Create Compliant but Focused Healthcare Briefs using Get Who To By
Healthcare marketing is usually where creativity goes to die under a pile of legal disclaimers and stock photos of smiling seniors. Most briefs are so vague they could apply to a multivitamin or a heart transplant, resulting in 'educational' materials that nobody actually reads. The Get Who To By framework is your only hope of writing a brief that doesn't make a doctor's eyes glaze over while still keeping the compliance team from having a collective heart attack. It’s about being precise enough to work and compliant enough to actually launch.
The TL;DR
Stop trying to say everything to everyone in a jargon-filled vacuum. Use Get Who To By to isolate a specific audience (GET), find the human behavior driving their choices (WHO), give them a brain-dead simple action (TO), and build a compliant bridge to get them there (BY).
Why This Saves You From Healthcare Marketing Hell
Healthcare briefs are notoriously bloated. This framework is the industrial-strength laxative your strategy needs.
The Four Steps
GET
Who is the specific human we are targeting?
Don't say 'All Cardiologists.' That's lazy. Are they high-prescribers who are skeptical of new data, or rural GPs who haven't updated their protocols since 1998? Pick the smallest group that can actually move your business.
WHO
What is the actual behavior or hang-up holding them back?
This isn't a demographic; it's an insight. Do they fear the side effects more than the disease? Are they stuck in a 'good enough' treatment rut? Find the friction point they won't admit in a focus group.
TO
What is the single, stupidly obvious thing we want them to do?
In healthcare, we love to overcomplicate. Your 'TO' should be one clear action: Switch a patient, request a sample, or download a specific dosing guide. If they have to guess, you've already lost.
BY
How do we make them do it without getting a warning letter?
This is your mechanism. It’s the tool, the offer, or the educational hook. It has to be compliant, but it also has to be compelling enough to break their current routine.
Ways You'll Probably Screw This Up
(Try Not To)
- ×Targeting 'The General Public' (enjoy wasting that budget)
- ×Writing a 'WHO' that is just a list of symptoms
- ×Letting the Legal department write the 'TO' message
- ×Confusing 'Disease Awareness' with an actual strategy
- ×Assuming doctors have 20 minutes to read your 'mechanism'
- ×Using 'Learn More' as your only 'TO'
- ×Ignoring the patient's actual emotional state for clinical data
- ×Creating a 'BY' that requires 15 clicks to complete
If your brief looks like a medical textbook, start over. You're selling a change in behavior, not a PhD thesis.
Real Examples
Pharmaceutical Launch
Launching a new migraine medication to busy primary care physicians.
GET
Time-crunched GPs who default to generic triptans.
WHO
They think all migraine meds are the same and don't want to deal with the paperwork of a new script.
TO
Identify just one 'dissatisfied' patient this week for a trial.
BY
Providing a 30-second digital screening tool that integrates into their EMR.
Medical Device Adoption
Getting surgeons to adopt a new robotic-assisted surgical tool.
GET
Late-career orthopedic surgeons who pride themselves on their 'manual' precision.
WHO
They view robotics as a threat to their expertise and a gimmick for younger, less-skilled doctors.
TO
Compare their manual outcomes data against the robot's precision metrics.
BY
An invite-only peer-to-peer dinner where a respected 'old school' surgeon shares his data.
Patient Adherence
Improving adherence for a chronic kidney disease medication.
GET
Newly diagnosed patients who feel overwhelmed and asymptomatic.
WHO
They stop taking meds because they don't 'feel' sick and hate the reminder of their diagnosis.
TO
Commit to a 30-day 'habit streak' to protect their future health.
BY
A simplified, non-medicalized app that gamifies pill-tracking without using 'scare' tactics.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I have two 'WHOs' if the patient and doctor are both involved?
No. Pick one. Write two separate briefs if you have to, but mixing them is how you end up with a strategy that satisfies no one.
What if Legal says my 'TO' is too aggressive?
Softening the language is fine; softening the intent is not. You can be compliant without being vague. 'Request a trial' is still a clear action.
Is the 'BY' just the media plan?
Hard no. The 'BY' is the hook or the tool. Media is just the delivery truck. The 'BY' is what's inside the package.
How specific should the 'GET' be?
Specific enough that you could describe them to a stranger and they'd know exactly who you're talking about. 'Doctors' is a category, not a target.
Why can't I include a strategy box?
Because the Get Who To By *is* the strategy. If you need a fifth box to explain your first four, your first four are broken.
Generate a Framework for your Product Launch Strategy
Use our framework generator to generate various Get Who To By, 4C, 4 Points Strategy, and other frameworks — all in one place and directly to editable Google SLIDES!
Go to Framework Generator