Over the past decade, the Veeva ecosystem has established itself as the de facto standard for digital HCP communication in the pharmaceutical sector, expanding its coverage across various markets and regions worldwide. The platform brings together an integration of multiple tools such as CRM, Veeva Visual Aid (Visual Presentation Materials), Veeva Approved Email (individual REP ↔ HCP direct emails), and Veeva Engage (Platform for remote virtual presentations) ¹, offering not only seamless connectivity between them but also extensive access to detailed usage metrics and advanced data governance capabilities. This integration enables healthcare companies to implement secure and compliant digital communication, meeting the stringent legal requirements of the healthcare field. 

However, in our experience, it’s very common to see companies underutilizing the strategic capabilities of Veeva ecosystem tools, either due to unfamiliarity with the features or the mistaken perception that implementation requirements exceed their current level of maturity/data governance. The goal of this article is precisely to explore these capabilities, especially those of the Visual Aid (VA) format, addressing both the availability of lesser-known technical features and their strategic application. We share here practical insights accumulated from hundreds of implementations for global pharmaceutical companies during our 10+ years as a Veeva partner agency. More than a comprehensive list of available functionalities, our goal is to demonstrate how these features can support communication strategies that have proven successful. 

When used correctly, the Visual Aid (VA) format is not merely an analog to the old printed presentations used in the past by medical representatives. Far beyond that, it offers substantial possibilities for those who use it strategically and in an integrated manner. By connecting natively to Veeva CRM, Approved Email, and Vault, the VA enables presentations to be visually richer and more interactive, have detailed and individual tracking of each HCP’s engagement, and therefore support granular personalization based on the profile of each healthcare professional served ². 

To explore this tool in greater depth, let’s start by taking a basic look at the tool’s architecture and its most fundamental features: 

Technical Architecture and Core Features 

The technical structure of a Veeva Visual Aid material is primarily based on the same basic technologies used for website creation: HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Being the minimum standard required to view any website on the internet, these files are supported on nearly all platforms and operating systems. However, to enable greater integration with other systems in the Veeva ecosystem, Visual Aid materials utilize Veeva’s proprietary JavaScript library. This interaction is what enables, for example, connection to the Veeva CRM database, access to external data in real-time during presentations, among other features ^{3, 4}. 

Below we have some demonstrations of basic visual features that are quite common in Visual Aids but allow for modular and interactive presentation of information: 

 

In this example, we see a tab-based navigation scheme, where each tab displays an interactive chart in a different format. This type of view not only gives the REP more visual resources to present content to the HCP but also enables a wide range of interactive features without having to rely on the tool’s standard navigation, bringing more visual sophistication and increasing users’ interest in the message. 

 

This example with vertical and horizontal sliders, although simple, demonstrates how basic interaction functionalities can be used with sophisticated visuals and combined without interfering with Veeva’s standard navigation scheme (reserved screen areas and platform standard gestures). In addition to sliders, we can even add items that open popups with more information, which facilitates the REP’s presentation flow, allowing them to show more information without having to switch Key Messages if the HCP becomes more interested in a particular slider item. 

One of the first interesting aspects of Veeva Visual Aid is that all these features have native tracking and automatically capture essential metrics: viewing time per slide, navigation sequence, and interactions with specific elements. All this relevant data is stored on the platform for later analysis ⁵. It’s important to note that duration is automatically paused when another window overlays the presentation, thus ensuring more accurate metrics of actual engagement. 

Another critical differentiator of the platform is the offline synchronization capability which, without a doubt, makes all the difference in an environment as diverse as healthcare. All pre-approved content is synchronized locally on the device, enabling complete presentations without dependence on internet connectivity. This includes not only the main presentation slides but also Shared Resources – additional resources shared across multiple presentations such as technical resources (CSS packages, JavaScript, etc.), materials with updatable data (such as text files or spreadsheets), among others ^{6, 7}. 

These are some of the most basic aspects of the Veeva ecosystem, but they are precisely what serve as the basic foundation and support more advanced personalization features, such as those we’ll see next. 

CRM Token-Based Personalization 

In our experience, one of the most powerful and underutilized features of VA is dynamic personalization through tokens. Using the functions of Veeva’s JavaScript library, it’s possible to access any field from the HCP’s record in real-time ^{8, 4}. This goes far beyond simply displaying the physician’s name in the presentation. 

