MoovCare claims to be the first application of its kind. It allows controlling lung cancer treatment based on reports on outcomes submitted by patients via web or mobile-connected devices. It enables the early identification of relapse or complications requiring rapid and specific care. According to the clinical data from the III phase randomized study on 300 patients as presented at ASCO, this mHealth application provides direct benefit in terms of prolonged survival.
The main advantage of using the app in lung cancer therapy is early detection of relapse, which is symptomatic and typical for lung cancer. This allows optimal treatment and in turn increases of survival rate among patients.
An additional effect of the app is improved treatment compliance (observance of scheduled visits, lower number of inopportune phone calls, lower number of imaging). All this at a comparatively very low cost of less than 10 000 USD versus 265 000 USD per one CT-scan for Lung Cancer.
How does MoovCare work?
MoovCare mHealth app lung cancer Mode of Action – Sivan Innovation
MoovCare is being “prescribed” to ambulatory patients. Patients are asked to fill in the web-based form each week, self-assessing 12 clinical parameters and having a free text field to enter any information they consider of importance. Data are securely passed and processed within the application. An algorithm behind MoovCare analyses the data provided and in case of any anomaly detected reports it to the oncologist and hospital dashboard. Based on the alert from Moovcare healthcare providers can contact patients and take any necessary action. Company and research behind MoovCare.
MoovCare is a product of Sivan Innovation. Founded in 2014 in Jerusalem by Daniel Israel, Sivan Innovation is an Israeli E-health start-up and R&D company. The research presented at ASCO has been conducted by Dr. Fabrice Denis at the Cancer Institute of Western France
MoovCare is a perfect example of how digital innovation, mHealth, and IoT trends are positively impacting healthcare and patient outcomes. We look forward to seeing more of such innovations coming not only from startups such as Sivan innovation but also from Big Pharma companies with their vast R&D resources.
2016 Super Bowl ads by pharmaceutical companies are perfect examples why DTC should be banned.
Every year NFL championship game is a show off for creative advertisement. In 2016, however, pharmaceutical companies joined the show to leave viewers in disgust. Viewers of the Super Bowl have been exposed to truly engaging stories.
First, Astra Zeneca and Daiichi Sankyo shared effort: https://youtu.be/yr78_7Kip3Q
We cannot imagine how the first brief looked like, but the message of the ad is that if you take opioids and get constipation, Astra Zeneca offers prescription drug for it. The ad is supposed to be serious, socially conscious and artistic. It has been instantly ridiculed in social media.
The “poo” issue is seemingly important to Pharma industry as Valeant came with yet another ad on the topic, promoting Xifaxan, an antibiotic prescribed for irritable bowel syndrome. Now it seems we are fine regardless whether it is diarrhoea or constipation.
Valeant marketers could not stop themselves, and delivered another great piece. No poo involved just a fungal infection on the toenail. Hope you are not eating.
Hurray, it seems we (pharma) have just solved all the most important problems of our patients with those products.
At K-message we truly understand the commercial side of pharmaceutical industry. However, examples above show how badly we can end when marketers are allowed to advertise directly to consumers. Those ads are clearly directed to expand the market for products, that would otherwise not be prescribed.
In case of AstraZeneca there is some value behind the ad, as it raises important issue in the country addicted to opioid painkillers. Maybe we would be happier seeing a warning against opioid’s overdose (19 000 deaths last year), but fine, some patients really need strong painkillers and the should not suffer with constipation.
Valeant has no excuse. Those ads are just stupid, they include meaningless animations and slapstick gags to deliver message that will only make it harder for HCPs. I can now imagine how hard it will be to refuse antibiotic for the patient who just ate too much. In the US problem with eating disorders is serious even without this appalling advertisement.
There was one more ad related to health, that was not aired due apparent ethical concerns. It promotes vegan lifestyle and the moral concern was that it shows people making love.
Well, if PETA’s call for veganism backed with love is immoral and those DTC ads are, something is really wrong with our ethics.
DISCLAIMER: All ads presented for purely informational purpose. We do not endorse any of the products mentioned (except of love). All trademarks belong to their owner.
GSK’s OTC product Theraflu has launched a really hot campaign in cold Poland. During the flu season agency has placed interactive outdoor city lights. Enabled with a thermometer and interactive application, ads allowed passers-by to check themselves for early flu detection.
