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Earlier this week I had the chance to present at one of the largest annual meetings of customer care professionals in the world, the SOCAP International Symposium. SOCAP stands for the Society of Customer Care Professionals, and among other things, its members include the folks in charge of running call centers, managing customer response teams and sometimes branching into running loyalty programs as well. If marketing is all about the outward appearance of a brand and perception, then customer care (more than any other group) is focused on the reality of what your brand actually is.

This battle between perception and reality, interestingly, is where the divide between customer care and marketing usually arises. The larger the company, the more divorced these two disciplines seem to be - often only meeting at the last stages of planning a marketing campaign to finally discuss coordinating. Not surprisingly, a key theme I quickly saw during the SOCAP event was that the communication between marketing and customer care needs to get stronger across the board. In particular, there were 5 themes that emerged for me (as a marketer) that define what customer care people would love to see from us more frequently (continue after the jump to read): continue reading

If you have been around the Internet for some time and saw the acronym “P2P” - that might conjure up images of Napster and the whole illegal peer-to-peer file downloading movement mostly focused on music. In the healthcare context, however, P2P may represent the next big wave of opportunity for organizations who can think beyond the traditional sales rep model for pharma brands or trade and direct marketing for others. But what is P2P marketing in a healthcare context? Two things:

Physician to Physician Marketing
Patient to Patient Marketing

Logically, this makes perfect sense. The one truth that most organizations already know is that word of mouth is king in all things related to healthcare. Doctors ask one another for advice and refer patients, and patients (even before the Internet) look to one another for advice and support as well. Once you add the Web and social networking into the mix, this truth becomes even more paramount.
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There is a fraternity of communicators at big brands who are pushing their organizations into adopt more social media, and it is a growing list. Our team is often part of their struggle, and we try to play the role of adviser and cheerleader as they fight the internal battles to do new and more engaging work. As many experiences as we get to have, though, there is no real substitute for the lessons that social media evangelists within large organizations can share with one another. When brand marketers get together to talk about social media then real learning usually happens.

On June 15th and 16th in New York City, we are proudly participating in the Corporate Social Media Summit in New York - a gathering of some of the best minds in making social media work within organizations. Here is a list of nearly 20 of the all-corporate lineup of speakers who are already confirmed for the event:

• Whole Foods Market - Bill Tolany - Head of Social Media
• Adidas - Chris Barbour - Head of Digital Marketing, adidas Originals
• PepsiCo - Josh Karpf - Senior Manager, Digital Media Communications
• Amy Powell - Head of Interactive Marketing and Social Media - Paramount Pictures continue reading
  

When SXSW, one of the largest gatherings of minds and enthusiasts in the digital world, didn’t feature more than a handful of panels on the intersection between health and social media - an “unconference” event called SXSH sprung up to fill the void. Yesterday that event came together in Austin and included speakers and pioneers in using social media to communicate for health issues in regional hospitals, government agencies, health insurers, nonprofits, epatients and pharma companies. Just about every part of the healthcare world had some sort of voice in the discussion as everyone gathered to share ideas on how the industry as a whole might use social media more effectively by building greater trust.

The day long discussion featured many highlights, starting with a talk from Doug Ulman, CEO of Livestrong about the power of health based communities online and how important real time information is to improving healthcare and the patient experience. Greg Matthews from Humana shared how a health insurer can innovate internally and use that to improve patient relationships and Jenn Texada from MD Anderson shared how she and her communications team use social media tools to interact directly with patients for customer service. David Hale from the National Library of Medicine presented an innovative new database to help identify unknown pills called Pillbox and Fabio Gratton shared how to build a movement through a case study of the success of the #FDASM movement in November of last year around the FDA hearings. In the “unconference” part of the day, companies such as ReachMD and WEGO Health talked about their communities and content and how they help bridge the gaps between patients, doctors and healthcare providers.
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Last week I had the opportunity to travel to Bangalore for a Brand Summit event that featured many marketers, communicators and even a Bollywood star talking about the future of marketing in India as country goes through what the conference termed as the “era of discontinuity.” With a ballooning population, growing Internet penetration, arguably the largest mobile phone market on earth and an entrepreneurial culture - India is at once a bewildering and maturing market for all things social. On the streets of India, word of mouth marketing and old school lessons are actively driving commerce. In businesses, the hot topics are similar to what they are in the US or elsewhere … how can your brand reach consumers who are increasingly placing their attention elsewhere and getting progressively better at ignoring you.