Using this information and conditional content loading, it’s possible to develop materials where the medical specialty automatically determines which clinical studies are presented, the HCP’s geographic region automatically adjusts product availability and pricing information, and that HCP’s engagement history with the brand can even modify the order and depth of content presented in the slides. A practical example: by detecting that the HCP is a pediatric oncologist (through a field available in the CRM database), the VA can automatically hide results from studies in adult populations and highlight pediatric safety data, all without manual intervention from the representative. 

As we mentioned earlier, the Veeva platform provides extensive support for offline use. Therefore, in cases of personalization and conditional content loading, managing fallback alternatives is always crucial. Whenever we implement any type of conditional loading based on tokens, it’s necessary to establish default content that will be displayed if that particular data/token doesn’t return a value or an error occurs in the query. This ensures that the presentation never breaks, regardless of the individual availability of data for each HCP in the CRM. 

However, beyond access to data available in the CRM, the VA format offers other excellent opportunities for interaction with the HCP. Let’s take a look next at how interactive tools can increase the appeal of these materials and bring a more complete interaction experience during REP visits. 

Interactive Tool Development 

Being based on technologies like HTML, CSS, and JS, the Visual Aid format enables much more than the presentation of “static” content with conditional loading. One of the most interesting features we constantly offer our clients in this format is the construction of interactive tools that serve simultaneously as a day-to-day aid for the REP and a point of interest for the HCP audience during the visit. Below we list some of the most common examples, as a way to illustrate the possibilities for this type of tool: 

Calculators and Clinical Algorithms 

Calculators integrated into the VA offer real value, both for the REP and for HCPs, during the visit. We develop dosage calculators that consider weight, age, renal function, and drug interactions, all running locally on the device, without the need for internet connection ⁹. The technical implementation involves pure JavaScript for calculations and integration with the Veeva library to save results that can even be sent later to the physician via Veeva Approved Email. 

One implementation that tends to be particularly useful is the treatment eligibility calculator, which runs through a decision algorithm based on international guidelines for certain diseases/treatment lines. The representative can use this calculator to demonstrate to the physician how a patient’s characteristics affect their eligibility for a particular treatment, and additionally reinforce with the HCP the recommendation of treatments following current evidence and international treatment guidelines, even including direct links in the material shared with the physician to access all relevant studies. 

 

Here we have another example of a calculator, used to compare monthly and total treatment costs between a particular product and its competitor, which is also a very common use in communication materials for the HCP. 

External Data Integration 

The ability to load external data dynamically is a significant differentiator for keeping VA technical content always up-to-date, without the need for complete reconstruction every time numerical information is updated (such as number of cases, suggested medication price, etc.). For this purpose, we use JSON and CSV files loaded as Shared Resources, which are subsequently used to feed elements in the VA such as price tables, regional availability, and even health plan coverage maps ¹⁰. 

 

Here we have a demonstration of interactive content, in the format of a filterable chart by conditions (in this case cities) that loads its data directly from an external CSV/Excel format source. Note that in these cases we don’t need to give up any interactive features to have the ease of external material updating: as long as the Shared Resource file follows the same structure, data can be updated simply externally and still allow for zoom, filtering, and click interactions in the chart. 

This approach allows marketing teams to update values of this type using only external spreadsheets, without involving any new development demands for the Visual Aid itself. The automatic validation we implement for these files also serves to prevent formatting errors that could, if overlooked, ‘break’ the final visual of the presentation. In summary, external data integration using the Shared Resource feature brings not only ease of updating but also the assurance that the material will always be displayed correctly for the end audience. 

VA↔VAE Integration: Key Messages and Content Fragments 

As we mentioned above, one of the great advantages of the Veeva ecosystem is the ease of integration between its various tools and how this unification can be useful from a strategic standpoint. When creating campaign support materials in Veeva, one of the crucial points is to view them not as isolated efforts within the strategy, but rather as connection points between the brand and its target audience. 