SeaaDr. Juan Manuel Romero, a cardiologist in Sonora, Mexico, engages in a pre-op consultation with Alma Guadalupe Xoletxilva. Wikimedia Commons.
Internet of Things: Definition
Internet of Things (IoT), sometimes called also Internet of Everything, is a concept of enabling Internet-based connection between computing devices embedded into everyday objects. Internet of Things is already technically feasible and applied in multiple scenarios. With wider adoption, Internet of Things brings revolutionary changes to existing processes in most, if not all industries..
Video: Healthcare – The Internet of Things and Big Data https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qO9unY31820
Video: Internet of Everything | True Stories of the Connected: Rural Healthcare in Northern Canada
Internet of Things in Healthcare and Pharma
Internet of Things applications are impacting all three stages of health care: prevention, diagnosis and treatment. Wearable sensors and quantified self software embedded in smart-watches are good example of using Internet of Things in Healthcare for disease prevention and healthy lifestyle promotion. Going forward, wearable or digestible connected sensors are part of diagnosis useful especially in remote areas and in chronic conditions.
As for the treatment itself, connected packages and medication dispensers such as CleverCap, MedMinder or Philips Lifeline are used to improve patients adherence to the treatment. A step forward from adding connectivity to packages is putting it directly on medication. Proteus Digital Health, a company backed by Novartis and Oracle has already received FDA market clearance in the United States and a CE mark in Europe for its wearable and Ingestible Sensor devices.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hhOtjdkU34
Video: Proteus Digital Health – Your Health, Powered By You
Internet of Things in Clinical Environment: MBANs
MBAN stands for Medical Body Area Network and is a concept of low power network of body sensors worn directly or in close proximity to the patient. MBAN is connecting to the hub via LAN of health care facility (ie. hospital). MBAN allows constant monitoring of patient’s health parameters while in the facility, even while moving. Outside of the facility, MBAN may also serve patient – for example by connecting blood sugar level sensor with insulin injection pump.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vloCv3J-Wo8
Video: Medical Body Area Networks (MBANS) should expand patient monitoring
Internet of Things and Big Data
With wider adoption of connected wearable sensors and MBANs the amount of available relevant real world evidence becomes so huge, that medical research may, at least partially, shift its paradigm from experimental to statistical approach. Instead of setting up costly trials and recruiting patients with specific conditions, investigators will be able to perform analysis of existing data gathered from already diagnosed and treated population.
Video: Data analytics: Changing the practice of medicine
According to the research quoted by NHS over a fifth of patients with diabetes will have experienced a largely avoidable hypoglycemic episode whilst in hospital. Wearable technology may help doctors to detect deterioration early and act without delay. NHS England hopes, that connected sensors will be used to monitor health of people with long term conditions such as diabetes, heart failure, liver disease or asthma. The information gathered by wearable technology will be uploaded directly into patients’ records through the digital health services platform.
Nowadays, NHS maintains highly successful application (50 million hits per month) NHS Choices, that allows UK citizens to search and register for GP visit, book prescription and register for other services. NHS Choices provides also preliminary symptom checker, medical knowledge database and health related news promoting healthier lifestyle.
From the pharmaceutical marketing perspective embracing wearables in healthcare clear opportunity. Wearable (but also ingestible and implantable) devices and sensors will provide us with valuable real world evidence.With the mass adoption of such sensors assessment of treatment efficiency and drug safety will improve on unimaginable scale. Use of wearables in healthcare may also greatly impact treatment adherence (making patient to take medication as and when prescribed). In general, it moves medicine from population-based to individual data based, truly personalized healthcare. The types of physiological data points and the wearable sensors under development or on the market to monitor them. – Nature.com
Technology providers seeing vast business opportunity are joining those efforts. Then, they go back seeing how hard it is to operate in strictly regulated market.We all may remember how Google’s Larry Page and Sergey Brin were discussing their work on sensor contact lenses for diabetes (with Novartis/Alcon) and longevity medicine project of Calico. Their learning was in Sergey Brin’s words:
“Generally, health is just so heavily regulated. It’s just a painful business to be in. It’s just not necessarily how I want to spend my time. Even though we do have some health projects, and we’ll be doing that to a certain extent. But I think the regulatory burden in the U.S. is so high that think it would dissuade a lot of entrepreneurs.”
