Using competition to engage sales teams before, during and after a major pharma congress

UCB BioPharma had a problem that many pharmaceutical companies face after disruption. Their sales teams were struggling with a disconnect between regional marketing strategy and country-level execution, inconsistent CRM usage, and what they called a "Covid Hangover." They needed to re-gain their winning spirit and mindset. We built Impact Aid, a gamified app that turned sales activities into competitive challenges.

01 The Challenge

UCB was facing a perfect storm of sales engagement issues. There was a disconnect between what regional marketing wanted to achieve and how country-level teams were executing on the ground. Their CRM systems, Salesforce and Veeva, were being used inconsistently. Most importantly, their sales teams had lost their competitive edge after the disruption of the pandemic years.

With a major annual pharma congress approaching, UCB needed a way to motivate their field salesforce, drive the right customer behaviours, and ensure their investment in the congress would deliver measurable returns.

02 How We Approached It

We designed Impact Aid as a game-based app built around challenges that would drive specific activities and behaviours. But this wasn't just gamification for the sake of it. Every challenge was designed to support the achievement of a congress-related KPI whilst encouraging the right customer interactions and CRM usage.

The app featured challenges and leaderboards that tapped into the sales teams' natural competitive streaks. We built in a direct communication channel through app notifications, providing timely nudges and reminders to the field salesforce. The key was making it feel like a game whilst driving serious business outcomes.

03 What Made It Special

Most sales engagement tools focus on reporting what happened. Impact Aid focused on motivating what should happen next. The app created a scoring system where every customer call, every CRM update, and every congress-related activity earned points and badges.

Sales reps could see exactly how their efforts compared to their colleagues, with challenges specifically designed around activities like contacting customers, confirming attendance at symposiums, and engaging with "Consult the Expert" sessions. The competitive element transformed routine sales activities into exciting challenges.

04 The Reality

Impact Aid transformed UCB's congress preparation and engagement, delivering remarkable improvements in sales team activity:

• 190% increase in pre-congress customer interactions

• 250% increase in during and post-congress customer interactions

• 1,322 congress-related assets viewed by sales representatives

The app successfully re-energised UCB's sales teams, turning congress preparation from a mandatory activity into a competitive game that everyone wanted to win.