The integration between Visual Aid and Approved Email is one of the main ways to make the communication strategy between REPs and HCPs more lasting, and to encourage post-visit follow-up in a more fluid and less invasive way. One of the main factors that increases the open rate of Veeva Approved Email (VAE) type emails is precisely the email being a post-visit contact ^{11, 9}. To assist in these developments, we develop VAs where specific fragments from each slide can be selected during the presentation for automatic composition of a personalized Approved Email, to be sent as soon as the visit ends. This not only increases the HCP’s interaction time with the brand but makes the interaction more effective, since the subjects present in the email they receive will be aligned with their interests and previous interactions during the REP’s visit. 

For example, in a presentation about efficacy, the representative can mark which studies were discussed (or which the HCP showed more interest in) and, at the end of the presentation, a “Send Summary” button automatically composes a VAE containing only the selected studies, already formatted following the best practices of professional email marketing, and the email content is already pre-approved and fully compliant with industry and company guidelines. 

Surveys (Veeva Survey) Integrated into Presentation Flow 

An excellent tool for better understanding your target audience, regardless of segment, is the use of surveys. With them, your user can not only respond to the topics that interest them most but also crucial points for a more lasting and interesting long-term brand relationship such as: Format preferences, contact frequency, preferred contact methods, etc. 

Capturing this information through “formal” digital surveys (such as those sent via email, in the “we want to know your opinion” style) can be effective, but they don’t always have significant audience adherence (especially from the HCP audience who typically have very restricted schedules for digital interactions with brands and quite a busy work routine). 

Using another tool from the Veeva ecosystem can facilitate the collection of this data: Veeva Survey, pre-approved surveys available within the Veeva platform, enables the collection of this type of information during medical visits. And one way this process can become even simpler is by inserting this survey functionality not as a separate form from the presentation material, but as part of the Visual Aid material itself. Thus, discreetly and in a visually coherent manner with the rest of the experience, the REP can mark, during the presentation, the physician’s preferences regarding topics addressed, favorite formats for consuming scientific content, platforms and devices they use most for scientific updates, among others. This makes the process even simpler and increases audience adherence ¹². 

 

In this example, we integrated a Veeva Survey as the ‘backend’ of a Visual Aid form. The fields shown on the screen are those of a Veeva Survey that will be saved in the profile in which the presentation was opened, even allowing for later synchronization in offline environments. The advantage of this type of implementation is using the visual appeal and speed of interaction of the Visual Aid for a question-answering and HCP information-gathering demand, without interrupting the REP’s presentation flow. 

This information can even be used later to personalize not only the creation of new content for the brand (through aggregation of general preference data among the target audience) but also make each HCP’s individual experience even more personalized and effective. For example, if in a survey an HCP expresses their preference for video format content, when accessing a brand portal, we can, by loading this preference from their Veeva record, automatically prioritize this type of content available on the portal. 

The features discussed previously constitute one of the foundations of scientific communication for many global brands with their HCP audience, being widely used in the production of Visual Aid type materials. However, when there’s a need for greater visual impact to strengthen the scientific message, advanced interactivity features such as Augmented Reality and 3D offer an opportunity to develop even more immersive and technological communication with healthcare professionals. 

Advanced Features: 3D and Augmented Reality 

Although technically more complex, implementing 3D and Augmented Reality content within the Visual Aid format offers a significant level of differentiation, being capable of bringing to any scientific material an even greater perception of added value for the HCP audience, when well executed. 

3D models and animations with visualization of mechanisms of action of new medications, for example, allow HCPs to freely rotate, zoom in, and explore visual elements, providing not only superior understanding compared to traditional 2D animations but also greater value perception through visual differentiation and depth of understanding ^{16, 17}. 

The technical preparation, however, requires rigorous optimization of 3D models, limiting, for example, the number of polygons in each model and the scene as a whole ¹⁶ in order to optimize interaction performance on the devices used, ensuring a fluid and responsive experience, even with the technical complexity involved. 

The implementation of contextual controls is another fundamental aspect in this type of material: specific gestures that activate/deactivate different animations must be configured naturally and in a way that supports content understanding. For example, a double tap on a 3D organ can display the mechanism of action in that specific region, in addition to basic rotation and zoom interactions. 

Creating a good user experience for both HCPs and REPs is, without a doubt, the ultimate goal of this type of feature. However, to achieve this, we must think not only about the technology’s creative possibilities and how we can use them in visually attractive ways but also how they interact with the platform’s more basic and traditional features: for example, when implementing interactions with 3D or Augmented Reality elements, it’s paramount to preserve the functionality of Veeva Visual Aid’s native navigation gestures, avoiding interference that would compromise the use of the format’s customary features. 

