It’s hard to believe that it’s been two years since I wrote Marketing Lessons From Our Family Camping Weekend. This summer we spent a week on Saranac Lake in the Adirondack Mountains near Lake Placid NY, with three generations, ages ranging from 9 to 87.

Before the blush of summer vacation wears off, here are my key takeaways:

1.   Listen like your life depends on it.  During our first family rafting trip down the rapids after heavy rains, my listening, and that of my husband and three boys, greatly improved when we knew our safety depended on it!  When there was a sense of conviction attached to our leader’s words and we were bumping around not sure if we were going to stay in or get tumbled overboard, our listening improved! 

We all know that listening is a critical success factor today, and that there are many services and tools out there to help us do it better. .. But unless you are listening ‘like your life or business depends on it’, the words going in may not be really registering or garnering the necessary action.  The river also taught us that if our leader said stop, you had to stop immediately, not one stroke earlier or one stroke later, as that would cause us to over shoot or under shoot our path…It wasn’t enough to just listen, we had to listen and act immediately!

2. Why do we continually forget that working collaboratively and in unison dramatically improves speed and efficiency?  Spend any time in a raft or kayak, and it’s pretty evident that working together gets you there faster and with less effort!  And if you are sitting in the back, it’s up to you to modify your paddling and approach to stay in unison with the person ahead of you.

3. The use of video/YouTube and mobile can no longer be overlooked. What do you do if you are 13 and unfamiliar with how to use a minnow trap? Seek out or wait for someone older or more experienced to come along and help you? Absolutely not! You take out your smart phone and search ‘minnow traps’ on YouTube!

 Marketing Lesson:  If you are marketing to today’s youth, you are likely missing out if you are not on YouTube.  Lesson to Parents: perhaps we need to look to YouTube for particular lessons we want to teach our kinds?  Might they not engage more with a YouTube video than listening to their parents tell them?

4. Fear is in the eye of the beholder. What represents fear to one human is simply not to another and vice versa. And it can be quite hard to overcome our own fears.  I know, try as I might, I could not get over my fear of heights and jump 20 feet into the water --  even after my son jumped in right ahead of me!  Yet, there were many happy to jump off the 20 foot rock and almost as many willing to jump off of the 30 feet rock…

5. I had forgotten how hard it is to swim against the current.  The tide’s opposition quickly saps your strength.  Yet how many times do we try to make a person do what’s unnatural to them or assume that we can shift a business trend with nothing more than slight modifications to last year’s plan?  Swimming against the tide reminds you that it takes much strength and perseverance to succeed, and even then, it may not be enough.

6.  Nature shows us yet again why we should ‘never judge a book by its cover’. Nature provides many lessons when you have the time and space to observe and take in.  During a lull in our day, my nine year old and I decided to take a walk with a camera not knowing what we would stumble upon.  We ended up watching a family of brown ducks.  At first glance they looked like they were just ordinary brown ducks.  But after a few minutes of concentration, we saw little bits of a beautiful blue show through…

7.  Why is it that humans are generally resistant to learning from their elders and those who have already gone down paths they now face? Is learning equally as effective when you learn from someone else vs. when you learn it first hand?  How many times over the week did my boys resist suggestions from their grandmother and parents?  What is the best way to teach and learn?

So tell me, what did you learn on your summer vacation? :-)

 

How many times in the last year or so have you participated in planning sessions where the discussion centers on the strong desire for the brand or company to be perceived as trustworthy, to act with transparency and authenticity?  Last week’s planning session was yet another example, giving me cause to pause…

In a world where trust is paramount yet scarce, BioPharma is no exception.  The latest Harris Interactive 2010 poll  continues to show Pharma close to the bottom on the trust barometer with 11% of adults rating Pharma as generally trustworthy.  And with the increased public scrutiny, under which companies and brands find themselves due to the evolution of social media and ‘citizen/e-Patient journalism’; it is no wonder that anyone and everyone who touches the BioPharma and Healthcare industry is focused on improving transparency.

What does transparency mean for a company or brand today?   It’s a word that seems to mean different things to different people.

