Carolyn Yee spent the first few years of her career doing PR and marketing for consumer packaged goods brands, but when she joined Eversana InTouch for a product launch in the life sciences space, she discovered that she loved “the fast pace and the high stakes.”
Her passion for health and pharma marketing helps explain her rapid rise through the agency’s ranks. She started as a marketing coordinator in January 2019 and, four promotions later, is now an account director.
Yee long focused on Eversana InTouch’s HIV portfolio, but she recently transitioned to oncology, a shift that she praised for allowing her to “embrace a beginner’s mindset.”
In a Q&A for Fierce Pharma Marketing’s “Rising Stars” series, Yee discussed the importance of remaining open to unfamiliar channels, the challenges and rewards of leading a global product launch and how cooking helps her better understand the world around her.
Responses have been lightly edited.
Fierce Pharma Marketing: What inspired you to pursue a career in pharma marketing, and what keeps you motivated?
Carolyn Yee: I find the pharma marketing environment really energizing, and I enjoy the quick thinking and the flexibility that it requires. I enjoy the challenges. I don’t have a science background, and recently, after working on HIV treatments for nearly five years, I made a switch into oncology. That’s been a humbling experience, but it’s allowed me to embrace a beginner’s mindset and ask questions that might be obvious.
I enjoy making a change like that and having to grasp something new that’s also really dense. It’s also been a good reminder that all good marketing starts with a deep understanding of patient experiences.
FPMK: What has been the most rewarding or challenging project you’ve worked on so far?
CY: One that comes to mind was the global product launch for an HIV treatment in 2021. I got to see how the sausage is made, but then also lead the tactical execution. The challenge was in keeping a consistent global strategy and making sure that it shined through in the tactical execution, while also understanding the complexities and experiences across different regions and the global treatment landscape. It was a shift in mindset from U.S.-only launches to trying to incorporate that global perspective.
The rewarding part was seeing the framework that we had created be embraced and tailored by marketing affiliates worldwide, then knowing that our work had a global impact as it was adapted locally.
FPMK: If you could give one piece of advice to industry veterans who’ve been in pharma marketing for decades, what would it be?
CY: One thing that I’ve continuously challenged myself to do is stay curious about how [healthcare professionals] and patients are interacting with content and various channels. We need to let go of old assumptions about how channels work, which tactics should be leveraged and at what points to engage. If the data shows that audiences are engaging in a channel that we’re not that familiar with, we should be emboldened to use that channel to get patients and HCPs what they need at the time they need it.
FPMK: Where can you be found when you’re not pushing yourself up the healthcare marketing learning curve?
CY: I really enjoy cooking. I like making a new dish, and it typically will land me at a specialty grocery store that’s across town. And when I travel, at least internationally, I try to take a cooking class. It’s a fun way to understand the culture and understand the ingredients and produce that are local to that area.