Point-of-care (POC) advertising has been in use in the pharmaceutical industry for at least the last quarter century, whether it’s an ad on a waiting room TV, a bag insert at a retail pharmacy, an exam room poster, or other forms of communicating directly with physicians and patients.

Bob Ehrlich, Chairman at DTC Perspectives, Inc., estimates that POC advertising currently makes up about 3% to 5% of all DTC spending and is utilized by most media plans. And for good reason, since most POC options generally offer both a measurable and strong ROI.

But that 3% to 5% rate is about to swell, according to Ehrlich — thanks to multiple market factors converging at once:

1. Consolidation of POC suppliers will make it easier to buy more reach. POC programs are currently too small, despite their high ROI, to make a big impact on sales and market share.
2. Approximately 30 million new patients will visit physician offices and pharmacies under Obamacare. Plus, retail clinics will increasingly provide primary care, allowing for a “two-birds-with-one-stone” effect of POC advertising within some pharmacies.
3. The emphasis on electronic medical records (EMRs) under Obamacare will make for more digital patient-provider and patient-pharmacist interaction. With physicians using online tools to connect more with patients and providing test results and follow-up care, many opportunities will arise for drug and device companies with digital assets.
4. The need to slow the cost of healthcare will spur a boom in prevention education. A big chunk of the savings will come via diabetes and obesity education in conjunction with blood sugar, cholesterol, and blood pressure screening. Many of these screenings will occur at pharmacies, which will offer free screenings more frequently. “Millions of Americans will be incentivized to get screening and counseling at POC locations,” writes Ehrlich. “Many of these newly screened will be minorities so expect multicultural POC to boom.”

All these factors will merge in the next 5 years or so to push POC spending to at least 10% of DTC budget allocations — or about $400-$500 million, according to Ehrlich. “That market expansion will mean a lot of venture capital will be available to fund new companies,” he concludes. “There will be a need for POC that is highly integrated, covering awareness advertising, initial use, and retention and compliance programs.”

Tom Richards, VP of Product Marketing & Development for HealthBridge, couldn’t agree more. “We’ve already seen a marked increase in requests for our multichannel point-of-care offerings compared with previous years,” he says. “We’re hearing firsthand that marketing teams are feeling the pressure to perform like never before, and marketers are gravitating toward point-of-care for its measurable and proven return on investment.”

 “These programs are easily integrated into existing sales force activities, and can be employed to engage both patients and physicians,” Richards adds, “so you can see why interest is growing.”

HealthBridge wants to know…

What plans do you have to increase your point-of-care investment?

With increasing frequency, the terms “native advertising,” “sponsored content,” “branded content,” “content marketing,” and “custom content” are being used interchangeably by brand managers, media groups, ad agencies, and publishers alike. That’s a problem, because each term means something different from the next, and each means something different to everyone. Luckily, our good friend (read: a contributor to Digiday who doesn’t know us) Josh Sternberg at Digiday took the time to provide some clarity on the topic by providing some definitions. Here’s a summary of what he had to say:

• Native Advertising: Ads that are unique to the environment in which they appear, such as Facebook’s Sponsored Stories and Twitter’s Promoted Tweets.
• Sponsored Content: Content written by a publisher—without input from a marketer—with which a brand pays to have its name and/or messaging associated. These tend to be seen as introductory paragraphs using terms like “brought to you by” or “sponsored by.”
• Advertising Content: Not to be confused with sponsored or custom content, advertising content is actually an advertisement. It just happens to be in the form of text, not display advertising.
• Brand Content: Content produced by a brand and run through its own distribution channels, such as a video housed on the brand’s YouTube channel.
• Content Marketing: All of the above. We couldn’t put it any better than Sternberg, so here’s what he had to say: “On a most basic level, it means ‘not banner ads.’ It conveys the strategic shift occurring at many brands that are thinking of ways to sell their wares and services beyond the hard sell. These efforts involve creating content and experiences people want to consume, while at the same time conveying a brand message. For a brand like Red Bull, that means hair-raising stunts and action-sports content; for American Express, it is producing tools and content useful and needed by small-business owners.

We hope this helps provide some clarity to an area that’s sure to receive more and more attention.

HealthBridge wants to know…
How likely are you to incorporate some type of native advertising into your future marketing plans?

Everywhere you look, human interaction is being replaced with technology, by posts and comments on Facebook, automated phone answering systems, text messaging, and so on. The trend hasn’t escaped the pharmaceutical industry.

With many blockbuster and other large-selling drugs coming off of patent and facing more and more competition from generic counterparts, the industry has been faced with trying to cut expenses. With non-personal promotion options offering an easy, relatively inexpensive alternative to a human sales force, an increasing number of pharmaceutical sales reps have been facing the chopping block. Just last week, Eli Lilly, for instance, let go of hundreds of reps (~30% of the entire force) at a time when two if its biggest moneymakers (Cymbalta and Evista) are approaching patent expiration (December 2013, March 2014, respectively).