Transparency, as used in the humanities and in a social context more generally, implies openness, communication, and accountability – Wikipedia

The Business Dictionary defines transparency:

1. Lack of hidden agendas and conditions, accompanied by the availability of full information required for collaboration, cooperation, and collective decision making
2. Minimum degree of disclose to which agreements, dealings, practices and transactions are open to all for verification.
3. Essential condition for a free and open exchange whereby the rules and reasons behind regulatory measures are fair and clear to all participants.

Shel Holtz and John Havens describe it this way in their book, Tactical Transparency. 

Transparency is the degree to which an organization shares the following with its stakeholder publics. In transparent companies:

• Its leaders:  are accessible and are straightforward when talking with members of key audiences
• Its employees:  are accessible to reinforce the public view of the company and to help people when appropriate.
• Its values: ethical behavior, fair treatment, and other values are on full display
• Its culture:  the way things get done is not a secret
• The results of its business practices, both good and bad: successes, failures, problems, and victories are all communicated
• Its business strategy: a company’s strategy is a key basis for investment decisions so is of particular importance to the investment community and other key audiences

Transparency is NOT:  Full disclosure. It does not mean you have to share absolutely everything about your organization or that you produce a never-ending sea of data and information in order to bolster the perception that you are keeping nothing hidden.

I like the way that Shel and John define transparency beyond the typical reporting aspect, including a focus on the actions of a transparent company or brand’s leaders and employees.

Pharma is certainly adopting more open reporting and communications in general; Most pharma companies publish their ethical standards and guidelines [E.G. click here for Pfizer’s standards] and  already are or will be required to publish their relationships with Physicians due to the Sunshine Payment Act.  Many are continuing to diligently work to avoid mishaps in communicating clinical drug safety, to provide employees with social media guidelines, to initiate corporate blogs etc. [E.G. JNJ BTW, AZ Health Connections, Sanofi’s Discuss Diabetes]

But, the fact remains, that few Pharma leaders speak openly to the public and few allow or encourage their employees to be visibly accessible and to ‘help the public’ (Afterall, helping might result in seeing and/or acknowledging an AE)—There are many Pharma companies whose risk profile will not allow their employees to read patient blogs or patient comments for fear that this will open them up to further FDA actions. 

With the exception of Paul Levy -who as President and CEO of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) in Boston  became one of the first CEO’s to start a blog back in 2006 to actively communicate with employees, patients and key stakeholders- I’m not sure there are other leaders/CEO’s who are investing their time to consistently blog and openly communicate in the bioPharma industry.

Pharma: Can Transparency Lead You To The Right Path?

Earlier this year, Seth Godin wrote an interesting post: Why You Might Choose To Be In Favor Of Transparency?  His hypothesis goes somewhat like this…using an example where thousands of doctors signed up for a service that, among other things, would try to prohibit patients from posting reviews…His argument goes beyond ‘truth’ or ‘choice’…it turns out that transparency increases profitability…

When consumers get used to transparency, they’re also more interested in the quality of what you sell, and are more likely to willingly pay extra.  They’ll certainly cross the street to buy from an ethical provider.  And once people start moving in that direction, the cost of being an unethical provider gets so high that you either change your ways or fade away….The arguments holds true for doctors. Once information about good doctors becomes widespread, patients will be more willing to seek out those doctors, rewarding the ones who consistently take better care of their patients.  The entire profession doesn’t suffer (we’ll still go to the doctor) merely the careless doctors will… Sunlight (transparency) is an antiseptic and the marketplace rewards those that behave—and the entire market grows (and profits) when the standards increase.

Can the genuine act of transparency lead to greater BioPharma industry profits?  What do you think? Do you have any good examples of Pharma transparency that you’d like to share?

Does your company/brand have what it takes to truly be transparent?

 

Q: Doctor, I've heard that cardiovascularar exercise can prolong life. Is this true?

 

A: Your heart only good for so many beats, and that it... Don't waste on exercise. Everything wear out eventually. Speeding up heart not make you live longer; it like saying you extend life of car by driving faster. Want to live longer? Take nap.  Q: Should I reduce my alcohol intake?  A: No, not at all. Wine made from fruit. Brandy is distilled wine, that mean they take water out of fruity bit so you get even more of goodness that way. Beer also made of grain. Bottom up! Q: How can I calculate my body/fat ratio?  A: Well, if you have body and you have fat, your ratio one to one. If you have two bodies, your ratio two to one, etc. Q: What are some of the advantages of participating in a regular exercise program?  A: Can't think of single one, sorry. My philosophy is: No pain...good!

