Latest News



October 31, 2019 0

You would be hard-pressed to find a person who hasn’t been affected in some way by the national epidemic of opioid addiction. Whether as an individual, or through family, friends, colleagues, neighbors—we all know, or at least know of, someone who has struggled with this growing issue.

It’s no wonder, then, during the past year many beautiful and incredibly influential disease awareness and DTC campaigns have been created to destigmatize and humanize this heartbreaking issue. These campaigns drive home the truth that people with addiction issues are not just the individuals who live questionable lifestyles, have separated from society, and are living on the streets. They are the people you see every day, the individuals who have full, successful lives—the high-powered executive, the college athlete, the church-going grandmother who is recovering from surgery. A few current ads speak to this issue; all of which are doing the important job of bringing the conversation forward and shedding light on the issue, as well as challenging the misconceptions around opioid addiction. Here are some of the best:

Prescribed to Death, National Safety Council

This robust, award-winning campaign by the National Safety Council was originally launched in 2018, and it has been evolving and growing ever since. It hits all touchpoints—from the traveling monument that personalizes the effect of loss through a display of pills carved with the faces of 20,000 real people lost to opioid addiction in just one year, to the newly implemented “Opioids: Warn Me” stickers designed for people to apply to their insurance cards to ensure doctors and pharmacists have a conversation about the benefits of, and concerns around, the drugs being prescribed to them.

 

Mist, Vermont Department of Health

It’s not every day that you come across great creative coming out of a state health department, but this is certainly a wonderful exception. The series, each page of which beautifully illustrates how naloxone truly does help breathe life back into people on the cusp of death from opioid overdose, captures the powerful impact of the drug and the importance of being able to save a life—all in one striking image.

 

Impossible Questions, Partnership for Drug Free Kids

Most public service announcements (PSAs) tend to be directed toward individuals who are immediately at risk, with the objective of raising awareness and/or changing individuals’ attitudes or actions. This one views opioid addiction with a different lens by speaking to the effect it has on the parents of an addicted child. Through the simple art of storytelling, this PSA highlights the impact of addiction on an intensely personal, relatable level, and shows how, even within the bonds of a marriage, the fight to help someone in the throes of addiction can leave people feeling isolated, afraid, and alone.

 

Pill Case, First Call

The stopping power of this particular campaign is significant, in part because the ads leave no room for interpretation. By transforming a familiar, everyday object into a depiction of small, powerful vignettes, First Call and VML do a masterful job of illustrating what the future likely looks like if you’re an opioid addict. The individuals shown are literally trapped in the day-to-day reality of addiction—a future that is ominous, dark, and alarming. The powerful imagery captures the incalculable human cost of this rampant epidemic.

 

Behind the Door, Huggies

This awareness ad comes from Huggies, an unlikely source considering the brand is universally recognized as being associated with the warm, happy feelings that babies tend to evoke. The video itself addresses the littlest and most innocent casualties of opioid addiction and shares the powerful way Huggies is looking to help effect change in the lives of newborns who are born to addicted mothers. Huggies really shows its values and commitment to its customer base in both this ad and the program the company funds.

Sam Dolin

opoid-crisis-addiction-shutterstock_686792212.jpg

September 25, 2019 0

Sponsored Content

I know the pain of losing a loved one to opioid addiction. My family continues to grieve the loss of an incredible young man who, after an awful car accident, began a decade-long battle against addiction to his prescribed painkillers. Three years ago, he lost that battle.

Countless other families have experienced similar losses due to our nationwide opioid crisis. According to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), more than 130 people die from opioid overdoses every day. It’s a devastating epidemic that impacts people of any age and from all walks of life.

To help combat opioid addiction, PatientPoint® collaborated with Shatterproof – a nonprofit organization focused on ending the stigma of addiction and improving addiction treatment – to create a powerful opioid education program at the point of care. It launched nationwide in October 2017 across the digital PatientPoint engagement platform, reaching an estimated 15 million patients and caregivers each month in waiting rooms, exam rooms, and in the physician back office. The content is designed to increase the awareness of opioid addiction and encourage doctor-patient discussions about other treatment options.

And the best news is, it is working and we are making a difference. An independent analysis by Symphony Health revealed that each of the 20,793 physicians who had the education program in their practices distributed 142 fewer opioid prescriptions over the eight-month study period than closely matched, non-participating physicians. That adds up to nearly 3 million fewer pills prescribed. If that doesn’t prove the effectiveness of messaging to physicians and patients at the point of care, I don’t know what will.

