A Splice of Life Science Marketing

S2 Ep4: When the funnel breaks

Brand investment rises while performance tactics get commoditised - but will marketing teams shift budget or stick to old metrics? Shownotes: Strategic intent and operational reality diverge. Roxana's challenge cuts through the optimism: "We've tried everything, and then AI came, and everything seems to be for naught." That's not burnout, that's crisis. This episode is for life science marketing and sales leaders navigating the gap between what researchers say should happen and what actually gets budget approval. Matt and Jasmine unpack insights from a 60-minute RISE community session where seven marketers spoke with uncomfortable honesty about brand versus performance, AI's commoditisation of tactics, and the discipline required to prove brand value by January 2027. The core truth: predictions rarely survive first contact with the budget game. What you will learn: * Why 70% of B2B buying ends with no decision and what role brand plays in unblocking those stalled deals * How CFOs now control 20% of six-figure deals while marketers measure MQLs that don't matter * The hidden cost of "secret cyborgs" using AI without governance in regulated life science environments * Why referred leads convert faster than any marketing qualified lead you'll ever generate * How to execute a dignified product end-of-life that protects customer relationships and frees engineering capacity * The two-axis framework (profitability vs strategic value) for triaging which products to sunset and which to extend Chapters: [0:00] Strivenn LLC announcement - North American expansion [1:39] Roxana's challenge: "We've tried everything, then AI came" [4:04] Why marketers ruin everything (and how AI accelerates it) [6:18] The expensive truth about measuring brand perception [8:26] Persuasion marketing and connecting dots to the sales funnel [9:56] Brand as the hub: word of mouth, persuasion, and trust [11:11] The most important lead is the one who was referred to you [12:28] Japanese market observations: size creates selling constraints [13:49] CFO involvement and the ROI pressure on marketing [15:03] Model Context Protocol (MCP) and e-commerce integration [16:28] Roxana's January 2027 deadline - strategic intent vs operational reality [18:00] Product end-of-life: when products reach the end of utility [21:14] The triage framework: profitability vs strategic value [24:41] Dignified exits: protocol conversion guides and transition pricing [28:09] Product inheritance: what declining products carry forward [30:02] Product end-of-life's knock-on effect on brand marketing Subscribe and connect: If this conversation helped you see the gap between strategic intent and what actually gets funded, subscribe to A Splice of Life Science Marketing on YouTube [https://youtube.com/@strivenn], Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/your-show], or Apple Podcasts [https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/your-podcast]. Visit strivenn.com [http://strivenn.com] for more insights on turning science into demand.

S2 Ep2 The Buyer Has Already Decided

Your buyer has already decided before they ever speak with you. The question isn't whether you can persuade them—it's whether you've made it easy for them to justify choosing you. This episode is for life science product managers and marketers in biotech, medtech, and diagnostics who want to close the gap between what customers say and what they actually do. Matt and Jasmine unpack the uncomfortable truth about where purchase decisions really happen, why field intelligence beats advisory boards, and what survivability signaling means for vendor selection in 2026. What you will learn: * Why buyers build mental shortlists long before filling in contact forms * How to audit content for quotability, not just persuasiveness * What fragility signals accidentally broadcast vendor instability * Why product managers must spend time in the field (and what to capture) * How ethnographic observation reveals pain that surveys consistently miss * Why messaging must evolve through the product adoption curve Chapters: [00:03] Introduction [01:46] Article 1: The execution gap in life science marketing [03:48] Where decisions actually happen (before contact) [06:43] Survivability signaling and fragility signals [13:18] Article 2: Field intelligence and product management [16:21] Why specificity matters more than reach [21:18] Spending time in the field transforms requirements [25:39] Ethnographic research vs theoretical voice of customer [28:17] Post-launch observation sharpens messaging [31:25] Closing thoughts

Ep 15 2026 Predictions and the Janus Threshold: When Presence Beats AI

Life science marketers must navigate six major shifts in 2026 while knowing when AI helps and when human presence is non-negotiable. |AI can scale research, but delegating presence has hidden costs. Life science marketers face six seismic shifts in 2026 that demand human judgement. This episode is for marketing and product managers in biotech, medtech and diagnostics navigating the tension between AI efficiency and strategic presence. Matt and Jasmine unpack when AI accelerates discovery and when showing up yourself is the only option that builds conviction, captures contradictions and earns trust. What you will learn: * The PHASE framework to decide when you must be present in customer discovery versus when AI can handle it * Why cognitive offloading erodes your ability to defend strategic pivots with conviction * Six converging trends from Forrester, McKinsey, Gartner and IDC reshaping life science marketing in 2026 * How AI is changing discovery processes and why account-level metrics now matter more than lead volume * The shift from the golden age of digital marketing to what Jasmine calls the "platinum age" of hyper-personalization * Why human connection at events and in field application conversations remains irreplaceable * Chapters: [00:00] Welcome and Season Two introduction [02:44] The Janus threshold explained: when to delegate presence to AI [06:56] The PHASE framework: Purpose, Hypothesis, Action, Solutions, Endorsement [11:07] Being present to check AI summaries and build relationships [13:24] Six major shifts hitting life science marketers in 2026 [16:53] From golden age to platinum age: staying human while using AI [19:53] One opportunity to focus on in 2026 Keywords: life science marketing, AI in marketing, customer discovery, voice of customer, ethnographic research, product management, 2026 marketing trends, buyer enablement, account-based marketing, trust in B2B, peer review, cognitive offloading, strategic presence Subscribe to A Splice of Life Science Marketing for sharp strategic conversations every week. Visit strivenn.com [http://strivenn.com] for frameworks, tools and insights that help you earn trust and stand out.

Ep 14 SAMPS Boston was Spectacular

The conversation begins with a wrap-up of the season and a recap of the SAMPS event, highlighting the energy of in-person events, the human-centered approach to AI adoption, and the importance of continuous learning and improvement in AI utilization. Takeaways * In-person events foster high-energy networking and conversations * AI adoption requires a human-centered approach * Continuous learning and improvement are essential in AI utilization Chapters * 00:00 Season Wrap-Up and Event Recap