Posted by Ellen Hoenig Carlson on Thu, Feb 25, 2010 @ 06:42 AM
In honor of my "Deadhead" hubby and the millions of others out there, and the pending Grateful Dead Archive soon to open at the University of California at Santa Cruz, it's a great time to recognize the Grateful Dead for their marketing and social networking prowess.
But even if you're not a Deadhead, the Atlantic's Management Secrets of the Grateful Dead is a must read article.
The Grateful Dead Archive, scheduled to open soon at the University of California at Santa Cruz, will be a mecca for academics of all stripes: from ethnomusicologists to philosophers, sociologists to historians. But the biggest beneficiaries may prove to be business scholars and management theorists, who are discovering that the Dead were visionary geniuses in the way they created "customer" value", promoted social networking, and did strategic business planning. -by Joshua Green
Why Should corporate America or Pharma and Healthcare Marketers care? The Dead pioneered ideas and practices that were subsequently embraced by business and 'Internet business models'.
Here are 5 Marketing and Social Networking Lessons that I took away from the Grateful Dead's incredible marketing success. They are masters at:
- Creating and delivering superior value. This is evident by their great music (content), their sprawling repertoire and well-loved improvisation, long concerts, sophisticated sound system, radical at the time, and widely emulated today. They treated their fans well. Treating customers well may sound like common sense. But it represented a break from the top-down ethos of many organizations in the 1960s and '70s.
- Promoting social networking--forming friendships and deep bonds across distance. As early as the late 1980s, a sociologist at the University of North Carolina noticed deep bonds between Deadheads.The bonds seemed to belie the idea, then popular among leading social thinkers, that communities based on common interest, whose members do not live near each other, lack emotional and moral depth, and couldn't possibly form meaningful relationships.Today, everybody is intensely interested in understanding how communities form across distances, because that's what happens online.
- Giving away stuff free. Giving something away and earning money on the periphery is the same idea outlined by Wired editor Chris Anderson in his recent best-selling book, Free: The Future of a Radical Price. Writing in Wired in 1994, Barlow, the band's lyricist, posited that in the information economy, "the best way to raise demand for your product is to give it away." What Barlow recently explained to the author: "What people today are beginning to realize is what became obvious to us back then--the important correlation is the one between familiarity and value, not scarcity and value. Adam Smith taught that the scarcer you make something, the more valuable it becomes. In the physical world, that works beautifully. But we couldn't regulate taping at our shows, and you can't online. The Internet doesn't behave that way. But here's the thing: if I give my song away to 20 people, and they give it to 20 people, pretty soon everybody knows me, and my value as a creator is dramatically enhanced. That was the value proposition of the Dead." Interestingly, voluntarily or otherwise, it is becoming the blueprint for more and more companies doing business on the Internet.
- Focusing intensely on loyal fans The Dead established a telephone hotline to alert fans to its touring schedule ahead of any public announcement, reserved for them some of the best seats in the house, and capped the price of tickets, which the band distributed through its own mail-order system.
- Being able to turn on a dime--strategic improvisation. It is precisely this flexibility that many scholars believe holds the greatest lessons for business.The Dead's team of musicians were anything but naive about their business. They incorporated early on, and established a board of directors (with a rotating CEO position). They founded a profitable merchandising division and, peace and love notwithstanding, did not hesitate to sue those who violated their copyrights. But they weren't greedy, and they adapted well. They famously permitted fans to tape their shows, ceding a major revenue source in potential record sales, on the shrewd assessment that tape sharing would widen their audience, a ban would be unenforceable, and anyone inclined to tape a show would probably spend money elsewhere, such as on merchandise or ticket sales. The Dead thrived for decades, in good times and bad times, and due to their strategic improvisation and flexibility became one of the most profitable bands of all time.
So it seems obvious as we continue to move in the direction of an Internet Economy, that the Management and Marketing secrets of the Grateful Dead may turn out to be almost as enjoyable and important to us as their music has been these last 40 or so years...Thoughts?
Image credit: hippieshop.com
Posted by Ellen Hoenig Carlson on Mon, Jan 11, 2010 @ 07:37 AM
What Would Jake and Rocket Do?
This is the third of a four
part series for Consumer and Pharma/Healthcare marketers looking to
tame the rigors of 2010... In case you're just coming in now, here is
the first of the series: What Would Steve Jobs Do? And the second: What Would Google Do?
Who are Jake and Rocket you ask? Jake and his trusty dog Rocket have become icons of optimism, and Life is good ® America's little clothing brand that could-that is trying to spread good vibes all over the world. Having recently returned from a few days of holiday skiing in Vermont, and the proverbial t-shirt buying with ‘my three sons'... Life is good was all around us spreading their optimism and good cheer.
Here are some of Jake and Rocket's insights that all marketers-Consumer, B2B and Pharmaceutical/Healthcare - may want to pay attention to in 2010.
What Would Jake and Rocket Do?
1. Run like a dog. Dream on. High end destination.
Optimism, hope and dreams are crucial for human beings, healthy and/or sick...If you forget what it feels like to ‘run like a dog', take a look at: 19 Seconds of Pure Joy and Steve Woodruff's young dog experiencing snow for the first time! Or listen to Dr. Groopman speak about Hope and Medicine on NPR. You can also read Jen McCabe's blog on the importance of hope.