 

Q: Aren't fried foods bad for you?  A: YOU NOT LISTENING! Food are fried these day in vegetable oil. In fact, they permeated by it. How could getting more vegetable be bad for you?!?  Q: Will sit-ups help prevent me from getting a little soft around the middle?  A: Definitely not! When you exercise muscle, it get bigger. You should only be doing sit-up if you want bigger stomach.  Q: Is chocolate bad for me?  A: Are you crazy?!? HEL-LO-O!! Cocoa bean! Another vegetable! It best feel-good food around! Q: Is swimming good for your figure?  A: If swimming good for your figure, explain whale to me.. Q: Is getting in shape important for my lifestyle?  A: Hey! 'Round' is shape!

 

Well... I hope this has cleared up any misconceptions you may have had about food and diets. AND..... For those of you who watch what you eat, here's the final word on nutrition and health. It's a relief to know the truth after all those conflicting nutritional studies.

 

1. The Japanese eat very little fat and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans. 2. The Mexicans eat a lot of fat and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans. 3. The Chinese drink very little red wine and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans. 4. The Italians drink a lot of red wine and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans..  5. The Germans drink a lot of beer and eat lots of sausages and fats and suffer fewer heart attacks than Americans. CONCLUSION: Eat and drink what you like. Speaking English is apparently what kills you.

 

Happy Friday! J

For those of you like me who were unable to attend ExL Pharma's Digital Pharma West (DP West) Conference June 27-30, 2011 (#digpharm),  you missed a fascinating presentation by Jeff Bauer, Ph.D., a health futurist and medical economist, called Forecasting the Future of Health Care: Challenges & Opportunities.

Fortunately, I had a chance to speak with Jeff and delve into his presentation and insights. Trained as a meteorologist, an economist and a medical professor, he is uniquely qualified to “forecast-not predict” the future of healthcare…

To read the full article and five key takeaways that we'd all be wise to integrate into our thinking, click here to go to ExL's Digital Pharma blog.

On July 12^th, I participated in a virtual Panel Discussion: The Rules of Engagement – Can Regulated Businesses Like Pharma and Healthcare Embrace Social Media? This is part of the Social Media In Pharma Summit  that is taking place online from July 12-August 4^th (#socialpharm).  

I was one of four panel members representing a mix of experience and geography:  

• Alex Butler, EMEA Marketing Communications, Janssen
• Daisy Chhatwal, Regulatory Affairs, Medimmune
• Eileen O’Brien,  Search & Innovation, Siren Interactive

We were charged with speaking to these four questions:

• Is social media right for Pharma?
• How can pharma get started in social media? What are the first steps?
• Who in pharma is doing a good job of using social media?
• What are some industry best practices navigating the complex regulatory environment?

Here are 10 key discussion points and best practices discussed by the panel:

1. Social Media is her to stay…health is social.  It’s now part of doing business in today’s rapidly changing world.  It’s not if Pharma should proceed, but how…The ultimate goal is “collective action” (great term by Alex Butler).
2. Social Media is not the strategy but a tactic and needs to be fully integrated with other brand and company efforts.
3. Getting started with Social Media means first focusing on the “why”—What are goals and objectives?  Objectives may be big and/or small, but will drive KPIs and measurement.
4. Selecting which SM tactics to focus on requires thinking through how well a SM tool fulfills objectives and other key criteria: Meets media/SM habits/savvy; Disease and Competitive considerations; Resources/skills needed to establish and maintain, and Fit with company values/risk appetite.
5. Discuss product promotion vs. disease education upfront (US only)—but panel strongly suggests that disease education not be a distant second to brand sell.
6. Evaluate internal and external risk tolerance…honestly!
7. SM demands a rapidly changing environment – need to be able to quickly adapt and evolve.
8. An iterative approach can work well—it is OK to ‘dip your toes’; no need to try to launch with every SM tactic all at once!
9. Partner with Regulatory and Medical/Legal teams in developing strategy and tactical plans and do so early in the process.  Ensure that processes are in place before going live.  Maintain effective lines of communication across all internal and external constituents throughout the development and implementation process.
10. Use strategies and lessons learned from other areas of oversight and review—but don’t wait for too many case studies or you’ll be too late!

