Farewell, dear friends
Ten years ago now, a very forward thinking group at First Conferences, eyeforpharmas parent company, approached me with the idea of starting a newsletter to keep in touch with their conference attendees in-between events.
They felt as an established writer with a background in the industry, I had what it would take to create a connection with readers and keep it.
I was flattered by their confidence, but a bit frightened at the prospect. It was a daunting task. Whats the big deal? Theres an online newsletter born every minute today, right? But it was a decidedly different world then.
Its hard to imagine the difference a mere decade can make. But use of the Web for business was in its infancy and eyeforpharmas conferences at the time were all about e-business for pharma. Going online was this black box of uncertainty and unfamiliar territory for the industry. Most companies in every industry, but especially pharma had barely touched the Web, let alone considered using it to grow and transform their business.
Many suggested that what we were proposing was simply too revolutionary to fly particularly with pharma. So when we began a twice monthly undertaking we called then the eyeforpharma Briefing in the waning hours of 1999, I dont think any of us dared hope it would be thriving and vibrant ten years later.
Today, weve gone far beyond simply how to implement e-initiatives to covering from soup to nuts the key business strategies in areas such as market access, sales force effectiveness, patient compliance, marketing and forecasting critical to pharmas ongoing success. And weve grown from just one newsletter to five. The other key transformation has been that the eyeforpharma website and newsletters have become far more than communication tools with our conference attendees; they have become a respected, stand-alone resource for the industry at large.
One thing that, in retrospect, I think ensured our success was a steadfast and early commitment to be more than just a newsletter. We vowed to bring not just news, but insight and analysis, to our readers. We were committed to delivering real, practical information and case studies that would help pharma tackle its challenges and succeed no matter the industry landscape. And, I believe, for the past ten years, weve delivered pretty well on that promise.
Its been an incredible ride. Ive always taken great pride in the quality and value of the information weve offered our readers. And at this ten year mark, eyeforpharma is renewing its vow to remain on the cutting edge by bringing you even more content, from even more contributors. Youll be seeing fresh approaches and fresh voices.
But, with much sadness, I must tell you that this marks the right time for this voice to step back and set this project that has been so near and dear to me over the past ten years free to take that next step. Ill be moving on to new pharma challenges and adventures, but Ill be sure to stay in touch. And I invite you to do likewise.
I offer my deepest thanks for your input, feedback, expertise and friendship over the years. I couldnt have done it without you. And eyeforpharma will continue to rely on you to help make this your forum, your resource for finding smart solutions to those tough challenges going forward.
As we look toward the New Year, join me in toasting eyeforpharmas success - past, present and future. My wish for my efp colleagues: keep striving to be an advocate and partner to the industry, never lose sight of the heart of it all, and good things will always lie ahead.
Heres to new beginnings!
Lisa Roner, editor 1999-2009