I often talk about the power of messaging at the point of care, but the results of PatientPoint-Shatterproof campaign really drive it home. I encourage you to read the case study for more details about this fantastic campaign and its impact on the fight against opioid addiction. You can find here.

Linda Ruschau


August 28, 2019 0

 

At PatientPoint, we’re always looking for ways to take our approach to messaging patients to the next level. Having heard professional patient advocate Dr. Grace Cordovano speak at several conferences, I knew she could give us valuable insights from inside the care experience.

Dr. Grace Cordovano

Grace is an award-winning, board-certified patient advocate (BCPA) who specializes in fostering private, personalized patient advocacy services in the cancer arena. She gained a unique view of the patient journey by working intimately with dozens of cancer patients – including her mother – and by going through the journey herself when she was misdiagnosed with advanced lymphoma. As a result, Grace sees opportunities for brands to improve the care experience for these patients.

Q: You’ve helped many patients through their care journey. What does it take for a patient to complete that journey successfully?

A: Many things are required to be successful as a person living with a diagnosis, and some of them are not clinical. We have to be mindful of things like social determinants of health. When patients go home, do they have food in the refrigerator, transportation, and someone who can help them care for themselves?

And what about coordinating care? That’s a big unmet need people face routinely. People with a chronic, life-altering condition are often distressed and disappointed by how little is done to make sure all information is communicated seamlessly to every essential care person and caregiver.

Q: How can healthcare marketers help in that regard?

A: I would love to see brands provide a tool to guide patients. When someone’s given a life-altering diagnosis, they aren’t given a map or basic list of steps to tell them that when they get home, they need to do A, B, and C. What do I do when I leave that point of care? What do I do when I go home and I have work, family, children, and so many other obligations that don’t stop because I have this diagnosis? Lay it out for me: tell me what I need to do next and what do I do if I get stuck.

Q: What would a guide like that include?

A: Ideally, it would be a digital tool, so when a person leaves the doctor’s office, they have an app that maps exactly what they need to do for next steps. Having a to-do list is not enough because the path is never straight-forward. We need significantly more than just scheduling the next appointment or establishing medication reminders. People need to know how to request their medical records, how to navigate an insurance denial, or what to do when the medication is not covered by their pharmacy. This could be easily crowdsourced, similar to how Waze crowdsources traffic and navigation. Let’s crowdsource and navigate our diagnoses together!

Q: What is a patient story that’s really stuck with you?

A: I collaborated with a woman whose blood work indicated she might have a rare cancer. She met with a surgical oncologist who recommended a Whipple procedure, a surgery that could seriously impact her quality of life. The oncologist shared his medical expertise and his concerns, the patient and I did extensive research and, after months of work, we decided to go ahead with the procedure. Two days before the surgery, the oncologist called the patient and said, “You know, I think you should seek a third opinion.” Everyone relaxed, the patient got another opinion, the surgery was put off and she is now asymptomatic with no signs of any cancer. She’s doing great today because her oncologist was thoughtful and humble enough to get another perspective. The process was a beautiful example of shared decision-making between the patient and the doctor.

Linda Ruschau


August 28, 2019 0

 

It’s been five years since Gartner called Prescriptive Analytics “the final frontier for Big Data, where companies can finally turn the unprecedented levels of data into powerful action.” Will prescriptive analytics be the final frontier for health marketers?

Pharma Marketers’ Analytics Adoption Curve

Let’s start by understanding where pharma marketing is on the analytics adoption curve.

  • Do you retroactively analyze what happened with your media campaigns? If YES, you’re using Descriptive Analytics.
  • Do you evaluate, in a deliberate and controlled fashion, why it happened? If YES, you’re using Diagnostic Analytics.
  • Do you have enough data and intelligence to predict what is most likely to happen? If YES, you’re using Predictive Analytics.
  • Do you use logic and math to decide how to make it happen? If YES, you’re using Prescriptive Analytics.

While almost all pharma marketers are using Descriptive and Diagnostic Analytics to a certain extent to measure and evaluate their media campaigns, no one to my knowledge is using Predictive and Prescriptive Analytics approaches with measurable success in health. The approach has been used successfully in mass brands for marketing, and in pharma for supply chain management, customer service modeling, and even clinical trial management, but not for marketing and media.