2. Consider yourself a lucky dog.
Go deep. Think out of the box. Don't knock something, build something. Create your own happy hour. This is not a year to wish you had more. Use any financial or human constraints to innovate...to build something big, to go deep. Constraints are not something to fear, but often spur innovation. Read 37 signals Getting Real: Embrace Constraints; a concept duly noted by Tim Brown and Matthew May's Change This Manifesto on Elegant Solutions (no.6 p 22)
3. Whatever you are, be a good one. Style points count. Get dirty. 
Successful people and companies raise the bar, and continually strive for excellence with every move they make...If you take nothing else away from What Would Steve Jobs Do?, think about the bar of excellence he sets and expects for himself and others at every step of the way.
4. Get outta town. If you don't go, you don't see. If you don't live it, it won't come out your horn. Who feels it knows it.
Reading Tim Brown's book Change By Design, I was stuck by this quote: "Good design thinkers observe. Great design thinkers observe the ordinary." How true it is that you have to get out to see and experience what your customers are doing and thinking, and how they're interacting with the world. Yet how many busy executives actually do? And then actually take the learning and insights and share them across the organization and find rightful ‘owners' to turn them into action? (Brian Solis often speaks to this very need of leveraging what you hear in social media throughout the organization by insuring rightful owners.)
5. Mix it up.
We seem to be stuck in a world of X OR Y, TV advertising or web, traditional advertising or social media, facebook or twitter, branded advertising or value-add conversations...when we could be mixing it up and thinking AND...The consumer mixes it up, why don't marketers?
6. The little things in life are the big things.
How true it is that what we most often remember is not the big things or the big/expensive presents, but those little special gestures that let us know that people really appreciate us, trust us, care about us, and know us. (You can also read Linda Kaplan and Robin Koval's Power of Small)
7. Takers may eat well, but givers sleep well. Sometimes the best conversation is a game of catch.
We all know that building relationships is a give and take. What better analogy for two-way conversation than a game of catch? When your catching the ball, you can't be throwing at the same time...it's a rhythm of give and take... While it's never this simple, much has been written about how the new world of marketing is no longer about ‘sell and tell' or ‘push', but give and take (with more emphasis on giving than taking), remembering to listen first - sell later, adding value via marketing with meaning), earning trust a la Brogan's trust agents, and ‘earning' customer love and word of mouth.
8. Hold a true friend with both hands.
This is the year for quality over quantity and this goes for relationships as well. Only those that add value to your life will get your time and attention. Who are your true friends? Who are your most loyal customers? What do they need and want? How can you help? How can you bring them value?
9. The best things in life are free.
If you are around kids, how many birthdays and holidays need to go by before we realize that it's not the most expensive present that people/kids like, but the box that it comes in...The concept of Free is everywhere and shouldn't be overlooked or taken lightly. The web is full of content... so it's critical to create content with value or to organize content to bring value: ‘elegant organization'...Think free or the minimum you must charge or take out of the system if you want to maximize growth and usage. Read Jeff Jarvis' What Would Google Do? or Chris Anderson's Free: the future of radical price if you're still are unsure....
10. Change your perspective.
Experts in education suggest that adult learners should "jiggle their synapses a bit" by confronting thoughts that are contrary to their own..."bump up against people and ideas" that are different. (NYTimes: Neuroscience-How to train the aging brain) If you are a ‘social media' guy, look at the world through other lens...most of the world still doesn't know what RSS feeds are, let alone use them...email is still the most widely used way to send others information...Marketers, look outside your industry for ideas, seek different perspectives that may bring new value to your customers' and patients' lives. Look to other disciplines, from science to design, for new thinking.
11. Write on. Read ‘em and reap. Keep Growing.
They say 2010 is the year that Content is King. We know that Links create value. Creating valuable content and acting as a ‘content curator' are critical new marketing and leadership skills...think "elegant organization".
12. Simplify.
With the number of emails, blogs, tweets, friends contacting us, more and more it will be critical to simplify and focus on what's most important. Only a few can stand out. Focus on less and make each ‘friend', ‘contact', ‘tweet', 'program' more impactful and valuable...both simplify and 'elegance' are at the very core of both Steve Jobs/Apple and Google's success. Do You Have a Stop Doing List? (Also read Power of Less or Mathew May's The Elegant Solution)
13. Laughter has no foreign accent. We will never know all the good a simple smile can do. Celebrate.
Let's promise each other that we won't overlook a little laughter and smiles in our busy lives this year...(You can also read Dave Murray's 11th Lesson of Life)
Marketers: Which ones are most meaningful for you this New Year?
Which ones would most help spur growth and innovation for your brand and business?
Pharma and Healthcare Marketers: Which ones would most bring growth and innovation to our industry? Which ones would help bring back hope and trust? Value to our patients?
Stay tuned for part four of 4...What Will Pharma and Healthcare Marketers Do? What Will Champs in New Marketing Do in 2010?
Posted by Ellen Hoenig Carlson on Mon, Jan 04, 2010 @ 07:36 AM
What Would Steve Jobs Do? This is the first of a four part series for Consumer and Pharma/Healthcare Marketers looking to tame the rigors of 2010...by taking a closer look and asking ourselves what three incredibly successful people and companies in business today would do...
