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Pharma Marketing

ACI’s Digital Marketing in Healthcare

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.

Tom Macfarlane (Accenture) speaks at ACI Digital Marketing in Healthcare Conference, London 2016


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?

Categories
Pharma Marketing

(Not) The Best Pharmaceutical Ads – Lions Healthcare 2016

Lions Healthcare 2016 Awards for the best pharmaceutical advertising have been announced.  See the winners.
As every year, what they show is that pharma advertising lacks creativity. What is more important, 2016 Lions Healthcare Pharma winners are not those most efficient in conveying the message and changing prescription behaviors.
Lions Healthcare is a contest made by agencies and for agencies. Looking at the winners, but also at the shortlist of submission it is clear that agencies have no idea how to operate in regulated markets. They are creative while talking to general public, on disease awareness or about medical devices.
When it comes to branded, promotional communication directed to healthcare professionals pharma marketers are on their own. Or they get offered a dead fish, which has been a winner in 2015.

Cannes Lions 2015


In the 2016 Lions Healthcare Awards, no agency has been able to get a prize for creativity while providing multichannel content that is fact-based and scientifically proven. Oh, well, indeed – McCann has made some disgusting posters for Pfizer’s Xalatan,  get the prize, and left us not impressed, again.
Does it mean that advertising agencies are creative only when they can lie or stretch facts? Is it really too hard to clearly state the advantages of pharmaceutical products that extend or save lives? Somehow, hundreds of pharma marketers and thousands of sales reps are able to produce and convey such messaging every day. Is it bland? Maybe. We are still waiting for agency content that would be both creative and at the same time compliant. Saying that, please take a look at the 2016 Lions Healthcare Grand Prix and Gold Lions below.

GRAND PRIX – LIONS HEALTHCARE 2016

BREATHLESS CHOIR – PHILIPS

A Breathless Choir | Presented by Philips


By: OGILVY & MATHER LONDON
Category: PHARMA >  COMMUNICATIONS TO NON-HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS > DEVICES & DIAGNOSTICS

GOLD – LIONS HEALTHCARE 2016

THE NAZAR INITIATIVE – ASTER HEALTHCARE

Aster’s The Nazar Initiative


By: THE CLASSIC PARTNERSHIP ADVERTISING
Category: PHARMA >  PHARMA COMMUNICATIONS TOOLS & DEVICES > HCP DEVICES & DIAGNOSTICS

GOLD – CAMPAIGN AWARD – LIONS HEALTHCARE 2016

GAMEBOY/STUDENT/PAINTER – PFIZER CORPORATION HONGKONG



By: McCANN HEALTH
Category: PHARMA > COMMUNICATIONS TO NON-HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS > PHARMA, VACCINES & BIOTECH – BRANDED COMMUNICATION

GOLD – LIONS HEALTHCARE 2016

LAST WORDS – INDIAN ASSOCIATION OF PALLIATIVE CARE (IAPC)

#LastWords IAPC


By: MEDULLA COMMUNICATIONS
Category: PHARMA > COMMUNICATIONS TO HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS > EDUCATION & AWARENESS
 

Categories
Digital Health MedTech Pharma Marketing

MoovCare – a clinically proven mHealth app in lung cancer treatment

MoovCare, a mHealth app to help patients with lung cancer presented at the annual American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) meeting.

moovcare on tablet
MoovCare tablet interface

An Israeli company Sivan Innovation and the Cancer Institute of Western France are behind MoovCare – a mHealth application presented at the ASCO annual meeting in Chicago.


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 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.
 

Categories
Pharma Marketing

Super Bowl 2016 Ads Cry for Total Ban of DTC Pharma Marketing

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.

Categories
Pharma Marketing

Interactive Outdoor Ad to Detect Flu in Poland for GSK

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.

Categories
Digital Health MedTech Pharma Marketing

Internet of Things in Healthcare and Pharma

Internet of Things becomes one of the most impactful trends in Healthcare and Pharma industry. According to the Big Data in Internet of Things (IoT): Key Trends, Opportunities and Market Forecasts 2015 – 2020 report by Mind Commerce Publishing, value of Internet of Things in Healthcare will reach $117 billion by 2020. With CAGR of 15.1%, Healthcare will be the fastest growing segment in the whole IoT market.
See also: IoT in Financial Services and Banking
 

Telemedicine consult: Dr. Juan Manuel Romero, a cardiologist in Sonora, Mexico, engages in a pre-op consultation with Alma Guadalupe Xoletxilva, ...
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

Categories
Digital Health MedTech Pharma Marketing

Wearables in healthcare to be promoted by NHS England. What’s next?

NHS England has announced its plans to provide free WiFi in hospitals to push for adoption of wearable technology. It hopes that wearables can be used in clinical settings. At K-message we looked at wearable technology and quantified self impact on pharma in early 2014. Although NHS’s announcement brings wearables in healthcare one step closer, there is still a lot to do.

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.

wearable sensors nature
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.

Categories
Pharma Marketing

Traditional interaction with HCPs beats digital in impact on prescriptions?

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
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.

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Pharma Marketing

Is Twitter for Pharma Banned by the FDA?

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:
[checklist]
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
[/checklist]
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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
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
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.
 

Categories
Pharma Marketing

Cannes Lions Health 2014: is pharma advertising so bad?

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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Cancer Tweets

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXWgL4NrJqg

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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True Cost

[tabs type=”horizontal”][tabs_head][tab_title]Shampoo[/tab_title][tab_title]Tea[/tab_title][tab_title]Toothbrush[/tab_title][/tabs_head][tab]Bayer, Sativex: “True Cost” Campaign “Shampoo”

True Cost - shampoo - sativex
True Cost – Shampoo – Sativex

[/tab][tab]Bayer, Sativex: “True Cost” Campaign “Tea”
True Cost - Tea - sativex
True Cost – Tea – Sativex

[/tab][tab]Bayer, Sativex: “True Cost” Campaign “Toothbrush”
True Cost - Toothbrush - sativex
True Cost – Toothbrush – Sativex

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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.

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Mind Your Meds

The Medicine Abuse Project - Mind Your Meds
The Medicine Abuse Project – Mind Your Meds

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJ4kKv9-yb4

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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