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<title>World of DTC Marketing </title><link>http://www.worldofdtcmarketing.com/index.html</link><description>Updates</description><dc:language>en</dc:language><dc:creator>rmeyer52@mac.com</dc:creator><dc:rights>Copyright 2007 Richard Meyer</dc:rights><dc:date>2008-07-03T07:07:05-07:00</dc:date><admin:generatorAgent rdf:resource="http://www.realmacsoftware.com/" />
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<lastBuildDate>Thu, 03 Jul 2008 07:28:22 -0700</lastBuildDate><item><title>Woefully underspent</title><dc:creator>rmeyer52@mac.com</dc:creator><category>Internet &#x26; DTC Marketing</category><dc:date>2008-07-03T07:07:05-07:00</dc:date><link>http://www.worldofdtcmarketing.com/files/f42c65b342fab17ea860a8c9ab01feb3-346.html#unique-entry-id-346</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.worldofdtcmarketing.com/files/f42c65b342fab17ea860a8c9ab01feb3-346.html#unique-entry-id-346</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[The continued lack of investment in the online channel by pharma is further indication, to me, that they don&rsquo;t understand the interactive channel.    When talking to people within pharma I hear phrases like &ldquo;legal won&rsquo;t allow us&rdquo; and &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t have the budget&rdquo;.    It has gotten so bad that a lot of people are starting to leave Internet and DTC marketing all together.


When I was working on the Cialis team I was lucky enough to have a DTC manager who knew the importance of the online channel and as such I received a nice slice of the pie to move forward with online initiatives.    However with budgets getting tighter and tighter what I have seen, in talking to associates, is that the online channel is being cut in favor of TV and in some cases even print.


...Well first, in order to really take advantage of online you have to spend money and it could be a lot of money.     You can&rsquo;t repurpose videos from other channels on the Web you have to understand what your audience is looking for and what the barriers are to therapy adaption.    People will read medical and health information on the Web but it has to be in terms that speaks to them as an audience of one rather than specific segments.


...Pharma is so afraid to even approach this part of online that they don&rsquo;t even talk about it anymore.    Believe it or not there is a way to engage your audience online and not violate FDA DDMAC guidelines but that would mean sitting with your legal people to gain their trust and understanding and not many people have time for that today.


...I can tell you firsthand that good eMarketing people are hard to find and once someone distinguished themselves in the online channel they are usually moved to another job within pharma.  

...More and more advertisers are showing up on You Tube and rather than pushing information so marketers have made the brand interaction entertaining and insightful.  ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Delayed health care access problems</title><dc:creator>rmeyer52@mac.com</dc:creator><category>Healthcare in America</category><dc:date>2008-07-01T06:25:59-07:00</dc:date><link>http://www.worldofdtcmarketing.com/files/39956d624382f6492ac9dbab7abf9829-345.html#unique-entry-id-345</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.worldofdtcmarketing.com/files/39956d624382f6492ac9dbab7abf9829-345.html#unique-entry-id-345</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[We are always rushing to get to work, do the shopping and take care of the kids so who has the time to go see their physician?   ...  This allows me to determine when I have the time to get a refill on an Rx rather than making an appointment two to three weeks in advance.


...Well let&rsquo;s see..you see a DTC commercial on TV and than more times than not you go online to learn about the product and then make a mental note to ask you physician about the brand.    However if you have to wait 2-3 weeks for an appointment your request may fall off the radar screen.    This is why a lot of smart brands are moving from In creating value for brands, we need to look beyond "intent to buy" and toward "intent to engage" with a brand message. 


In many cases, this has absolutely nothing to do with traditional models of targeting and everything to do with the "mode" a consumer is in when spending time on a web page.   We see as much as a 15 times difference in our ability to get consumers to spend time with advertising across popular social media sites. ...  Yet according to the latest data that John Mack has on his site most advertisers are spending about 7-8% of their advertising budgets online while pharma lags behind at 3%.


...Traditional metrics don&rsquo;t work today because reach and frequency do not take into account external barriers to patients seeking treatment.    Engaging people and telling your brand story will do a hell of a lot more to drive business than a CPM model with TV ads.   


...That is dismal for the pharma industry, no wonder Steve Case said that this channel is woefully underfunded by pharma companies.    Until pharma starts to build capabilities in this area they will continue to be underfunded because most lawyers in pharma don&rsquo;t understand that it&rsquo;s about engaging rather than pushing irrelevant information.
]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Prescription drug abuse next on media radar screen?</title><dc:creator>rmeyer52@mac.com</dc:creator><category>Pharma Headlines</category><dc:date>2008-06-29T07:31:53-07:00</dc:date><link>http://www.worldofdtcmarketing.com/files/992923d0ef0a49e25f269c24b2b1d524-344.html#unique-entry-id-344</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.worldofdtcmarketing.com/files/992923d0ef0a49e25f269c24b2b1d524-344.html#unique-entry-id-344</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[It&rsquo; only a matter of time before some Senator or Congressman jumps on this bandwagon to get headlines which is sure to be followed by a report on one of the nightly news broadcasts.  ...  You see in this age it&rsquo;s easier to blame someone for their children&rsquo;s bad behavior than take personal responsibility and right now the drug companies have a giant bulls-eye painted on their backs.  

...	&bull;	Teens are also abusing some over-the-counter (OTC) cough and cold remedies to get high,which is especially troubling given teens&rsquo; easy access to these products. 


...Teens say their parents are not discussing these dangers with them, even though research shows that parental disapproval  is a powerful way to keep teens from using drugs. 


...	&bull;	Teens are abusing prescription drugs because many believe the myth that these drugs provide a &ldquo;safe&rdquo; high and they are easily available. 


	&bull;	There has been a dramatic increase in the number of poisonings and even deaths associated with the abuse of prescription and OTC drugs. 


	&bull;	The prescription drugs most commonly abused by teens are painkillers, prescribed to treat  pain; depressants, such as sleeping pills or anti-anxiety drugs; and stimulants, mainly prescribed to treat attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). 


...I can tell you that when my Dad broke his hip and my Mother was suffering from lung cancer that pain killers were the only medication that allowed them to rest comfortably.    There are a lot of people in this country who have chronic pain and without medication their lives would be unbearable.


The drug companies can be proactive in this area by taking some of that lobbying money and allocating it to the Office of National Drug Control Policy for education.    Pharmacy chains could issue pain killers in ultra protective containers with the number of pills so that patients can keep track of them.    In fact when someone is issues a medication that can be abused they should be asked if they have children in the household so that the pharmacist can give them information on prescription drug abuse.
]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>&#x22;Dumbest quote of the year&#x22;</title><dc:creator>rmeyer52@mac.com</dc:creator><category>DUH &#x21;</category><dc:date>2008-06-28T06:48:34-07:00</dc:date><link>http://www.worldofdtcmarketing.com/files/047daf7050e2b52b203f93b9ba6a9130-343.html#unique-entry-id-343</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.worldofdtcmarketing.com/files/047daf7050e2b52b203f93b9ba6a9130-343.html#unique-entry-id-343</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[We all know that there are risks in taking prescription drugs, especially new ones, but would consumers and insurers agree to pay more for products that were better tested?    This centers around current and new diabetes drugs on the market as two new major studies indicate that aggressively lowering blood-sugar levels doesn't reduce diabetes patients' chances of having heart attacks.


...Pharma companies are saying that this will add costs to the drug and therefore they may not have the financial resources to bring new as many new drugs to market.    But  "All you have to do is read about the number of overweight people and those with Type 2 diabetes to know this is a potential gold mine for industry. 

...Again the drug companies are not thinking about what is best for the patient here.    They are thinking that every clinical study may keep the drug off the market longer and as thus prohibit ROI for all the money they have allocated to develop the drug.     Surely there has to be a way to reach a compromise here that both protects the patients and the allows the drug companies to recoup their money.


...Basically it comes down to this: if we invest $700-$900 million on a drug can we make back our money and keep shareholders happy before the drug comes off patent?     Costs for drug development are rising there is no doubt that and no way to decrease these costs in an era of transparency and eMails trails.    Rather than look to do an end run around the development costs however shouldn&rsquo;t pharmaceutical companies be changing their business models?     This does not mean paying a couple of hundred million for small biotech companies it means forming an alliance with key influencers within the industry, the FDA and in Congress so that they understand the challenges and can work together for the common good of patients rather than the Wall Street analysts.


