On the 26th and 27th of October in London, I had the pleasure of participating in the ACI’s Digital Marketing in Healthcare Conference. This relatively small event has gathered an unusual, interesting set of speakers and guests coming not only from the pharmaceutical industry and its vendors.
As it often happens on such occasions, I have particularly enjoyed conversations over coffee outside of the conference room. It has been a pleasure to meet and talk to:
Simeon Mellor [@MellorSimeon] from AstraZeneca (on digitalisation of procurement and shared services in Poland)
Caryn Kavovit and Linda Bew from London office of WebMD (on disease awareness campaigns and differences between US and UK market)
Ann-Charlotte Beckman running the Swedish Netdoktor (great stories on disease awareness campaigns for Pfizer’s Viagra)
Nicole Ferguson from Iq Digital Media Marketing (on content marketing in Germany and Switzerland)
Rob Wyer [@robwyer] from Swii.ch (on measuring and impacting behavioural changes via digital channels)
Yamelis Figueredo from BMS (on challenges of global versus local approach to digital marketing in pharmaceutical industry
Of course, this does not mean that presentations were not valuable. Due to Chiltern Railway’s failure I have not been able to hear highly appreciated presentation of NHS’ Head Of Digital Primary Care Development, Tracy Grainer [@tracey_grainger]. I have enjoyed a comprehensive review of digital space in healthcare by Tom Macfarlane [@tomwmacfarlane], Director and Lead of IDMP offering in Accenture Life Sciences. Tom has touched on all critical points in the current discussions on digital marketing in healthcare. Patient engagement, regulatory environment, technological advancements of EHR and IOT/QS. Very dense, highly engaging presentation. I have been lucky to share the panel with two great speakers. Looking at their biographies one could expect them to confront each other: A disrupting future personalised by Dr Tobias D. Gantner, CEO and Founder of HealthCare Futurist who genuinely hacks the healthcare industry to make the future happen now. Tobias gave us some feel of Steve Jobs reality distortion with his ideas such as a wifi connected baby pacifier filled with temperature and pressure sensors and enabled with paracetamol ejection device. A traditional, sales-driven approach of Dr Graham Leask, a pharma executive with 20 years of experience in pharmaceutical sales and marketing, now a marketing strategy lecturer at Aston University in Birmingham. Well, experienced does not mean being backwards or conservative. Dr Leask has actually preached the same multichannel, measurable, digitally enabled approach to marketing as offered by the author of this text. The same story has been told over again by Anders Tullgren, President of Intercontinental Markets in BMS and Carmen Chavarri running Digital for Neuroscience franchise of Shire in Spain. Uri Goren from Teva has opened an interesting topic of using digital channels to crowdsource healthcare solutions with patient advocacy groups. I have left ACI’s Digital Marketing in Healthcare Conference feeling that the industry as a whole has finally embraced digital channels. Whether it is Chloe Wates‘ selection of speakers or just a reality of today? What are your thoughts?
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.”
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Brand: Sativex – Bayer
Agency: LANGLAND Windsor, UNITED KINGDOM
Target: Promotional Communication to the Healthcare Professional: Brand Re-appraisal campaign
Credits:
Name
Company
Position
Andrew Spurgeon
Langland
Executive Creative Director
Andrew Morley
Langland
Art Director
Harry Yeates
Langland
Copywriter
Andrew Morley
Langland
Designer/Digital Designer
Whitney Andrews
Langland
Senior Account Director
Elizabeth Chambers
Langland
Group Account Director
Graham Robinson
Langland
Account Manager
Claire Martin
Langland
Art Buyer
Jessica Stonell
Langland
Art Worker
Campaign Description:
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.
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