The making of the Global Pharma Event Superpower: CPHI’s Story

Overview

When CPHI first approached De Facto in 2012, the event faced strong global competition and had limited personality and coverage. We recognised that CPHI needed to evolve its communications approach and offer insight-led content that would add value to the industry — and attract new audiences.

Our approach worked fast: in our very first year, our reports and content made CPHI the most covered brand in global pharma media. What’s even more impressive? We’ve kept it there for over a decade.

How did we do that?

We repositioned CPHI within the media from being just an event to becoming the ‘heart of pharma.’

• Built a global pharma panel of experts to identify and analyse emerging trends
• Launched a massively successful Annual Report — now 100+ pages with 200+ stories each year
• Created regional trend reports and global pharma industry rankings to keep the conversation going all year
• Evolved our strategies and creatives to move with digital delivery and new forms of insights — always keeping what works but with fresh ideas

Why did we do all this? Because we recognised CPHI should be seen as we see it: a collective hub of untapped industry knowledge that, when harnessed, could shine a light on what’s shaping the pharma trends of tomorrow. Our campaign ensured the industry recognised CPHI not just for mere transactional events, but for the spirit of the industry and the innovation, insights, and partnerships it drives by bringing so many executives together.

Such was the success of this strategy that the CPHI Annual Report is now used as a global barometer of pharma health, with the likes of Reuters and Bloomberg covering the event for insights.

Results

The impact was nothing short of transformative — CPHI became the most recognised and cited brand in global pharma media, and the numbers speak for themselves:

Media Coverage

• 1000+ targeted press stories for CPHI brands in 2024 across key media
• Report consistently cited in ongoing coverage across Endpoints, Fierce Pharma, C&EN, Reuters and Bloomberg
• 100+ national and regional business media stories in 2024 — including every national outlet in Italy [the event’s host nation] with 30+ stories
• 16 in-depth speaker interviews

Reports & Insights

• 100-page Annual Report which delivered 200+ pharma stories
• Regional trend reports and global pharma industry rankings kept conversations going year-round

Events & Multimedia

• 75 event previews and 20 speaker interviews published
• 10+ video media interviews, three webinars and 5 podcasts produced

Growth Metrics

• 3X attendee growth and 5X revenue growth over the decade