Development and QA Environment 

All the above processes require not only technical knowledge of the implementation process but also collaborative work with clients, in order to apply scientific materials and the key messages of each product with a high level of quality and strategic adequacy. One of the fundamental points to achieve this goal is to subject each stage of creating these materials to a rigorous quality control and assurance (QA) process. 

At C/Edge, we understand that high quality, however, doesn’t imply extended deadlines or tedious and bureaucratic processes. To streamline the creation of Visual Aids, without neglecting concern for excellence and final product quality, we use a dedicated testing environment (also called sandbox, which is an internal development environment where any new idea can be tested and refined even before being applied to a final product) and the strategic use of tools like Veeva CRM Desktop, which facilitates the testing and demonstration of Visual Aid type materials by different teams and decision-makers, regardless of their technical level and the availability of an iPad device, which is generally the standard device used by REPs during visits. 

Strategic Use of Veeva CRM Desktop 

Veeva CRM Desktop for Windows, a tool not always known or used, is a valuable tool in the development workflow ^{19, 20}. Although it has limitations compared to the iPad, it offers significant advantages for initial QA stages such as content checking, material structure review, among others. 

We use CRM Desktop as a preliminary approval environment, allowing interested teams of a less technical nature to review content more quickly, without the need for iPad device provisioning and more time-consuming material synchronization processes. This accelerates work cycles, especially in global organizations where distributing physical devices is logistically complex ²¹. 

However, it’s important to take into account the behavioral differences between this tool and the final material on iPad. Many of the more advanced features, available when viewing Visual Aids on iPad, don’t work in Veeva CRM Desktop Windows. These nuances should always be considered during the QA process, and for checking more advanced functionalities, it’s essential to use testing rounds on the final devices/environments where it will be used. 

Analytics and Data-Driven Optimization 

Although Veeva’s native tracking is quite extensive and granular, in certain cases we choose to implement additional analytics layers to capture user data or interactions that aren’t recorded by default and can be used strategically in the next steps of a campaign. Using functions available in Veeva’s JavaScript library, we can, for example, save custom events in specific objects, allowing granular data analysis of behavior for each presentation round of a particular material ⁴, which also allows, later, aggregated general analyses of performance and user behavior during interactions with the brand. 

This data can be quite useful for various purposes, such as: material optimization to improve REPs’ user experience during their presentations, a more granular understanding of the most used interactions in a particular material, what are the most common values entered in a dosage calculation or eligibility application, or any other important information that more granular usage data can bring through a more complete analysis. 

Performance and Scalability Considerations 

Performance is a critical aspect in the development of any Visual Aid, especially those that use more complex interactive features. Despite a certain level of standardization of devices used for the medical visit process being a positive point in resource predictability (most teams and companies use relatively modern iPads with their sales force), implementing some optimizations always serves as an additional layer of security, reinforcing the certainty that materials will not only function as expected but will also enable excellent user experiences in all cases. 

Some of the most common methods we use to optimize resource usage in VAs are: 

• Lazy loading: only resources necessary for the current slide are loaded 

• Predictive conditional loading: likely next slides have their content loaded in the background, based on a more likely navigation flow scheme, predetermined. This scheme can be updated periodically according to material usage data. 

• Component modularization: Beyond being essential for facilitating maintenance, libraries of reusable standard components (interactive charts, calculators, 3D viewers), which can be composed in different presentation slides, save on presentation memory usage. Besides having the extra benefit of making the user experience more consistent and visually more mature. 

• Memory management: also becomes critical, in long presentations with multiple heavy resources, the automatic management of resources saved in memory during presentation execution. As best practices, we always implement a kind of manual “garbage collection” for unused components. This point is especially important for 3D models and videos that are used in only one slide and can consume hundreds of MB of RAM. 

Compliance and Governance 

One of the great advantages of the Veeva ecosystem is its refined approval control, which facilitates the adaptation of medical materials to the strictest legal and compliance standards. This is true not only for the auditable approval workflows of Veeva Vault but can also be implemented at a more granular level in other formats such as Veeva Approved Email and Visual Aids. 