What Prescriptive Analytics Could Look Like

And yet we talk about prescriptive analytics because the promise is extraordinary. Let’s imagine the possibility.

For example, every month nearly 100 million people visit Healthline. With big data models, we would be able to predict the condition profiles of our readers, what content they’re going to read, what ads they’re going to click on, and what brands they will ultimately buy. With that information, we could use AI in real time to individualize and personalize the experience for each reader and determine which ad unit(s) to show them, in which platform (site, social network, newsletter), and in what order, to influence specific behaviors such as visiting a particular website page, and delivering a specific outcome like a new brand start.

Sponsoring brands could manage the reach of their ad campaigns and forecast the increased demand generated by their ad spend far more accurately. The prospect is enticing.

Limitations of Prescriptive Analytics in Health Marketing

Before we fully embrace the allure, let’s recognize some of the limitations of predictive analytics in health marketing.

  • The scale of the data just doesn’t exist. Sure, if we’re talking about a condition like flu, which affects large swaths of the world’s population, we may be able to build models that work. But what about advanced metastatic breast cancer? Or ankylosing spondylitis? The numbers of cases of these conditions are small, so the predictive power is far from confident and the models fall apart.
  • Media campaigns don’t really relate to each other. To get the historical learning at scale, we’d need to combine the learning across all media campaigns, across all brands, even across all conditions. But brands are different. Insights are different. Messages and levers are different. The experience from one campaign doesn’t apply to another, even though the holistic experience can yield powerful insights.
  • The patient journey is truly individual. Perhaps, with really big data sets, we can find demographic or behavioral markers that correlate with condition profiles, advertising sensitivity, or likelihood to get on brand. But the correlation won’t be high, and won’t necessarily portend future behavior. It’s because health is multifactorial and every person is truly unique. Not everyone with advanced metastatic breast cancer is the same. They live under different economic conditions, social determinants, value systems, and risk curves. There may exist a handful of people who mimic similar behaviors, but never segments large enough to truly validate the effort.
  • Last but not least, patient privacy protection limits widespread use of patient data. Industries leveraging prescriptive analytics with machine learning and artificial intelligence have significantly fewer barriers than health and pharma marketers. HIPAA makes data matching and outcomes-based analysis extremely challenging. Add to that the data loss now with GDPR and CCPA, further diminishing the sample sizes available for testing and optimizing, and making universal recommendations impossible.

How Pharma Can Be Data-Driven

Instead of chasing big data models, marketers can be predictive and prescriptive with their media campaigns by using descriptive and diagnostic data combined with human computing: human discernment, sensitivity, and gumption.

Here are our four principles:

  1. Live by the data. Continue to invest in machines to run the decision rules behind your dashboard, alerting you when a campaign is in the “red” or “green” zone. But make sure you have empathetic humans available to receive those alerts and act on them.
  2. Surround yourself with a team of competitive hard-core analysts. They’re hard-wired to go beyond current standards. They’re your human engine, to fine-tune future results and predict future results.
  3. Be smarter about how you use historical data. Ask “What worked?” Also, scenario plan by asking “What could work better?” to understand and perfect campaign effectiveness. Be strategic. Start with the end goal in mind, test and experiment, and deftly piece together the answers to “how” and “why.”
  4. Optimize actively, not passively. When your agency or partner presents their optimization approach, don’t gloss over that section. Approach optimization as a critical strategic lever. Build rapid review cycles, and learn and codify that learning everyday.

Prescriptive analytics gives us an ideal to aspire to, but not something we can realistically participate in today. However, we can take the key principles from that ideal and incorporate them in the way we run our campaigns. We can adhere to scientific rigor, transparency, and connecting humans to the numbers to rethink and refine campaigns. For now, it may not be a golden goose, but it’s not an empty promise either.

 

Jennifer Loga

Doctors-Office-POC.webp

July 26, 2019 0

 

I sat down with Charlie Greenberg, a respected healthcare industry veteran and an expert in point-of-care (POC) marketing, to discuss current trends in healthcare marketing. It’s a topic Charlie knows well, having worked for more than 30 years in the industry with giants like Saatchi & Saatchi, Wyeth, and Merck. Charlie currently serves as a media and marketing consultant, so he spends a great deal of time thinking about the ways brands can improve their reach and maximize their return on investment.

