Repositioning for future success

Metrics Contract Services was a CDMO going places. A long-standing icon in the US scene and backed by parent company, Mayne Pharma, it was on a strong and ambitious trajectory, with a state-of-the-art campus in Greenville, NC. Alongside major investments, they offer true concept through to commercialization all under one roof, from one FDA-approved North American site. This is a scale-up, seamless dream for the pharma and biotech market.

So what was the issue? Metrics had outgrown their brand. Their positioning wasn’t representative of their current, let alone future, state, and was cornering them as a small, clinical supply-only organization, not the global concept to commercial OSD partner they were growing to be.

They also didn’t have a concerted and strategic marketing plan in place, meaning that growth was almost completely solely driven by BD. In order to execute the company’s growth plans, they knew that they needed a well-established industry specialist to build the foundations for success. That’s where ramarketing came in.

We needed to unearth and define the company’s desired and ideal competitive positioning to ensure it was consistently captured in the visual identity and messaging of future online and offline materials.

We also needed to document the company’s ideal customer profiles, key messages, and tone of voice as a brand foundation in preparation for the next phase of growth.

This would enable us to create a blueprint for the next generation of the company’s website, geared towards potential target buyers and lead capture. And ultimately, develop a multi-stranded, smart, and relevant digital and communications plan as the roadmap for clear tactical direction going forward.

Metrics agreed it was crucial to do the groundwork so they could get their marketing house in order. By investing time upfront we were able to understand the landscape and gather key insights. 

For this project we:

• Gathered industry intel as independent researchers to gain objective feedback – and carried out a high-level analysis and audit of competitor messaging and media presence
• Completed a digital marketing and web audit to enable informed recommendations
• Completed voice of customer research, interviewing existing clients to gain vital insight into Metrics’ typical clients, their buyer behaviors, and how they search for and select partners. We also explored client needs, motivations, and perceptions, both of CDMOs on the whole and Metrics as a partner
• Conducted a brand workshop to understand current strengths, weaknesses, and perceptions

With this insight we:

• Created a brand research report to summarize the key trends and themes identified during the research phase, alongside an overview of industry dynamics and the competitive landscape
• Built out brand platform elements, including the value proposition
• Created distinctive, memorable personas that could be used in different areas of the business
• Developed a new insights-led messaging framework with a refreshed tone of voice
• Developed a marketing roadmap with channel recommendations and campaigns
• Created new brand visuals to launch to the market

As part of this brand’s relaunch, we produced an in-depth brand messaging framework, developed tailored channel recommendations, and launched a brand-new website.

Comparing the work done in previous years to Metrics’ brand messaging project with ramarketing, the difference was clear.

• 2.6 million people were reached through increased coverage and a larger digital presence
• Website traffic was up by 45% in the project’s first year, followed by a further 27% increase the following year 
• Google ad conversions in 2021/22 reached 115, up 858% from the previous year
• 6.5 million impressions through LinkedIn paid advertising, securing 13.5K clicks and 14 qualified marketing leads 

Following our work with Metrics, the CDMO was subsequently acquired by Catalent for its specialist novel OSD offering for $475M; with Metrics’ refined strategic positioning playing a crucial role in the sale.