For materials that have a modular structure and conditional loading of fragments, the number of final possibilities for a single material can grow almost exponentially, depending on how many variables are considered for loading decisions. Initially, this might seem like a nightmare for the approval/compliance process, as it could mean high unpredictability in the composition of a material with conditional loading. 

However, both for VAE format materials and VAs, the use of modules and mandatory content significantly facilitates the compliance process (both from the perspective of ensuring the final loading of mandatory areas and assembling documents for medical approval). We can even assemble documents focused especially on the medical review and approval process of a particular material: models with all areas being shown with visual indicators clearly marking the type of content in each fragment: mandatory areas (legal text, references, medication mini-brochures, and approval codes) that cannot be modified are highlighted, and flexible areas where content can be personalized are described as such, enabling the approval of a single master document that contains within itself all customization possibilities available for use ⁹. This not only facilitates the approval flow but serves as a “master document” also for the quality control team to configure the correct profiles for testing, checking each available condition and their expected vs. obtained results. 

Other features available on the Veeva platform further assist in material distribution and compliance control. Among them we have the following configurable metadata for each material: approval date, expiration date, approved markets, and usage restrictions. 

This data, in fact, being of a nature much more related to business rules and internal compliance of each client, only reinforces the importance of a good communication process between the development team and the decision-making team on the client side, who can guide the development team much more accurately, taking into account not only technical requirements but also their internal needs when filling in these fields. 

By default, the Veeva system has an automated system that checks this metadata before each presentation, blocking expired or unapproved content for the current market, ensuring compliant operation in all use cases. 

Some Real-World User Experience Lessons… 

Although all these features are extremely useful and bring many positive possibilities to teams who choose to use them, there’s a universal truth that applies to any technology (and also to this one): A technology, no matter how advanced, is only useful when it works. And as redundant and obvious as this phrase may seem, it brings with it an important learning when we talk about real-world technology implementations. 

A good Visual Aid is, ultimately, one that meets the expectations placed on it with excellence. This means not only having good delivery in technical terms but also meeting the expectations that end users have about it. HCPs and REPs use VAs as a tool for disseminating and discussing medical-scientific material, and there’s nothing more frustrating than a tool that doesn’t work properly, or that requires more work than desired/expected to reach the intended result. 

Simplicity in navigation trumps complex functionalities: physicians and representatives have little time available in each visit, perhaps that’s why we notice that both always prefer more straightforward presentations, with clear and easily accessible options instead of super complex interfaces with multiple stages and navigation layers. 

The initial loading time of a Visual Aid, for the same reason, is also a critical point of attention. Maintaining a strict limit of 3 seconds for loading the first interactive slide, even on older devices, is crucial. This means that ultra-elaborate animations are always preferable to favor responsiveness and agility in information visualization, which is what really matters for both HCPs and Representatives. 

For any more elaborate feature in a VA, it’s essential to have a Plan B: Each interactive functionality should have a functional static version. If the calculator loading, for any reason, fails, a static reference table should be available as a fallback option. If a 3D element doesn’t load, have 2D images as a fallback option. The Visual Aid is a tool to assist the REP’s work, so we should never leave them without options during a presentation. 

Conclusion: The Best VA is One That Drives Your Communication Strategy 

As we’ve reinforced several times throughout the text, Veeva Visual Aid offers capabilities far beyond those present in basic digital presentations. The differentiator lies in deeply understanding the technical capabilities and having the necessary vision to apply them strategically. The ultimate goal of any marketing tool is to solve real communication challenges, and Visual Aid is no exception ^{1, 2, 11}. 

Achieving success in any current digital communication strategy requires a delicate balance between technical innovation and pragmatism. Advanced functionalities impress, but only add value if they genuinely improve the quality of interaction between HCPs and REPs. Each interactive element, each personalization, each integration must have a clear and measurable purpose, and must be aligned with the objectives of an equally clear and measurable communication strategy. 

At C/Edge, we’ve accumulated over 10 years of experience across all fronts of Veeva material development, especially Visual Aids, one of our day-to-day flagships. From strategic conceptualization to technical implementation and continuous optimization. Our approach combines technical proficiency with deep understanding of the regulated healthcare communication environment and its various requirements and restrictions. Get in touch to discuss how we can elevate the impact of your medical communication strategy through effective Visual Aid implementation, guided by strategic and pragmatic thinking. 

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