PDF Vol. 15, No. 3, March 2019 "Happy Trials to You"

[Pages:8]Vol. 15, No. 3, March 2019

"Happy Trials to You"

The Brand Power of Large Clinical Research CROs

By Norman M. Goldfarb, Howard Wong, and Anne-Marie Hess

When a company has a strong, positive, well-known brand -- i.e., brand power -- customers are more likely to purchase their products and services because they trust the company. High brand power also helps attract employees and investors, secure favorable terms from suppliers, and achieve superior financial performance.

Companies use a variety of cues, such as their name, logo, tagline, and color scheme, to help build their brand. However, credible messaging and actual performance, e.g., delivering high-quality products and services, are vital. These factors and many others help build strong brands over time.

Within the clinical research industry, the highest-profile companies are the largest contract research organizations (CROs). Which of these companies have the strongest brands and how did they earn them? To find out, in the fourth quarter of 2018, The Journal of Clinical Research Best Practices and SCORR Marketing conducted an online survey on certain elements of the brand power of seven large CROs:

? Covance (owned by LabCorp) ? ICON ? IQVIA ? PAREXEL International ? PPD ? PRA Health Sciences ? Syneos Health

Respondents

The 450 clinical research professionals that participated in the survey were largely senior and middle managers, with about half from companies with more than 1,000 employees. Thirty-five percent of respondents were employed by CROs, 35% by clinical research sites, and 14% by biopharmaceutical and medical device companies.

Survey Questions

The survey asked the following questions about the companies' respective brands:

? With which of the following CROs are you familiar? (check all that apply) ? On a scale of 1-5 (with 5 being the most), rate the extent to which you've

worked with each of these companies. ? On a scale of 1-5 (with 5 being the best), rate each of the following companies

for how well known they are in the industry. ? On a scale of 1-5 (with 5 being the best), rate each of the following companies

for their reputation in the industry. ? On a scale of 1-5 (with 5 being the best), rate each of the following companies

for how well their brand represents the concept of operational excellence.

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? On a scale of 1-5 (with 5 being the best), rate each of the following companies for how well their brand represents the concept of making good use of technology.

? On a scale of 1-5 (with 5 being the best), rate each of the following companies for how well their brand represents the concept of being a good company to work for.

? On a scale of 1-5 (with 5 being the best), rate each of the following companies for how well their brand represents the concept of fair pricing.

? On a scale of 1-5 (with 5 being the best), rate each of the following companies for how well their brand represents the concept of being a good employer.

Survey Results

Figure 1 shows that all but one CRO ranks in the top three for at least one measure. In the four "Brand represents..." measures of performance, IQVIA, the CRO with the highest average rating, ranks in the top three only once.

Figure 1. Top-Rated CROs

Rating

Average

With which of the following CROs are you familiar?

#1

#2

IQVIA PPD

Covance PPD

#3 Syneos PAREXEL

The extent to which you've worked with each of these companies

How well-known they are in the industry

IQVIA PPD IQVIA PPD

Syneos Covance

Reputation in the industry

Brand represents the concept of operational excellence Brand represents the concept of making good use of technology Brand represents the concept of fair pricing

Brand represents the concept of being a good employer

Covance Syneos IQVIA Syneos Covance ICON

IQVIA Syneos Covance

Syneos ICON PRA

PRA

Syneos ICON

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CRO Brand-Power Rating Measures

Despite their relatively large sizes, IQVIA and Syneos rated lowest, perhaps due to their recent name changes: IQVIA in November 2017 and Syneos in January 2018.

The overall average ratings for each company across all seven scaled measures clustered narrowly in the range from a low of 3.22 to a high of 3.49. However, as the Figures below show, the individual measures varied more substantially.

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Despite the substantial variation in company sizes, the ratings for this question ranged only from a low of 2.79 to a high of 3.48.

The ratings regarding how well known each CRO is vary from a high of 4.09 to a low of 3.48. In contrast to Figure 2, the change of name did not appear to affect IQVIA by this measure.

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Six of the seven companies' ratings for reputation clustered between 3.42 and 3.52.

Six of the seven companies' ratings for operational excellence clustered between 3.36 and 3.43.

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Six of the seven companies' ratings for making good use of technology clustered between 3.27 and 3.41. The exception, IQVIA, scored 3.79.

None of the companies scored particularly well for fair pricing. All seven of the companies' ratings clustered between 2.89 and 3.21.

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Two of the seven companies (PRA and Syneos) scored above 3.45, while the other five scored between 3.09 and 3.27.

Ratings by CRO employees did not differ significantly from ratings by non-CRO employees, with one exception: non-CRO employee ratings were 22% higher than those of CRO employee ratings for the measure, "The extent to which you've worked with each of these companies." We did not test for potential biases by CRO employees for or against their employers.

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Conclusion

While larger companies have more resources to build brand power, smaller companies can still distinguish themselves in specific areas of this highly competitive market.

Authors

Norman M. Goldfarb is Managing Director of First Clinical Research LLC, a provider of clinical research best practices information services. Contact him at 1.650.465.0119 or ngoldfarb@.

Howard Wong is a Market Analyst in the Market Intelligence Department at SCORR Marketing. For more information, visit .

Anne-Marie Hess is Senior Strategic Advisor & Market Intelligence Director at SCORR Marketing. For more information, visit .

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