For pharmaceutical companies and healthcare providers this regulatory burden is given for their core business. For them, raise of wearable devices and mobile health applications raises some issues. Our smartphones, fitbits, jawbones and misfit shine wearables are not meant to be medical devices. Data acquired by wearables may not be accurate as they do not hae to be. They are not designed to the clinical and healthcare standard – there are no backup systems if the battery goes down, if user switches the phone in silent mode etc. Today wearable technology for pharma is still not good enough to bet patients safety on it. FDA’s guidance allows wearables in healthcare only as general wellness, low risk devices.
The solution may come from the alliance of pharma and technology. Novartis with Google and Qualcomm, UCB with MC10, GSK with Medidata have chosen this direction. Another may be innovative startups companies willing to align with regulatory and compliance burden for a benefit of entering profitable niche leftover by more established players.
K-message believes that finally wearables and more generally, the internet of things will change and shape the future of healthcare and pharmaceutical industry. If you know or, even better, make a product or service intended to be a part of this future we will be happy to cover your story.
Digital marketing loses against traditional interaction with HCPs says Cegedim Strategic Data (CSD). According to the study called Global Promotions Audit, traditional interactions are still much more common and more efficient in impact on prescription behavior.
To be honest, such a result is completely against what we preach at K-message. Digital tactics are supposed to reach wider audience, and properly executed can change behavior efficiently. What is more, we know that efficiency of digital can be measured.
CSD’s study, at the first sight, says otherwise. Why is that?
CSD collects data from physicians in Top 5 EU, USA, Japan, Brazil, Russia, China, Belgium, Canada and Poland. The research is part of syndicated panel, and respondents are physicians from primary and secondary care disciplines.
Obviously, digital maturity of surveyed markets differs, and CSD provides results by country. Even in the most advanced Japan, only 34% of contacts is classified as digital. For USA it is 24%, Poland 20%. Other countries have much lower proportion of digital interaction – Germany 5%, Brazil, Italy and Russia 2%, China just 1%. Digital contacts by country Cegedim Strategic Data
This has to skew results. We do not know the size of the sample of German or Chinese HCPs, but even if it is 100 doctors per country, we cannot say anything relevant about impact of any factor that affected only few respondents in the group.
From CSD data, we can see that in 11 of 13 markets, a predominant channel of digital interaction with HCPs is emailing. This again puts digital in unfavorable light. Does an e-mail from sales rep counts as an interaction with HCP? Can we reasonably expect that e-mail alone will change HCPs decision for prescriptions? We should not, and this brings another surprise.
The most positive impact of digital interaction on prescription is declared in Canada where 55.6% of digital interactions led to positive intention to start or increase prescribing promoted brand. The most skeptical towards the digital were doctors from France, still 17.1% of those declared positive impacts.
CSD says that in every country impact of traditional interaction with HCPs was higher than for digital. But what are we comparing here? It is an email campaign versus face to face and telephone detailing, on-site meeting or event, delivery of printed materials.
Those results mean that HCPs should receive a proper, multi-channel campaign that combines e-mail (automated with marketing automation tools), remote detailing, on-site events supported with webcasts, websites that allow rich interaction and include order form for additional materials in print or in automated detailing.
CSD’s story is that their result shows a need for more of traditional approach. This is simply impossible due to market environment. But it would not be smart either. What we read from the data is that emailing alone can bring 20 to 50% impact on prescription, so pharmaceutical marketing job is to invest more in multichannel approach.
The recent FDA’s Office of Prescription Drug Promotion (OPDP) draft guidance on Internet/Social Media Platforms with Character Space Limitations – Presenting Risk and Benefit Information for Prescription Drugs and Medical Devices effectively bans Twitter for pharma advertising. It does the same with Google Sitelink ads.