The genesis for this series first came while reading Fortune's CEO of the Decade and The Decade of Steve, and thinking about the question that Apple executives asked themselves over and over during Steve Job's six month leave of absence in early 2009: What would Steve Jobs do? Recently, I picked up What Would Google Do? by Jeff Jarvis (great book)... I hope you'll stay tuned for What Would Google Do? And What Would Jake and Rocket Do? And What Might Marketers Do in 2010?
As you're developing new products, services and/or marketing plans this year, here's a question to ask yourself at each major milestone and decision point...
What Would Steve Jobs Do? The threshold for moving forward: Would it pass Steve's test? In the past 10 years alone Steve Jobs has radically and lucratively reordered three markets --music, movies, and mobile telephones--and his impact on his original industry, computing has only grown.
"There's an old Wayne Gretzky quote that I love. 'I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been.' And we've always tried to do that at Apple. Since the very very beginning. And we always will." - Steve Jobs
"Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication." - Steve Jobs, Leonardo da Vinci
1. Know what consumers want. Paint a big-picture vision that will WOW your consumers and competitors. Create new experiences that can change the world...create a story. Create an adversary and a new way to win. In every story there's an antagonist-the hero fights the villain. Introducing the antagonist (the problem) rallies the company and audience around the hero. In Job's case, create and act upon a ‘digital lifestyle' strategy...He was a very successful ‘David' fighting Goliath... iTunes new paradigm, Macintosh launch in 1984 against IBM
2. Make it your business to know everything about your product area and company. Small details matter and are not to be overlooked. Steve is known for being involved in details you wouldn't think a CEO would be involved in. He's also well known for "One more thing".
3. Take full responsibility for the user experience. Apple is about being a system... In 2002, Steve told Time, "We're the only company that owns the whole widget -- the hardware, the software, and the operating system. We can take full responsibility for the user experience. We can do things that the other guy can't do."
4. Design is critical and must be perfect. He's a perfectionist to the nth degree. He has a willingness to be a pain in the neck to what matters most to him. (Time 2005) The company believes in "deep collaboration" and "concurrent engineering" so there are no hand offs...just flawless design. (You may also want to read Inside the Apple Ecosystem and Tim Brown's Change by Design)
5. Master the message. Simplify complex information. The message to the public is always consistent, simple, breakthrough, and expert at bringing the benefit(s) to life. E.g.:it's not just a 5GB iPod, it's 1,000 songs in your pocket; iconic "think different" campaign. Jobs practices the message over and over and only a few deliver it. He is also careful to avoid overexposure, preferring to speak only when he has new products to promote. He crates 'twitter-like headlines'. E.G.: Macbook air. The world's thinnest notebook. iPod. One thousand songs in your pocket. (You may also want to read Carmine Gallo's: The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs slide share and book.)
6. Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish. Lessons he learned after he found out that he had pancreatic cancer. "Your time is limited so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma-which is living with the result of other people's thinking. Don't let the voice of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish." - Steve Jobs
Healthcare Marketers:
What if Pharma and Healthcare products/services took full responsibility for the user (patient) experience?
What if Pharma and Healthcare designed the product and user experience to simplify the complex and encourage participative medicine?
What if Pharma and Healthcare mastered the message and dialog so patients and their caregivers immediately and easily understood the benefits and risks and could discuss it with their doctor and family?
Stay tuned for What Would Google do? (WWGD)...
Posted by Ellen Hoenig Carlson on Wed, Dec 23, 2009 @ 03:12 PM
Inspired by Alvin Toffler's quote: "The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read or write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn," we asked 12 leading bloggers and healthcare thought leaders to share their reflections: what would they recommend as top learning strategies for Pharma and Healthcare marketers in 2010?
Overall, there were six themes that contributors brought to life:
1) e-Patients are at the center and critical to learning and design;
2) Authenticity isn't a ‘nice to do', it's a ‘must' (and you won't be the one who decides whether you've succeeded);
3) Don't' get distracted by ‘bells and whistles'-remember the basics and keep your brand core strong;
4) New marketing challenges require new ROI thinking...the ROI of connection, authenticity and compassion;
5) The marketing cycle of life is going through unprecedented change requiring all marketers and communications people to unlearn much-the movement from paid marketing to earned marketing requires a different mindset and skills; and
6) Effective marketing and engagement will require new kinds of leadership skills.
Or as Steve Woodruff would say, "it's a holiday grab-bag of nuggets from the wise travelers--some myrrh, some gold, some SEO, some patient communities--stick your hand in and grab some goodies!"
My heartfelt appreciation to the 12 contributors-yet another example of the power of the community.
- Phil Baumann, Phil Baumann online blog, CareVocate Interactive Media Solutions
- Wendy Blackburn, ePharma Rx blog, Intouch Solutions
- Adam Cohen, A Thousand Cuts blog, Rosetta Interactive
- Dave deBronkart, The New Life of e-Patient Dave blog, Society for Participatory Medicine
- Angela Dunn, Odom Lewis blog, Executive Search Specialists in Healthcare Marketing/Medical Education
- Susannah Fox, Health Research for Pew Internet & American Life Project
- Fard Johnmar, Path of the Blue Eye Project, Envision Consultancy
- John Mack, Pharma Marketing blog, Editor-in-chief of Pharma Marketing News
- Jonathan Richman, Dose of Digital blog, Bridge Worldwide
- Marsha Shenk, Thriving Enterprise blog, The Bestwork People
- Andrew Spong, STweM blog and Consultancy, UK
- Steve Woodruff, Impactiviti blog and Consultancy
If you enjoy this eBook, feel free to blog it, tweet it or email it. (But please don't change it)...We also hope that you meet some new 'friends' to learn with in 2010. Lastly, we welcome feedback below or on slide share.