Most of all it requires new leadership and new thinking, something that has been lacking in the pharma industry for quite a long time.]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Evista Ad Offensive?</title><dc:creator>rmeyer52@mac.com</dc:creator><category>Current DTC</category><dc:date>2008-06-26T06:35:23-07:00</dc:date><link>http://www.worldofdtcmarketing.com/files/b1484d7683b67cc4da2ca8a71f5cbbe1-342.html#unique-entry-id-342</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.worldofdtcmarketing.com/files/b1484d7683b67cc4da2ca8a71f5cbbe1-342.html#unique-entry-id-342</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Here is one eMail I received from a women who thought the ads were offensive:


I have been searching for who I should contact about the ad for Evista.    I have seen it several times and want to say it is a very offensive ad.    There are many women who have only a sheet wrapped around them.


By the ad moving from one women to the next with mirrors in the background  the viewer loses the message.


This ad is very unbecoming and unnecessary to advertise medication.   It once again adds to the lack of respect that the media has for women.   Many of us are working for the dignity of women and ads such as this one destroys our efforts.


...There is a serious message to get across but this kind of ad is unacceptable.


Well of course Lilly tested the message but this assumes that a small finite bunch of people can represent the target audience which today cannot easily be segmented.    With Evista coming off patent protection soon Lilly has made a splash with Evista DTC.    The question now is how big a splash and did someone&rsquo;s swimsuit come off ?]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Risk Evaluation &#x26; Mitigation Strategies</title><dc:creator>rmeyer52@mac.com</dc:creator><category>New FDA Policies</category><dc:date>2008-06-25T16:07:43-07:00</dc:date><link>http://www.worldofdtcmarketing.com/files/dba73184c41c588547881e0fa5b6b849-341.html#unique-entry-id-341</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.worldofdtcmarketing.com/files/dba73184c41c588547881e0fa5b6b849-341.html#unique-entry-id-341</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Title  IX, Subtitle A of FDAAA created new FDC Act &sect; 505-1,  which authorizes FDA to require applicants submitting a marketing application for a prescription drug or biological  product to submit and implement a REMS if the Agency 


...Certain products approved prior to the effective date of FDAAA are, under FDAAA &sect; 909(b)(1), deemed to have a REMS in effect &ldquo;if there are in effect on the effective date of this Act 


...(A) health care providers who prescribe the drug have particular training or experience, or are  specially certified (the opportunity to obtain 


such training or certification with respect to the drug shall be available to any willing provider from a frontier area in a widely available training 


or certification method (including an on-line course or via mail) as approved by the Secretary at reasonable cost to the provider)


(B) pharmacies, practitioners, or health care settings that dispense the drug are specially certified (the opportunity to obtain such certification shall be available to any willing  provider from a frontier area)


...(C) the drug be dispensed to patients only in certain health care settings, such as hospitals


...(D) the drug be dispensed to patients with evidence or other documentation of safe-use conditions, such as laboratory test results


...These forms have to be filled out every-time a physician writes an Rx and have to be signed by the physician and the patient.  ...  Of course the physician is only indicating that she/he read the drug information it does nothing about data that may not have been communicated to the FDA or the physician.    Lilly&rsquo;s new blood thinner drug may get a REMS and if it does you can pretty much cut a big chunk out of sales projections if the research that I have seen is any indication of how physicians feel.


...It&rsquo;s too early to tell but there has to be a better way to keep physicians and patients better informed about the risks of drugs.]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Another Monday</title><dc:creator>rmeyer52@mac.com</dc:creator><category>Pharma Headlines</category><dc:date>2008-06-23T05:36:56-07:00</dc:date><link>http://www.worldofdtcmarketing.com/files/0165d2dee40ef85f7d068e708ad4e73c-340.html#unique-entry-id-340</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.worldofdtcmarketing.com/files/0165d2dee40ef85f7d068e708ad4e73c-340.html#unique-entry-id-340</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[The death of Mr Russert has a lot of people with high cholesterol asking their doctors questions that they may not be able to answer without a lot more expensive tests.    Mr Russert had high cholesterol and was watching his diet, taking medication and exercising but it is believed that some plaque within his arteries may have come lose causing his fatal heart attack.  ...  So the question then becomes is his death going to lead to new treatment and diagnostic guidelines that could cost a lot more money?    Has anyone in pharma stepped forward to detail what happened to Mr Russert and inform patients so that they could have an educated conversation with their doctors?


...Not only does it look like some documents might have been withheld but now the Justice Department is getting involved as the investigation widens.  

...Attorney Patrick Jasperse, a lawyer in the Office of Consumer Litigation, FBI agents and representatives from the Health and Human Services Department, at the Justice Department's request.   The lawyers, George "Skip" Murgatroyd and Karen Barth Menzies, said in interviews that they were asked in detail about information they had collected for lawsuits about what Glaxo told the FDA about Paxil's potential risk of suicidal behavior, between 1989 and 1992, while the drug's approval was pending.


They were also asked if they had information about any activities by company representatives involving the promotion of Paxil's safety and efficacy for teens and children, they said.


"They [government officials] wanted to know about the research Glaxo did that said there were no suicidality problems, and what the data really showed," said Mr. 

...Could it be approved and if so what will the label look like and what REMS will be put in place?    Right now the odds are 60% that the drug will be approved but the key is going to be what the final label looks like and what REMS will be put in place and how much this will effect the marketing of the drug.


...It&rsquo;s hard to say but unless pharma starts changing the way they do business pot holes like this are going to be everywhere for a long while.]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Beware the eMail trail</title><dc:creator>rmeyer52@mac.com</dc:creator><category>Legal issues</category><dc:date>2008-06-20T05:48:33-07:00</dc:date><link>http://www.worldofdtcmarketing.com/files/f43acda2f8b8ec27b169e0d1322878ce-339.html#unique-entry-id-339</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.worldofdtcmarketing.com/files/f43acda2f8b8ec27b169e0d1322878ce-339.html#unique-entry-id-339</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[When I was working at Lilly I remember getting an eMail from our legal department informing all employees not to destroy any eMails associated with Zyprexa due to ongoing litigation.    The legal team wanted to review all eMails to ensure that there were not any issues and comply with the request for information.


Now imagine if you would an eMail from a physician enrolled in a clinical trial about potential side effects of a new drug.    Many years after the drug gets approved that side effect surfaces in litigation and attorneys manage to get their hands on that eMail and shout &ldquo;ah-ha, we got ya !&rdquo;     It could happen and I imagine that there is enough &ldquo;gold&rdquo; in old company eMails to keep lawyers in new Mercedes leases for quite awhile.


...Could pharma start to limit the use of eMail within the organization itself for fear of someone saying something that could be used against the company in the future?


...Then they need to look within the whole population within the clinical trial to determine if there is fact a correlation.  ...  Most all of them have the same side effects like diarrhea and nausea, but are these in fact real or &ldquo;psychological&rdquo; side effects ?


There is of course no excuse for wanting to bury potential side effects in data analysis and I think is where the concern really is.  ...  The track record is not good in this area as all roads point to a concern to keep drugs as top sellers rather than informing patients about potential newly reported side effects.    The public has a right to be concerned here as it is perceived that pharma puts profits above patients all the time.    The eMail trail could prove to be embarrassing for pharma if there are any issues that were reported but never made public.  ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Pfizer keep&#x27;s Lipitor for awhile longer</title><dc:creator>rmeyer52@mac.com</dc:creator><category>Pharma Business</category><dc:date>2008-06-19T05:35:48-07:00</dc:date><link>http://www.worldofdtcmarketing.com/files/3a212c9194804fcd66f81d8ab0855e61-338.html#unique-entry-id-338</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.worldofdtcmarketing.com/files/3a212c9194804fcd66f81d8ab0855e61-338.html#unique-entry-id-338</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[It takes a lot of money to develop drugs today..$650 million, $700 million, and a lot of drugs don&rsquo;t make it to the market.    The current business model for pharma includes a period of &ldquo;patent protection&rdquo; so that the bean counters can estimate the total ROI for the product and determine, i the overall mix of products, how much the company can fund expenses and investment.


Pfizer settled global patent disputes with Ranbaxy Laboratories, a generic drug maker in India that had threatened to market its own version of Lipitor.  ...  By delaying Ranbaxy&rsquo;s generic version of Lipitor, which might have been sold as early as March 2010, Pfizer has won extra time for exclusive sales of Lipitor, potentially totaling billions of additional dollars.   Lipitor&rsquo;s current price can exceed $3 a day, while a generic version might eventually sell for well below $1.


