Cencora

The Challenge

How do you build a globally recognised brand in a fragmented industry, while engaging niche decision-makers at scale?

Following a major rebrand, Cencora faced a key challenge:

To establish a clear market position as a leader in end-to-end pharmaceutical solutions and to be seen, remembered and preferred by the decision-makers that matter.

But in a world where B2B buying journeys are self-directed and where media consumption spans pharma-specific and mainstream channels, traditional awareness tactics fall short.

Cencora needed a new model of brand building, rooted in discoverability and relevance.

The Insight

Discoverability isn’t just about showing up, it’s about showing up in the right context, at the right moment, to the right audience.

ROAST identified that high-value pharma audiences, particularly in Mid-to-Large Pharma and Emerging Biotech, were:

• Active around major industry events (e.g., JPM, ISPOR, BIO), both online and in-person.
• Consuming a mix of trusted pharma media and mainstream digital platforms.
• Receptive to high-quality video and contextual placements, but wary of broad, generic digital ads.
• Unaware of the full scope of Cencora’s capabilities, especially among fast-growing Emerging Biopharma companies.

This meant the opportunity wasn’t just awareness. It was precision-driven visibility that could translate to long-term consideration.

The Solution

A phased media strategy engineered to build visibility, familiarity and relevance – using creative storytelling and contextual intelligence.

ROAST designed and executed a three-phase campaign architecture across FY25, focused on strategic sequencing:

Wave 1: Launch with Scale

• High-impact OOH placements around JPMorgan Healthcare Conference and key pharma conferences.
• Premium sponsorships with STAT, Fierce Pharma, Endpoints, FirstWord, and more.
• Broad digital coverage via YouTube, LinkedIn and Programmatic to seed brand visibility.

Result: Cencora launched into the market with authority and scale – delivering over 35M impressions across all channels.

Wave 2: Build Familiarity

• Video storytelling deployed across YouTube and LinkedIn.
• Targeting refined to reach senior decision-makers in R&D, Commercial, Strategy, and Clinical Operations.
• Brand message aligned to contextual pharma environments around major events like ISPOR and BIO.

Result: 5.2M YouTube views with 82% view rate and 73% completion – significantly above benchmarks.

3. Wave 3: Deepen Relevance

• Tighter ABM targeting and retargeting of previously engaged users.
• Blis geo-retargeting to re-engage conference attendees from JPM, BIO, ISPOR and Asembia.
• Efficiency-focused Programmatic using whitelist publisher buying to maintain brand safety.

Result: 37,000+ clicks from post-event mobile targeting, with CTRs of up to 1.23% in Montreal and 1.02% in Barcelona – far exceeding B2B norms.

The Result

• Significant uplift in unaided awareness (across Mid-to-Large Pharma and Emerging Biopharma)
• Above-benchmark CTRs across LinkedIn, Programmatic and Native display Retargeting CTRs >4x industry benchmarks in key global regions
• Through a data-led, discoverability-first strategy, Cencora shifted from visibility to value – building familiarity in the moments that mattered most.