Some Of The Best 2011 Pharma Blogs: Marketing – Social Media – ePatients

Posted on December 31, 2011 by Ellen Hoenig-Carlson

Here are but a few of the many thoughtful blogs and predictions written in 2011 covering pharma marketing, social media and ePatient happenings…

Some Of The Best 2011 Pharma Blogs: Marketing - Social Media - ePatients

photo: Traveling Content

But remember…
“It wouldn’t be New Year’s if I didn’t have regrets.” -William Thomas

What did you learn this year?

What will you do differently in 2012?

Enjoy…and wishing you all a most joyous, healthy and prosperous new year!

Pharma Marketing and #fdasm

AZ Heatlh Connections: FDA Issues Social Media Guidance, Real World Challenges to Communicating Real World Experience
Back of the Book: Is Your Brand Healthy and Thriving? Complementary eBook
ePharma Rx: Social Media Posts That Keep Pharma Up at Night
exl Digital Pharma Blog: Transform or Be Transformed: Digital Pharma East Day 2 Wrap-up

Continue reading →

Pharma: Is Your Brand Surviving or Thriving? Lessons From Polar Bears and First Peoples of Canada

Posted on November 22, 2011 by Ellen Hoenig-Carlson

Just back from sub-arctic Churchill, Canada, also known as the “Polar Bear Capital of the World,” we had an amazing opportunity to not only see these magnificent animals ‘up close and personal’, but to also meet and talk with some of the First Peoples (which include the First Nations, Inuit and Metis) who shared their interesting history and stories.

Churchill is a small, northern town in the Canadian province of Manitoba and is located on the shore of the Hudson Bay, where the polar bears descend from October to mid-November as they wait for the Bay to freeze, so they can go back out and hunt for ringed seals. The only way to reach this remote settlement is by prop plan or a 40-hour train journey from Winnipeg. (We flew on none other than ‘Calm Air’.)

The first thing that we were told as we were greeted in Churchill: “ At this time of the year, there is every possibility of a polar bear wondering into town, and remember, they haven’t eaten since July!… In other words, the bear warnings posted around town are not for show or to give tourists a frisson! [We also learned two important lessons should you come face-to-face with a polar bear: 1) do not run and 2) do not play dead.]

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Think Mobile. Think Small. 14 Mobile Musts From The mHealth Experts.

Posted on October 25, 2011 by Ellen Hoenig-Carlson

Day 3 of ExL’s Digital Pharma East Conference [#digpharm] focused exclusively on mobile and was co-chaired by Bob Allen, Director of Mobile and Social Media, AstraZeneca and Brendan Gallagher, SVP Emerging Technology and Channels, Digitas Health.

Speaking first was Bob Allen who offered up this definition of #mhealth: “the practice of medical and public health, supported by mobile devices.”

While a smaller turnout than the previous two days for the general digital conference, the Mobile health day was jam-packed with seven strong speakers who had lots to say about why Pharma needs to “Think Mobile First’ and how Pharma can best execute mHealth strategy:

To read the full article ” Think Mobile. Think Small. 14 Mobile Musts From The Mobile Experts. ExL Digital Pharma East -Day 3 Mobile Wrap-Up” click here to go to ExL’s Digital Pharma blog.

Transform or be Transformed. ExL Digital Pharma East Conference- Day2

Med Ad News Pharmalive’s YouTube Interview with Bob Allen at ExL Digital Pharma East Conference

Kevin Nalty’s Mobile Workshop at ExL Digital Pharma East Conference- What’s Next for Pharma in Mobile?

Transform or be Transformed. ExL Digital Pharma East Conference – Day2

Posted on October 24, 2011 by Ellen Hoenig-Carlson

If I were allowed but one word to describe Day 2 of ExL’s Digital Pharma East Conference #digpharm, it would have to be the urgent need for transformation—the need for Pharma Co’s to work faster than ever to effect internal change and to jump start meeting current and evolving customer expectations.

Throughout both days actually, speakers talked about the industry having to move from brand marketing to customer marketing, to move on your own with change or risk getting moved by others… and creating your own ‘Kodak moment’ or worse yet becoming a dinosaur…

To read the full article “Transform Or Be Transformed. ExL Digital Pharma East Conference- Day 2 Wrap-up“, click here to go to ExL’s Digital Pharma blog.

Stay tuned for Day 3′s Digital Pharma East- Mobile Day Wrap-up…

If you missed Day 1′s Digital Pharma East Wrap-up, “Loaded for Bear”, click here.

Loaded For Bear: Day 1- ExL Digital Pharma East Conference

Posted on October 20, 2011 by Ellen Hoenig-Carlson

Pharma, are you ready to leverage customer insights and closed loop marketing (CLM) in your iPad and mobile initiatives to help support customers?