On answer that has risen to some level of prominence in India is the use of celebrities in marketing. You could argue that celebrities are popular everywhere in the world, but in a country that release more films in an average week than most countries do in an entire year, the rules are slightly different. In India it is not uncommon to see a Bollywood star’s face on everything from facial tissues to pens. Celebrity is used to connote trust, and in a culture with many different socio-economic classes (they even have names), the only way that marketers can often reach across these levels is with celebrities that many people recognize.

In an illuminating panel filled with journalists, filmmakers, marketers, creative directors and one celebrity (Bollywood Actor Vivek Oberoi) the conversation turned to a in-depth discussion of the role of celebrity in marketing in India and whether it was indeed a necessity, or whether it has become a “crutch” for the lazy marketer who doesn’t want to do any real work so they just hire a celebrity and consider their marketing efforts complete. Here were some of the biggest takeaways that the conversation raised for me:

1. Understand the difference between talent and celebrity. When you hire an actor to play a part in an ad, you are hiring them as “talent.” When you get a celebrity, you are hiring them to bring their personal brand to your product or service and serve as a spokesperson of sorts. The first key is to know the difference and not confuse the two.

2. Start with an idea, not a celebrity. Often a marketing strategy starts by selecting the celebrity the team will work with and then an idea is built around that choice. This method is backwards and results in marketing that lacks strategic vision and often fails to resonate. To do better, you need to have a strong creative idea … then find the celebrity that best fits that idea.

3. Build on the personal brand of a celebrity. Vivek Oberoi raised many intelligent points about the celebrity point of view when it comes to marketing (something we don’t often hear). He understands his personal brand and what resonates positively or negatively with it. As a result, he chooses personally not to do tobacco or alcohol related advertising. Many other celebrities lack those same principles and simply go where the biggest dollars tempt them. The best marketing will be something builds on the personal brand that a celebrity has built, instead of ignoring or countering it.

4. Use real people too. Thankfully, the point did emerge from the panel that there may be times where you don’t NEED a celebrity. There is a power of real people to connect with one another that can be missing with celebrity focused campaigns and for a growing number of brands in India taking this real approach is working well and shouldn’t be discounted.

Yesterday was a busy day of back to back presentations from the first day of the FDA hearings and there are many recaps now sharing some topline points from the conversations and presentations. I shared my own take on some big themes that emerged from the early part of the day here on this blog. Aside from the content presented during each of the speaker’s time on stage, I think there were several pivotal moments of significance throughout the day. Here’s a chronological recap of what I felt they were, and what they might mean for the next step of this process the FDA has just begun:

1. Pharma needs guidance (Eli Lilly) - Being the first real pharma brand to speak on the agenda, Michelle Sharp did an excellent job representing some of the main concerns that most pharma brands have. Her point that they were operating in a vacuum and therefore simply not willing to use the online channel was well presented. Ultimately, it was her presence and the comparative courage of Eli Lilly to have her on stage that truly stood out, particularly when you consider how many pharma brands were content to sit on the sidelines passively and simply watch the proceedings. continue reading

The much anticipated FDA hearings on how pharma and medical device companies should be able to use the Internet and social media for promotion kicked off today and the presentation room at the NTSB was packed with formally dressed people with expectant faces, ready to participate in what most people consider one of the most important moments in the history of online advertising and promotion in the medical space.