Q: How has healthcare marketing changed during your time in the industry?

A: Market research on patient population profiles and their attitudes toward treatment options has become increasingly more sophisticated. We no longer focus only on demographics and affinity interests, but now incorporate attitudes toward treatment options, healthcare status, and relevant multicultural distinctions within an overall target universe.

Paid media in the marketing mix has embraced this more sophisticated market research by employing greater targeted media tactics. This is not only a function of the evolution of digital media but greater opportunities within the point-of-care arena and the availability to refine how mass media can reach a target audience.

Q: What’s the biggest thing healthcare marketers aren’t doing that they should, or that they should be doing more of?

A: Good marketers set themselves apart from the pack when they are willing to make bold decisions and address the marketplace by shaping customer thinking. Adopting a mindset of “test and learn” around how marketing dollars are spent needs to be better embraced. Short-term thinking often leads to stagnation and missed opportunities.

Secondly, marketers should also be investing more in communication which has the goal of building health literacy. This will not only support the ability to shape consumer thinking, but health literacy campaigns have been shown to lift the efforts of branded commercial campaigns when the two messages are running together.

Q: What effect can point of care (POC) have on the overall media plan? What benefits can brand managers and media planners realize from adding this channel to their mix?

A: Adding POC to a plan will increase the ability to laser target reaching prospects and patients. This complements the efforts of other tactics within the plan. Secondly, POC offers a guaranteed ROI, which also enriches the promotional effectiveness of the overall marketing plan.

Q: Why is healthcare personal to you?

A: It is rewarding to be able to feel a sense of achievement from launching that new snack food item on shelf, introducing a new car model or driving purchases of yet another shade of red lipstick. However, healthcare marketing offers a benefit of knowing that you are helping people understand health conditions and offering treatment to increase their quality of life.

Q: What’s your favorite thing about being a New Yorker?

A:  New York City offers real mobility since it is one of few places in America where you have the option to walk to get to your destination rather than being tied to your car.

Linda Ruschau

point-of-care_POC_doctor_patient_shutterstock_411558838-Converted-01-1200x800.png

April 26, 2019 0

Sponsored Content

A varied media mix that includes effective print tactics, is fundamental to unlock the full value of a Point of Care sponsorship program.

Like numerous other media environments in recent years, the Point of Care landscape has become increasingly focused on digital platforms.  From televisions to touchscreens, providers have created a wealth of technology for marketers to engage patients and consumers.  Yet most doctors’ offices continue to welcome a variety of magazines, posters, wallboards, and brochures throughout their locations.  By capitalizing on these diverse engagement tools, marketers can unlock significant consumer action.  In fact, Nielsen cites that a media mix that incorporates print and digital assets can drive as much as 30% higher ROI[1] – meaning that your campaign can play a vital role in the patient journey. With the ability to “own” platforms that are more transportable and offer distinct take-away value, brands can diversify their POC messaging through print materials, all while gaining 100% share-of-voice.

Reinforcing your brand message with a dynamic media mix

Since its origin, the Point of Care industry has worked diligently to develop its venues to be turn-key marketing environments that offer valuable information to a wide array of consumers and caregivers.  Its channels prioritize efficiency for advertisers by eliminating costly, time-consuming creative versioning through standardized adverting units.  This uniform approach also allows a simplified, multi-channel strategy to engage consumers through multiple touchpoints with only a few required assets.  Waiting room video messaging can be easily reinforced through condition guide sponsorship placed in examination rooms.  Examination room tablet interstitials can boost click-through rates by introducing the brand through a waiting room wallboard before the doctor discussion.  In each case, the brand can boost exposure with static tools by leveraging traditional magazine advertising spreads.  These reinforced campaigns have proven to be incredibly powerful with consumers.  In recent Mesmerize programs, sponsorships that utilized a waiting room wallboard and a hyper-targeted mobile ad unit drove three times greater ROI than standard print programs alone.  Furthermore, those programs prompted nearly five times the national click-through average for mobile banners[2].  Indeed, brand reinforcement across multiple platforms offers a powerful boost, especially for targeted campaigns – and all with cost and time efficiency.