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K-messsage’s take on the FDA’s social media guidance from June 17th:
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1. DO NOT use Twitter for promotional messaging about prescription drugs and medical devices
2. DO NOT use Google Sitelinks for promotional messaging about prescription drugs and medical devices
3. DO PERFORM social media monitoring to identify and engage in conversation about your prescription drugs and medical devices with misleading information on prescription drugs or medical devices
4. KEEP your Twitter presence for corporate and employer branding and for correcting misinformation
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K-message believes that this is not what the Agency wanted to achieve, but we strongly suggest to all risk-averse pharmaceutical companies to cease any promotional activities for prescribed drugs in both space limited channels.
While the guidance includes imaginary examples of legally approved tweets and ads, in the real world it will not be possible to recreate such compliance for any of the existing products. Or at least it would cause a serious “Headhurtz” for the pharma marketing teams. Headhurtz example Draft Guidance for Industry- Internet-Social Media Platforms with Character Space Limitations
FDA requires to include in the tweet both benefit and risk information, and to link from the tweet to full page with Important Safety Information, preferably using word “risk” in an URL. As tweet has only 140 characters, it would be almost impossible to crunch in risks related to the product, even if you decide to skip benefit part.
Nofocus tweet example Draft Guidance for Industry- Internet-Social Media Platforms with Character Space Limitations
The same happens with FDA’s proposal on how to use Google Sitelink ad format. The Agency may not know that, but what is displayed in the ad depends on the Google’s own algorithm, that tries to increase CTR. The chance of having very similar, risk focused links displayed under the ad, even if we manage to be always on the top of SERP, is limited. From our perspective the risk of not being able to follow the guidance is too high. Our recommendation is to use other Search Engine Marketing tactics instead.
Above does not mean, that pharma marketing on twitter is no longer possible. From the global perspective, the new regulation (if adopted without changes), affects only the United States market. Globally, there is no promotional activity directed to consumers, so there is no need to send promotional tweets. Instead, pharmaceutical firms focus on their corporate brands and disease awareness education – without promoting or even mentioning prescription drugs in the communication. So, yes, advertising prescription drugs and medical devices on twitter seems to be forbidden. But you should keep your presence there for
On the brighter side of the regulatory proposals, another draft guidance has been published. The Internet/Social Media Platforms: Correcting Independent Third-party Misinformation About Prescription Drugs and Medical Devices document paves the way to correct misleading or false information on pharmaceutical products and medical devices that is spreading over the web.
It will hopefully encourage pharma marketing departments worldwide to take a closer look into the social media and web monitoring in a search for online conversations around pharmaceutical brands and products. As the recent Accenture’s study shows, patients are expecting more of such engagement from the industry.
Cannes Lions Health 2014 festival was supposed to be the world’s first contest of creativity in healthcare and pharma advertising. Made by advertising agencies and for advertising agencies, Lions Health could not find a grand prix winner in Cannes this year. Does it prove lack of creativity, or rather that the whole concept of advertising in the healthcare industry is wrong?
No grand prix of Cannes Lions Health 2014 was awarded. A Jury made only from the advertising agencies, focus on vague “creativity” and not measurable effects or validity of choice. From K-message perspective it is all failed, with the only exception of a Grand Prix for Good award given to Colombian League Against Cancer for its Cancer Tweets campaign.
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Brand: LEAGUE AGAINST CANCER – BOGOTA
Agency: LEO BURNETT COLOMBIANA, COLOMBIA
Target: Disease Awareness Social Media Campaign
Credits:
Name
Company
Position
Fernando Hernandez
Leo Burnett Colombiana
General Creative Director
Mauricio Sarmiento
Leo Burnett Colombiana
General Creative Director
Carlos Oviedo
Leo Burnett Colombiana
Creative Director
Alexis Ospina
Leo Burnett Colombiana
Creative Director
Rafael Reina
Leo Burnett Colombiana
Creative Director
Andres Salamanca
Leo Burnett Colombiana
Copywriter
Alexis Ospina
Leo Burnett Colombiana
Copywriter
Andres Lopez
Leo Burnett Colombiana
Art Director
Rafael Reina
Leo Burnett Colombiana
Art Director
Julian Velez
Leo Burnett Colombiana
Art Director
Alejandra Melo
Leo Burnett Colombiana
Community Manager
Camilo Mendivelso
Leo Burnett Colombiana
Community Manager
Camilo Torres
Leo Burnett Colombiana
Community Manager
Cesar Peralta
Leo Burnett Colombiana
Community Manager
Carlos Leguizamon
Leo Burnett Colombiana
Community Manager
Carlos Oviedo
Leo Burnett Colombiana
Community Manager
Andres Salamanca
Leo Burnett Colombiana
Community Manager
Maicol Vera
Leo Burnett Colombiana
Web Designer
Natalia Valencia
Leo Burnett Colombiana
Account Director
Campaign Description:
A cancer that follows you virtually. Cancer is a silent disease, every year millions of people die for ignoring their symptoms. That’s why we created Cancertweets, an act that make people feel what it is like to have cancer and how easy is to ignore it. We created 7 Twitter accounts that represented 7 types of cancer and ‘spread out’ the virtual cancer throughout thousands of accounts. Virtual cancer acted as a real cancer: at first, followed silently. Then, started to manifest subtle; finally expressed its symptoms directly. Those who detected on time, virtual cancer stopped following them. Those who ignored it, received a final message.
