{"id":1237,"date":"2017-05-01T15:39:25","date_gmt":"2017-05-01T20:39:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.rx-edge.com\/blog\/?p=1237"},"modified":"2017-06-15T16:50:10","modified_gmt":"2017-06-15T21:50:10","slug":"two-hours-of-media-inspiration","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.instephealth.com\/blog\/two-hours-of-media-inspiration\/","title":{"rendered":"Two Hours of Media Inspiration"},"content":{"rendered":"

In late March, Rx EDGE hosted a Leadership Exchange roundtable moderated by Medical Marketing & Media. The topic was <\/span>\u00a0\u201cMaking it into the Plan: Media Decisions\u201d.\u00a0 <\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

When I mentioned to my younger son that I was attending a Leadership Exchange, he replied with mock-seriousness \u201cOh, so you\u2019re going to meet up and exchange some of their leaders for some of yours \u2013 like a Wife Swap kind of thing?\u201d \u00a0It didn\u2019t occur to me that the words \u201cleadership exchange\u201d would conjure up comparisons to the old reality TV show, where two families from very dissimilar backgrounds swap wives\/mothers for two weeks, presumably to gain a better appreciation of their different worlds.<\/p>\n

Short of a literal swap of personnel, the leadership exchange was the next best thing.\u00a0 Sometimes we all get so embroiled in our respective businesses that we just can\u2019t see certain issues through other lenses.\u00a0 In the words of Stephen Covey, \u201cWe see the world not as it is, but as we are\u2212or, as we are conditioned to see it.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0 When you spend quality time with fellow industry stakeholders, you come away with a better awareness of what motivates their decisions and thought processes.<\/p>\n

The event\u2019s objective was to understand the drivers behind pharmaceutical direct-to-consumer media and planning decisions, and that objective was definitely met. \u00a0We were delighted to be part of a spirited discussion with representatives from a great mix of healthcare agencies and pharmaceutical companies.<\/p>\n

MM&M will be publishing a detailed recap in their June issue; in the meantime, I wanted to share some of the points I considered to be the most essential and eloquent!\u00a0 Here they are, along with my personal take on each one:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Think about a \u201cday in the life of a patient\u201d.<\/span>\u00a0 What role does a particular tactic or media format really play in\u00a0a patient\u2019s life?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

The most relevant tactics can emerge from tapping into patient stories, which offer a number of revelations that are relevant to marketers of specialty brands.\u00a0 \u201cDay in the life\u201d narratives illuminate real experiences, humanize disease, and can help to pinpoint the most effective marketing strategies across various channels.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>“Catch people in unexpected ways.\u00a0 There\u2019s an exponential factor when you reach people in a way or a place that they don\u2019t necessarily expect \u2013 they\u2019ll be more likely to pay attention to your message.”<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cUnexpected\u201d doesn\u2019t have to mean \u201ccompletely from left field\u201d.\u00a0 Instead, think about it as providential<\/em> \u2212 reaching patients and caregivers when health questions are on their minds, but they are not necessarily expecting they’ll get answers right then. Any relevant messaging they see will come as a welcome educational surprise when they least expect it \u2013\u00a0but most need it!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>“Use action-oriented media \u2013 spark the hand-raisers (those who\u2019ve seen the ad and are interested in the message) to DO SOMETHING.\u201d<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

The typical metrics of awareness, attitude, response rates to savings offers, website visits, and impressions are all contributing factors to media success and definitely important to know.\u00a0 But they are diagnostic in nature and do not give you the full performance picture.\u00a0 Metrics that are delivered primarily through sales data provide a more unequivocal assessment of media effectiveness because they tell marketers if a real ACTION was taken.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>\u00a0\u201cNo matter what the media, dynamic creative is important.\u00a0 Use fonts, colors, and other elements to get people engaged and interacting with your brand.\u201d<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Getting to that \u201cjust right\u201d creative can be quite a challenge, given the legal\/regulatory scrutiny and general risk-adversity that comes with the pharmaceutical marketing territory.\u00a0 But there are plenty of examples of great pharma creative out there!\u00a0 In the pharmacy setting, our inspiration comes from keeping the end-user in mind \u2013 thinking about what\u2019s important to them, what will catch their eye, and what their concerns may be at that moment.\u00a0 Ultimately, you want to capture the right people\u2019s attention and motivate them to learn more about the brand or condition.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

“The way the patient journey starts and continues is very different from brand to brand. You are always trying to find that teachable moment, that perfect moment in time for your message. You never notice car ads until you’re in the market for a car. That same dynamic applies to pharma.”<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

The car ad analogy aligns nicely with our pharmacy Mindset Moment\u00ae<\/sup> concept.\u00a0 The old \u201cpush\u201d model of marketing tends to thrust brand information onto consumers when they don\u2019t need it, aren\u2019t looking for it, and probably won\u2019t do anything with it. People don\u2019t want to be confronted with information about drugs and illness unless they or a loved one have a need \u2014 in the form of symptoms, general concerns or a current known condition. Only then will they take notice.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>\u201cThink about the \u2018depth of sale\u2019 \u2013 not just product awareness, but the deeper things like education and adherence.\u201d<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

This concept seems to be best expressed in terms of lifetime value \u2013\u00a0how well a media option provides a foundation for building a relationship beyond the initial script.\u00a0 The media plan should be built around disseminating tailored patient education before a branded product enters the market, providing outreach during launch, and delivering support throughout the product\u2019s lifecycle.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>\u00a0\u201cPrint is tactile \u2013 and tactile things are good.\u201d<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

We spent a fair amount of time talking about print media during the roundtable.\u00a0 Everyone agreed that even in the digital world we live in, print serves a major purpose as part of a brand\u2019s relationship with consumers. For one thing, it is a powerful driver of online activity, giving people a stimulus to go online and learn more. \u00a0For another, it provides a tangible platform for brand messages.\u00a0 Lastly, print vehicles amplify campaigns people see in TV and digital channels.<\/p>\n

\n

When people are sitting around a table freely talking about a singular topic, the opportunities for learning increase exponentially. \u00a0Every single participant was highly engaged and forthcoming with insights that you just don\u2019t hear during a normal client meeting.\u00a0 The perspectives shared in those two short hours helped us to think about ways we can better serve patients through our media choices.<\/p>\n

Now, I think I\u2019ll start working on that \u201cExecutive Swap\u201d reality TV show pitch\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In late March, Rx EDGE hosted a Leadership Exchange roundtable moderated by Medical Marketing & Media. The topic was \u00a0\u201cMaking it into the Plan: Media Decisions\u201d.\u00a0 When I mentioned to my younger son that I was attending a Leadership Exchange, he replied with mock-seriousness \u201cOh, so you\u2019re going to meet up and exchange some of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1242,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.instephealth.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1237"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.instephealth.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.instephealth.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.instephealth.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.instephealth.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1237"}],"version-history":[{"count":30,"href":"https:\/\/www.instephealth.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1237\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1279,"href":"https:\/\/www.instephealth.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1237\/revisions\/1279"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.instephealth.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1242"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.instephealth.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1237"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.instephealth.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1237"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.instephealth.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1237"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}