Med Ad News 2021 Marketer on the Rise: Maria Sanchez

Med Ad News 2021 Marketer on the Rise

Maria Sanchez

Associate Director, Consumer Marketing

Novartis

— Nomination submitted by McCann Health New York

 

Maria Sanchez puts her whole heart into everything she does. So it’s no surprise her heart failure brand, Entresto, is continuing to have record high growth, even in year six of its life cycle.

Year after year, Maria finds new ways to challenge the boundaries of pharma marketing. In 2018, she played a key role in persuading management to run 30-second TV spots for a boxed warning drug – a first for Novartis – that instantly doubled the impact of her media budget. 

Under Maria’s leadership, Entresto was named one of the top five most visible advertisers on Facebook. In 2020, Maria launched the “Did You Know?” campaign – a series of OLVs and banners that encourage patients to learn the facts about heart failure. Together with other tactics, the effort has generated more than 177,000 new leads, just in time for Entresto’s 2021 label expansion.

Maria has also been a pioneer in using social media tools typically reserved for non-pharma brands. She was the first in pharma to use unbranded to branded retargeting ads to increase consideration, automated responses via Social Messenger to encourage and build trust in the CRM program, and programmatic targeted online video overlays.

When COVID hit, Maria made sure that Entresto was one of the very first brands to express appreciation for the tireless efforts of healthcare workers, adding a message of gratitude in the brand’s TV advertising. She also took the lead in finding new ways to support patients during the pandemic, including the promotion of 90-day prescriptions and telehealth opportunities. 

Creative partners love Maria’s bravery in standing up for unconventional solutions. Instead of settling for a traditional MOA video, Maria fought to produce something totally unexpected – a catchy song designed to teach people about heart failure that was brought to life in a charming animated video. Despite a limited budget, the MOA is performing extremely well online, significantly above benchmark.

No description of Maria would be complete without mentioning her wholehearted compassion for everyone in her sphere – patients, caregivers, healthcare workers, coworkers, and agency partners. Maria sets a high bar for performance but is unstinting in her support, praise, and encouragement along the way. Through all the challenges of remote work, Maria has managed to keep morale and productivity high. Her excellence is widely praised by those who work with her. Now we hope the Med Ad News community sees fit to do the same.