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Unfortunately other campaigns did not bring anything innovative, striking or at least, very efficient in terms of communication, as you can see for yourself clicking at the entries list. At K-message we were not even disappointed, as this whole concept seems bit weird to us. Take a look at the President of the Jury explaining why no GrandPrix was awarded:
From our perspective it is not about “setting the bar” too high. Pharma marketing is just different. We talk about serious issues, we should base our communication on scientifically proven statements. The idea of “promoting” a pharmaceutical product to patients is from the very beginning dangerous and thus forbidden in most of the world. For the healthcare professionals, we should bear in mind that any additional noise may adversely impact their decisions and, in effect, patients well-being. Human brain while making decision can process 5 to 6 factors. In medicine there are usually hundreds of factors to be taken into account. Do we really need to produce more of it? Or shall we rather focus on making the process easier to congest, by making tools for better processing the scientific information about our products and diseases to be treated? .
Saying that, feel free to take a look at the Cannes Lions Health 2014 Gold Lions awarded campaigns. While they are not worth a Grand Prix, they are well executed. Our pick from those three would be Mind Your Meds. It puts digital tactics at the core, provides not only emotional message but also valuable information.
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Cate Jackson
Brand: Simponi – Janssen
Agency: MCCANN HEALTH AUSTRALIA
Target: Promotional Communication to the Healthcare Professional: New Product Launch
Credits:
Name
Company
Position
June Laffey
Mccann Health
Executive Creative Director
Thomas Dirnberger
Mccann Health
Art Director
Kate Chisnall
Mccann Health
Art Director
Bob Johnson
Mccann Health
Art Director
Sophy Myer
Mccann Health
Account Director
Dick Sweeney
Louis/Co
Photographer
Glenn Edwards
Castirian
Editor
Tristan Coelho
Composer/Produce
Campaign Description:
When you treat RA with Simponi, it only takes about ten minutes, once a month. This means Simponi is the treatment you hardly even notice. Great news when often RA is burden enough to a patient. We wanted to capture the non-invasive nature of Simponi in our creative. So we set out to capture a month of a Simponi patient on film and show how non-invasive it is. Literally. This film features a typical RA person – female between 50 and 60. It shows hundreds of moments (selected from over 10,000 shots captured by our photographer) that represent a month in the life of a Simponi patient, Cate Jackson. Amongst the hundreds of shots, there is only one that features Cate injecting herself with Simponi. The shots are run together so quickly in the film, it is near impossible to spot the moment that treatment takes place. This technique/idea highlights the fact that Simponi is very non-invasive, so you’ll hardly notice. After watching a collage of her life, a super tells us in the many shots/moments we just watched only one featured Simponi. The super then challenges: “Bet you hardly even noticed. Neither did Cate Jackson.”
Spasticity is a symptom that develops late in the course of multiple sclerosis (MS), causing muscle spasm, weakness and stiffness. Patients lose their independence and are forced to rely on family members and carers to accomplish basic tasks. The limited treatment options have significant side effects, or require an implanted pump.
Sativex is a novel treatment developed from particular strains of cannabis that significantly improves symptoms of spasticity in responders. Because it is delivered as an oral spray, patients can adjust their dose as and when they need to. However, HCPs have been equivocal about its value, and concerned about its cost.
