Credibility Carries: How Animal Pharma Brands Can Turn Expertise Into Influence
Professionals in the animal health space want advice they can trust. The sector’s role in addressing the One Health agenda is growing in both visibility and impact, and animal pharmaceutical companies are ideally positioned to provide access to research and resources. By being a source of trusted, strategic information, animal pharma brands can be practical partners to vets, and advance the cause of protecting not just animals, but people and the planet.
Introduction
As the health problems facing the world grow, the solutions needed require interdisciplinary action. The One Health concept brings together the overlapping issues of animal, human and environmental wellbeing, and is one such example of a multifaceted challenge that affects each and every one of us, and that requires different nations and industries to work together.
Vets and other animal health professionals play crucial roles, but being able to address complex issues like welfare, sustainable practices and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is reliant on having access to the latest research and authoritative advice – they need guidance they can trust.
Through their development of new medicines and treatments, animal pharma companies have deep wells of expertise, but often fall short of translating this into thought leadership that could advance the sector as a whole. Bridging this gap – turning this expertise into influence – is down to understanding how to disseminate this information through the right channels, in the right formats, to get to the people who need to hear it.
The changing face of animal health
The animal health sector is growing and changing fast, and its role on the global stage is becoming more and more central to the protection of our planet and everything living on it. From the global threat of AMR to the rising expectations of farmers and pet owners around welfare, brands in this sector are under pressure to do more than sell: they need to lead.
As an industry that provides medical products and services for both companion and farm animals, it is integral to the concept of One Health, particularly with the growing awareness of zoonoses, and investment in industry R&D reflects this. In terms of market size, animal health is valued at almost $63 billion, and forecast to reach more than $112 billion by 2030.
“Brands in this sector are under pressure to do more than sell: they need to lead.”
But along with the drivers of growth – increasing pet ownership and the expenditure that goes with it, evolving regulations and the infusion of AI across the industry, amongst others – challenges inevitably also abound.
AMR, for example, although a naturally-occurring process, has been exacerbated by the overuse and misuse of antibiotics, antivirals, antifungals, and antiparasitics in animals and humans – and not only affects the treatment of common infections but also greatly increases the risks associated with chemotherapy, caesarean sections and other surgeries. The threat is very real, but as the World Organisation for Animal Health reports, “The good news is that solutions exist to curb the emergence of drug-resistant microbes,” including improving hygiene conditions so that animals are less susceptible to diseases.
Everyone from pet owners to professionals can take action to ensure antimicrobial medicines are used responsibly, as the answer is not to stop using them but to use them only when necessary. In human health, areas of priority to combat AMR include universal access to high-quality diagnosis and treatment, R&D into vaccines – and the availability of strategic information.
Credible content
Animal pharma brands are missing an opportunity, not just to further their own cause and forge strong partnerships with vets and other industry players, but to help protect the planet.
“Rather than throwaway messaging and superficial nods to complex issues like AMR, animal pharma brands can establish authority by publishing evidence-based articles on educational platforms, sponsoring research about preventative care, or collaborating with policymakers.”
As is commonplace these days on the platforms we scroll through on a daily basis, most animal health messaging is drowning in a sea of noise. Most brand communications default to sales-first content. But product launches are not what builds trust and credibility with an audience. Industry professionals want content that will make their lives easier.
In an information landscape this crowded, credibility is the only sustainable differentiator. And utilitarian content is the way to stand out for the right reasons. It follows a simple premise: trust is built when something useful is offered without expecting anything in return. Clinical decision-makers will filter out content that feels like advertising.
Rather than throwaway messaging and superficial nods to complex issues like AMR, animal pharma brands can establish authority by publishing evidence-based articles on educational platforms, sponsoring research about preventative care, or, as MSD Animal Health are doing, investing in antimicrobial stewardship and collaborating with policymakers.
Repositioning as a partner in knowledge, not just in the supply of products, means that brands improve their long-term as well as short-term competitiveness: credibility is tied not just to sales, but to reputation, regulatory relationships and ability to shape policy debates.