As part of the agreement, Pfizer granted licenses to Ranbaxy authorizing the company to sell generic Lipitor in seven other important pharmaceutical markets: Australia, Canada, Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Sweden.    Although both companies said the agreement did not involve any payments Pfizer dropped its challenge to Ranbaxy&rsquo;s current sale of a generic Lipitor in four other countries &mdash; Brunei, Malaysia, Peru and Vietnam &mdash; allowing those sales to continue.    The F.T.C. has argued that such arrangements, called reverse payments, harm the public by inflating drug prices and the agency has challenged them in court, with mixed results.


...Analysts are saying that Pfizer&rsquo;s pipeline does &ldquo;not look promising&rdquo; and Chantix has come under increased scrutiny as the media zeros in on the potentially negative side effects.


So it will come down to a decision by the FTC to determine whether the deal struck by Pfizer and Ranbaxy stands or if drug companies now have to figure in early patent challenges as part of their business plans.  ...  Until that happens pharma companies are part of the capitalist system and have a right to make money selling products to recoup their investments.    If the trend of patent challenges continue pharma may just pass on marketing some drugs because the risk of early patent expiration is just too high and that is a loss for consumers and patients.
]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Throwing in the towel and retreating</title><dc:creator>rmeyer52@mac.com</dc:creator><category>Regulatory Environment</category><dc:date>2008-06-17T15:32:03-07:00</dc:date><link>http://www.worldofdtcmarketing.com/files/706f92db70ed4973c95326d999d2d7b4-337.html#unique-entry-id-337</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.worldofdtcmarketing.com/files/706f92db70ed4973c95326d999d2d7b4-337.html#unique-entry-id-337</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Forget the fact for a moment that Congress has better things to worry about than DTC ads on TV, Ad Age reported that &ldquo;under pressure from Washington, top drug makers including Merck, Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer are agreeing a six-month moratorium on advertising new drugs to consumers and will limit how doctors are used in their ads.&rdquo; ...  How about fighting for what you believe is right or doesn&rsquo;t that matter anymore.


Of course the two Congressman who wanted this legislation are from Michigan and Pfizer closed down a huge facility in Michigan..no relation I am sure (NOT!).     The real losers here are patients and consumers who need to know about new treatment options that could help maintain the quality of life and prevent some horrible diseases.    In addition it gives drugs, already on the market, an addition of six months of exclusivity.


DTC TV ads are only trusted by 5% of US Adult Internet users


Prevention Magazine has continually rolled out study after study that shows that DTC ads make people aware of medical conditions and allows them to be more proactive in their health choices.    Congress would have you believe that people see DTC commercials and like mindless robots they go to their doctors to ask for an Rx when this simply isn&rsquo;t true.     They talk to their doctors, pharmacists and go online to learn more about these medications.


I am surprised and saddened that Pfizer, Merck and J&J would agree to this self imposed moratorium.    It&rsquo;s just plain wrong and restricts free trade and advertising in this country.    We don&rsquo;t need to be protected from the drug companies we need to know that once drugs are approved they are safe and effective based upon credible data that was submitted to the FDA.
]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Why pharma should outsource marketing and branding</title><dc:creator>rmeyer52@mac.com</dc:creator><category>Pharma Business</category><dc:date>2008-06-15T12:20:34-07:00</dc:date><link>http://www.worldofdtcmarketing.com/files/286ea6b30df6614339298d8bc9da4687-336.html#unique-entry-id-336</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.worldofdtcmarketing.com/files/286ea6b30df6614339298d8bc9da4687-336.html#unique-entry-id-336</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Agency people know this scenario all to well;  you gain the confidence and trust of the DTC team you&rsquo;re working with and then you learn that a new person is coming in to lead the team and you have to start with the Power Points presentations.    What&rsquo;s more the person coming into the position may not have any DTC experience (yes it is happening at pharma) and you become not only a presenter but a teacher as well.     The agencies that are only concerned with the dollars they bill will act as teachers and start over but the agencies who have helped build the brand will get frustrated and at some point ask &ldquo;do we really need this business?&rdquo;


...Accountability- Move from qualitative metrics (awareness and how people feel about the brand) to hard metrics that really count (new Rx&rsquo;s).    Let&rsquo;s face it pharma is a sales driven industry and at the end of the day it&rsquo;s all about new Rx&rsquo;s.


...It&rsquo;s the people-With all the changes in the pharma industry and downsizing pharma may be losing talented people who are passionate about what they do.    You can&rsquo;t stick someone from market research or a sales manager from the field in a managers position in marketing and expect them to follow some stupid six-sigma process to achieve results.    It takes 3-4 years to really start running and be able to know your job so well that you can make all the mundane tasks disappear easily and establish relationships with the key influencers within the organization.  

...It&rsquo;s better to look from the outside in - Working inside you tend to lose the perspective of customers and what THEY want.  

...That is very hard for most pharma organizations to because if the FDA comes down on them for bad DTC the letter goes to the pharma company not the agency.  

...Marketing and science don&rsquo;t mix in my opinion and essentially you have a company that is driven by science trying to make its marketing a fact based science driven expertise.    By using people and agencies who can&rsquo;t get pulled under the water and who have expertise in reaching todays consumer segment of &ldquo;I&rdquo; pharma maybe able to better leverage their DTC dollars for a better ROI.]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Beware of the &#x22;I&#x22;</title><dc:creator>rmeyer52@mac.com</dc:creator><category>Working in pharma</category><dc:date>2008-06-14T06:29:33-07:00</dc:date><link>http://www.worldofdtcmarketing.com/files/0c3e5a73e9158dd2c250ff8cfe33a998-335.html#unique-entry-id-335</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.worldofdtcmarketing.com/files/0c3e5a73e9158dd2c250ff8cfe33a998-335.html#unique-entry-id-335</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Together we made a formidable team but I alone did not launch Cialis, I was only responsible for the online marketing of Cialis.   ...  Yes, they may have been part of the team but to take the credit for what that team did tells me that this person has no basis in which to judge reality.


...The brand leader for Cialis was a gentlemen named Matt and he wanted the best of the best on the launch team as we were, for the first time, going to spend a hell of a lot of money to launch Cialis.    He did a great job of keeping our team involved & getting buy in from management at Lilly as well as Icos, in addition to sharing insights with our weekly lunch bunch get together.


...She recruited and brought in, as a partner ,Grey Advertising and by the time we launched the people at Grey knew as much about the brand as we did.   

...We interviewed 6 interactive agencies before selecting Ogilvy One in New York for the development of the Web site and Greater Than One for all our search and online media placement.    Heartbeat Digital developed the online ads and with all these agencies involved in the brand we often scheduled agency integration meetings to share insights and programs that we were working on.  

...I was able to do implement a lot of what I wanted to do but that was because I had the ability to understand the online channel and how our target audience used the Web.  ...  My soultion was to develop RICH media banners that took the message to our audience where THEY were online (without them having to come to the website since our objective during the first months of launch was to raise brand awareness).


It was a lot of hard work, and a lot of meetings but because of the synergy on the team we were selected as DTC team of the year and we received a lot of kudos.    Of course we had internal battles among us but that is going to happen anywhere you have talented people working together who are passionate about their work.   


So next time you hear someone say &ldquo;I launched...&rdquo;, remember that they may have had a part in the launch but there were a lot of hard working people in the background to also can take a hand for their credit in the brands success.]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Social Media IS important to pharmaceutical marketers</title><dc:creator>rmeyer52@mac.com</dc:creator><category>Social Media</category><dc:date>2008-06-13T17:38:44-07:00</dc:date><link>http://www.worldofdtcmarketing.com/files/dd57e83b709f1cb9a467d2652939185e-334.html#unique-entry-id-334</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.worldofdtcmarketing.com/files/dd57e83b709f1cb9a467d2652939185e-334.html#unique-entry-id-334</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[When it comes to health concerns research clearly shows that people go to social media sites when they have health concerns or are researching a health condition.   


Pharma marketers would then say &ldquo;great I&rsquo;ll post some ads for my product on the disease state site&rdquo; but that is not what social media is about or how to leverage CGM.     Social media is about asking questions of people who may have been there before and getting answers to questions that are not covered in promotional pharma product sites.  ...  No, of course not and according to Forrester only 32% of people publish Web pages or comment on blogs.    The challenge however is to reach these 32% of people who can be considered key influencers and engage them in a dialogue (that gasp you just heard were the legal people at pharma companies).


In order to integrate social media into pharmaceutical marketing plans marketers have to take off their DTC hats for two reasons.  ...  If you could talk to that person for 30 seconds what would you want them to know about your product (without being too promotional) and the disease state.  ...  This requires marketers to stop thinking of the market segments as big entities and more in fragmented small segments that are smarter than your ads, largely because of the Web.