To read the full article “Loaded For Bear: Day 1- ExL Digital Pharma East” click here to go to ExL’s Digital Pharma blog.

Stay tuned for Day 2 and Mobile Marketing’s Day 3 summaries…

Pharma: What is your ‘Healthprint’?

Posted on October 14, 2011 by Ellen Hoenig-Carlson

The recent release of Edelman’s Health Barometer 2011, continues to demonstrate how consumers are redefining what health means to them and their expectations for greater support by key constituents in their lives, including business and government.

Here are some of the key takeaways from the 2011 Health Barometer global study as presented Thursday. Or you can also read Richard Edelman’s Post: Social comes to health or Jane Sarasohn-Kahn’s post: Health is a team sport.

80% define health beyond being disease free.
Lifestyle and nutrition are among the top factors that we most control and most impact our health. When thinking about their lifestyle and nutrition, friends and family are key to shaping our health.
The knowledge-action gap in health continues…Consumers know what behaviors they should avoid, but don’t. Further, while 62% report having tried to change a negative behavior, 50% were not able to sustain their change. The top three reasons are: enjoyment of the negative behavior, addition or dependency and did not experience benefits soon enough. Living in a society where immediacy is king and 24/7 the growing norm, I would venture that “not seeing benefits soon enough” is probably understated! Continue reading →

Inciting Patient Engagement and Action: Is MY cancer different?

Posted on October 5, 2011 by Ellen Hoenig-Carlson

We are intrigued by the launch of Is My Cancer Different? and its potential impact on both patients and the business.

Is My Cancer Different? is an unbranded educational website that promotes a movement of sharing, with the intent of prompting patient dialog with their oncologist. The simple -but compelling- question is designed to raise awareness that each person’s cancer is different and to get patients to ask their oncologist to see if their cancer might respond to a more individualized cancer treatment.

You can click on the image below to visit the Is My Cancer Different? website and learn more from their numerous- but simple -patient and physician testimonial videos.

The site supports Clarient, a GE Health Company’s new molecular test that may help doctors identify which treatment can best target a person’s particular breast cancer. Interestingly, Clarient chose to share the official website launch during the 2011 Social Health Summit #SXSH that we attended, along with many other pharma/healthcare social media enthusiasts, ePatients, and Patient Opinion Leaders (POLs). [Be sure to read Shwen Gwee's recap: The 6 P's of Healthcare] Continue reading →

What Zipcar Can Teach The BioPharma Industry: 9 Marketing Lessons

Posted on September 13, 2011 by Ellen Hoenig-Carlson

After reading a recent blog in Fast Company called The Zipcar Case: Zipping from Very Good to Magnetic, I started to consider, what would it take for BioPharma and Healthcare brands to not just be liked, but to truly be magnetic? And what lessons, if any, might Zipcar’s success suggest for the BioPhama and Healthcare industry?

While admittedly, Zipcar still has a ways to go financially, most agree that it redefined the Rental Car Market by offering consumers hassle-free “wheels when you want them”…

With success in hand and a recent IPO in April 2011 valuing the company at over $1 billion, Zipcar offers marketing and branding lessons for Pharma that transend the car rental market:

1. Start-ups create new markets, or they don’t survive. Zipcar didn’t chase the existing car rental market at airports with incremental change, they imagined a new market—car rentals by the hour, 5-10 minutes from where you live or work. Zipcar didn’t depend on market data (it doesn’t exist for a non-existent market) or simply asking consumers what they want, which often biases companies toward incremental improvements of current solutions. To quote Henry Ford, “If I had asked customers what they wanted, they would have said a faster horse.” [What Zipcar Can Teach The S&P 500 Business Week and HBR May 2011] Continue reading →

7 Marketing [And Life] Lessons From My Summer Vacation

Posted on August 31, 2011 by Ellen Hoenig-Carlson

It’s hard to believe that it’s been two years since I wrote Marketing Lessons From Our Family Camping Weekend. This summer we spent a week on Saranac Lake in the Adirondack Mountains near Lake Placid NY, with three generations, ages ranging from 9 to 87.

Before the blush of summer vacation wears off, here are my key takeaways:

1. Listen like your life depends on it. During our first family rafting trip down the rapids after heavy rains, my listening, and that of my husband and three boys, greatly improved when we knew our safety depended on it! When there was a sense of conviction attached to our leader’s words and we were bumping around not sure if we were going to stay in or get tumbled overboard, our listening improved!

We all know that listening is a critical success factor today, and that there are many services and tools out there to help us do it better. .. But unless you are listening ‘like your life or business depends on it’, the words going in may not be really registering or garnering the necessary action. The river also taught us that if our leader said stop, you had to stop immediately, not one stroke earlier or one stroke later, as that would cause us to over shoot or under shoot our path…It wasn’t enough to just listen, we had to listen and act immediately! Continue reading →