Target your customers by venue and by platform

Targeting remains the consistent recipe for success with all POC tactics – and where the true value of marketing lies in this channel.  Segmentation through client-supplied list matching, medical specialty selection, or audience demographics can curate venue lists to ensure maximum exposure to the appropriate audience.  Since the start of Point of Care promotion, marketers have created media mix strategies that utilized the space for its hypertargeting abilities.  Now that the industry has matured, it is imperative that brands utilize a varied approach within their POC plans as well.

As CMI recently noted, the strategic benefits from print-based tactics complement and reinforce digital messaging and significantly impact consumer engagement.  Furthermore, by understanding the specific audience target, marketers can segment a venue to reach various factions through the tactics they relate to best.  For example, physicians who are accustomed to reading printed materials will likely respond more strongly to a customized guide, while digital tactics in the waiting room can occupy time for patients anticipating their physician visit.[3]

Digital media has a solidified place in healthcare marketing and Point of Care remains a powerful proving ground for those tactics.  However, by adopting a diversified strategy that employs a variety of tools – including static media – marketers can optimize their POC spending to ensure maximum engagement, all with superior targeting and access that has offered repeated success in this channel.

 

References

[1] Tsvetkov, Tsventan. (2018, August 8). “Perspectives: The Easier Way To Drive Higher Marketing ROI,” Retrieved from https://www.nielsen.com/us/en/insights/news/2017/perspectives-the-easier-way-to-drive-higher-marketing-roi.html

[2] Mesmerize, (2019, January 21). “Consumer Packaged Goods 2019 Mobile Case Study”.

[3] Marvel, Darcy, Cooper. (2019, 14 March). “The Importance of Print Media in Today’s NPP Channel Mix,” Retrieved from https://www.cmimedia.com/insights/povs/the-importance-of-print-media-in-todays-npp-channel-mix

 

Craig Mait


April 9, 2019 0

The pharmaceutical industry is one of the most powerful sectors in the United States. The United States government has long realized how much of an influence the industry has had since its origin over a century ago and has regulated the industry as such.

Pharmaceutical companies’ largest expenses are research and development costs, which typically range from tens of millions of dollars to several hundred million dollars. With such substantial costs, companies have dedicated more time and energy into developing creative marketing strategies to attract additional consumers.

Here are some of the best marketing strategies that the pharmaceutical industry has seen thus far.

Lobbying and TV Advertisements

Did you know that the United States and New Zealand are the only two countries to allow pharmaceutical companies to advertise their drugs directly to consumers? In the United States alone, pharmaceutical companies have spent countless billions of dollars in order to maintain the ability to advertise directly to consumers over the years. Although lobbying costs are not technically considered marketing expenses, they have a significant effect on direct-to-consumer advertising and, therefore, correspond with advertising expenses.

Although direct-to-consumer advertising in the pharmaceutical industry has several benefits for consumers, it is important that these ads instruct consumers to see physicians prior to deciding on their own that they need to take drugs that are advertised directly to the public. In order to prevent any complications with the medication and to build reliability between consumers and the company, direct-to-consumer advertisements should always encourage consumers to check with their doctor before taking a new medication as well as accurately describe the drug and its purpose.

In 2017 alone, the pharmaceutical industry spent over $6 billion on advertising in direct-to-consumer fashion in the United States. Without lobbying, the government would likely have shut down this form of advertising in the pharmaceutical industry. The industry’s unique ability to keep the direct-to-consumer channel open, along with persistent and coordinated lobbying efforts, make DTC advertising one of the most powerful marketing strategies in the industry.

Drug Discount Cards

Few places outside of the pharmaceutical industry offer coupons that reduce the cost of goods purchased by up to ninety percent. One of the most popular marketing strategies in the industry is the use of drug discount cards. Drug manufacturers work with pharmacies to provide consumers substantial discounts. In return, manufacturers give pharmacies a portion of the original purchase price in exchange for accepting less money directly from consumers.

Pharmacies support discount cards because they encourage people to spend more money on non-drug items inside their stores. In addition, pharmacies that do not accept discount cards have been known to consistently miss out on business in their local markets because the cards have been so widely adopted. Discount cards are both useful and convenient and have therefore been a largely successful marketing tool for the pharmaceutical industry.

Content Marketing

Content marketing is a relatively new form of marketing that has taken the world of business, not just the pharmaceutical industry, by storm over the past few years.

Rather than paying for advertisements that blatantly push messages such as “Buy me now,” content marketing involves authoring helpful guides and blog posts that help consumers learn new information or otherwise offer them something that is completely free of charge.

