That's 10,800 units of Allegra sold coming from the Facebook page 

Last week I spoke at the Advanced Learning Institute’s Social Media for Pharma conference in New York City. “The pharma paradox is everybody wants to be innovative but nobody wants to be first,” said cochair, WPP’s Bill Evans. What was great about this intimate event was the specific case studies shared that offered examples for other companies. I’m going to highlight a few that resonated with me.

Facebook Page Contributes to Bottom Line
Shermon McMillan, Senior Marketing Manager from Chattem, a Sanofi Company, and William Martino from Saatchi & Saatchi Wellness discussed Allegra’s marketing efforts during the transition to over-the-counter. As part of their strategy, the Allegra team created a Facebook page with an open wall to communicate with their large target audience. The team has all of the content preapproved by medical/legal, and they work 2-3 months ahead. They have a variety of frequently asked questions, standard responses and thanks messages pre-approved. Many of these are also used for Allegra’s Twitter account. The brand team promoted the social media tools via ads, including Facebook ads.

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81% of physicians use smartphones 

If you’ve been watching the growth in smartphone adoption and wondering whether or not you should be considering mobile in your marketing plan, here are some statistics y0u might be interested in.

An estimated 81% of physicians use smartphones (up from 72% in 2010), according to the latest Manhattan Research survey of 2,041 physicians.

Furthermore, in their report on ePharma Physicians (the 87% who use digital channels for pharma resources and connecting with reps),  Manhattan found that 45% would like to access pharma product information on their smartphone or iPad. Read More

When you approach someone, it is critical that you show your genuine interest in getting to know them 

As patients increasingly drive their own medical care, the value of direct, two-way conversation between biopharma and patients also increases.  When executed with a genuine intent to understand the experience and needs of patients and caregivers, honest and transparent engagement is an excellent means of gaining:

• Understanding of how your company and your product are perceived
• Insight into unmet needs
• Clarity in opportunities that exist to improve adherence
• Relationships in which you can advocate for patients, and patients can support your endeavors

However, before you rush off to Facebook to “poke” every person that notes the disease state of your therapy in their posts, there are a few things to consider. That said, here are five tips that will lead to success in patient cold calls.

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don't design for epiphanies, design for the right sequence of baby steps 

Many rare disease therapies are injections or infusions which require a serious commitment on the part of the patients and the caregivers. Supporting adherence to these regimens is important to both the physical health of the patients and the financial health of the pharmaceutical/biotech companies.

How to support behavior change was a key theme at the health sessions at South by Southwest Interactive (SXSWi) a few weeks ago. I’ll share some insights from a few of the presentations, but first some statistics from UCB and PatientsLikeMe show that online communities can help change behaviors.

Online Communities Support Change
Data from 221 completed questionnaires found:

• 55% of respondents said PatientsLikeMe.com was ‘moderately’ or ‘very’ helpful for learning about their seizures
• 45% of respondents found the site useful for helping them chart their seizures
• 30% felt they received better healthcare from their providers as a result of recording their symptoms
• 27% said the site was useful in helping them to manage a reduction in their treatment side effects. Improved recognition of side effects, better use of coping strategies, and improved reporting to clinicians were cited as possible mechanisms
• 27% respondents reported improved adherence as a result of using PatientsLikeMe

This data supports findings from an Inspire study.

It’s important to note that UCB, who markets the epilepsy drug Keppra, sponsors the PatientsLikeMe community and therefore has access to all the patient data. This is openly disclosed and does not seem to impact patient response.

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I started off yesterday morning sitting next to the violin section of a symphony orchestra that was playing classical music. This unique situation was part of a presentation of The Music Paradigm at the Healthcare Businesswomen’s Association (HBA) annual Leadership Conference.

Scattered among 960 female healthcare professionals in a conference room were professional musicians and their instruments, including a harp and kettle drum. The conductor (or the Maestro as he called himself) used the orchestra as a metaphor for business organizations.

Industry consultant, Maureen Hall, shares her reaction:

Sheila A. Crowe from GSK gives her take:

Michele Godfrey, senior project manager at Siren, shares a key learning:

While the Facebook page accepts comments, I couldn’t find any Terms of Use. 

I was on the AstraZeneca Careers Facebook page – not looking for a job – but for some examples of language around Terms of Use. While the Facebook page accepts comments, I couldn’t find any Terms of Use. I was surprised by this based on what recently happened with the sanofi-aventis Voices Facebook page.

While part of the issue with sanofi was a lack of communication with an upset patient, another problem was that they set no clear expectations on the Facebook page. They have since developed guidelines which note what type of comments should be placed on the wall.