Download PDF; also available on slideshare (see below) and scribd
May you and yours enjoy a rich and rejuvenating holiday season. We look forward to more learning and collaboration in 2010!
credits: eBook production: Courtney Justice, The Cournell Group
Posted by Ellen Hoenig Carlson on Fri, Oct 30, 2009 @ 09:10 AM
Hats off to Kevin Kruse for kicking off an exciting new conference called e-Patient Connections 2009 that will no doubt be the start of a long tradition in e-Patient Marketing and Learning. It was a productive two days marked by a strong range of excellent speakers and content, a well run conference and focused leader, and a broad group of engaged attendees. Read posts by @ericbrody, BioJob Blog, PharmaExec Blog and Steve Woodruff for other good summaries of the two-day e-Patient Conference (You can also read the Twitter stream: #epatcon)
Why Team e-Patient?
Driving home from the conference, my head swirling with ideas, this is what emerged for me:
"It may take a village to raise a family, but it takes a team to heal a patient."
...A team of doctors and nurses, patients and their families, friends and others who share their condition, hospital care, pharma treatments, insurance companies, employers, pharmacists and so on...actively participating and working together.
Reflecting on the presentations, they seem to converge around five essential themes for working towards patient-centered, participative marketing and healthcare...Highlighted below are but a few:
Trust and Authenticity:
While the Mayo Clinic may be the poster child for building trust in the hospital environment, it continues social media expansion under the leadership of @LeeAase. Slides here. Another example of building and establishing trust, is the partnership of JDRF and Novo Nordisc in the creation of Juvenation, a type-1 diabetes community. There was also Dr. Val Jone's (@drval) heartfelt limerick: 'A Tale of Two e-Patients'. Jones used the limerick to raise the issue of what can happen to e-patients who trust the wrong people for the wrong information, which she delivered in 20 slides, each 20 seconds for a total of six minutes and forty seconds via the Pecha Kucha method. (More proof that doctors can also be amazingly creative!)
Dave deBronkart, also known as @epatientdave, gave a tremendous talk on Authentic Value: Being Known in e-Patient Communities, and the importance of being real and contributing value. Following his incredible story of cancer, Dave is now an evangelist for "participatory medicine" and founding director for The Society of Particpatory Medicine dedicated to bringing together e-patients and healthcare professionals. (I urge you to check out their work.)
To sum up trust, Kevin Kruse said it well, "Personality leads to authenticity which leads to TRUST"
Engage and Educate:
Good presentations here: Facebook ADHD Allies by Tricia Geoghegan, McNeil Pediatrics. Her advice: listen to the consumer...let them tell you what's working (or not). There was also Facebook Strong@Heart Lisa Tate, WomenHeart & Robert Schumm, from Bayer. Their presentation demonstrated the value of using a good mix of traditional and new media, and an interesting offer to both raise awareness and incite action among women for their heart health. Marc Monceau @JNJComm also spoke: To Twitter or Not To Twitter, and shared his tips for organizational success. Key takeaways: take the time to create a personality in social media, and establish 'guardrails' of what you can and can not do to help smooth the process internally while you build trust and experience. (More on the concept of guardrails and Marc's presentation here).
Yet another way to engage e-patients may be in the form of games for health. Jay Ong of EA Sports presented "Driving the Fitness Revolution: The Development and Launch of EA SPORTS Active." EA Sports uses a process that focuses on 4 pillars: 1) make them sweat with true exercise and workout, 2) provide a guided experience-make it easy, 3) deliver a personalized experience and 4) incite competition. They also bring in experts to add credibility.
Action: "Before I was an e-patient, I was e-impatient" (@sixuntilme)
Sixuntilme's Voice of the Patient presentation began, "I'm Kerri Morrone Sparling and I'm not the voice of THE patient. I'm just the voice of A patient"... "POL's (patient opinion leaders) like me don't blog because they have to, but because it helps us heal...Until there's a cure, there will be a blog..."
Or Joe Shields, Product Director at Pfizer, who spoke about Adherence. "The empowered patient will be a collaborator and an active participator...Adherence is starting to elevate the role of everyone in the community, and like health care, is a team sport."
Meaning: Adding value beyond the molecule
Branded Tweets for Levemir by Ambre Morley, Novo Nordisk and Charlie Kimball, showcased how a broader strategy can add meaning to a prescription product. While there has been much emphasis on the 'first' branded tweet, twitter is a small part of how Novo Nordisk is collaborating with Charlie to help educate and engage diabetic patients and their families. The goal moves beyond product to showing diabetic patients that they can continue to live a full and active life. (I also have to say, that meeting Charlie in person was a real treat--His enthusiasm is infectious, and he came across completely genuine and dedicated.)