...Well we know that more women surf the Web in search of health information than men.  

...According to PEW Internet research 80% of patients changed their behavior and reported improved sense of well-being or a better understanding of their conditions.  

...Now I could give you a lot of other statistics and in fact there are some here on this website if you click here but the reality of the situation is that social media is becoming an important channel and if you continue to ignore it at a time of shrinking budgets than you will be wasting precious marketing dollars that could be better spent.


So John, my advice to you is make the social media area of your site more relevant to provide more value and you will see posts going up.
]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Pfizer&#x27;s back door approach</title><dc:creator>rmeyer52@mac.com</dc:creator><category>Current DTC</category><dc:date>2008-06-10T09:36:53-07:00</dc:date><link>http://www.worldofdtcmarketing.com/files/66e4dd012a8470eadb912b5ee8bc1c23-333.html#unique-entry-id-333</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.worldofdtcmarketing.com/files/66e4dd012a8470eadb912b5ee8bc1c23-333.html#unique-entry-id-333</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Yesterday&rsquo;s NBC Nightly News was sponsored, with limited commercial interruptions, by Pfizer with &ldquo;My Time to Quit&rdquo; commercials.    On the website there is some good information and under prescription options it leads visitors right into the Chantix website.    I wonder how many people who click on that stay and actually go deep into the site vs. those that see it is a front for Chantix and leave quickly ?


At the &ldquo;round table&rdquo; that Pfizer sponsored they dictated their beliefs about Chantix.    Rather than sit down and ask the people what they think should be done given the negative information Pfizer came across as arrogant and only concerned about protecting the sales dollars of the brand.    Note to Pfizer: transparency does not mean cloudy or foggy.


What is really sad about this campaign is that Pfizer is completely ignoring the empowered smart people who know about the possible negative side effects of Chantix.    Hmmmm, I could stop smoking or take a drug that may want to make me commit suicide, ohhh, wait..  Pfizer says it&rsquo;s may not be the drug it maybe people who stop smoking get depressed and rather than light up they want to kill themselves.    I guess I&rsquo;ll take a chance then....

...This is really bad DTC that ignores the environment and tells rather than engages in conversation.    Shame on the Chantix DTC team.]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Use data to paint the complete picture</title><dc:creator>rmeyer52@mac.com</dc:creator><category>DTC Environment</category><dc:date>2008-06-09T15:18:48-07:00</dc:date><link>http://www.worldofdtcmarketing.com/files/0e23a82bedc2820adf2757e99c637675-332.html#unique-entry-id-332</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.worldofdtcmarketing.com/files/0e23a82bedc2820adf2757e99c637675-332.html#unique-entry-id-332</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[eMarketer does release some great information and has some great reports for sale but like I have said many times before be careful that you don&rsquo;t use one source to make key decisions to reach your audience.    According to the pie chart below 53% of baby boomers do not use social media.    While this maybe true for general social media like Twitter of Facebook it does not mean that they are not blogging.


If we look at more data, this time from Forrester, you can indeed see that boomers who have been diagnosed with a condition are indeed using social media.    This falls right in-line with their beliefs of &ldquo;not trusting the establishment&rdquo; and wanting to be more empowered in their health choices.    When boomers are diagnosed or want to learn more about various health problems they trust and turn to each other a lot more.    They will go to sites like Web MD, Mayo Clinic and dot org sites but they will also listen to what others have to say about your product, physicians and hospitals and may even give that more weight.


We also have to be careful when we talk about social networking via social media.    Social networking can mean sites like Twitter, Facebook and You Tube while social media sites can also include BLOGS and VLOGS.    There is a direct correlation between age and social networking in that the younger the audience the more likely they are to engage in social networking.    Any DTC marketer who has gone to a message board on a disease can easily see that a majority of these people are in fact boomers.


...Only when you use them all together can they paint a complete picture as to what is happening and why, especially on the Web.]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>A round table with square ideas</title><dc:creator>rmeyer52@mac.com</dc:creator><category>Pharma Business</category><dc:date>2008-06-05T16:20:00-07:00</dc:date><link>http://www.worldofdtcmarketing.com/files/e339eca6b0de27cd56054ccb263b407d-331.html#unique-entry-id-331</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.worldofdtcmarketing.com/files/e339eca6b0de27cd56054ccb263b407d-331.html#unique-entry-id-331</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[By way of introduction at today&rsquo;s meeting, Pfizer&rsquo;s VP for media relations Ray Kerins explained to the group that Pfizer wanted to openly correct misunderstandings and misinterpretations in the marketplace.


...#2 Most of the adverse events that have been reported recently are already in the Chantix label.


...Yes smoking is a serious health problem that kills people but the treatment should not equal the disease its trying to treat.    So the adverse advents that have been reported are already in the Chantix label but what is Pfizer doing to communicate those event to patients other than the usual fair balance?    Since they are looking for the &ldquo;gold standard&rdquo; in clinical information what percentage of smokers who are trying to quit are depressed and irritable and what is Pfizer doing to inform doctors to treat the possible side effects of quitting smoking?


I don&rsquo;t smoke but I have had been around a lot of people who smoked and quit throughout my life including my mother who smoked for over 40 years.    Some could not hold out and went back to smoking others gained weight while trying to quit and some succeeded in stopping cold turkey.    Ask yourself this: if you were a smoker and wanted to really quit would you risk a medication that could provide serious adverse events?


What Pfizer media people also are ignoring is the fact that social media on the Web has already started talking about Chantix and its potential side effects.    The chart below shows the level of &ldquo;buzz&rdquo; on the Web around Chantix and I can tell you that most of it wasn&rsquo;t good.


What is really sad in this round table is that there was no mention of patients health other than the paying close attention to adverse-event reporting.    I would have like to have seen the number one point in Pfizer&rsquo;s round table &ldquo;Patient health is our most important concern.  ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>ePrescribing will lead to more use of the Web for health</title><dc:creator>rmeyer52@mac.com</dc:creator><category>Prescription Trends</category><dc:date>2008-06-05T05:47:07-07:00</dc:date><link>http://www.worldofdtcmarketing.com/files/4f2a3676fda4880aad60c8600c824b87-330.html#unique-entry-id-330</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.worldofdtcmarketing.com/files/4f2a3676fda4880aad60c8600c824b87-330.html#unique-entry-id-330</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Efforts to push e-prescribing have been backed by a broad lobbying coalition, which has argued that the technology improves patient safety and will save money -- including federal dollars. ...  "If you fix this problem for Medicare, you fix it for America," said Mark Merritt, chief executive of the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association, a group of pharmacy benefit managers that has advocated e-prescribing. 

...An estimated 35,000, or fewer than 10%, of U.S. doctors have switched to e-prescribing, in which a prescription they fill out on a computer is sent electronically to their patient's pharmacy. 

...The next version of Windows in fact is going to have a touch screen interface which will make ePrescribing extremely easy.     A physician recommends a prescription to a patient and as the doctor enters the information the patients insurer informs the doctor that there is a generic equivalent available at a lower cost to the patient.    When the patient goes to pick up the prescription a custom printed label comes with the product informing the patient that  he, or she, needs to take this medication at night to ensure it does not interact with other medications he or she is taking.    After 2 weeks the patient receives an eMail from his or her doctor informing him that it&rsquo;s time to renew the prescription along with a link to health information about the health condition and product.


...When baby boomers make way for Generation X and Y, who live in cyberspace, the Web will be the ONLY channel to reach these people with health choices.  

...The bad news is that people, and physicians, may listen to and trust insurers messages more than pharma&rsquo;s.


 Physicians who adopt e-prescribing technology would have their Medicare payments increased 2% in 2009 and 2010, then a bit less over the next three years.   Those who don't use e-prescribing would see their payments cut by 1% in 2011, ramping up to 2% for 2013 and beyond.   Both bills allow for some exceptions but you can bet that if there is a way to both cut costs and increase revenues physicians are going to adapt it quickly.]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Awareness does not equal new Rx&#x27;s</title><dc:creator>rmeyer52@mac.com</dc:creator><category>Current DTC</category><dc:date>2008-06-03T06:25:27-07:00</dc:date><link>http://www.worldofdtcmarketing.com/files/dc14599b13297f149773a55f272dfefe-329.html#unique-entry-id-329</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.worldofdtcmarketing.com/files/dc14599b13297f149773a55f272dfefe-329.html#unique-entry-id-329</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[I used to marvel at the market research people who would spend hours preparing graphs and charts showing a correlation between awareness and new Rx&rsquo;s.    Forget that a nice uptake is usually the result of a new product introduction cycle these master manipulators would do a great job confusing executives who didn&rsquo;t have marketing smarts, or common sense for that matter.