To drive re-appraisal of the brand among prescribers, we used the unifying idea of ‘cost’ to bring together the effect of MS spasticity on patients with its broader social impact and the financial realities, increasing their motivation to gain budget approval for Sativex.
Brand: MEDICINE ABUSE PROJECT – Partnership at Drugfree.org
Agency: HILL HOLLIDAY Boston, USA
Target: Communications to Non-Healthcare Professionals
Credits:
Eric Stoltz
Disorderly Conduct
Director
Lance Jensen
Hill Holliday
Chief Creative Officer
Scott Woolwine
Hill Holliday
Designer/Animator
Kevin Daley
Hill Holliday
Group Creative Director/Art Director
Trish Fuller
Whitehouse Post
Editor
Tim Cawley
Hill Holliday
Creative Director/Copywriter
Alejandra Alarcon
Disorderly Conduct
Producer/Post Producer
Crash
Disorderly Conduct
Cinematographer
Amy Hardcastle
Hill Holliday
Account Team
Jenn Dodds
Hill Holliday
Project Manager
Campaign Description:
Teen medicine abuse is a pervasive and devastating problem, with one in four teens admitting to using a prescription drug to get high or change their mood. Most teens who report medicine abuse say they get those medications from their family or friends. The Medicine Abuse Project is a multi-year effort led by The Partnership at Drugfree.org and is designed to help combat this public health crisis deemed an “epidemic” by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Medicine Abuse Project aims to help educate parents, teens and the public about the dangers of medicine abuse and unite parents, educators, health care providers, coaches, government officials, law enforcement officers and other partners to help save lives.
Gartner Cool Vendors in Life Sciences report may be a good predictor of what will be a hot topic in pharma. But what Gartner Cool Vendors in Life Sciences 2014 really do? Is it really worth to jump the bandwagon right away?
Why Gartner Cool Vendors in Life Sciences and similar reports are important?
The mode of action is simple, consultants from Gartner and other agencies are basing on similar rankings with their sales pitches. As Richard Meyer points out, pharma marketing insiders are not the best breed.
If the sales pitch sounds good and has a supporting proof in an expensive research report, your average pharma marketer will swallow it like a hungry pelican. In the effect, any company mentioned by big consultancy has a chance to gain market and its product may be listed as a rising trend for the year to come. Regardless of the value generated for business. While you look into the Gartner Cool Vendors 2014 list, you may guess what it will be about this time.
Blueprint Clinical
Blueprint Clinical is an U.S.-based monitoring technology company founded in 2012. It’s team has a profound experience in healthcare, and especially in clinical trials. Courtney McBean, CEO of Blueprint Clinical, has over 15 years of experience in research and medical devices business.
The main product of Blueprint Clinical is web-based product called Blueprint Compass for risk-based statistical monitoring of the study performance. It provides real-time monitoring of site performance, focusing on metrics critical for the study and with possibility to assign targeted actions to relevant performance indicators.
R&D and Clinical Research is obviously the huge chunk of pharma spending, and risk-based monitoring as such is required by FDA. Does Blueprint Clinical answers the need for that well, it is hard to assess. So far the company provides its service together with consulting service, which means that it is rather customized offer than a mature, standard service.
Liquid Grids
This one is, to be honest, a very surprising choice. Liquid Grids, a Gartner Cool Vendor in Life Sciences 2014 is PaaS solution for social media monitoring and engagement (well, they call it a “precision marketing”). Started in 2010, Liquid Grids positions itself as dedicated to health care industry. It claims that it offers “direct to patient” marketing. The problem is that from the global perspective it means a clear no go.
Pharmaceutical marketing directly to consumer is allowed only in specific markets, specifically the United States and New Zealand. What is more, from European perspective any attempt to obtain personal data and target communication to the patient without direct consent is clearly illegal.
It may be a cool vendor for Gartner, but for any pharma marketer outside of U.S. working with Liquid Grids may end with a very cold shower from your legal team (or even worse from the regulatory agency). Let us be clear, for pharma digital marketers it is extremely hard to implement even social media monitoring for product related keywords, as there is a constant awareness of drug safety obligations.
Ontoforce is one of the big data vendors. Founded in 2011 company from Belgium as its main product offers a semantic search engine disQover.