While sales forces were cut by 10% in the United States last year, investments in non-personal channels surged during the period, according to Cegedim Strategic Data (CSD). This also comes at a time when overall promotional spending remained flat from 2011 to 2012, at about $90 billion. Yet, spending on e-detailing, e-mailing, and webinar/webcast-type promotions was up 65% over 2011, from $534 million to $879 million. Of the three areas, e-detailing saw the biggest increase, with a 73% jump in spending—up to $368 million. E-mail promotions jumped 67% to $452 million, and webinar/webcast promotions jumped 14% to $59 million.

CSD Vice President of Global Promotion Audit Christopher Wooden agreed with what the data shows, stating: “Two main factors have helped drive this move to digital: First, the reality of the patent cliff leaves companies with less money to invest in sales force. Secondly, technology has advanced to a point where its use as part of the multichannel strategy is becoming more attractive and less expensive.”

Don’t be fooled, though; the era of a human pharmaceutical sales force is far from over. According to Wooden, “Nothing can replace the relationship value of face-to-face promotion. But these new channels, when used cohesively, will augment and improve the overall client experience for HCPs.”

HealthBridge wants to know…
In what ways have you increased your non-personal promotion in 2013?

Why you should avoid silos

Not too long ago, a huge transition occurred in how we Americans purchase just about anything. Consumers shifted from shopping at “brick and mortar” stores to shopping online. They became digital consumers. When that shift occurred, the long-standing practice of marketers finding new ways to reach adapting consumers—and agencies, in turn, adapting their abilities to meet the marketer’s new needs—started to snowball. And with that rapid adaptation, agencies began creating new capabilities and roles.

“It started in the 1990s with vps of digital, and then vps of mobile, followed by the occasional vp of engagement or vp of experience, and then peaked over the past four to five years with vps of social media popping up in nearly every major agency. 2013 has seen a new trend take center stage in the agency evolution, as major agencies have hired leadership in the content area and made a big deal about these new vps of content in the press,” writes Brian Babineau, svp of media & marketing at Digital Influence Group,  for Digiday.

While developing new areas of focus and new positions isn’t a bad thing, Babineau notes that simply appending a new capability to an agency “misses the point.” Consumers want to make connections with people first, then access content, and then worry about brands last. They don’t care what agencies you use or how many you have or if your agencies have vps of content or social media. They do, however, care about seamless experiences, powered by people and content, according to Babineau.

He writes, “They want to engage on their own terms, in whatever channel suits them, and at whatever time they wish. And they intend on having the same quality and type of experience with a brand across each of those channels. For them, content that smells like advertising, or content that shows up in irrelevant or forced context, is an instant warning bell and leads to that content being ignored.”

When a brand or agency divides each aspect of the consumer experience, consumer touchpoints become fragmented. Creating different departments for social and content will leave consumers with an unsatisfying experience. In other words, you have to avoid…wait for it…the silo.

Now, we at HealthBridge hate that “corporate talk”—including phrases like “up the flagpole,” “synergy,” “deliverables,” “off-line,” and “outside the box”—as much as the next guy, but the silo analogy is important here. The best experiences for digital consumers are those with content that is relevant and personal, while also including key factors of the brand or product, without overdoing it with either. Social engagement and careful construction of content across all channels should power these experiences.

“It’s time to recognize that social isn’t a capability; it’s at the core of every digital interaction. Content isn’t a department; it’s one of the most important ways a marketer can begin a relationship with a consumer in any channel and format. They aren’t nice-to-haves as additions; they are must-haves as part of a foundation,” concludes Babineau.

Lucky for you, your good friends and HealthBridge have the capability of enabling such experiences through our integration of web content, mobile content, e-newsletter content, social media outlets, and multiple print content avenues, offering numerous points of contact (there’s that corporate talk again…sorry) in the office, at the point of care, on the run, and in the waiting room.

HealthBridge wants to know…
How have you avoided, or how do you plan to avoid, keeping your DTC content out of the silo?

• 53% said that social networking was a reason for accessing the Internet in the last 30 days.
• 4% used Facebook or Twitter to obtain/research healthcare information.

The survey also found that 55% of Internet uses in the United States used social media for health and wellness in 2012. Among them:

• 26% visited sites with user-generated content, such as Wikipedia.
• 23% watched informational videos covering health and wellness.
• 23% viewed blogs about a given health topic.

What’s more, nearly 25% of survey respondents reported using social networking sites frequently or occasionally as online health resources, a percentage that has grown each year since 2010 (see below). That’s good news for those pharmaceutical marketers who are engaging consumers on sites like Twitter and Facebook, and a sign that it might be time to jump on board for those who aren’t.

Diving a little further into Kantar’s findings brings to light those age groups that are most likely to use the Internet for health research and who frequently/occasionally use social networking sites for health- and wellness-related searches. At the top of this are those aged 35 to 44 (see below), followed by those aged 25 to 34 and then those aged 18 to 24. That’s not a surprising finding, but it certainly reinforces what age groups are worthwhile targeting through social networking sites. It’s also worth noting that use drops off dramatically at age 45 and continues to drop with age.

It also appears that consumers with chronic conditions are more likely to use social networking sites as online health information sources. The figure below documents individuals that currently have or had the listed conditions in last 12 months.

It would certainly make sense that those marketing pharmaceuticals indicated for depression, diabetes, migraine headaches, bipolar disorder, and anxiety would want to take a serious look at stepping up or launching—depending on the case—a digital marketing plan with a strong social networking component.

HealthBridge wants to know…
What plans do you have for including social networking in your marketing plans for 2013?

A new report from Kantar Media indicates that more and more professionals, particularly those who work with the public, are using social networking tools in their daily jobs. And among the top users is one of pharmaceutical marketers’ key targets: physicians. That’s right, nearly one-third of physicians uses social networking for professional purposes, according to Kantar Media’s Sources & Interactions Study.

So, how are docs using social networking sites, and where are they going most? The majority use professional networks, like Sermo and Quantia MD, as seen below.

According to Kantar’s findings, those physicians who use social networking sites are much more likely to “lurk” on these sites, reading and following others posts (30%), than they are to write or post something of their own (3%). The finding suggests that physicians use social networking sites primarily for information seeking on a given topic than to share their own experiences or expertise.

When looking at Kantar’s data by physician age, a few surprises emerge. First, docs in the 35 and older age group are almost twice as likely to use professional social networking sites that those who are younger than 35. Second, docs aged 45-50 were the most likely to use any social network for professional purposes overall (see below). So much for the generation gap in tech use!

So, what’s it all mean to you? As you develop your professional online marketing strategy, keep in mind where physicians are networking. It might be worth advertising on these sites or striking up partnerships with them. And think about what age demographic you hope to target online. The assumption that tech-savvy, Internet-using physicians are mostly younger may be ill-conceived.

HealthBridge wants to know…

How does physician use of social networking sites fit into your professional digital/online marketing plans?

According to a new report from the healthcare research firm Kantar Media, 77% of consumers who have seen a physician (of any specialty) in the past year value the information they received from said physician very much or somewhat. That consumers valued the physician as the top source of healthcare information certainly makes sense, since that’s who they were going to see.

Good news for brand managers and other pharmaceutical marketers: 41% of consumers valued brochures, pamphlets, ads, and wallboards in doctors’ offices very much or somewhat. Did somebody say “brochures and wallboards?” With patients easily exposed to such materials just before they meet with doctor, as they sit in the waiting room, the content within these materials can significantly impact the discussion patients have with their doctor.

Check out the figure below to see how patients rated each medium, including by specialty.

HealthBridge wants to know…
What point-of-care mediums are a part of your marketing plan for 2013?

 
Yesterday, the Washington Post became the first major newspaper in the country to open its platform for brands to create and distribute content with the launch of “BrandConnect” and a sponsored post from CTIA. BrandConnect enable marketers to create content through blog posts, videos, and infographics to be posted throughout the Post’s website.

Visually, BrandConnect content will appear in a box on the site (in CTIA’s case, it’s the main news well) and be labeled as “Sponsor Generated Content,” with an information symbol hyperlinked to text that reads “BrandConnect is content provided for our advertisers.”

The idea behind BrandConnect isn’t a huge leap by any stretch of the imagination from the special advertorial sections that newspapers and magazines have been running for years. While the print version of an advertorial has been deemed acceptable for quite some time, when that advertorial goes online, it tends to be held to higher standards (eg, editorial staff can edit the content, the content is very clearly sectioned off and labeled, etc). The Post will handle BrandConnect content by allowing marketers in some cases to create it with input, if desired by the marketer, from the paper’s advertiser team. Editorial services won’t be used.

That one of the nation’s biggest newspapers has decided to include sponsored content on its platform is surely a sign of the wider acceptance among consumers of such content, not to mention evidence that brands clearly have something to gain by utilizing the approach.

Here at HealthBridge, we’ve been including sponsored content on our Physician’s Weekly poster units—hung in physician-only areas in hospitals across the country—through our custom SpotlLight Issue opportunities. Advertisers can take advantage of the entire editorial real estate, extend their reach with customized brochures, and use either existing, promotional review board-approved content or our relationships with renowned KOLs to develop new content. Benchmarks from 19 surveys representing more than 3,000 healthcare providers indicate that the majority felt our custom SpotLight issues were extremely effective at increasing awareness of key messages, increasing the likelihood of prescribing, and providing relevant information.

HealthBridge wants to know…
Do you plan to include sponsored content in your physician marketing plans for 2013?

On the internet, the gold standard third-party measurement company is comScore, “an Internet analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to many of the world’s largest enterprises, agencies, and publishers,” according to Wikipedia.  Publishers have questioned the accuracy of the number provided by comScore for years. The complaints center around the contention that panel-based measurements provided by comScore often differ — perhaps even significantly — from their own internal stats. A look at Wikipedia helps paint the picture of how the panel works and why publishers have been complaining:

“comScore maintains a group of users who have monitoring software (with brands including PermissionResearch, OpinionSquare and VoiceFive Networks) installed on their computers. …

comScore estimates that two million users are part of the monitoring program. However, self-selected populations, no matter how large, may not be representative of the population as a whole …  some comScore users are recruited without being asked to give demographic information and, in other cases, users may not be truthful about their demographics …”

The boom in mobile-based (via smartphone or tablet) internet use in recent years has led to a new list of complaints from publishers. With some publishers reporting that mobile makes up 40% of their traffic, the issue of audiences spread across various devices tops the list, according to Digiday’s Josh Sternberg. While comScore says they’re addressing the issue, some publishers “see it as little more than another ploy to drum up revenue,” writes Sternberg.

Reddit General Manager Erik Martin told Sternberg: “It’s laughably bad for us, and they still try to sell us anytime we complain or ask questions about methodology. They insist on using their tracking beacon, but every time we’ve tried that, it slows down our site tremendously and they have no answer.”

A publisher who apparently asked to remain anonymous told Sternberg: “comScore doesn’t count mobile traffic, period. Add that to their normal bulls#*^, panel-based discrepancies, and their numbers are not based on reality.”

Adding to frustrations with the analytics company is that they will in time tack on additional fees for publishers to access the multiplatform number they come up with. “As of now, publishers can access it in beta version, but it’s really just a ‘strategic tease’ to get publishers to eventually pay more,” writes Sternberg. “And for publishers who aren’t measured by comScore, these tools put them behind the eightball.”

Another complaint is that the methodology used by comScore is designed for large sites like AOL.com and Yahoo.com. Andy Cohn, president and publisher of the music site The Fader, said: “It’s our understanding that ComScore just does not work for measuring TheFader.com or other niche/smaller sized sites… [Their methodology is] based on a panel of around 150,000 people surveyed, which renders that data completely unreliable in that essentially one person can dictate our entire traffic measurement basis and demographic info—which clearly makes no sense.”

The lack of separation between smartphone and tablet in mobile measurements is another sticking point for publishers. “Right now, [comScore] can get away with not separating mobile and tablet,” Andre Woolery, digital synthesis director at MediaKitchen, told Sternberg. “We’re not far off from where tablets break into main devices versus them being secondary or complementary. It hasn’t hit scale yet, but it’s getting there.”

Rich Antoniello, CEO of Complex, summed it up well when he told Sternberg “Is ComScore a true , accurate judge of how a business will perform for advertisers? No, but it’s a guide. There needs something universal to measure, but we can’t live and die by ComScore.”

It certainly seems that publishers’ clients (brand managers, ad agencies, media companies, etc) would be wise to use comScore measurements as a guide and not a true testament of one’s performance on the web.

HealthBridge wants to know…

Would you consider solutions not recommended by comScore if the provider presented their own, more detailed measurement on individual tactics?

With continually expanding digital and social media opportunities, increasing demands from the FDA, an ever-changing healthcare industry, and a recession, the world of brand advertising demands ad agencies that can keep up with the changes while meeting your current needs. In light of this, Giselle Abramovich at Digiday spoke with four anonymous brand executives about what frustrates them with their agencies. The overarching theme was that they don’t make the effort to fully grasp their clients. Here’s a summary of what each had to say.

1. Agencies need to be as obsessed with the brand’s competitors as is the brand team. Account managers should be ok with and know when to say “I don’t know, but I’ll find out and get back to you;” it’s better than scrambling to fulfill false promises. Finally, don’t use the clichés from Douchey Accounty Guy.
2. There’d be more trust between the client and agency if agencies were more transparent with what/how many agency employees work on the client’s business and how much time they put in.
3. Cookie-cutter approaches are a thing of the past. Agencies need to be better and listening and learning about the client’s business and what new opportunities exist.
4. Agencies should stick to what they’re good at and not try to do everything, because trying to do everything tends to lead to doing nothing. They shouldn’t be afraid, however, to bring aggressive ideas to the table. Agencies that coordinate efforts with each other produce better work.

HealthBridge wants to know…

What frustrates you about your agency(ies), and what can be done to overcome the problem(s)?