Maximum impact
Credibility begins with expertise – but it doesn’t end there. For animal pharma brands, the challenge isn’t just having the knowledge; it’s ensuring that knowledge flows to the right people, in the right way, so it becomes influential. Bridging the gap between expertise and influence means understanding dissemination: the channels, the formats, and above all, the communities through which information travels. Credibility is built – and is maximised – through:
Consistency and depth: Credibility is rarely earned with a single campaign. It comes from a steady rhythm of communication that reinforces expertise over time – whether that’s a regular stream of technical explainers, data-led insights, or case studies that show real-world application. Sporadic bursts of content tend to get lost; consistent depth builds trust.
Boldness and clarity: Issues like AMR, welfare or sustainability can’t be addressed with timid messaging. The brands that lead are those willing to state a position, share a perspective, and even invite debate. In doing so, they differentiate themselves not just as manufacturers, but as industry stewards.
Community as a credibility multiplier: The most overlooked – but arguably most powerful – way credibility is built is through community. As our latest white paper (The Power of Social) highlights, credibility doesn’t spread linearly; it spreads through network effects. When vets share a brand’s article in their professional forum, or when a farmer reposts a welfare explainer to their network, the brand’s message gains more than reach – it gains validation.
“The most overlooked – but arguably most powerful – way credibility is built is through community. When vets share a brand’s article in their professional forum, the brand’s message gains more than reach: it gains validation.”
Credibility is relational: it’s reinforced when peers cite your content, when your insights appear in the conversations practitioners are already having, when your resources become the go-to reference in a community. And social platforms – from LinkedIn to specialist veterinary groups – are where this happens.
This means brands must think not only about what they say, but how it will be shared. Content needs to be:
Format-ready: bite-sized assets that travel on social feeds as well as longer-form resources that anchor authority.
Context-aware: designed to plug into professional conversations rather than disrupt them.
Dialogue-driven: inviting response, debate, and participation, not just passive consumption.
As the Power of Social research underscores, influence grows when content is designed for both authority and shareability. Done well, a brand’s message becomes not just a broadcast, but part of an ongoing, networked exchange of knowledge.
“Influence grows when content is designed for both authority and shareability. Brands who invest in community-building today are setting themselves up as tomorrow’s trusted voices in animal health.”
In this way, credibility moves from being a brand asset to being a community asset. It shifts from something a company claims about itself to something others confer upon it, by choosing to pass on, reference, or engage with its content. That is how credibility is both built and spread – and why brands who invest in community-building today are setting themselves up as tomorrow’s trusted voices in animal health.
Using expertise to become an influencer
To be seen as more than just product suppliers, pharma companies need to give vets and other animal health professionals the reassurance that they can guide them through the complex challenges they’re facing, whether that is like Zoetis’s learning platform that positions them as partners in knowledge, or Boehringer Ingelheim regularly sponsoring research and producing veterinary resources around parasitology, lending authority beyond sales.
Credibility has become the currency that determines whether a brand becomes an influential voice in the industry – or just more noise in the background. And earning it requires more than repeating product claims; it demands consistent thought leadership, clear positioning on tough issues, and the courage to invest in dialogue over promotion.
This is where creative strategy comes in. By helping animal pharma companies turn their scientific expertise into content that educates, communities that engage, and campaigns that carry weight, creative partners like FSC can transform authority into influence.
To discover all of the insights in The Power of Social: Influence & ROI in the Attention Economy, download our white paper here.
Future Strategy Club (FSC) is an independent creative agency that uses a unique partnership model to deliver incredible work without the overheads you’d find with a traditional agency.
We provide the full spectrum of strategic and creative solutions, delivering growth for our clients through culture transformation programmes, comms strategies, global campaigns, TV ads, world-leading websites, social strategies and brand communities.
FSC has worked with some of the biggest pet and animal health companies in the industry, with direct experience of working for large and mid-sized organisations in the UK, the US and Europe.
Get in touch to find out why our values, approach and commitment to our clients makes us the creative partner you are looking for in a constantly changing world: hello@futurestrategy.club.
