Medical Marketing and Media

Antidote

As most of you know, the FDA has placed a warning on your top cholesterol-lowering drugs about the risk of diabetes and cognitive problems. By the time the news media gets through with it, the author is hoping that this warning doesn't end up doing more harm than good. A 2010 study in the Lancet, which reviewed several other studies, showed a 9% increased rate of diabetes in patients who were taking statins. But these same statins were busy saving lives in patients with heart disease and at r...

Is Ivory Tower Free of Industry Bias?

A question whether ivory tower free of industry bias is answered. Robert J. Matheis, PhD, senior director and head, Medical Communications, Sanofi; President (2011- 2012), International Society for Medical Publication Professionals, said Professional ethics must be exercised to preserve scientific integrity. The pharmaceutical industry has received particular media attention around publication practices because commercial interests and the potential for bias are visible in this sector. Kirby ...

Vantage Point

As people consider the role of social media in healthcare marketing, there is likely no other measure more important than "clout." A good working definition of this term is "power and influence." Old-fashioned promotional concepts like "reach" and "frequency" are being replaced by this far more relevant metric. Facebook, Twitter and Google Plus are all included in the determination of how many people you influence, how much you influence them and the power of your network. As is always the ca...

As I See It

In early March, the University of Pennsylvania released their findings regarding allegations of ghostwriting against two academics. The claim set off howls of laughter. Two academics who track research misconduct labeled it the "George Costanza Defense," after an episode of Seinfeld. After his boss finds out that Costanza had a dalliance on his desk, Costanza has to explain himself. At issue is a paper written by a medical communications firm on behalf of GlaxoSmithKline and published under t...

Fda Wedded to the Ftc-for Better or for Worse

In digital marketing, the FDA and FTC have become inextricably linked. Both exist to protect consumers and, in theory, that's a good thing. In practice, however, extensive regulatory requirements around how, when, and where healthcare marketers communicate with consumers might be reaching a point where it's inhibiting quality of care. The FDA's OPDP (formerly DDMAC) regulates the promotional content of prescribed medications. If a patient is new to therapy, companies might customize content t...

When Consolidation Comes with Compromise

Consolidations come with compromise. They can cause infighting, turf wars, financial management challenges and systematic nightmares. The work doesn't always get better across the board and, in many cases, the clients ultimately suffer. And anyone who has been part of it will tell you: it's not about the client; it's about the agency and who gets what. The focus can quickly get off the clients' business and onto the agency's bottom line. The other concerning part about consolidations is that ...

Private View

Several new advertising campaigns are critiqued. The campaigns are for: 1. Bayer Aspirin Extra Strength by BBDO, 2. Panorama by Rethink, 3. Meth Project by Organic, 4. Alzheimer Society by Rethink, 5. Carboveg by Leagas Delaney, 6. Breast Health Foundation by Volcano, and. 7. Stivoro by Publicis.

Closest to the Customer Wins

A few weeks back, the Wall Street Journal quoted new Yahoo! CEO Scott Thompson, who in a recent meeting with a group of agency executives said that when building customer relationships he preferred not dealing with "intermediaries" (like the group he was meeting with) and instead wanted to be "as close to the customer as possible." The author expects many agency people bristle at the thought of someone like Thompson telling them to "get out of the way," but (for an agency person) he has a con...