Clearly, making the tons of data we have gathered in pharma searchable in a contextual way that allows discovery of unknown connections is something that may change the paradigm of research. While we are sceptical about replacing scientific method with brute force statistics on big amounts of data, there is a potential there to find new insights. On the other hand, even if Ontoforce is really Cool Vendor, the competition in this field is very strong
Pitcher is another surprising choice. eDetailing is obviously a big trend, but Pitcher is not the only one in its field. We can easily name strong contenders (or even leaders) with similar feature set. Veeva, Agnitio, Showpad and Cegedim are all offering the same service as Pitcher. We love disruptive startup companies entering digital marketing space in healthcare, but Pitcher has yet to prove its coolness.
Scigilian Software – Gartner Cool Vendors in Life Sciences 2014
Scigilian is a cloud-based software platform for managing logistics of Pharma R&D. At K-message we are specialized in digital marketing, and we cannot assess this tool capability, but the sales pitch sounds very well. Normally we could build an ERP or LIMS system for such purpose, but the solution would never be ideal. ERPs are too complex and hardly customizable, and LIMS would not cope with the complexity. The solution is to build your own software, or… ask Scigilian. Being outside of the lab, we really like the idea. As you may see not all of the Gartner Cool Vendors in Life Sciences 2014 are cool enough to make us excited. The trends are clear, however. In pharma marketing the focus is on e-detailing, CLM and Social Media Management. In R&D hot topics are big data, clinical research support and logistics for labs. Be prepared, consultants are coming!
The US Healthcare and Pharmaceutical Industry 2014: Digital Ad Spending Forecast and Trends, a new report from eMarketer shows that Pharma Marketing spending on digital remains on steady 3.0% of the total digital ad spending level. Unfortunately half of it is spent wrong.
This has been a common joke of marketers and advertisers for a long time: If I only knew which half I spend on wrong tactics I would make myself and my company rich. However, jokes aside, at K-message we can clearly see which quarter of this budget is going wrong way. We talk serious money here, healthcare and pharma ad spending is now at USD 1.41 bn level, and by 2017 we will pass the threshold of two billions. US Healthcare and Pharma Industry Digital Ad Spending 2012-2018. Source: eMarketer.com
eMarketer takes into account all healthcare and pharmaceutical digital marketing spending in the United States. It includes prescribed (Rx) and over the counter (OTC) products, specific products and services addressed to healthcare professionals, as well as direct to consumer advertising of products, services, hospitals, health insurers etc.
More than half of this budget (56%) goes for direct response advertisement. The remainder of 44% is spent on branding campaigns. This is an artificial segmentations, as the objective of campaign usually is not so clear in the American, DTC driven market. Every branding effort may bring direct response.
What is more striking in eMarketer’s report is the share of spending on healthcare and pharma digital marketing by channel. It seems that mobile is still an ugly duckling for pharma marketers, who dedicate only 26.5% of their budget to mobile formats.
It is incredible if you look at this from the perspective. The same crowd that claims “we want more direct response and we spend more than half of our budget for it” in the same time neglects the channel that is the best to accomplish this objective.
Healthcare and pharma marketing is the single industry that spends on mobile the smallest chunk of its budget. Even PC makers spend 33% of their budget on mobile, but we in Pharma remain connected to the desktop. If we go mobile, pharma marketing focus mostly on mobile search advertisement. US Digital Ad Spending by Industry and Channel 2014, Source: eMarketer.com
We can try to persuade ourselves, that there is some logical reasoning behind this inefficient budget allocation. However, at K-message we tend to believe that the only reason to avoid mobile advertising in pharma is simply change-aversion. Mobile advertisement is well regulated, rules are clear, and results are easily measurable. It allows better interaction than PC in many dimensions: it can be geo-located, instant, personalized. The only disadvantage over display ad on PC screen? It requires additional work.
Digital marketing is not a rocket science that Pharma R&D are performing. You can start simply with text messaging in your next multichannel campaign. Make sure that your next edetailing is part of the CLM. Give your audience some thrill with elements of gaming. Do not fly everyone to the remote conference site, use virtual one instead. This is pharma digital marketing, not putting banners every here and there.
We really hope that pharma marketers will surprise eMarketer by proving they know how to use digital marketing tactics efficiently. Fingers crossed!
