Download your copy of the eBook here.

Do you want to learn more about implementing a digital communication strategy? We’re hosting DigiPharm 2013 this October here in London. DigiPharm 2013 will discuss the challenges and strategies used to enhance online communication, customer relationship, strengthen brand awareness and improve profitability in digital marketing. Find out more information here.

Jamie Manning, Manager, Digital Communications Team, Biogen Idec, speaks on ‘Leveraging the power of HTML5 for multichannel communication’ at DigiPharm 2012.

DigiPharm returns in 2013 as Europe’s leading multichannel engagement summit for Pharma, co-located with Mobile Pharma World.

DigiPharm 2013 will discuss the challenges and strategies used to enhance online communication, customer relationship, strengthen brand awareness and improve profitability in digital marketing alongside Mobile Pharma World which addresses how to build and develop a mobile engagement strategy that engages with your customers/consumers.

To find out more about the event or for sponsorship opportunities please visit the website here.

How is mobile changing the way Pharma operates?

No other channel has ever provided the opportunity for intimate engagement between pharma and its stakeholders – from patients to healthcare professionals – in the way that mobile does. For the first time, pharma has the opportunity to connect in a relevant way, at the right time and place; to be there when a stakeholder wakes up or goes to sleep, and any time in between. While this presents a huge opportunity, it requires a complete shift in how pharma has thought about engagement.

People use mobile solutions because they are useful or valuable to them. So pharma is thinking harder about how to be useful and valuable in the hands of its customers. And for many in pharma companies, this has meant a need for better collaboration between business functions such as marketing and communications, product development and medical information.

What business functions are involved in implementing a successful mobile strategy?

It depends on the function of the mobile strategy, and the way the company is currently organized. The most successful companies see mobile as one of several emerging channels to enable their business strategies. Typically, for example, a marketer implementing mobile may require support from communications, technology, legal and medical colleagues, but this can go far wider depending on the nature of the implementation. In any case, as with other emerging channels, collaboration between internal departments has become a critical success factor in my experience.

How has the emergence of mobile as an engagement channel impacted/will impact the structure and organisation of business functions?

Mobile is one of a number of emerging digital and social channels that together are changing the structure of pharma organisations. The real-time, always-on nature of mobile, social and digital engagement has created a need for faster decision-making in communications, or in some cases the up skilling of colleagues so that real-time, two-way communication can take place. Governance policies have become essential tools, not simply documents to read and file. And the constantly-changing nature of social and mobile engagement has meant that organisations have had to embrace a ‘learning’ attitude, in some cases being willing to make mistakes to keep improving.

This year we have co-located Mobile Pharma World with our annual DigiPharm event. The event will take place 8-11 October 2013, at The Tower – Hotel Guoman in London. Find out more here.

1. Build new relationships

Social is the DNA of health on the web, engage with your customers, and listen to their responses. In health conversation is the most powerful application of all.

2. Focus on health not just illness

Focusing on general health rather than direct illnesses will pave the way for future engagement. There are many brands out there who may not spring to mind as health brands, but they are also tapping into the changing world of health. Take a look at Coca-Cola for example. 

3. Big data – embrace the new economy

Big data is big news and it’s only going to get bigger. Check out this example of how Twitter tracked cholera outbreaks in Haiti.

4. Redefine the relationship with HCPs

Most HCPs are not digital natives, and many are not digitally savvy. They need simplicity over complexity.

5. Turn on, tune in, drop out

If you’re not failing you’re not doing anything innovative.

If you are interested in the future of digital for pharma then you might be interested in attending our DigiPharm & Mobile Pharma 2013 event. Find out more information here.

Below are his thoughts…

How is digital changing customers and consumers behaviour and habits?

Digital isn’t changing behaviours and habits, it changed them a while ago. What we are seeing now is the pace of innovation increasing – new tools and services are emerging every week as people find opportunities to help improve our lives (well, sometimes they do). The growth of social services is enabling us to connect around shared interests and this extends into healthcare as patients are connecting more than ever, to support and share their experiences.

How is this effecting how you engage and the information and services you provide?

Healthcare professionals, patients and the public are surrounded by information however what is not always easy to find is trusted, high quality, up-to-date information. There has always been an unease of trusting information from pharma, however we’ve seen some strong programmes supporting patients and healthcare professionals.

One of the biggest challenges still appears to be social media for the industry. People are using it as part of their everyday lives, however pharma is still failing to embrace it to offer the support where people need it.

What are the new trends, future innovations and technology advancements that are advancing and impacting healthcare?

We are seeing more health start-ups and companies previously in different sectors all moving in to healthcare as there are huge opportunities within the sector to innovate, sometimes without the baggage that pharma often comes with.

Personalised medicine is going to be a big move forwards, so hopefully pharma will embrace digital technologies to begin to provide personalised information.

I’m personally interested in wearable healthcare tech and the use of mobile but these fit in to specific lifestyles, typically those that are already motivated, so the question is how do we motivate the un-motivated?

What do you think is the future of medicine and pharma?

We are going through a significant period of change within pharma, especially as our healthcare budgets are being stretched through austerity measures, plus we are all living longer which is shifting the balance of care.

I think the next phase of pharma is going to be interesting as we see companies looking to new markets, some companies move faster with personalised medicines and we may even see some of the big companies begin to fail unless they innovate.

Kai will be speaking at this year’s Digipharm & Mobile Pharma event, 8 – 11 October, London, UK. For more information check out the website here.