I assume that AstraZeneca (AZ) are monitoring all the comments, removing the inappropriate ones and have policies in place for how to handle off label comments about their prescription medications and adverse events.
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Accurate data is an essential part of making sound business decisions, developing strategies and insights, and it is the foundation of any good projection or estimate. 

Tonya Harrington, Business Manager at Siren Interactive, contributes this post:

Data analysis is vital to the success and longevity of any business. Wikipedia defines data as:

“facts usually collected as the result of experience, observation or experiment, or processes within a computer system, or premises. Data may consist of numbers, words, or images, particularly as measurements or observations of a set of variables. Data are often viewed as a lowest level of abstraction from which information and knowledge are derived.”

Data provides tools to support a hypothesis or theory.  But without a story, it is useless information.  Data alone cannot prove or disprove anything — it is merely a piece of the puzzle.  However, when used to support a vision, data comes alive and the goal is better understood.  Data is a vital part of communication as it helps define and add clarity to the space between the story and the desired conclusion.

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clearly define our focused message for each chapter in the story we want to communicate. Then we need to hold on to this focus like a pit-bull (lipstick is optional). 

Heidi Schoeneck, Executive Creative Director at Siren Interactive, contributes this essay:

Stop. It’s a simple word, but I think too often we undervalue its effectiveness. Take this video for instance. A client sent it to me awhile back. I mention that so you don’t think I am one of those “agency-is-always-right” proponents. I think we all contribute to these mistakes. We start with a big idea and somehow compromise on that message. It happens with the best of intentions; when trying to be more inclusive, act on new opportunities to act upon, or when trying to make the piece work harder. But ultimately it can run the same result as this video— become convoluted, and your message is lost.

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This is the final part of a four-part series about online reputation management. On Tuesday, I discussed the importance of defending your brand online. On Wednesday, I explained how the online channel directly effects the healthcare industry in particular. And on Thursday, I wrote about online reputation management gone wrong – a case study of the PR ramifications.

Today, I will be discussing business trends regarding online reputation management and end with some thoughts about your strategy for times when the online buzz is positive. Subscribing will ensure you don’t miss any of these topics (email and RSS subscriptions both available on homepage in upper-right).

Are My Competitors Monitoring Their Reputation?

Buzz Marketing produced a survey sponsored by Marketing Profs and Trackur about new media business usage. The survey showed that 58% of respondents did not have a strategic plan in place to manage their online reputation. 37% didn’t even use free tools to monitor the social media buzz about their brands.

In order to stay competitive, you must at least monitor your own reputation within the blogosphere and in other social media venues. If you have time, you should also monitor your industry in general and your competitors.

Blue Skies Never Last

If you have read this series and think, “I’m off the hook because everyone loves my brand,” think again. Even when your current buzz is great, you must prepare for disaster just in case.

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We are in the midst of a four-part series about online reputation management. On Tuesday, I discussed the importance of defending your brand online. Yesterday, I explained how the online channel directly effects the healthcare industry in particular.

Today’s post is about online reputation management gone wrong – a case study of the PR ramifications.

I will wrap up the series tomorrow with suggestions of free and paid monitoring tools and discuss your strategy for times when the online buzz is positive. Subscribing will ensure you don’t miss any of these topics (email and RSS subscriptions both available on homepage in upper-right).

How Does The Online Channel Impact Me?

As I wrote yesterday, doctors and patients are going online more. And maybe it’s affecting their treatment in a positive way. But how does that impact you?

As patients come to the internet in droves, they increasingly use search to research their condition and find potential treatments. No matter where you are in the process, you need the most accurate information portraying your product in a fair manner. If you allow false information about your brand or product to dominate search results, you might as well close up shop now.

In addition to being irresponsible, neglecting your online reputation is preventable. People may discuss your brand on blogs and in forums, but knowing about this and providing correct information is a way to easily monitor your online reputation.

One Example To Learn From

In April 2008, a mother whose infant suffered from seizures posted about his treatment. The only medicine that could save his life was ACTH and it had gone from $1,500 per vial to $40,000 per vial in one year. Her child would need multiple vials as part of his treatment.

Their insurance company stopped shipment on the ACTH, made by Questcor. And adding insult to injury, the mother learned that the price increase was very deliberate. An executive vice-president was quoted, saying that the new price was the result of “estimating how much insurers and employers would be willing to bear…The reality was better than we expected.”

Now this mother who can’t afford these payments and the outright greed has no where to turn. Except the internet.

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