There was also Jonathan Richman's Marketing With Meaning presentation which he delivered Pecha Kucha style, urging Pharma Marketers to ask themselves: "Is your marketing as good as your product?" (You can also read my review of the book here and how current DTC print stacks up)
"We need to stop thinking patient and we really need to start thinking people," said Urbaniak, vice president of innovation and new customer channels at Sanofi-aventis.
So I end where I started: "It may take a village to raise a family, but it takes a dedicated, collaborative and empowered team to heal a patient." Are your e-Patients part of the team? Really?
Posted by Ellen Hoenig Carlson on Thu, Oct 22, 2009 @ 12:54 PM
There's a reason why there was such a great turnout for the Digital Pharma Unconference this week...Hats off to Shwen Gwee, Jason Youner of eXL pharma, and all the speakers and participants. (#DigPharm)
Before I talk about Guard Rails, here are three other good reads from fellow bloggers: Steve Woodruff's I Was There (Digital Pharma 2009), Jonathan Richman's Dose of Digital How Pharma Overcomplicates Social Media, and John Mack's Pharma Marketing Blog: Pharma Social Media Crips vs. Legal/Regulatory Bloods. Also check out the tools that Fard Jonmar and Jonathan Richman used in their social media workshop. Or Digitas Health Social Media POV given by Sarah Larcker of Digitas.
So what do we mean by Guard Rails? The Wikipedia definition reads something like this:
"Guard rail, sometimes referred to as guide rail or railing, is a system designed to keep people or vehicles from (in most cases unintentionally) straying into dangerous or off-limits areas."
So what does this have to do with Pharma and Social Media?
First, I'd be remiss not to credit Marc Monseau (JNJComm) who used this term in his presentation: "We're doing It and So Can You. J&J's Use of Twitter". Creating 'guard rails' was part of his 7 suggestions to Pharma: 1) Create your business case, 2) Connect SM with other initiatives, 3) Establish your personality--interesting people are followed, 4) Set guides around what you will and won't discuss...guard rails, 5) Gain legal/regulatory support for guard rails, 6) Create processes and tap into existing processes e.g. reporting AE's, 7) Tweet, tweet, tweet. Advice from JNJ; More lessons from JNJ (pictures courtesy of Steve Woodruff). (You may also want to read a great interview with Marc Monseau: J&J On Twitter)
Guard rails can help provide a 'safety net' to Pharma social media tactics and those running them by helping to insure that clear and simple guidelines are set up around certain areas to help frame conversation and engagement, and to keep social media efforts on safe regulatory and legal ground...
Other key takeaways and discussion points from #DigPharm:
Is your brand a lovemark? Is it irresistible to your consumer? Does it provide the right empathy to patients? At the core of every lovemark is RESPECT. How does a Lovemarks compare to a trademark? Trademarks are 'owned' by marketers--Lovemarks are 'owned' by their consumers. (Watch the T-mobile video: "Life's For Sharing")
What are consumers saying about your prescription product? Check out iGuard.org to read patient reviews. Monitor other social media venues.
"A patient is an unwilling customer". They are 'buying' your medication to help their condition, but they're not happy about the disease/condition that they have, often for life...(courtesy of patient blogger and tweeter: @amblass) This was part of 5 suggestions for Pharma: 1) listen 2) be honest 3) think big- beyond marketing a product 4) a patient is an unwilling customer. 5) be there for me.
"Just like soccer, Social Media is about moving the ball up the field....until we can put the ball in a strategic, favorable position" (courtesy of Fabio Gratton of Ignite Health and Xavier Petit)
BTW, if you're looking for a community to continue the Pharma Social Media conversation, join Shwen's Social Pharmer.
Other recent Pharma conference blogs that may be of interest:
Pharma: Dip Your Toes And Other Tips From DTC Perspectives Conference
Pharma Marketers: A Few Takeaways From the PharmaMed Conference
Posted by Ellen Hoenig Carlson on Fri, Oct 16, 2009 @ 06:47 AM
I just finished reading Bob Gilbreath's new book "The Next Evolution of Marketing. Connect With Your Customers By MARKETING WITH MEANING." Given my roots in package goods consumer marketing, I found the book and the examples ‘meaningful'...
I whole heartedly agree that the next evolution in marketing is to move from ‘telling and selling' to providing value and ultimately, to improving people's lives. I think too, this is one reason that so many consumer package goods marketers made the move to pharmaceutical and healthcare marketing-to help save and improve people's lives and well being...
What are marketers to do when consumers are not just immune to our messages, but they're ignoring us completely?
Create marketing that's meaningful.
What is meaningful marketing?
When your marketing is meaningful, people choose to engage with you in an exchange that they perceive as valuable. But engagement is only the beginning. Whatever your product or service may be, when your marketing is meaningful, the marketing itself adds value to people's lives, whether or not they immediately buy what you're selling. (This may cause a few gulps...but Bob Gilbreath goes on to promise that this is not just cause marketing...To be sure, making money and moving product are still the goal; if they aren't, it's not marketing.)
The bottom line for consumers is that they expect more from their brands on many levels--and the marketing with meaning model will help bring marketing more into the value equation.
Jonathan Richman at Dose of Digital wrote about some great ideas for pharma brands to consider and explore using marketing with meaning. So I thought I'd try something a little different to spark some further thought and dialog.
