In the 3rd quarter of 2017, MDOutlook undertook a global Thought Leader (TL) identification and ranking project in a rare cancer type. This activity used our standard approach with four domains – disease relevant publications, clinical trials, leadership roles (associations and journals), and peer nominations. We delivered detailed profiling of 221 TLs in this project. At the end of the 1st quarter of 2018, we performed a 6-month update to this TL list.
In this short time frame, our team made several interesting observations that highlight the importance to have an expanded identification of TLs with regular updates implemented to stay ahead of the changing TL landscape and to recognize new leaders to focus on.
• 20 “Rising Stars” were identified due to an increase in ≥15 ranking positions as indicated by the orange markers in figure 1. This represents nearly 10% of the total number of TLs originally profiled
• Most of these Rising Stars are currently positioned between the ranks of 50 and 100 as circled in figure 1. Although many may be considered 2nd tier TLs, they should be closely observed
• New leadership position(s) and clinical trial involvement were main drivers for the Rising Stars (figure 2). This is also considered as peer-recognition of their growing status within a clinical area
• The fact that these Rising Stars were originally contained in the lower TLs tiers shows how important it is to expand the initial identification efforts and have transparent criteria. While detailed profiling of these may or may not be needed (since one isn’t sure who will become the Rising Star), the Rising Stars will come from these levels
• The decline in ranking tended to be much more gradual than the increase, especially when compared to the initial Rising Stars
• As expected, there were hardly any shifts in the top 50 TL rankings, and those that did occur were relatively minor and shouldn’t really impact any working relationships
• Nearly 5% of all TLs changed institutions within this 6-month period. These were not represented within the Rising Stars or those who significantly dropped in the rankings
How confident are YOU in your ThoughtLeader rankings? Do they need updating? Expansion?
You are investing significant resources in initiatives focused on ThoughtLeaders. And you have to ask yourself the question, did you connect with the right ThoughtLeaders and influential cancer professionals in 2017, who can ultimately determine whether your therapy gains traction or loses steam?
You cannot afford a hit or miss approach to connecting with oncology’s most impactful clinicians and academics. MDOutlook’s ThoughtLeader Intelligence Platform is THE source to ensure you are targeting those who will have the biggest impact on your success in the marketplace. We monitor ThoughtLeaders’ changing influence on an ongoing basis and constantly update rankings, using transparent algorithms avoiding the black-box approach. And with our Attribute Dial™ we will deliver the key individuals to you, customized to your specific portfolio. For more information, check out our solutions and view this quick video about the MDOutlook’s Oncology ThoughtLeader Intelligence Platform.
For more information or to have a conversation, contact the MDOutlook team today.
Figure 1: Change in TL Ranking from September 2017 to March 2018 (6 Months)
Figure 2: Change in Top 10 “Rising Stars” Domain Values from Sep 2017 to March 2018