BTW, if you haven’t yet signed up, you may want to check out the agenda which includes many interesting presentations still to come, including a Facebook Case Study by John Pugh, Boehringer Ingelheim; Leveraging SM Platforms to Enhance Patient Relationships by Eileen O’Brien , Siren Interactive; Are You Mobile? The Impact of Mobile on Social Media by Xavier Petit, Shire; Digital Brand Strategy in the NOW Economy by me, and Online Social Presence in the World of Pharma by Chris Brogan of Human Business Works.

 

 

Note: slide presentation was created by Eileen O’Brien and Ellen Hoenig.

Here are six themes that I took away from this year’s DTC National Conference, which took place in Boston April 6-8, 2011.  You can also read the tweets from #DTCN2011, Wendy Blackburn’s recap of Day 1, or take in the video interviews  by Pixels & Pills.

1.       Everybody has a story…Major life ‘events’ are what catapult a person, patient or caregiver to step into an active e-patient and patient advocate role. Myrtle Potter’s near tragic medical event is leading her down the patient advocate path and focusing her efforts behind improving patient literacy and engagement.  

At WEGO Health , they say that each health activist has a unique story.  However, they become a health activist when they are talking about health every day and offering support and advice to others online—to the tune of  an average online audience of more than 15,000 every month.

2.       It’s not one tool or media platform that is the answer, but the right mix of media and relevant content delivered real-time.  In other words…  TV isn’t dead and social media is currently over-hyped...  This was illustrated by a number of presenters:

• Jamie Turner, Chief Content Officer of the 60 Second Marketer echoed that as marketers our job is to create preference.  While social media is over-hyped, it can still be a great tool in the marketer’s tool chest, but it is only one! He outlined six ways that companies can make 'money' with social media:  branding (@oldspice), eCommerce (@delloutlet), customer feedback (@starbucks), customer retention @delta and lead generation (drive to website)—I would also  suggest a seventh: customer service (@zappos).
• Leading  Social Media Won’t Wait: Health Activists Speak out, Industry Speaks Up,  Jack Barrette @healthyjack , CEO of WEGO Health,  kicked off making the point that  “Social Media is not a tool--its a fundamental way to engage and respond to our customers!"  Jack shared the WEGO 2011 survey update to the original 2009 survey presented at DDMAC for #fdasm.  Some of the key points: Health activists want Pharma in the conversations; they also want Pharma to help correct misinformation about their products (a lofty and challenging goal for sure). You can read Jack’s presentation here. [Jack led a great panel with strong pharma representation, but it likely would have been better with live health activist participation too.]
• IMS Health presented data showing that TV and Print can still deliver healthy ROI’s (north of 200%). While overall Pharma promotional spending is down, DTC media spending has held constant at approximately 17% of total pharma spending.  Additionally, the top 25 DTC spenders are actually spending more in DTC and professional promotion.
• Fariba Zamaniyan of TRA Global  presented a new product offering for Pharma – a partnership with SDI, a HIPAA-compliant leader in anonymized patient level data and analysis, making them the first media and research company to electronically match a television audience of 1.2 million households with prescription behavior from more than 1.6 billion prescription claims to provide a single-source sample of 620,000 households called  TV-HealthRatings™ powered by TRA.    

3.       It’s not enough to provide useful, helpful information; content must also be:

• Served up in a way that is fun and intriguing to break through and make a difference—‘Infoentertainment’ –the way to get important information and messages out there. –The Doctors.
• Delivered with a human touch-- Jack Barrette of WEGO Health warned Pharma, "whatever  you do, please use real people from your company"...
• Curated and reduced to its most important, simple elements—Jamie Turner, The Doctors
• Wrapped around strategy and context; “Content is King” was the unwritten theme of the Optimizing Website panel at the pre-conference workshop as outlined by Buddy Scalera. 