Based on the presentations this morning (including mine on behalf of Ogilvy) there were several themes that emerged as topics that will be interesting to track throughout the rest of the hearings and beyond. To a large degree, these were also the points that the FDA asked probing questions on after speakers were done presenting, which is an indication of what topics the agency considers to be most important as well. The speakers in the morning session included Ogilvy PR, Pew Prescription Project, Eli Lilly, PhRMA, Pharma Marketing News, IAB, VuMedi, WebMD and WEGO. Based on listening to those presentations, here are a few topline thoughts on implications and common themes that are emerging so far:

1. Good quality content for patients and HCPs from companies IS worthwhile and desired. Through the morning proceedings, everyone agreed that companies should have SOME ability to create and promote content online. This is an important agreement moving forward, as it assumes that the focus on future guidelines from the FDA will be about HOW companies can interact online and not on the broader question of IF they should even be allowed to. If there is one big conclusion that I hope the FDA takes away from today, it is that there is an important and meaningful place for pharma and medical device brands to share content and messages online, and this category of information should not be silenced completely or banned.

2. Doing nothing is not an option. A few speakers mentioned the same point this morning, that with the growing number of “unscrupulous” sources of medical information online from people such as “snake-oil salesman” promoting miracle cures, the necessity for the FDA to step forward and help to define what acceptable forms of marketing online are is vital.

3. Companies should not be responsible for policing the Internet. One of the most common questions that companies are asking is how deep they should need to go when it comes to finding and correcting bad information. While opinions on that point may vary, several people this morning mentioned the same point of view that companies should not have to police the entire Internet for bad information.

For the rest of today, you can watch the rest of the proceedings live at http://www.capitolconnection.net/capcon/fda/111209/FDAlive.htm.  Also, if you would like to read more about our POV that we presented today, including a summary of our “3 C’s” model for accountability, you can visit the following resources:

Ogilvy’s Presentations Today and Tomorrow at the FDA >>
Summary of Ogilvy’s 3 C’s Model For Accountability >>

Next week Ogilvy will be sharing our point of view when it comes to how pharmaceutical and medical device brands should be allowed to use the web and social media for marketing and promotion. This has been a significant gray area in the past and the FDA has begun the process towards having some updated guidelines set. We are one of over 60 organizations that will be speaking during the two day hearing next week, and the questions will range from everything to what information marketers should be allowed to link to, and how they should be held responsible for content online.

The biggest question that the entire process will raise is how to define the content, messages and conversations online that marketers should be held accountable by the FDA for. To answer this top question, we will be presenting our point of view through “The 3 C’s Rule” …

What do you think - does this “rule” go too far, or far enough towards helping define what messages marketers should be accountable for online? For more context, check our our full FDA presentations on Slideshare:

http://www.slideshare.net/ogilvypharma

Most marketers who have anything to do with promoting pharmaceutical products or medical devices have the upcoming FDA hearings at the top of this minds heading into next week.  With less than 7 days to go until the hearings, all the presentations have been submitted to the FDA, the anticipation is rising and conversation online about the hearings from speakers, attendees and online watchers (the hearings will be live webcast) is rising.

Ogilvy is among the organizations slated to speak at the hearings, and we have several activities planned around them beyond speaking - including hosting a “tweetup” the evening after the first hearing in our Washington DC office for anyone interested in coming and having an informal chat about how the day went and implications for our industry. In preparation for this moment, here are 5 things anyone in the industry should expect to come from the hearings, as well as some initial information you should know:

1. What is the format of the hearing? The entire hearing consists of short introductory remarks by the FDA followed by a series of 15 or 10 minute presentations by approved speakers. There are about 60 approved speakers and on Thursday they will all focus on answering the first four questions from the FDA hearing notice, and Friday morning will solely focus on “question #5′ which is about adverse event reporting online. Friday afternoon will continue general comments. Each presentation will be specifically cut off at the time alloted and the FDA panel hearing these presentations may choose to ask questions during a speaker’s alloted time. continue reading

In the second of our series of medical blogger interviews from Blogworld Expo in Las Vegas we talk to two of the most popular nursing bloggers on the Internet - Kim McAllister from Emergiblog and Gina Rybolt from Codeblog. Both have followers in the tens of thousands for their blogs and were kind enough to do a “tag team” interview for the first time ever sharing their thoughts on everything from why they blog, to how they manage to do it without divulging any confidential patient information, to how they would like pharma brands and marketers from those brands to approach them through social media.  It’s an enlightening 5 minute video interview: