.

Furthermore, it is no easy task to sustain high-quality content production., which has led to rapid growth but also swift elimination for companies in the pharmaceutical precision marketing sector. In contrast, the knowledge matrix is different; itsNot only has it consistently produced viral content, but it has also built a comprehensive IP matrix across the entire health and wellness sector.

Data offers a glimpse into the achievements of the Knowledge Matrix. As of March 2024, the Knowledge Matrix had collaborated with over 3,000 key opinion leaders (KOLs) in the medical and health sectors. Its owned and partnered IP accounts collectively amassed more than 350 million followers, and in 2023 alone, it produced 308 videos that each garnered over 10 million views.

Taking the physician influencer “Xu Wenbin, Department of Orthopedics, Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine,” cultivated through a knowledge matrix, as an example, his health education videos are consistently rich in practical, high-value content. The account’s design exudes confidence and approachability, propelling it to rapid online popularity, with numerous videos being frequently reposted by official media outlets such as People’s Daily. Currently, this Douyin account has amassed over 2.43 million followers.

“Many people believe that content creation and traffic generation are ‘small yet beautiful’ endeavors, but content expansion inevitably leads to cost escalation, including time, labor, and financial costs. The Knowledge Matrix currently has nearly 100 employees in its content team alone, all of whom possess strong content-and-traffic mindset and practical experience,” Ding Zhaoliang, Founder and CEO of Knowledge Matrix, told VCBeat.The content is underpinned by a highly robust “industrialized system” built on the foundation of “speed.”This system stems from the company’s comprehensive internal processes, covering every aspect from topic selection and planning, data analysis, and filming to post-production. Such workflows can only be gradually refined through extensive practice—requiring the production of countless videos, numerous script discussions, and the analysis of massive datasets.The knowledge matrix already contains nearly 200,000 content data entries to support the entire precision marketing process., most companies probably wouldn’t have it, because we handle everything ourselves.”

With high-quality content and accumulated data, how exactly does the knowledge matrix help clients achieve precision marketing?From a procedural perspective only:

Content-driven, omnichannel traffic operations leverage a knowledge matrix to precisely align brands with users, helping brands establish a closed-loop commercial model and a mutually empowering business ecosystem.

From the demand side, the knowledge matrix identifies and fulfills genuine consumer needs by connecting users with actual health concerns to corresponding doctors and health influencers through high-quality content. This approach, supplemented by premium products and brands, generates authentic feedback and delivers a superior user experience. From the supply side, the knowledge matrix seamlessly integrates front-end health education with back-end traffic conversion across the entire pharmaceutical and healthcare ecosystem, continuously strengthening the bond between brands and users, thereby empowering precision digital marketing in the pharmaceutical industry.

Leveraging these core advantages, the Knowledge Matrix has emerged as an industry leader amid fierce competition in pharmaceutical digital marketing. As of March 2024, the Knowledge MatrixPartnered with over 100 pharmaceutical companies, published more than 10,000 health education and science popularization videos for patients, and achieved a cumulative targeted exposure of over 1 billion impressions., helping pharmaceutical companies execute precise omni-channel marketing to achieve massive exposure and conversions.

Starting from content and achieving continuous in-depth breakthroughs, the knowledge matrix has established a complete ecological loop: “collaboration between physicians and professional influencers – robust content operations – precise vertical traffic distribution – precision marketing across the entire health sector – omni-channel sales for niche brands – community services for core customers,” thereby identifying the core essence and solutions for precision pharmaceutical marketing. Leveraging its large-scale production capability for high-quality content, the knowledge matrix currently covers multiple cities in China, including Hangzhou, Guangzhou, and Chengdu, and has initially completed its business layout in Southeast Asian markets such as Vietnam and Indonesia.

As the industry increasingly recognizes the importance of “holistic health ecosystem operations” and actively makes strategic moves, another equally important trend deserves attention: the health content industry is entering an era of compliance.

“The health content industry has transitioned from a phase of incremental growth driven by traffic dividends to one of competition for existing users.” Ding Zhaoliang, Founder and CEO of Knowledge Matrix, told VCBeat that this shift is evident whether viewed through the lens of platform rules or consumers’ personal experiences.High-quality, compliant content is becoming increasingly important.

This trend is also reflected at the policy level. For instance, as mentioned earlier, the “Guiding Opinions on Establishing and Improving Mechanisms for the Publication and Dissemination of Health Science Popularization Knowledge Across All Media” has been issued, along with related policies introduced by various localities: The Hunan Provincial Health Commission released the “Notice on Printing and Distributing the Implementation Plan for Establishing and Improving Mechanisms for the Publication and Dissemination of Health Science Popularization Knowledge Across All Media in Hunan Province”; 17 departments, including the Office of the Leading Group for Healthy Zhejiang Construction under the Zhejiang Provincial Party Committee and Provincial Government, jointly issued the “Three-Year Implementation Plan (2023–2025) for the Health Knowledge Popularization Action in Zhejiang Province”; and nine departments, including the Shanghai Municipal Health Commission and the Publicity Department of the Shanghai Municipal Party Committee, jointly issued the “Implementation Opinions on Improving Mechanisms for the Publication and Dissemination of Health Science Popularization Knowledge Across All Media and Increasing the Supply of High-Quality Health Science Popularization Resources.”

Meanwhile, platforms such as Douyin and Kuaishou are accelerating compliance reviews of health-related content, steering the industry toward sustainable development. First, scientific, rigorous, and professional health content enables users to acquire new knowledge, helping them prevent diseases and even providing references for treatment. Second, such content helps physicians better understand and serve their patients while enhancing their own professional expertise. Third, by leveraging precise scenarios, it assists pharmaceutical companies in improving marketing efficiency, identifying more potential users in the vast market, and strengthening brand recall among consumers.

Furthermore, at the societal level, medical science popularization not only effectively prevents disease onset but also aids in post-illness recovery. Standardized implementation of medicalScience popularization will inevitably contribute to the building of a Healthy China.

“‘Making health accessible’ is the original mission of Knowledge Matrix, as well as the company’s vision. The advent of the compliance era benefits the healthy development of the entire industry,” said Ding Zhaoliang, Founder and CEO of Knowledge Matrix.By continuously delivering high-quality, professional health content, the knowledge matrix promotes the inclusive dissemination of social value.For instance, the health-focused influencer IP “A Wang’s Retirement Life” produced a video series addressing the challenges elderly people face when using the subway. The content covered everything from “what to keep in mind when taking the subway” to “how to purchase tickets and transfer between lines,” balancing entertainment with practicality. This initiative genuinely helped bring attention and support to the elderly, an often “invisible” group in the digital age.

Facing a more promising industry outlook, Knowledge Matrix will continue to advance steadily by leveraging its business ecosystem of mutual empowerment across the entire value chain, thereby co-building the future healthcare ecosystem with all sectors of society. Of course, as we head toward the “next stop” in the realm of comprehensive health content, many challenges remain to be addressed; however, every practitioner willing to delve deeply and courageous enough to break through and innovate will be rewarded by the market.