4.       Viral is near impossible to predict—So why do many companies think that they can? Tara Parker-Pope, writer of the health blog, “Well” on NYTimes.com shared her interesting perspective on what blogs generate the greatest engagement (hint: dogs pull better than cats!) and how she manages comments on the Well blog.

5.       The DTC ROI discussion is alive and well…and there are some interesting new technologies and tools that may spur DTC learning, efficiency and effectiveness. 'The Great DTC Debate' panel was a lively conversation.  While STM predictive models weren't really discussed, the panel recommended pre-testing when possible and real-time learning once in-market.  

• Asaf Evenhaim, CEO of Crossix, an innovator in using Rx-based analytics to allow real-time optimization of marketing budgets and calculation of ROI, based on actual Rx information.
• Scott Reese, CEO of Wool Labs, a leader in business intelligence through social cognition provided insights to crowd- sourced learning.

6.       There is Continued Risk ahead for Pharma and DTC Marketers…

• Mike Sauers, Team Leader DTC Group 1, DDMAC outlined recent FDA organizational changes and the addition of a 4^th reviewing group to keep up with pharma communications—In 2010, over 78,000 2253’s were submitted to DDMAC.  These additional resources will increase focus on DTC web and off line advertising…And mean more DDMAC letters?

  FDA is proud of ‘The Bad Ad Program’-- recruiting doctors to help blow the whistle on 'bad' DTC and Professional pieces-- 28% have been for DTC ads to date. [Derma-Smoothe website warning letter was the first from DDMAC's Bad Ad program http://bit.ly/hHHqa2 via Wendy Blackburn]

  Sauers reviewed four recent FDA letters, many of which, it is not surprising that DDMAC issued letters…same  ol, same ol…use of testimonials… overstatement of efficacy...minimization of risk...indication creep… Sauers’ advice to Pharma:  if you wouldn’t feel good about substituting the amount of risk for the amount of benefits in your ad, then the ad is probably not well balanced!

  Mike Sauers also presented a ‘one page’ update regarding timing for DDMAC’s Social Media Guidelines coming out of the November 2009 advisory meeting ( #fdasm) .  The FDA script:  While Social Media and web communications are among our highest priorities, social media is complex and we don’t want to act hastily to put out a guidance that will quickly be out of date when a new technology or platform is introduced…. “It is very difficult to provide a timeline for a well thought- out, useful guideline…"

     Or is this just what Jack Barrette tweeted: GGP = godawful government procrastination? 

Pharma’s dilemma: With consumer trust still very low, waiting for SM guidelines and doing nothing may not be a wise decision either…And this may be a case of be careful for what you wish for…DDMAC SM guidelines may not make our lives easier…or improve patient engagement.

• Amie O’Donaghue, a social science analyst at DDMAC, provided an overview of the many research studies that are in place, including a topline of their Distraction study (TV Only) that has been underway since 2007! Some of the takeaways seem to be that Supers facilitate risk communication, but don’t necessarily negatively impact benefit communication or attitude towards the drug.  Brand logos may have a neutral to negative impact on consumers…
• Jim Davidson gave his annual update of the Washington regulatory and legislative landscape:

  1) DTC advertising is once again at risk in the upcoming Washington debate given our sizeable budget issues---comes down to ad spending deductibility and the potential dollars this represents to government. [$37 Billion to be exact—Or is this just an old scare tactic as John Mack tweeted? ]

  2) It's time to refocus the message of DTC.  Patients need to see the value, what it's capable of; understand potential safety issues… [Is that possible for branded DTC ads? Or is he really suggesting that DTC ads only be unbranded and condition educational?]

What was your take on this year’s conference now that it is behind us?  Did I miss any key points?

Lastly, congratulations to all those agencies, clients and consultants whose communications won a DTC National Advertising Award. [At Advance MarketWoRx, we too, were honored to have received one for best new drug launch.]

In a world where we are bombarded by information, targeted by mass media and social networks, what can we do to make our message heard? How can healthcare, DTC and consumer marketers dimensionalize communications in a way that draws attention and focuses learning to important information and messaging?

Data visualization provides an increasingly powerful means to not only communicate information clearly and effectively, but the wise will consider it critical to help position their companies and brands in digital marketing today.

