In the not too distant past, pharma lagged behind consumer advertising’s ability to churn out cutting-edge creativity. Pharma chief marketing officers (CMOs) are increasingly tasked with incentivizing their marketing teams to produce a higher-quality level of creative that could compete with consumer brands — and meet patients where they are, beyond the doctor’s office. At Lilly, the chief corporate brand officer is tasked with finding a strategic thread and unifying marketing functions under the overarching Lilly brand. “There was the opportunity to create a system for marketing — we call it the ‘elements of marketing’ — and we talk about how marketing is a behavioral science. Polimeni describes her own role as a protector of that creativity “safe space” in the workplace.