As my friend John Mack points out this morning on his BLOG, Evista has a black box warning but that doesn&rsquo;t stop Lilly from promoting the product for breast cancer rather than osteoporosis.    Yes the buzz is increasing around Evista but as more and more people connect on social media the truth is coming out about the black box warning and the increased risks.   In addition this author has seen a lot of post of people pointing out other treatment options and brands rather than Evista.


One has to wonder WHY Lilly would conduct a DTC campaign on a product with a black box warning anyway?     If they wanted incremental sales they could have spent a hell of a lot less money and done a campaign online where women are looking for health information but no.    Someone at Lilly probably believes that the benefits far outweigh the risks of the product but if that is the case why didn&rsquo;t they go the extra step to clearly communicate the risks in real language that people can understand so that they can make an educated decision?


Marketing is an art not a science: I really believe that.    When you get people who take a scientific approach to focus groups and flood management with quantitative and qualitative numbers common sense goes out the window.    Rather than look at DTC campaigns from the outside in they prefer to look from the inside out to push messages to people who are becoming smarter about healthcare choices.  ...  Lilly had a chance here to show that they &ldquo;understood&rdquo; the power of generation &ldquo;i&rdquo; but I guess they still listen to their market research people who don&rsquo;t go to the bathroom without conducting research first.]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Evista spot is indeed strange but it&#x27;s working</title><dc:creator>rmeyer52@mac.com</dc:creator><category>Current DTC</category><dc:date>2008-06-02T17:08:12-07:00</dc:date><link>http://www.worldofdtcmarketing.com/files/e5d3bbe2df1080cb9fdbd27165a71171-328.html#unique-entry-id-328</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.worldofdtcmarketing.com/files/e5d3bbe2df1080cb9fdbd27165a71171-328.html#unique-entry-id-328</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Let&rsquo;s face it DTC spots are supposed to drive awareness and buzz and according to the latest buzz on the Web the Evista spot is doing just that.    Unfortunately buzz and awareness does not always translate into new Rx&rsquo;s and with the risks associated with Evista at least one analyst feels that Evista may only see incremental sales increases.


Although there is a lot of buzz a quick check of some posts clearly shows that women are confused by the commercial and website.    One woman writes &ldquo;my mother had breast cancer and so did my sister but I don&rsquo;t want to trade one risk for another&rdquo;.    Still another wrote &ldquo;I can&rsquo;t make heads or tails out of the warnings on the Website so I am going to ask my doctor what he thinks when I see in in two months&rdquo;.


The sharp increase in &ldquo;buzz&rdquo; around Evista indicates that the spot is indeed working


but the real measure will be new Rx&rsquo;s.


So what could be done to really reach these women?    Well a series of chats on a third party site like Web MD with a physician might do much to ease the confusion as well as a spokesperson to go on TV to talk about the benefits and risks of osteoporosis treatments in post menopausal women.    Meanwhile Boniva is still going strong and Amgen&rsquo;s new osteo drug is waiting in the wings and may also have some great news for patients concerned about cancer.


Too bad that Lilly could not take it to the next step and do more to clear the confusion around treatments but then I am sure they had some focus groups to support their media communications.    Someday marketers will learn that focus groups don&rsquo;t mean a thing when it comes to common sense marketing communications.]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Video on the Web: Rules to live by</title><dc:creator>rmeyer52@mac.com</dc:creator><category>DUH &#x21;</category><dc:date>2008-06-01T07:28:49-07:00</dc:date><link>http://www.worldofdtcmarketing.com/files/83e4165d1995b28d569f693e02c3a0e8-327.html#unique-entry-id-327</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.worldofdtcmarketing.com/files/83e4165d1995b28d569f693e02c3a0e8-327.html#unique-entry-id-327</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Why watch the business news for 30 or 60 minutes on CNBC when you can watch a three minute summary on the Web ?    Well evidently a lot of people feel the same way as traffic to video and video news sites has skyrocketed in recent months.    In fact the traffic numbers have increased so much that some people are wondering if it might effect productivity of white collar office workers who have Internet access.


The real draw to these videos however is the fact that viewers can get all the information they want or need in short doses that THEY control.  ...  The video that I have seen on the Web for DTC marketers is putrid and overly promotional to the point that people are laughing (actor portrayals on Cialis.com for example or repurposing TV spots on a website).  

...Keep it real:  Don't "sell"  your products and make the video overly promotional.  

...Make it relevant: If it's not about me or what interests me than I don't care.


...Update and update some more:  The more they keep coming back to watch your video the more exposure to the brand which is a marketers dream.


...Follow someone as they start treatment so that viewers can share what it&rsquo;s like to go on your mediation.


A group of women openly and honestly discussing osteoporosis would be great and educational for your target audience if you&rsquo;re marketing one of the new osteoporosis treatments.  

...Oh by the way, adding video to your website doesn&rsquo;t make your website web 2.0.     Web 2.0 is all about engagement and pharma doesn&rsquo;t understand how to engage its audience yet without running afoul of the legal people.]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Osteoporosis &#x26; breast cancer: The next DTC front?</title><dc:creator>rmeyer52@mac.com</dc:creator><category>Pharma Business</category><dc:date>2008-05-31T11:29:18-07:00</dc:date><link>http://www.worldofdtcmarketing.com/files/02ae618d8d6ce44868fa5b81a54ceefa-326.html#unique-entry-id-326</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.worldofdtcmarketing.com/files/02ae618d8d6ce44868fa5b81a54ceefa-326.html#unique-entry-id-326</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[It is the first large study to affirm wider anti-cancer hopes for Zometa and other bone-building drugs called bisphosphonates.   Zometa, made by Novartis AG, is used now for cancers that have already spread to the bone.


The new study involved 1,800 premenopausal women taking hormone treatments for early-stage breast cancer.   Zometa cut by one-third the chances that cancer would recur - in their bones or anywhere else.


...Claudine Isaacs, director of the clinical breast cancer program at Georgetown University's Lombardi Cancer Center.


Make no mistake about it breast cancer is a huge concern among women in this country.    Recently the media has been covering stories about women who chose to have a mastectomy because of the high risk of breast cancer within their family.    With new osteoporosis treatments on the way from Amgen, among others, you can bet that new clinical studies will be looking for added benefits as a way to help differentiate products.  


...Yes but this category needs a lot of awareness and a way to help eliminate the confusion with patients.  ...  Right now a patient would have to go to a number of health sites to collect that information and pharma companies don&rsquo;t make it easy for them with label language that confuse anyone.


We&rsquo;ll see which pharma company, if any, takes a step forward to truly help patients with the facts and background of osteoporosis and breast cancer.    There are a lot of women online blogging and this would be a great way to engage this audience but remember we&rsquo;re talking about the pharma industry which is still stuck in Web 1.5.]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Sanity in the legal system..finally</title><dc:creator>rmeyer52@mac.com</dc:creator><category>Regulatory Environment</category><dc:date>2008-05-31T06:36:54-07:00</dc:date><link>http://www.worldofdtcmarketing.com/files/fdb5ff08c49459fd705fa25cffa494d3-325.html#unique-entry-id-325</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.worldofdtcmarketing.com/files/fdb5ff08c49459fd705fa25cffa494d3-325.html#unique-entry-id-325</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[As I read more and more cases it became apparent to me that decisions, for the most part, were &ldquo;common sense&rdquo; right.  ...  When the first Vioxx settlements were handed down I was amazed at the damages that were awarded..hundreds of millions of dollars in some cases.  

...But since Vioxx was taken off the market in 2004, only three of the 20 suits that have gone to juries have ended favorably for plaintiffs.   There were other reality checks along the way: Vioxx plaintiffs were denied class-action status in a federal court in 2006, and by the New Jersey Supreme Court last year.


Merck's decision to pull Vioxx from the shelves in 2004 may have been self-protective corporate strategy, but it wasn't a medical indictment of the drug. ...  Many patients with joint pain and other orthopedic ailments can be helped by Vioxx and other Cox-2 inhibitors, which aren't as rough on the stomach as high doses of ibuprofen, a frequent substitute.


...All drugs have risks, and the danger in the Vioxx case was that a tort frenzy would destroy an industry that provides jobs and vital therapies to millions of people. 