Content marketing is especially important in pharmaceuticals because it helps build customer loyalty. Most people look up information related to pharmaceuticals when they are concerned about themselves or loved ones due to an illness or medical condition. Accurate and informative guides help build a sense of trustworthiness between the consumer and the company. Connecting with consumers at such significant and emotional times is a solid way of building loyalty to the pharmaceutical company.

Caryl Anne Crowne


October 31, 2018 0

Sponsored Content

Pharma’s presence in patient engagement solutions at the physician’s office has often been a hot topic for debate. Are physicians turned off to these products when they see pharma ads? Is there ever a case where pharma ads are acceptable? How do patients feel? You might be surprised…

Obviously, physicians’ opinions play a critical role in how PatientPoint® in-office solutions are developed, as we have to ensure they are actively using our platforms and find them helpful once in market. To find out more, we partnered with the Digital Health Coalition to conduct proprietary research into physicians’ attitudes and behaviors toward patient engagement technology.

The results demonstrate that patient engagement solutions at the point-of-care can provide pharma with an opportunity to drive better physician-patient discussions, insert their brand into those discussions and ultimately help educate on better treatment decisions. This is an unprecedented and unique ability to impact both audiences at that magic moment when treatment decisions are being made.

Physicians are actually excited

So how do physicians feel about having technology in their offices? To borrow from Tim McGraw, “they like it, they love it, they want some more of it.”

  • In fact, 44% of physicians surveyed said they find new technology that engages patients exciting – and that they use it as much as they can. More than a third feel they need it to remain up-to-date.

Physicians want to be on the cutting edge of healthcare. They value new technology’s role in enhancing the patient experience and providing better information to their patients. The key is not technology just for technology’s sake – it has to help providers be more efficient or provide better care.

But that still leaves the question, “Are physicians comfortable with pharma being present at the point of care?” According to our recent research, the answer is: YES!

  • When asked if they would be interested in receiving free digital engagement solutions that include highly contextual, tailored content along with pharma-branded advertising, three-quarters of surveyed physicians said they’d welcome it.

Note the emphasis on tailored content. Physicians are consumers as well as healthcare providers. Sticking ads in their office with no real benefit to them won’t sit well. However, when you leverage highly targeted, specialty-specific education, pharma brand messages are not seen as intrusive, but rather part of a personalized information package that helps providers and patients make better treatment decisions.

This is just a snippet of a broader study – and we are happy to share the learnings. 

You’re welcome to dive deeper into the study results by visiting http://patientpoint.com/resources/patient-engagement-technology/

 

 

Linda Ruschau


October 31, 2018 0

Zen Chu, MD, of Accelerated Medical Ventures and senior lecturer at MIT Sloan School of Management, said “We’ve got so many new technologies and redesigned experiences impacting both the value we deliver and also the value patients are getting from healthcare.” A SWOT analysis shows that virtual reality (VR) is a novelty that will be become another successful communication marketing platform in the pharmaceutical mass media mix. From the assessment below, the benefits of the strengths and opportunities of VR marketing techniques substantially outweigh the challenges of the weaknesses and threats, which inevitably will decrease over time.

Strengths

Marketing approaches are enhanced with VR by providing more innovative information with immersive storytelling. Patients are exposed to the impacts of their medications by viewing colorful three-dimensional (3D) videos instead of reading dull, long-winded, monotonous drug information in black and white printed materials. The immersive Mechanism of Action (MOA) animation of VR is a full circle video experience with 3D images that provides narrative while stimulating the senses. Spatial audio allows patients to hear information emanating from all directions that result in a blended experience. In-depth sensory perception with VR creates empathy with an inspirational message that takes patients on a journey, captures their full attention, draws them into an encounter with pharmaceuticals, and coerces them into exploring their options while ensuring a memorable experience. Patients are motivated to become engaged with drugs in a resourceful way immediately after a VR pharmaceutical experience, which strengthens the value of VR as a marketing tool.