As outlined by FFunction in it's report 'Data Visualization: How To Position Your Company in Digital Marketing', "The power of visualizations comes from the fact that they stimulate the brain in a different way, by focusing attention on the sensorial and rational sides simultaneously. They act as a discovery game that incites one to focus on the displayed information that might otherwise be left unnoticed."

This is further supported by Dr. John Medina in his work, Brain Rules: Rule#10 Vision Trumps All Other Senses.

Other recent articles: Ad Age Digital's Why Data Visualization is About To Become Very Important for Your Brand by Oren Frank, AdWeek's: Seeing is Believing by Bob Greenwood and NYTimes: When The Data Stuts Its Self by Natasha Singer provide additional support for this growing field.

One has only to watch the animated statistics -developed by Dr. Rosling and Gapminder- to show the disparities in health and wealth around the world to see the power of advanced animation visualization  to help viewers spot trends on their own. Dr. Rosling's video clip from the BBC on health and wealth statistics has been viewed more than four million times on YouTube.

As Natasha Singer writes, "Visual analytics play off the idea that the brain is more attracted to and able to process dynamic images than long lists of numbers.  But the goal of information visualization is not simply to represent millions of bits of data as illustrations. It is to prompt visceral comprehension, moments of insight that make viewers want to learn more."

"The purpose of visualization is insight, not pictures", says Ben Shneiderman, founding director of the Human-computer Interaction Laboratory at the University of Maryland.

The growing field of 'data visualization' (DaViz), beyond its original roots in academia and science, has implications for companies, governments, marketers, agencies...For just about anybody who wants to convey  huge amounts of information in visual, interactive displays.

• Can data itself become an asset of a brand and a pillar to visually enhance the brand's story? Can DaViz even suggest a new product idea?
• Can DaViz help garner attention and encourage learning and action?  Should it be included in every new creative brief to act as a strong reminder for creative exploration?
• What opportunities can DaViz offer for pharma companies as they think about how to most clearly communicate and motivate consumers, doctors and even sales people?  For example, could 'tree mapping' offer unique ways to more clearly communicate and motivate sales reps?
• Does DaViz offer unique opportunities to create next generation dashboards that can help consumers better understand lots of data and increase positive behavior? e.g.: making sense of daily blood sugar scores, exercise regimens, cholesterol numbers etc.

But like anything, there are benefits and risks.  With Data Visualization, customers can become more engaged when visuals help them filter information and allow them to make discoveries on their own.

On the risk side, Professor Shneiderman warns that tools as powerful as visualization have the potential to mislead, or confuse consumers.  And privacy implications can arise as increasing amounts of personal, medical, financial data... become widely accessible, searchable and viewable.[via NYTimes article]

But given how our digital society is evolving, with data being produced at an exceptional rate, I think it is undeniable that DaViz will become increasingly important to each and every marketer and business person today. It is poised to become an important element of brand marketing going forward.

Thoughts?

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Illustrations: 1) The World of Data, Oliver Munday for GOOD.is, October, 2010; published by A Lapierre and S Pierre 11 25 2010, Data Visualization- How to Position Your Company in Digital Marketing.  2) What is Data Visualization? Infographic explaining data visualization, visually. See below.

With the exponential growth in mobile adoption, technology and new apps, mobile is on everyone's list for 2011 and beyond, and rightfully so. The mobile "product" and "channel" offers numerous opportunities for all marketers, healthcare and pharma included.
Consider some of the facts:

• Mobile will be the primary digital connection for both existing and new customers. [Forester]
• Today there are well over 400M phones in the US, over 350M applications available for the iPhone and counting with more than 10B downloads. [Forester]
• Mobile users will surpass desktop users in 5 years.  Mobile growth is the fastest in communications history. [Mary Meeker, KPCB]
• Physician adoption of mobile devices is astounding. Chilmark  Research estimates 100% of physicians will have a smart phone and use content apps by 12/31/2013--with touchscreen tablet saturation by 2015. Smartphone Apps now focus on communication, alerts and decision support. Clinical reference content is currently leading mHealth apps, but will evolve with the growth of iPad and other touchscreen tablets to provide more flexibility, personalization, patient education...
• Of the 85% of American adults who use a cell phone, 17% of cell owners have used their phone to look up health or medical information and 29% of cell owners ages 18-29 have done such searches. [Pew Internet Mobile Health 2010] 