...Yes all drugs have risks but the key here is that consumers, patients and physicians are entitled to know ALL the risks of prescription medications.  ...  Indeed drug companies have made it extremely difficult for patients and HCP&rsquo;s to learn about new reported side effects and risks of medications.    It would be, for example, relatively easy for drug companies to develop a CRM program to inform patients and HCP&rsquo;s about new reported side effects and the status of these reports but then that might mean endangering a successful product.


Before Merck walks away like a proud peacock from the latest rulings it had better learn a valuable lesson:  never hide data and always put patients health in front of profits.    If they continue with business as usual than it will only be a matter of time before some attorney somewhere starts action that could bankrupt a pharma company for good.]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Welcome to the era of customer participation</title><dc:creator>rmeyer52@mac.com</dc:creator><category>DTC Environment</category><dc:date>2008-05-29T17:05:11-07:00</dc:date><link>http://www.worldofdtcmarketing.com/files/022c16a0ec19d1dcce4cb899999e75d7-324.html#unique-entry-id-324</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.worldofdtcmarketing.com/files/022c16a0ec19d1dcce4cb899999e75d7-324.html#unique-entry-id-324</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Consumers are no longer passive recipients, targets, empty vessels that are waiting to be filled with marketing messages, especially when it comes to products that they put in their bodies and could lead to some nasty side effects in an effort to stay healthy.  

...DTC marketers are so busy and confused by the need to justify dollars and programs that they have become desperate and don&rsquo;t have time to truly think about new marketing.


...Now I have said here on this BLOG that marketers are no longer in control and that consumers are in control.  

...Consumers have changed irrevocably, and one of the major and most significant symptoms of this change is the zero tolerance they they have for intrusive and bad advertising.  

...Generation i wants what they have coming and is all about &ldquo;what are you going to do for me and why should I trust your message&rdquo;?   

...Now please don&rsquo;t sit there and roll your eyes if you work in pharma marketing and say &ldquo;we know this but we can&rsquo;t do anything to engage consumers because we&rsquo;re a regulated industry&rdquo;. ...  The reality is that your budget is decreasing at at a time when consumers are becoming harder to reach and more fragmented.    You can spend $40 million on a traditional reach and frequency campaign but when the new Rx&rsquo;s don&rsquo;t come in don&rsquo;t go to management and say &ldquo;well it wasn&rsquo;t enough money we need more to extend the reach&rdquo;.  


...They want to put all the information together and marketers have made that very hard for them to do especially in the pharma marketing environment.


...When was the last time someone in DTC marketing invited some legal people to a seminar on new marketing and the Internet?    I have yet to meet any legal people at these seminars and believe me they really need to get out and see what is happening on the Web so that they can at last give marketers the green light to take some risk to engage people.


Evolve or die is one of natures laws and unless DTC marketing and advertising evolves soon it will become more and more irrelevant to everyone except agency accountants who collect the checks.]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Blogging mainstream among women</title><dc:creator>rmeyer52@mac.com</dc:creator><category>Internet &#x26; DTC Marketing</category><dc:date>2008-05-29T14:30:31-07:00</dc:date><link>http://www.worldofdtcmarketing.com/files/122e913c43c945439f56a51ab0f1eed9-323.html#unique-entry-id-323</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.worldofdtcmarketing.com/files/122e913c43c945439f56a51ab0f1eed9-323.html#unique-entry-id-323</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[If anything, blogs do seem to capture a consistent audience.   Of the general population of online women who write blogs, 58% post entries at least weekly -- and of those who read blogs, 80% do so at least weekly.   But among BlogHer users, 43% of those who write blogs and 89% who read blogs do so daily. 


Among Blog participants and general women consumers, there has been a noticeable shift away from traditional media.   Some 24% of the women overall watch less TV, as do 43% of Bloggers; another 25% and 22% of the general consumers read fewer magazines and newspapers, respectively, as do 31% in each category of Bloggers users. 


So why is this happening?    Well women in general like to form a sense of community and talk to one another and share advice.    A visit to any medication or disease message board will show that the majority of posts are from women.    So blogging is NOT dead but has become mainstream with women.   Pharma continues to ignore social media but as it becomes more main stream and part of the marketing mix they are eventually going to have to address this channel.]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Why can&#x27;t pharma move beyond Web 1.0?</title><dc:creator>rmeyer52@mac.com</dc:creator><category>Internet &#x26; DTC Marketing</category><dc:date>2008-05-28T05:52:31-07:00</dc:date><link>http://www.worldofdtcmarketing.com/files/c9705603454ebf46408a82ff0229994c-322.html#unique-entry-id-322</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.worldofdtcmarketing.com/files/c9705603454ebf46408a82ff0229994c-322.html#unique-entry-id-322</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Nearly all pharma product Websites are stuck in Web 1.0 and even with new product and DTC launches each day pharma websites give no indication that they are ready to embrace Web 2.0 or even 1.5.     While consumer product manufacturers have moved their marketing models to the social web and started to question the effectiveness of mass channels like TV pharma marketers keep beating the old drum in hopes that the turtle can indeed catch the rabbit.


...They don't know and aren't aware of the changes taking place in the consumer landscape but more importantly senior legal counsel needs to work with the head marketing person to take risks and start engaging people.  

...Since I have started writing this BLOG 4 years ago most of the people I worked with at Lilly in eMarketing who were extremely talented in Web marketing have moved on to other companies or other areas of the company.    Pharma organizations have a habit of doing something that still puzzles me: when someone excels at a position or job they promote them to another position that has little to do with the old ones?    If, for example, someone is great at eMarketing why in the hell would you promote them and move them out of eMarketing to market research position?  

...After 4-6 months of giving the same presentation and just when people are beginning to see your side of the story someone leaves and is replaced by another person who wants to add more salespeople.  

...Strategic Planning and implementation of Web initiatives-  Marketing people will start to develop strategic plans around a new product years before FDA approval but eMarketing people will not be brought into the process until the FDA is getting ready to approve the NDA.  

...The Web is a pull channel not a push channel and we need to look from the outside in when we develop our websites rather than the outside in.  

...The real problem is that market research people don't understand Web analytics and that eMarketing people don't have the time to due a deep dive into analytics and make recommendation that will be implemented way too long after the fact.


...If I really believe that my product can help them to live a more normal and better quality of life than it is my job to keep pushing for what I believe is right.   ...  They need better insights that are actionable with speed and quality and they need eMarketing people who can give them the tools so they understand the power of the Web and social media.  ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Quote of the decade</title><dc:creator>rmeyer52@mac.com</dc:creator><category>DTC Environment</category><dc:date>2008-05-26T17:40:38-07:00</dc:date><link>http://www.worldofdtcmarketing.com/files/5732afc8d8db0b0dde7c2f7730102220-321.html#unique-entry-id-321</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.worldofdtcmarketing.com/files/5732afc8d8db0b0dde7c2f7730102220-321.html#unique-entry-id-321</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[The problem is that once they have the attention of consumers they don't know how to engage them in personal dialogue for fear of upsetting in house stodgy lawyers.    Agencies come up with suggestions to really make an impact and all too often they run into the dark room of executives within pharma who only know that they need to support a sales force that is becoming less and less effective.


George Parker once said "never has so much money been spent on so much shit for the benefit of so few people".    Why engage people when we can conduct a DTC campaign for $40 or $50 million and hope that some of the spots are relevant to our audience?     Leo Clow the Chairman and Creative Director of TBWA Worldwide said that "one of the realities of the advertising business is that 90% of the work is terrible".  

...DTC will evolve into a new model or it will continue to be questioned by senior executives who don't have marketing backgrounds.    DTC managers can no longer throw words like reach and frequency and cost per thousand at executive hoping for more money based on confusion.     It won't work that way anymore and if the DTC industry continues on the current path in the next few years they will become even more irrelevant and a lot of DTC people will be looking for work.


We, people in DTC marketing, have an obligation to leave our companies in better shape than when we first joined them.    We can do this by impacting patient lives and focusing on less on ROI modeling and more on our customers.    For when we take care of our customers and patients they will take care of us.    It's a lesson that bears repeating over and over and one that I feel most DTC marketers have long forgotten.
]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>BLOGS: Call me if you want to live</title><dc:creator>rmeyer52@mac.com</dc:creator><category>Social Media</category><dc:date>2008-05-24T07:37:14-07:00</dc:date><link>http://www.worldofdtcmarketing.com/files/119c104f2cbb4f34def42daa7fc25a52-320.html#unique-entry-id-320</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.worldofdtcmarketing.com/files/119c104f2cbb4f34def42daa7fc25a52-320.html#unique-entry-id-320</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Three years ago, blogs were still a curiosity to a business audience&mdash;new enough to warrant a cover story, strange enough to require explaining.   Now blogs and social media are not only better understood and accepted, but they are coming to be seen as a necessity in media and, more and more, in business.