Weaknesses

Pharmaceutical marketers encounter challenges with the promotion of 3D imaginary visuals, the possible high cost of required equipment, an increase in manpower budgets and the subsequent lower marketing budgets and the lack of technology acceptance. Often times, VR marketers are confronted with the seemingly futile struggle to overcome the fantasy versus reality theme. 3D visuals bring the patient into a conceptual, fantasy world of a fictional environment as opposed to augmented realty (AR) which delivers a physical, real-world environment including sound, video, and graphics generated by computer technology. The cost of the necessary head gear can be expensive which could hinder marketing strategies that would promote it as an easily attainable communication vehicle. The patients’ perception is that it is not worth their investment of time and money considering the high probability of the insignificant value of 3D visuals that are not operational on such devices as iPads. VR campaigns necessitate more staff, such as artists, animators, and copywriters, which escalate the cost of manpower while decreasing the available funding for marketing efforts. Modern technology lacks human interaction in a manner that patients believe is detached and aloof. Simple, high-tech tools such as glasses lack warmth and are devoid of personal touch. Combining medicine with technology is regarded by some patients as standoffish and distant.

Opportunities

The promotion of products with branding, growth of empathy awareness through an imaginative experience, education, and training are all marketing opportunities that engage patients and doctors while increasing sales, drug compliance, and the number of new drug users. VR produces branding by supporting products that stimulate creativity and evoke senses which results in a unique, complete experience rather than merely a visual presentation. Empathy is built when doctors reaffirm to themselves that they chose their medical careers so they could positively influence humanity. VR serves as training and education for doctors with the optimistic outlook that any mistakes would occur during these simulated patient encounters and not in the real world. By presenting in videos the negative impacts on the quality of life with drug non-compliance, doctors are encouraged to prescribe certain therapeutic medications to keep patients on drug therapy for a longer period of time. This not only equates to improved health, but also an increase in sales and market penetration during growth and maturity drug cycles.

Threats

VR marketing strategies are susceptible to exposing the missing value or content, glossing over the specific benefits and risks of the drug, depicting non-compliance with the FDA, and focusing on a flashy fad. The VR experience is an entertaining simulation, but does not always include the requisite information. Striking graphics can overshadow the content. The patient remembers the glitzy presentation while recalling the data as lackluster. As one pharma marketing executive at Ferring Pharmaceuticals said, “Content is king and experience is queen.” Patients may lose interest in the health topic and be unable to identify the positive and negative impacts of the drug after viewing the video for only a few seconds if there is not an angle to keep them focused on the content. Messages are sometimes camouflaged by a great deal of pizzazz; however, they need to be a true representation of the drug that shows compliance with FDA approval and specific industry regulations. Many patients are under the impression that glasses can be easily replaced with the next innovation which may be less associated with a passing, showy toy, and more connected with a modest health apparatus that has longevity in the industry.

In summary, a SWOT analysis outlines the positives of VR pharmaceutical marketing which surpass the negatives. In the near future, challenges will be overcome in at least three ways:

  1. The cost of equipment is decreasing as demand increases and less expensive, more sleekly designed head gear bursts onto the market;
  2. Technology acceptance is growing immeasurably;
  3. More value and content is being added.

Undoubtedly, VR is destined to become the newest, avant-garde media tool in pharma that will increase patient engagement and ROI exponentially while improving patient well-being.

 

References

Bell, J. (2018). Pharma wades into the world of virtual reality marketing. BioPharma Dive.

Best ways to use virtual and augmented reality for pharma. (2017). Viseven.

Champagne, D., Hung, A. and Leclerc, O. (2018). The road to digital success in pharma. Pharmaceuticals and Medical Products.

How is the pharma industry marketing today in 2018? (2018). #TrendTalks.

Senson, A. (2015). “Virtual reality in healthcare: where’s the innovation?” TechCrunch.

 

 

admin


August 29, 2018 0

As Peter Drucker, renowned educator, management consultant, and author, said, “The aim of marketing is to know and understand the customer so well the product or service fits him and sells itself.” This mantra holds true with multicultural marketing in the pharmaceutical industry, especially with Hispanic and Latino populations. Successful pharmaceutical marketing amongst the Spanish groups should focus on providing personalized care to the right individual at the right time in the right place thereby expanding upon the basic tenet of the Affordable Care Act which reaches all Americans.

Below are a few cultural considerations that increase industry profits by positively impacting the development of strategies for pharma marketing to Hispanic and Latino consumers who experience customized care.

Family Dynamics vs. Individualism

  • Group interdependence among family is at the center of the Hispanic world. Affiliation, cooperation, and group activities are weighted heavily as Latinos understand there is strength in numbers. Their health decisions rely on an extended family model and are typically made after consulting various family members. Opinions from adult children of the older generation are valued extensively. Pharma branding with marketing campaigns needs to be family-focused.

