How to Evaluate an Agency's Pharma Programmatic Capabilities
Capability tests for evaluating an agency's pharma programmatic skills using work samples and operating scenarios instead of pitch decks.
The short answer
Agency pitches for pharma programmatic look similar: experienced teams, proprietary tools, healthcare data partnerships, and case studies with strong results. The differences that matter show up in how the agency actually works. Capability tests based on work samples and realistic scenarios reveal those differences better than presentations.
What to evaluate
| Capability | What good looks like |
|---|---|
| Strategy | Can connect business problem to audience, channel, and measurement decisions |
| Audience and data | Evaluates data sources critically; understands HCP and DTC data differences |
| Activation | Sets up, monitors, and optimizes campaigns reliably |
| Supply quality | Manages supply paths, verification, and brand safety actively |
| Measurement | Distinguishes attribution from incrementality; designs tests |
| Compliance awareness | Works within regulatory and privacy constraints without being told |
| Transparency | Shares costs, data, and problems openly |
| Team and continuity | Has the right people assigned, with backup |
Test with work samples
Ask for real examples, with confidential details removed:
- A media plan with its rationale.
- A monthly performance report sent to a client.
- A measurement readout, including limitations.
- A post-mortem on a campaign that underperformed.
The last one is revealing. Agencies that can describe a failure clearly, including what they learned, are usually stronger operators.
Test with scenarios
Give each agency the same short scenarios and ask how they would respond:
- "An HCP partner reports 85% match rate but outcome results are weak. What would you check?"
- "Two weeks into a campaign, 30% of impressions are on domains not in the plan. What do you do?"
- "The brand wants to add a new DTC data segment. How would you evaluate it?"
- "The measurement study shows a positive attributed result but no significant lift. How would you present it?"
Strong answers are specific, ordered, and honest about limits. See the investment case guide for how measurement results should be presented.
Test the team
Meet the people who will work on the account, not just the pitch team. Ask:
- Who will run the day-to-day?
- What is their experience with healthcare programmatic?
- Who covers when they are out?
- How many other accounts do they handle?
Test transparency
Ask how the agency is paid, including any revenue from media, data, or technology partners. See agency compensation and incentives. Ask whether the brand will have direct access to DSP seats and log-level data.
Score consistently
Use the same scorecard for every agency. Weight capabilities by what matters most for your brand. See the partner RFP scorecard for a structure.
Practical takeaway
Replace part of the pitch meeting with a working session on two scenarios. Score agencies on how they think through problems, not on how their slides look.
Sources
- ANA, Programmatic Media Supply Chain Transparency Study
- Media Rating Council, Standards and Guidelines
External guidance and platform documentation change. Links were current at publication; check them again before relying on them for a decision.
Editorial note. Analysis and frameworks are the author's own and do not represent Acxiom or any current or former employer, client, or named platform. Examples labeled hypothetical or illustrative are not results from real campaigns. Nothing here is legal, regulatory, or medical advice.
New pharma programmatic breakdowns, occasionally
One email when I publish something worth reading. Benchmarks, measurement teardowns, and case studies with the caveats attached. No cadence promises, no reselling your address.
Unsubscribe any time. See the privacy policy.
Working through this decision on a real plan?
I work on health and pharma data, identity, and activation, after five years running HCP and DTC programmatic agency-side. Happy to talk through how this applies to your situation.