Next, I think, BusinessWeek's readers will see that social media are changing their fundamental relationship with customers to be less about serving and more about collaborating. ...  But customers who want to talk will, and smart companies will not just listen but will engage them in decisions.   This will have an impact not just on PR and image but on product design, marketing, sales, customer service&mdash;the whole company.


Three years from now, I predict BusinessWeek's cover won't be about blogs or tools but about companies as communities.


...The growth of New Media journalism will be a hybrid combining the best aspects of traditional print newspapers with the best of what the Web brings to the table.   We're getting a glimpse into this with the many changes afoot at Old Media places like the The New York Times, and from New Media players like, well, like the Huffington Post.


...Online journalists, meanwhile, tend to have OCD&mdash;we chomp down on a story, refusing to move on until we've gotten down to the marrow.


The shifting dynamic between the forces of print and online reminds me of Sarah Connor and the T-101 in The Terminator. ...  But as the relationship progressed, the Terminator became Sarah and her son's one hope for salvation.   Today, you can almost hear digital media (which for some reason has a thick Austrian accent) saying to print: "Come with me if you want to live!"]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>A stranger in a strange land</title><dc:creator>rmeyer52@mac.com</dc:creator><category>Agency Side</category><dc:date>2008-05-23T07:08:53-07:00</dc:date><link>http://www.worldofdtcmarketing.com/files/27fc2124696703bd75f4f7912c7da68d-319.html#unique-entry-id-319</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.worldofdtcmarketing.com/files/27fc2124696703bd75f4f7912c7da68d-319.html#unique-entry-id-319</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[While new organizations like MSNBC and CNN have been running stories on empowered patients the drug industry continues to push marketing to physicians who both do not have the time to listen and question the source and credibility of the information.   ...  This clearly shows that DTC managers continue to struggle to show the value of DTC to senior managers who often do not have a marketing background and question the cost of DTC without knowing its value.


...In an era of decreasing dollars to spend on DTC the Web should be increasing not decreasing.      However, let's get one thing clear; agencies jobs is to get more business whether a campaign succeeds or not.    The best example of this is the AB campaign for Rozerem which was just plain horrible yet they are "the agency to be feared?"   


This is a further indication that pharma does not believe patients are empowered when it


...Pharma often ignores agency recommendations on branding and advertising choosing instead to use agencies as task masters than creative partners.    This could change as more pharma companies trim marketing people and utilize agencies for strategic as well as tactical implementation of programs.


Professional advertising does have a place but the new breed of HCP's is not as gullible to drug company messages.    Sales people continue to be a huge cost to overhead yet their effectiveness continues to diminish as they spend less and less time with physicians.  ...  Simple..let people go but keep salespeople calling on doctors with canned pitches and as sample delivery people.    Yes there are a lot of salespeople who have great relationships with physicians but today a relationship does not necessarily translate into a new Rx when the message lacks credibility.]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Lilly &#x22;streamlining&#x22; managment</title><dc:creator>rmeyer52@mac.com</dc:creator><category>Working in pharma</category><dc:date>2008-05-22T06:03:03-07:00</dc:date><link>http://www.worldofdtcmarketing.com/files/caf56e8179ec56333f55e33e8068de6c-318.html#unique-entry-id-318</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.worldofdtcmarketing.com/files/caf56e8179ec56333f55e33e8068de6c-318.html#unique-entry-id-318</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[When I first arrived at Lilly to start my career inside ethical pharma I was amazed at all the people within the marketing group.    They had whole groups of people who were responsible for interventions that normally one person would be responsible for in a consumer products group?     When I finally completed my first sign-off for new content to the Website, which took me 3 weeks, I was congratulated by my manager which left me scratching my head as I was just doing my job.


The streamlining of management could not have come at a better time but the elimination of these positions is not enough.   Pharma needs to move away from the "matrix organization" so that people can be individually responsible for their work.  ...  One of the things that frustrated me so much at Lilly was the time it took to implement changes to the Website I was responsible for.  

...The new CEO's of pharma have another challenge ahead of them in addition to eliminating layers of management and that is to install a sense of pride in what we do and to make the environment one in which middle managers can give their honest input on DTC programs without being overruled by someone with a hidden agenda.   ...  This means more than an ethics or compliance hotline, it means that people understand that our patients come first and that we believe our products can help people live longer and healthier lives.    It also means looking at DTC marketing programs from the outside in;  what do consumers want to know about our products rather than what we want to tell them via promotional messages.    It means understanding that patients have a lot more say in treatment options than ever before and that we can no longer hide behind product labels to tell them about our brands.


...Later that night after the awards ceremony I shook his hand and introduced myself again and told him that the "Web holds a lot of promise for future DTC programs and campaigns" and we chatted some more.   ...  Lilly will remain strong but there is a lot of work yet to be done and I am confident that the Lilly Board made the right choice in Mr Lechleiter.  ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>The power of social media</title><dc:creator>rmeyer52@mac.com</dc:creator><category>DTC Environment</category><dc:date>2008-05-21T06:06:06-07:00</dc:date><link>http://www.worldofdtcmarketing.com/files/e6682d8db06bdc6773c44202ad06d113-317.html#unique-entry-id-317</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.worldofdtcmarketing.com/files/e6682d8db06bdc6773c44202ad06d113-317.html#unique-entry-id-317</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Both Windows and Mac have built in programs that make posting a BLOG as easy as writing content and clicking a couple of times.    Both Google and MSN now have specific search engines to search BLOGS and while some are a lot more popular than others consumers have a lot to say, especially when it comes to healthcare choices.     Keep in mind that most people do not have dreams of "hitting the jackpot" and selling their BLOGS for big bucks rather they just want to sound off about their experiences and frustrations.


A couple of Internet BUZZ agencies have sprouted up that can both monitor buzz and "plant" stories about your product to create buzz.  ...  If your audience finds out that you hired someone to falsify posts it could cause a lot of damage to your brand and company.  

...There are some free sites that allow you to monitor the buzz on the web.    You enter a keyword, such as your brand, and search and a graph appears to show you the buzz around your product or brand.    A visit to BLOGPULSE foe example and a search of the keyword Byetta comes back with a huge list of of what people are saying about this product.    The data, however, does you no good unless you have someone who can constantly monitor it and present recommendations that are actionable to leverage or counteract the buzz.    It never ceases to amaze me that drug companies will spend hundreds of hours in research and with metrics to measure a TV spot but when it comes to all the analytic tools on the Web they are clueless.


Social media is the new branding and rather than think of it as the "anti-branding" marketers, especially DTC marketers, need to look NOW for ways to leverage social media.    The first step is to understand that it's our job to act as brand aggregators not to push non-relevant information to a skeptical audience that will continue to search the Web for transparency about your product and brand.
]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>New Evista ads are strange to say the least</title><dc:creator>rmeyer52@mac.com</dc:creator><category>Current DTC</category><dc:date>2008-05-19T05:59:01-07:00</dc:date><link>http://www.worldofdtcmarketing.com/files/878a39b614f557d6eebb303ba7c42fac-316.html#unique-entry-id-316</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.worldofdtcmarketing.com/files/878a39b614f557d6eebb303ba7c42fac-316.html#unique-entry-id-316</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[But first-quarter sales of the drug were down one percent from the same period last year.    In her weekly research note to clients on prescription trends, Deutsche Bank's Barbara Ryan writes, "We do not believe that Evista will see much incremental growth from the label expansion for breast cancer risk reduction (in part because of the addition of a boxed warning to the label)." 

...Indeed the "bolded warnings" on the Evista website are enough to cause people to scratch their heads.  

...In a study of women past menopause who were at high risk for heart attack, EVISTA increased the risk of dying from a stroke.   However, EVISTA did not increase the risk of heart attack, stroke, or dying from other causes.


If that statement is supposed to ad clarity to the new warning I suggest that Lilly test it because when I showed it to post menopausal women within my family they had no idea what it meant and they are college graduates.     There comes a time in DTC when drug companies need to go beyond promotional messages and clearly describe, in real words that people can understand, what this means for the target audience.    Enough with the label language, drug companies need to go beyond the label but then that would mean being transparent and God knows the drug companies are nowhere even close to this trend in consumer marketing.