Imagery vs. Text

  • In the Hispanic culture, a picture is worth a thousand words. Incorporating culturally embedded cues into pharma marketing that reflect attire, family values, symbols, ethics, rituals, traditions, material objects, and services in their culture, stimulate how these consumers respond to the pharma industry. Through this identification process both their self-image and confidence in pharma’s judgment of prescription medication is enhanced, resulting in a change in their attitude towards the brand and eventual increased brand acceptance.

Technology Media vs. Traditional Media

  • In the past, it was widely believed that the only effective way to deliver Spanish-language pharma marketing messages was through traditional media, such as the television networks Telemundo and Univision. However, the newer generation of Hispanics on the go are not as interested in traditional media; they are more interested in smart phone technology and social media sites. One in three are the primary pharma decision makers as caregivers of an older generation of family household members and make their choices by engaging with technology media. They are three times more likely to use their smart phones to decide about pharma for themselves and other family members. Pharma marketing via technology media will soon become a leading strategy that is mandatory.

Fatalism vs. Optimism

  • Many Latinos believe that destiny is predetermined and little can be done to change outcomes. For example, they may believe that death is inevitable after receiving a cancer diagnosis and also believe that any type of prescription drug cannot improve the chance of survival because it is out of their control. A Hispanic participant in a recent NIH study sorrowfully stated, “I worked with a person who had arthritis and was going to get cortisone but the last time she went to get it at the hospital, she didn’t return home. Instead, she went to the cemetery.” Pharma marketing must help Hispanics move beyond this mindset by reinforcing examples of positive outcomes in their culture with marketing campaigns targeted at patient support groups on social media, such as Facebook, that encourage pharmaceutical use to recover from an illness.

Natural Healing Remedies vs. Prescriptions

  • Home remedies tend to be the first medicinal approach used in the Latino culture prior to visiting a medical professional. However, often times these home remedies are more detrimental than beneficial. For example, recently Hispanic parents treated their infant with star anise tea to cure colic, which resulted in the infant suffering from seizures and needing to be rushed to the emergency room at a Miami hospital. Pharma marketers should see this as a new opportunity to gain market share by targeting Latino consumers with public service announcements about the dangers of consuming natural healing remedies in lieu of advanced pharma medications with proven results.

High Power Distance vs. Low Power Distance

  • Pharma marketing in the Spanish culture is impacted by high power distance because Hispanics conform to a hierarchy where everybody has a place in the world which needs no further justification. On the other hand, in a low power distance culture, inequalities of power between doctor and patient require further justification for acceptance. For example, when doctors prescribe a certain brand of medication to Latinos, often times the pharmaceutical is not questioned since the doctor is viewed as an authority figure not to be doubted for fear of appearing disrespectful. Pharma companies may gain a competitive advantage by providing guides to Hispanic patients describing the brand’s impact and side effects in plain, simple, straightforward, 3rd grade level Spanish language for additional motivational encouragement to stay on a medication regimen with a specific brand.

In summary, minorities are increasingly becoming the new majority and the so-called “average” pharma consumer is now interacting on a complex and multidimensional landscape. Knowing the customer is most likely the single most important concept of a flourishing pharma market across cultures, and in particular with the Hispanic and Latino groups. This growing diversity has had a substantial economic impact as shown by an increase in pharma spending power that has significantly encouraged marketers to take into account various cultural characteristics when formulating a winning marketing strategy.

 

Resources

Barker, KK and Guzman, CEV. Pharmaceutical direct-to-consumer advertising and US Hispanic patient-consumers. Sociology of Health & Illness. 2015 Nov; 37(8):1337-51. doi: 10.1111/1467-9566.12314. Epub 2015 Aug 3.

Katz JN, Lyons N, Wolff LS, et al. Medical decision-making among Hispanics and non-Hispanic Whites with chronic back and knee pain: A qualitative study. BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders. 2011;12:78. doi:10.1186/1471-2474-12-78.

Pinedo, Diana. (2018). The state of multicultural marketing in 2018. Healthcare Success.

Multicultural marketing: Embrace the New Normal. (2016). PM360 Online.

The Case for Culturally Competent Health Marketing. (2016). Newlink America.

admin