I listened to Julie Ask from Forester provide her thoughts for marketers: Top 5 Mobile Imperatives. [A FierceWireless Webcast]

Here are the five key takeaways, with plenty of implications for Pharma and Healthcare Marketers developing mobile health strategies:

1. Drive Towards Convenience- Forester considers a product or service convenient if: The Sum of Benefits > The Sum of Inhibitors.  Mobile services- both web and applications- should address three core benefits: Immediacy, Simplicity and Context (which today usually involves location, time of day or past user behavior).  Delivering on these core benefits is critical to delivering a positive customer experience. What does simplicity mean for different patient segments? How do you provide context for your patients? doctors?
2. Focus On Customer Needs- Go beyond pure marketing or selling to offer value add content and services.  "What's in it for them?" e.g.: Walgreens new "refill by scan" fulfilled patients' needs for easy prescription refills.  Customers appreciate when their needs are met!
   
3. Mobile Is As Much Product as Channel.  This suggests not limiting mobile to just marketing or commerce- but introducing companion mobile services. Mobile can support customers throughout their journey.  How can mobile support your patients/ caregivers throughout their health or treatment journey? During discovery and consideration,  physician identification and dialog, pharmacy purchase, trial, retention, and if you are lucky enough, advocacy?
4. Divorce the PC.  The addition of new technologies will push mobile phones well beyond the PC. e.g.: Remote health monitoring; 3d cameras enabling augmented reality, gesture control; chemical sensors enabling breathalyzer, food freshness, CO detection etc. It's also critical to think about mobile as its own product and channel and not try to just force current web graphics or tools into mobile applications. The mobile experience is driven by different factors than the 'desktop web' experience--use case, location, urgency. Improving the Mobile experience can't be accomplished by measuring activity alone like might be done for web--requires understanding of behaviors based on what users are doing and seeing with their mobile device in the real world, and requires ability to identify where users are struggling with mobile user experience.
5. Be Nimble.  Mobile is dynamic...plenty of uncertainty is in the horizon such as: new devices- just as the iPad came in- will disrupt; new means for controlling devices such as the Kinect will change our paradigms for how we control machines; new business models will appear; mobile will replace existing devices, tools and services; user context will be multi-dimensional etc. Focusing on on-going improvement is a must...as technology and learning evolves.

And there are always the specific considerations to work through for Pharma and Healthcare Marketers:

• Regulatory concerns (Meaningful Use, Medical Loss Ratio)
• The need for Protected Health Information (PHI) (Wikipedia)
• Consumer health apps are begging for more behavioral health tactics. 
• Consumer and professional mHealth lends itself to gamification applications to keep consumers/patients engaged.
  [Read PharmExec prior post: Can Healthcare Games Change the Game for Healthcare?]
• Peripheral health devices are underway, and many more health-related apps are sure to come with the continued growth of the iPad and competitive tablets. But marketers and developers will need to consider regulatory implications [Read Eileen O'Brien's When Does A Smartphone Become A Medical Device? Also read  A Call for Clarity: Open Questions on the Scope of FDA Regulation of mHealth,prepared by the mHealth Regulatory Coalition.]
• Physician mhealth apps will increasingly focus on decision support at the Point of Care, patient education, and the ability to invoke discrete apps for specific needs through modular development.

What are you most excited about for mobile health? How are you fulfilling doctor or consumer needs with new mobile strategies?  Where do you see the greatest challenges?

For additional reading: The Influence of Mobile Apps on Pharma: an eyeforpharma special report; the Path of the Blue Eye Project's first breakfast presentation Mobile Health: Hype and  Hope  by Jane Sarasohn-Kahn,of THINK-Health; Four More Must-Read Mobile Health Reports by mobilehealthnews, including slides below from their webinar last month; Mobile Health 2010 by Susannah Fox, Pew Internet

 
Photo image credit:  Courtney Justice-The Cournell Group / stock credit:  M. Brubeck
Walgreens Refill By Scan image-credit: Business Wire