I took a look at DTC print ads over the last month to see how they stack up to the book's Hierarchy of Meaningful Marketing. Now we all know that looking at one DTC ad doesn't capture the 'whole brand's story'. The print ad is only one step to driving action to the brand (or unbranded) website for more information and engagement...and a brand can run a 'campaign' of different ads (branded and unbranded), and use multiple media channels to tell a richer story...but it's a start.
And, if "every single interaction between a brand and a consumer is a marketing moment of truth" (Peter Blackshaw), is it not fair to look at what may be a brand's first touch, a DTC ad?
Yet, I feel the need to make at least one caveat. Having sat in many a focus group for pharma brands, I can honestly say that for many consumers with a medical condition, or for their caregivers, learning about a new prescription product that may provide pain relief or prevent damage, is a HIGHLY valuable solution. This is an important distinction when evaluating DTC ads vs other ads for well known consumer goods...Additionally, unbranded ads have an easier time of providing more connected solutions by the nature of their goals and extra space due to lack of fair balance!
Having said that, I looked at the branded DTC print ads running over the last month in a variety of consumer publications (e.g., news, women's service, health, people, teen). I reviewed 35 print ads and attributed them to Gilbreath's three tiers of marketing that are increasingly meaningful to consumers:
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Solution marketing. Like the lower levels of maslow's hierarchy of needs, solution marketing covers basic household needs and benefits, for example, helpful offers, money savings, and hard rewards for purchase.
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Connection marketing. this represents a significant step toward building a bonding relationship between people and brands. It provides benefits beyond the basics of information and relevance to include something that is of deeper importance in the consumer's mind, ie., social outlets and creative expression.
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Achievement marketing.This corresponds to maslow's pinnacle of self-actualization by allowing people to significantly improve their lives, realize a dream, or positively change their community and their world.
Here's What I found:
Not surprising, most DTC print ads fall into the first tier-Solution marketing- by providing information and a trial incentive to encourage the first script. Many only make the first tier with the assumption that they're providing valuable information to help patients with their 'physiological and safety' needs through attribute and benefit messaging.
Of the 35 ads, I bucketed 31 into Solution marketing, of which 14 offered a trial incentive. (Of the ads with trial incentives, AcipHex, BenzaClin, Symbicort and Yaz did the best jobs insuring that interested consumers would see the offer, and others like Concerta and DePuy used a BRC to help drive lead generation and trial offer engagement.)
In my opinion, four branded DTC print ads fell into Connection marketing, having made a stronger step toward building a bonding relationship between people and brands:
Crestor: focuses not just on the pill, but on the Crestor kit: information, tips and trial incentives. They also offer an interactive tour of an artery. (Can more be done to leverage consumer to consumer sharing, provide additional customization opportunities, and to continue to make heart health a wee bit more entertaining/fun?)
Epiduo acne treatment: highlights the interactive 'pathway to confidence' contest where they asked teens for ways that they build confidence. (Website very fresh. Can more be done to leverage this important idea about building confidence in teens which has the potential to be life changing?)
Toviaz: focuses not only on the pill, but the plan that can be shared with the doctor (Can more be done to provide more stuff for consumers to share with each other, more customization opportunities, and more fun, entertaining web interactions?)
Viagra: takes a different approach vs prior ads. This ad speaks to real insights and concerns for men, and speaks less about Viagra benefits and more about how to broach 'the talk' with their doctor. The ad also provides a fresh learning approach that may be able to be further leveraged on their website.
None of the branded DTC ads I reviewed accomplished what I believe Gilbreath was speaking to with his third tier: Achievement marketing...Of course there are other DTC programs in the market place that may have just not ran branded print this last month, or don't use print in their media mix--the subject of another blog...
Click on the images to view examples Ads/PDF download
No doubt, a DTC print ad does not tell the whole brand story, and in many cases, consumers will go to the website where they may find more engagement and connection. Additionally, if the product is new, it may make sense to first communicate the brand's benefits...
Having said that, it looks to me like there is ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT. Pharma DTC print advertising can and should evolve to providing more than basic product benefits to providing richer experiences and connections for consumers to share and feel good about. Brands should take an inventory of all of their DTC touchpoints- online and offline- to be sure that each are doing their best to both reinforce the brand promise, and provide maximum value to the consumer.
Time to move from just selling to also helping...
What do you think? Any good branded print examples I missed in my 'non-scientific' point-in-time review, or that you want to share? Other thoughts on creating meaningful marketing?
Posted by Ellen Hoenig Carlson on Fri, Oct 02, 2009 @ 07:03 AM
This week, I came across two presentations that made me stop and refocus my thoughts on writing and delivering effective and engaging presentations. The first was a terrific five minute video interview of author Carmine Gallo (The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs: How to Be Insanely Great in Front of Any Audience) outlining the 5 points he attributes to Steve Job's incredible success as one of today's most engaging speakers. The second was the announcement that "Health Care Napkins", created by Dan Roam with Tony Jones, was the winner of the "World's Best Presentation 2009" by Slideshare.net and Business Week.
click on image to watch video on ABC
The 5 Techniques that help make Steve Jobs a truly great presenter:
1. Introduce an antagonist. Every presentation is a theatrical experience: "Every great drama has a hero and a villain." Steve Jobs explains the problem and leads the way for the hero...
