Why Great Content Still Falls Flat: The Global-to-Local Disconnect

by Wesley Portegies on Monday June 9, 2025

Episode Summary

There’s a silent gap in Medical Communications—and it’s not about effort, it’s about alignment.

In this episode of Transforming Medical Communications, host Wesley Portegies is joined by Simon Priou, an experienced global content leader, to unpack the persistent challenges between Global, Regional, and Local teams. This conversation goes beyond content production—it reveals the human dynamics and workflow challenges that often prevent globally developed materials from being adapted, adopted, or impactful at the local level.

Whether you’re building affiliate toolkits or bridging silos, this episode offers a strategic lens on what actually enables trust, usability, and relevance across regions.

In this episode, you’ll learn how to:

Move from ‘content push’ to ‘collaborative pull’ by engaging regions and countries early
Localize with precision without compromising science or timelines
Identify the trust blockers that quietly erode alignment
Close the loop with feedback that drives measurable improvement

Before you hit play, ask yourself: Are you creating content that travels—or content that lands?

Guest at a Glance

Simon Priou leads global Medical Education and Communication at bioMérieux. He is redefining how global teams engage with local teams, not through theory, but through scalable, actionable frameworks built from the ground up. His “local-first” approach is setting a new standard for internal enablement in Medical Affairs.

Connect with Simon on LinkedIn

Host at a Glance

Wesley Portegies is the Chief Strategy Officer and Founder of Medical Communications Experts, an agency specializing in effective Medical Communication strategies for pharmaceutical companies. An experienced entrepreneur, Wesley started his first company at 19 and has built multiple successful companies. With over 20 years in the Medical Industry, both on the agency and industry side, he is driven by a passion for Medical Communications.

Connect with Wesley Portegies on LinkedIn

Hot Takes and Key Highlights

02:20 – Wake-Up Call: Content Isn’t Value

When Simon discovered that none of his team’s beautifully crafted materials were being used, he didn’t double down; he started over. Creating content doesn’t equal delivering value; adoption does. A year-end analysis revealed that local teams barely used high-quality global materials. The problem wasn’t the content; it was awareness and accessibility. This exposed a critical flaw in the typical global-to-local model: assuming value instead of validating it. In Medical Affairs, time and content are expensive assets. If they’re not activated, they’re not just wasted; they’re liabilities. If resources don’t reach or resonate with the field, they’re not valuable, no matter how well-crafted. For global teams managing multimillion-dollar budgets, low adoption isn’t just frustrating, it’s fiscally reckless.

“We were sure the resources, the medical education resources created during the year were going to perform, that they were going to find their audience because we thought that they had a need to provide it. But when we looked at the metrics, well, they were simply not used in the field.”

05:30 – Communication Isn’t an Email. It’s an Ecosystem

Email updates don’t build engagement. Internal communication needs to be treated as a strategic function, with dedicated contact points, open channels for feedback, and repositories for self-serve access. It’s not about shouting louder; it’s about creating structured visibility and dialogue. Teams need a clear, consistent way to know what’s available, how to use it, and who to go to with questions. Engagement happens when communication flows both ways.

“Everybody is receiving information from everyone. I would like to say less is more. Maybe try to be consistent in your messaging, but do not send everything to everyone. You really need to narrow down the audience.”

08:10 – One Size Fits No One

The “universal toolkit” is dead. Different regions, markets, and healthcare systems require solutions tailored to their specific needs. Global teams must shift from mass-producing content to designing modular resources that local affiliates can adapt. And let’s be clear, localization isn’t just about translation. It’s about navigating regulatory and compliance landmines. For global teams, this isn’t optional; it’s foundational. The most efficient way to build for global relevance is to create assets with flexible structures that enable localization, without recreating everything from scratch. Start with a clear, validated need and build backwards from there.

“The first one will be the one-size-fits-all all. For me, that doesn’t work. That was another area of improvement that we found at that time is that the local needs varies depending on the region, depending on the teams asking for them. So I think that the one size fits all is simply outdated.”

10:50 – Why Internal Enablement Must Mirror HCP Omnichannel

Local teams are internal stakeholders, and they need the same strategic communication approach used for HCPs. That means identifying preferences, segmenting audiences, and delivering content across multiple channels, not just inboxes. Different teams consume information differently; a single approach won’t scale. Enablement works best when it reflects how real people consume content, on their terms, across channels. When internal delivery mirrors external best practices, adoption rises fast. If your internal strategy relies on SharePoint and blast emails, you’re already behind.

“We need to have this omnichannel approach internally. Either you’re communicating directly to healthcare professionals or to your internal colleagues, they are your audience. They are our customers, I would like to say, in terms of Medical Communication.”

14:40 – End the Black Hole: Feedback Only Works If It’s Heard

Feedback without follow-up erodes trust. If local teams are asked to contribute insights, they need to see how those insights were used, or why they weren’t. Every feedback loop should start with clarity about what’s being asked and end with transparency on what was prioritized. Even when ideas aren’t implemented, explaining why keeps collaboration alive. Collecting input is easy. Respecting it takes follow-through.

“When asking for feedback, I think what is very important is to really give the ground rules to everyone. It is a wish list, and everything will not be done by the global team for a lot of reasons. These reasons, of course, need to be transparent.”

18:00 – Conflict Is Inevitable. Misalignment Isn’t

Different markets will request different things; that’s expected. The solution isn’t compromise for compromise’s sake; it’s conversation. Facilitating regional dialogue often reveals shared needs and unlocks opportunities to co-create more adaptable resources. When teams understand the bigger picture, alignment follows. A single global asset can serve multiple needs when it’s built from real cross-regional input.

“Sometimes regrouping activities can be a win-win situation once again between different regions. Of course, we need to take into account the differences between the markets, the regulations, and laws, and all that, and the language, of course, but we can always find common grounds on part of an activity.”

22:20 – From Distribution to Dialogue

The job doesn’t end when a resource is delivered; it starts there. Global teams must follow up with simple surveys, direct chats, and structured conversations to understand what was used, what worked, and what needs to change. Measurement isn’t just about clicks or downloads; it’s about impact. If you’re not closing the loop, you’re not learning. Enablement means building a habit of feedback, analysis, and iteration. Internal enablement isn’t a content problem. It’s a communication strategy problem. Fix that, and everything else starts to scale

“We ask the person, what resource have you used? When have you used it? For which stakeholders? A simple survey sometimes helps to gather a lot of feedback very quickly, but, of course, it’s not qualified.”

YouTube Chapters

[00:00] Intro
[02:20] Why Great Content Fails (And How to Fix It)
[05:30] Internal Communication as a Strategic Channel
[08:10] Why One-Size-Fits-All Is Over (For Good)
[10:50] Internal Omnichannel Strategy
[14:40] Closing the Feedback Loop with Affiliates
[18:00] Managing Conflicting Inputs Across Regions
[22:20] From Content Distribution to Internal Enablement
[26:00] Final Thoughts