The infographic covers patients, doctors, and health/pharma marketers, by showing how each group is adapting to the new digital age. You can read more about how the inforgraphic was created here.

How is your company ensuring it remains one step ahead in the digitalsphere? Share your thoughts below.

If you are interested in how digital is provoking change in pharma you might be interested in attending DigiPharm 2013 or Mobile Pharma World 2013. Check out the website here.

Clive Roach

Download the presentation here. 

The presentation includes:

-  An overview of Philip’s social media strategy

-  An insight into how the social media ecosystem at Philips is managed

If you are interested in what Clive had to say, you might be interested in attending DigiPharm 2013. We are currently working on the programme for this year’s event but you can check out the website here.

Alternatively if you are interested in sponsorship opportunities you can download the sponsorship brochure here.

DigiPharm returns in 2013 as Europe’s leading multichannel engagement summit for Pharma, co-located with Mobile Pharma World.

DigiPharm 2013 will discuss the challenges and strategies used to enhance online communication, customer relationship, strengthen brand awareness and improve profitability in digital marketing alongside Mobile Pharma World which addresses how to build and develop a mobile engagement strategy that engages with your customers/consumers.

To find out more about the event or for sponsorship opportunities please visit the website here.

I was on the 21^st floor of the Hilton Hotel in San Francisco, looking out over an expansive view of the city, musing on how my life had changed from one of a scared and uninformed mom of a very sick child, to one of a rare disease advocate giving voice to a national audience.

Last month, I had the opportunity to attend LinkedIn’s Global Sales Kickoff to speak with 2,000 of their employees about how LinkedIn changed my life and the lives of 1 in 10 American patients who are affected by rare diseases.

I knew LinkedIn was an important tool, but up until a couple of months ago—I wasn’t sure how to utilize it effectively. Like many LinkedIn members, I wasn’t looking for a job or looking for someone to work for me—I was looking to break through a barrier in communication that I so often come across in my line of work.

I’m a television producer for The Balancing Act, a morning talk show on Lifetime Television. As a producer, my job requires me to create story lines, sell them to my executive board and work with the heads of major corporations to develop a segment suitable to our audience.  It’s a time-intensive process as the deadlines of a daily show require quick decision making skills by all parties involved.

Last year, my daughter Ilana had spent more time in the hospital than out. There were no answers to what was wrong with her, just multiple symptoms that had become increasingly debilitating. This wasn’t new for us, but the intervals between sickness and health had gone from short to nearly nonexistent. Since no doctor had any answers, I like most parents in the rare disease world, had taken on the responsibility of researching her medical issues and tracking down specialists.

My exhaustive search led me to a community of patients and parents just like us. I realized that I had the tools and audience to help facilitate a voice for the rare world.

Fast forward a few months and The Balancing Act had green lighted my idea for a series called Behind the Mystery: Rare and Genetic Diseases. I had a very serious segment that was up for consideration. The topic was a disease called Myelofibrosis and I knew of a company that was working on FDA approvals and would be the perfect fit; however I could not connect with the Vice President of Marketing.

Every time I called the company, it seemed like someone was putting up a wall between me and the person I really needed to talk to. Finally, in my frustration I searched for the drug on LinkedIn and lo and behold, to my amazement the VP of Marketing’s profile popped up.

Bingo.

I pulled out my credit card and signed up for LinkedIn’s executive membership and inMailed him directly.

His response was immediate, he loved what I was doing, and he was in.

This exact situation repeated itself over the course of the show’s production as I’ve found dozens of expert guests through LinkedIn. As a mom of a child with a rare disease, you live with endless question . You can find almost anyone on LinkedIn. A great question to ask when you get connected with someone on LinkedIn is: What can I do to help you?

Feel free to share your own interesting LinkedIn experiences below.

As mobile use grows, mobile marketing opportunities are increasing right along with it. Here are five key tips to consider while planning your mobile marketing campaign.

1. Determine the appropriate users and present them with prominent information. This will result in positive mobile user experiences since mobile users have different goals, needs, and behaviors than desktop users. For example, a health system might offer prominent content for mobile users that includes finding a doctor, waiting room times, driving directions, or visiting hours. – Tim Garde, Managing Partner, The Star Group/Star Life Sciences

2. Stay focused and develop apps that are effective, usable and sustainable, and are not here today, gone tomorrow. It is more important to focus on optimally serving folks who are using health apps rather than debating whether health app adoption rates are going up, down, or remaining flat. – Fard Johnmar, Founder and President, Enspektos

3. Understand your audience device types, platforms, operating systems, and browsers. This will increase the likelihood of delivering impactful, cost-effective solutions as the mobile market becomes more fragmented. – Craig Rohrbaugh, Managing Partner, Mobicize

4. Think mobility, not mobile. Users aren’t differentiating between devices, they’re moving seamlessly between them. They expect to be able to find everything they need on any device they might be carrying, and augment the experience of a big screen with what they can find on smaller screens. – Leigh Householder, VP, Experience Strategy and Innovation, GSW Worldwide

5. Listen to the voice of the patient when developing mobile programs or campaigns. Keeping the patient in mind at the beginning allows the end product to be shaped by actual – rather than perceived – need. Incorporating feedback too late can result in program launch delays or missed opportunities to strengthen the initiative. – Michelle Vitko, Senior Research Analyst, Cutting Edge Information

Want to see more tips for mobile marketing success? Click here to read the entire article, Marketing Tips & Techniques: Mobile, from the January 2013 issue of PharmaVOICE.