2. Twitter-friendly headlines. Each Apple product has a simple name and a short and concise descriptive headline or sound bite e.g. macbookair-"The World's Thinnest Notebook"
3. Sell dreams--not computer hardware, or a product. Jobs sells ‘transformative experiences'-what is it about our product that will change someone's life?
4. Practice Zen like simplicity-‘the elimination of clutter'. You won't see bullet points. You won't see many words.
5. Relentless Practice. Practice. And More Practice.
Here's the winning slide presentation by Dan Roam: Health Reform on the back of the napkin style.
You won't see traditional bullets or heavy text. You will see a great story unfold with interesting visuals and devices to engage the reader.
Dan Roam's lesson to us all:
There is no such thing as boring knowledge.
There are only boring ways to present it.
Two Great Books on Presentations
Having sat through many a ‘boring' PowerPoint and podium presentation, and having done my own share of, what we at BMS used to fondly refer to as, ‘deck a day' PowerPoint presentations for Sr. Management, requiring an abundance of time internally-focused vs. externally or customer- focused, I have become a huge fan of Garr Reynold's Presentation Zen and Nancy Duarte ‘s Slide:ology. Both books are excellent sources for kinder, simpler, and more visually pleasing presentations-and did I mention more engaging and effective? Both start with the objective and the story you want to tell; both encourage planning and storyboarding to get it right.
Common themes for better PowerPoint presentations:
1. Start with the end in mind; what is the story that you want to tell?
2. Know your audience-what is important to them?
3. Outline your content; sketch out objectives and ideas in pen and paper. Plan in ‘analog', with no use of technology-storyboard the presentation
4. Have a sound, clear structure throughout (this is more than an agenda page up front)
5. Be vigilant about clarity of message-- only one idea to a slide
6. Put yourself in the shoes of the audience and ask "so what?"...if it's not relevant, cut...
7. Bring each point to life. This means minimal use of bullets and copy, and heavy use of visuals, photography and color (If you have charts of data, you might consider handing this information out separately at the end of the presentation...)
8. Good presentations include stories. The best presenters illustrate their points with the use of stories, most often personal ones.
9. Keep it simple, but not simplistic
10. The more you are on top of the material- the design, flow and rehearsal, the more success.
Pharma: Just Say No To More Bullets!
Now is the time for Pharma to rethink how we present information to colleagues, partners, physicians, customers, government. By taking a few lessons from these experts, more time thinking about how to craft content and message, Pharma can begin to tell more engaging and effective stories that the audience may actually want to listen to, learn from, and take action.
Won't you join me in saying NO to more bullets, and YES to initiating a new way to communicate?
Additional Helpful Links:
Presentation I did to FDA Risk Communication Advisory Committee: Considering Neuroscience to Improve Communications
Sample Slides By Garr Reynolds
Presentation Zen: Simple Ideas On Presentation Design and Delivery
Think Like a Designer
Ten Reasons Presentations Will Make It Big in 2009 -#2 Speakers
Posted by Ellen Hoenig Carlson on Fri, Sep 25, 2009 @ 10:54 AM
Here a few of the nuggets that I took away from this week's MedAdNews PharmaMed conference in Princeton, NJ. (Twitter stream available at #pharmamed hashtag or via coveritlive). The promise for this year's conference -Connect. Communicate. Collaborate.-With a focus behind gaining insight into patient-centered communications, social networking and new technologies, and ROI optimization. (Can't resist linking back to my 6 C's for Better Consumer Engagement: Consumer-first Content, Conversation, Customization, Community, Confidence, and Consistent Commitment.)
Social Media Planning and Optimization
Two key presentations from fellow bloggers:
Jonathan Richman (Dose of Digital)--Just How Digitally Savvy Are Your Patients?
Steve Woodruff (Impactiviti)-Social Media: Where's the Low Hanging Fruit?
Digital Savviness? 
A new marketing term to consider? Jonathan's new tool (which will be ready in January) will help characterize and rate consumers and their social media habits by four areas: productivity (e.g., shopping, paying bills), entertainment (e.g., watching videos, itunes), navigation (e.g., preferred browser, search engine) and social (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, IM). This will provide a mechanism to help Marketers insure- that once objectives are set- that social media tactics match the person and their behavior-not their demographics. It will also encourage Marketers to think 'forward' to get ahead of competition: "What new social media tactics might appeal to this patient with their current social media characterization and use? What else might they be willing to try?"
Where's The Low Hanging Fruit?
Steve has a great way of talking about social media- or "social networking" as he prefers to call it- that makes it easy to understand and think about. His presentation went through some of the do's and don'ts for Marketers, and ended with this slide to capture the questions Marketers can ask to determine what activities and tactics might make the most sense from a community building, business upside and risk profile. He also referenced a great interview with Marc Monseau who leads Johnson & Johnson's blog and twitter efforts that's worth the read.
Other interesting speakers and their thoughts?
Monique Levy, Senior Director of Research, Manhattan Research spoke about Innovative and Effective Patient Adherence Programs. While she provided some good examples of Pharma adherence programs, her main point-which I whole heartedly agree with- is the need to recognize the complexity of adherence, and how much work it requires to really understand what's limiting a particular set of patients from being adherent...
