The shock of what I just heard didn’t wear off for quite some time.

I had just introduced our brand-new, state-of-the-art Pharmaceutical Marketing Omnichannel simulation to a group of eager early career learners. As we wrapped up the overview, I asked the group, “Any thoughts or questions?”

A hand shot up.

“This sounds great,” she began, “but let’s be real. Even if we master these incredible tools and learn how to shift from multichannel management to true omnichannel engagement at the individual HCP level, it won’t matter. Why? Because we’re the only ones who believe in this.”

She went on.

“The Sales team still believes this is, and always will be, about their one-on-one relationships. They view themselves as the primary revenue drivers. And Medical Affairs? They think they own the truth because they have the data. Unless they buy in, all this training, this business simulation…it’s just a waste of time and money.”

Then came the mic drop. “The only way this works is if we use everything we’ve learned and become change agents—not just marketers. That’s the only way omnichannel sticks.”

You could feel the energy shift in the room. Heads nodded. Eyebrows raised. Everyone knew she was right.

Yes, omnichannel strategy, segmentation, content orchestration, and channel analytics are all critical. But they’re not enough. Not if you want to make it real inside a matrixed pharma organization. Because no matter how good your plan is, if your cross-functional colleagues don’t see the value, or worse, feel threatened by it, it goes nowhere.

The reality is that omnichannel marketers must become change agents. You must bring others with you. Earn credibility. Challenge assumptions. Build bridges. And yes, sometimes push back hard.

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I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that this upcoming 4th of July weekend will be a welcome relief, and a much-needed breather, after what’s been one of the most volatile and complex starts to a business year in recent memory.

From a business acumen perspective, we’ve navigated on-again, off-again tariffs, heightened geopolitical risk, extreme weather events disrupting global supply chains, and continued organizational shakeups in how and where people work.

Yet somehow, in the midst of all that uncertainty, the markets have roared back. As of this writing, the S&P 500 is within a point of its all-time high. Institutions like Goldman Sachs and BMO Capital Markets are forecasting continued growth, with targets as high as 6,700 by year-end.

So, as we gather with friends, watch fireworks, and celebrate the independence of our country, it’s also a good time to reflect on five business insights that feel particularly relevant as we cross into the second half of 2025:

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Here’s a startling fact: In the first half of this year, I personally delivered 99 unique business acumen and leadership workshops, each centered around business simulations, focused on improving decision-making, strategic thinking, and driving results through clear strategic goals and objectives.

And yet, in those 99 sessions, not a single team—0.0%—completed their goals and objectives forms correctly in either their pre-simulation planning or their final board of directors’ presentations.

Let that sink in for a moment. More than 2,800 participants engaged in an exercise to set and execute a strategy in a simulated business environment, and not a single one came up with acceptable goals and objectives.

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Over the past week, I’ve had the privilege of facilitating two unique business acumensimulation workshops for pharmaceutical marketers, each centered around building and applying omnichannel marketing skills.

These simulations brought together marketers at various levels, from new hires to experienced franchise leaders, all aiming to better understand how to orchestrate meaningful and measurable engagement across an increasingly complex channel mix.

One of the most striking observations from these sessions was how the term 'omnichannel' can mean different things to different people. Even within the same organization, and sometimes even within the same brand team, definitions and execution approaches can vary widely. That’s why, for the purposes of this blog, we define omnichannel marketing skillsas:

The ability to design and execute integrated, personalized customer engagement strategies across multiple channels, aligned to business objectives and measured by customer behavior change and commercial impact.

With that working definition in mind, here are five critical things every omnichannel marketer must know in 2025 and beyond, based on what we’ve learned in our simulations.

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You don’t have to be the most intelligent person in the world to realize that people are distracted and can easily lose focus in times of turmoil. The headlines scream something new and unexpected every day, ranging from tariffs, wars, regulatory shifts, and political upheaval, while everyone is still expected to wake up, go to work, and cope with it all.

And yet, in the past six months of global turmoil, when many businesses have been reeling from the daily barrage of uncertainty, several companies, like Procter & Gamble (P&G), have actually thrived.

The P&G Example: Clarity Amid Chaos
While many consumer goods companies cut marketing, paused innovation, or pulled back from volatile markets, P&G took the opposite approach. They doubled down on brand strength, employee engagement, and operational discipline. Despite inflationary pressures and regional disruptions, P&G posted solid growth across key categories and markets.

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