Kip Creel of StandPoint Market Research presented findings from a unique study they designed to better understand what content physicians prefer to improve patient education, how much branding is permissible etc.
Getting the Most Out Of Your Agency was a lively discussion moderated by Chris Truelove, Editor of Med Ad News, with Joe Shields from Enbrel/Wyeth and Dave Paragamian from Euro. Lot's of good dialog on how to keep agency-client teams productive and fresh...
Sander Flaum moderated a lively panel speaking to the Future for Pharmaceutical Promotions.
IMSHealth's John Moran gave an insightful presentation on Achieving Sales, Brand and Managed Markets Alignment. John stressed the increasing opportunities to use patient level data (APLD) to better understand and match new patients using a new drug and the types of physicians with these patient populations. He also urged marketers to focus on the scripts that are up for play-the dynamic scripts- as opposed to those scripts being written for treatment maintenance...
Raj Amin of HealthiNation closed the conference with thoughts on how to best use video in Pharma 2010 marketing plans. He suggests that Marketers not just re-purpose other TV and creative elements, but to think about how to use the video medium to best engage the particular patient target. Also he believes that video creative and distribution go hand and hand, and videos should be no longer than 2-3 minutes, including fair balance.
While this doesn't capture every presentation, hopefully it gives you a flavor for the general learnings and discussions...
Posted by Ellen Hoenig Carlson on Mon, Sep 14, 2009 @ 04:40 AM
As Marketers, we've long been conditioned to "sell", also known as the fourth Marketing P: Promotion. Increasingly, however, the world of Marketing is shifting from a model of selling and shouting to one of listening, engagement, dialogue and education. Pharma is no exception to this change. A recent study by about.com outlined in eMarketer points to success with current pharma advertising, but also highlights opportunities for improvement that are consistent with the continued shift in consumer mindset.
Key Takeaways
Following diagnosis from their Physician, most consumers use the web to find more information about their condition, a smaller percent use search engines to better understand treatment options or the particular medication that they've been prescribed. Only 35% trust what the doctor says and fill the prescription without further search or education.
Currently, more than four in 10 Internet users told About.com that pharma ads made them aware of treatment options and educated them about symptom and conditions; 17% felt like they could speak more knowledgeably with their doctor because of pharmaceutical advertising.
After seeing healthcare ads, 38% of respondents said they talked with their doctor and 36% researched the advertised drug online. In addition, 13% of Internet users visited the pharmaceutical company's Website.
When surveyed about what would catch their attention, Internet users were most likely to say info about specific conditions (29%) and medication side effects (28%); also information about how to cope with the condition (20%), followed by free trial offers (18%).
How Can Pharma Continue to Improve Engagement and Communication?
- Combine 'relevant' education into every communication; surround the target consumer/patient with a mix of branded and unbranded communications, and branded and educational messaging.
- Consider where the patient is along the treatment pathway and customize engagement to reflect information and education needs. Adding a personalized touch can dramatically help improve trial or web sign-ups. (See more on Personalization in my next blog)
- Don't be afraid to speak to the potential side effects; balanced benefit and risk information is what consumers (and FDA) want. Most consumers recognize that along with the benefits of a particular treatment comes some side effect(s)--why not provide the information upfront, including potential ways to deal with the side effects...This might also begin to instill a bond of trust and authenticity...Moving forward, pharma companies will do well by providing easy to understand risk-benefit comparisons for consumers...
- Shout the condition that your medication treats to increase stopping power. While this might sound obvious, many online and off line DTC ads continue to overlook the need to scream the condition they are treating. With the onslaught of messages that a typical consumer sees each day, this is a costly mistake, but one that is relatively easy to fix. (Marketers and Advertising Creatives alike often hate to shout out the condition thinking its redundant or isn't visually elegant, but its often the single best way to immediately grab your patients' attention. It usually takes one round of qualitative for marketers and their agencies to be convinced...)
- Don't just focus on your medication--Help patients and their families treat and cope with the 'whole' condition and the 'whole' person. This goes beyond providing a few tips or tools or links to third parties...and goes beyond any one advertisement.
- Listen First-Sell Later. Everyday consumers are telling us that they don't want to be sold to or shouted at, but engaged in a meaningful conversation, to hear from others like themselves. How best to understand someone's needs and wants if not by listening first?
Bob Poole has written a great book with many, 
thoughtful nuggets to consider:
Customers and prospects know their problems much better than you do. Don't make the mistake of thinking that you already have the solutions. To assume you know the solution before you really understand the problem, is like a physician writing a prescription before making a diagnosis.
Learn to listen -really listen. It's how you establish trust, rapport, and relationships.
Listen. Create value. Follow through. Keep your word. Maintain the relationship. Listen more.
Stop being a salesperson. Become a solutions provider. You'll be much more productive. It's more fun. And, it's the right thing to do.
People have to buy YOU before they buy anything FROM you.
Burn your story into the hearts and minds of the people who want-who need-to hear it. We can all create and tell stories that are entertaining, educational, and emotional.
What kind of fun are you building into your business? When is the last time you did something fun with your customers?
Pharma: Which do you do first, Listen or Sell? As an industry, isn't it time we made listening a greater priority? If we listen first, won't engagement and increased sales follow? Thoughts?