It will be interesting to see the results of this DTC campaign.    If share continues to slide will Lilly blame it on not enough DTC dollars and if share increases will they say "it's because of the DTC ads"?    Still it is an attention gathering ad that required managers to go all the way to the top to get approval.    With new osteoporosis treatments getting ready to come on the market we'll see if one that may reduce the risk of breast cancer has a position with patients who are willing to trade one risk for another.]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>The environment can force changes</title><dc:creator>rmeyer52@mac.com</dc:creator><category>Working in pharma</category><dc:date>2008-05-17T06:51:48-07:00</dc:date><link>http://www.worldofdtcmarketing.com/files/1a1b325aaaaf13500c6626f9db789810-315.html#unique-entry-id-315</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.worldofdtcmarketing.com/files/1a1b325aaaaf13500c6626f9db789810-315.html#unique-entry-id-315</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[For those readers of my BLOG who have never had the experience of being laid off or told your position is being eliminated I can attest that the experience is not one you ever want to go through.   ...  This means evolving and changing business models and in some cases elimination of layers of management that only serve to slow down business decisions.  

...Most pharma companies are matrix organizations which means it can take a lot of time to implement even the simplest of programs but it also means that rarely one person "owns" a marketing program.  ...  Those of us who have worked in consumer products, including this author, for example know that often are jobs, raises and bonuses are tied to share data that we receive on a monthly basis. ...  This rarely happens in pharma because one person is rarely held accountable and some marketers are great at hiding the truth in data overload.  


...Then there is the failure of the Byetta DTC to increase share at the cost of $40 million according to those who might know on Cafe Pharma.


Believe it or not a lot of good and bad things are going to result from the personnel shakeout in pharma.     Managers who are of the old school are realizing that there time maybe over as the healthcare environment has changed but on the flip side pharma may also be losing some very talented people as well.    These are the people that want and need change but in their attempts to implement change they have run into road blocks and brick walls.    Rather than deal with the stress of these situations they are moving on to other consumer packaged good industries where they don't have to deal with an overbearing regulatory environment.


Datamonitor has even gone as far as to say that lawyers within pharma have not kept pace to changes in marketing and as such they are preventing marketers from doing what is necessary to reach today's wired informational driven customers.    Frankly as an online marketer I have always made time to site with legal people to explain what was happening on the Web and why and how we might possibly leverage the new trends.  ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>DTC ads fill a need they don&#x27;t create one</title><dc:creator>rmeyer52@mac.com</dc:creator><category>Current DTC</category><dc:date>2008-05-15T05:49:08-07:00</dc:date><link>http://www.worldofdtcmarketing.com/files/16b9e966eec44894d4b1bb6d50344339-314.html#unique-entry-id-314</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.worldofdtcmarketing.com/files/16b9e966eec44894d4b1bb6d50344339-314.html#unique-entry-id-314</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA["We've become a couch-potato culture [and] it's a lot easier to pop a pill" than to exercise regularly or diet.


On the good side, he said, researchers have turned what used to be fatal diseases into chronic ones, including AIDS, some cancers, hemophilia and sickle-cell disease.


Yet he noted the biggest jump in use of chronic medications was in the 20- to 44-year-old age group -- where it rose 20% over the six years. 

...There was a time when a physician had time to sit with patients and advise them on life style changes that could improve their health.  

...We HAVE become a nation of couch potatoes who find it easier to take a pill than adjust our diets.    It comes down to not having enough time to cook healthy meals as more and more families have to have two wage earners to make ends meet.    The traditional "mom stays at home and cooks dinner" family maybe a thing of the past and people use food as a reward for the daily struggles of living in our informational based economy.


...If the need to treat was NOT there surely there would not be a need for these medications.  


What is needed, if we are to reverse the "couch potato trend", are more educational efforts around both prevention and health treatment options.    The FDA, for example, could request that every product Website offer information on changing lifestyles as a possible way to treat conditions and that drug companies spend a certain percentage of their DTC budgets on prevention and disease awareness.     That would be a hard sell because the reality is the biggest demographic segment in America is aging and as they age they putting on weight, becoming less active and dealing with the stress of trying to keep a roof over their families head.    Put it all together and you have a market that continues to want to reach for a prescription vial rather than walking 20 minutes a day.]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>When DTC doesn&#x27;t work</title><dc:creator>rmeyer52@mac.com</dc:creator><category>Current DTC</category><dc:date>2008-05-14T05:54:55-07:00</dc:date><link>http://www.worldofdtcmarketing.com/files/c874f8883ea11c256fad7406099f8099-313.html#unique-entry-id-313</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.worldofdtcmarketing.com/files/c874f8883ea11c256fad7406099f8099-313.html#unique-entry-id-313</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Byetta was launched with a lot of hype and PR press.    The NY Times ran an article touting Byetta's weight loss side effect and there was a lot of buzz in the diabetic community.    But soon some negative stories started to surface about patients getting nauseous after taking doses followed by the stories about cases of pancreatitis.    Rather than embrace transparency and address these issues Lilly chose largely to ignore them but patients were talking about them as the "buzz" chart below indicates.


Of course the environmental factors in diabetes treatments did not help Byetta when it actually should have led to more sales.    First there was Avandia cardio side effects and then Pfizer decided to pull the plug on its inhaled insulin.    During the period when the story about a possible link between Byetta and pancreatitis was all over the Web, including lawyers purchasing key words for possible litigation, Byetta DTC continued to air largely ignoring the buzz online.    Meanwhile the Website talks about the "Byetta buzz" which of course is a promotional message that again disregards the real buzz.


The buzz was there but there were a lot of concerns about pancreatitis and nausea


The DTC team chose to go with TV ads rather than targeting online and the ads were horrible.  ...  That's hard to say but the DTC team had better develop some ads that address the emotional barriers to treatment and give patients a reason that they need to give themselves injections when they hate injections.    The weight loss side effect is indeed positive but not at the risk of getting sick to your stomach.  $40 million in DTC down the drain in an ineffective campaign that could and should have had more online presence could have provided a hell of a lot better ROI than TV.]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Social media just got a whole lot more important to marketers</title><dc:creator>rmeyer52@mac.com</dc:creator><category>Internet &#x26; DTC Marketing</category><dc:date>2008-05-12T17:26:27-07:00</dc:date><link>http://www.worldofdtcmarketing.com/files/aabd48fd42b7c562ab9220b727461aad-312.html#unique-entry-id-312</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.worldofdtcmarketing.com/files/aabd48fd42b7c562ab9220b727461aad-312.html#unique-entry-id-312</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[It means more consumers  talking to each other across the web, and it means discussions  around brands are no longer siloed to a single platform or network but are spreading to a wider swath of sites.   If a marketer didn't have a social-media "listening" plan, these kinds of developments could make tracking conversations consumers are having about a 


brand more difficult, but also make it more important that marketers do so. 


Imagine if you could easily take the conversation about brands that's occurring on Twitter and embed that into other sites.    Imagine a product website bringing people together to talk about health issues and your product.    Think it can't happen?    Well as soon as legal people start to embrace the 21st century and new consumer power it will happen, the question is which DTC marketer will be the first to break new ground?


The Internet continues to evolve as a communication platform for electronic conversations.    DTC marketers have ignored social media for way too long and it's time to embrace what the Web can do to help meet brand objectives.    That does not mean pushing promotional messages it means that marketers are now aggregators and have an opportunity to bring people together to benefit both the brand and their informational needs.]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Web Analytics are there (if you know what to look for)</title><dc:creator>rmeyer52@mac.com</dc:creator><category>Internet &#x26; DTC Marketing</category><dc:date>2008-05-12T07:42:34-07:00</dc:date><link>http://www.worldofdtcmarketing.com/files/32edbd911444e943453d5d154fb503e2-311.html#unique-entry-id-311</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.worldofdtcmarketing.com/files/32edbd911444e943453d5d154fb503e2-311.html#unique-entry-id-311</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Continue to analyze your keywords to determine which ones are the best for the dollars and also look at the difference in costs for 100% share of voice, for some keywords, vs. 50% share of voice for other keywords.  

...There are so many ways to set up analytics but I am only going to mention some of what I believe to be the best here.   ...  A campaign can be tied to an online ad or TV ad campaign and can provide you with some great insights such as path through the site as your target audience collects data.


...Too much time on your site could mean that people are having a hard time finding information and too little time on your site could mean that they are not interested in your information or that they felt your information is too promotional.


...You can also get a lot of feedback as customers rate your site from everything to navigation to content via an easy to read dashboard that is available 24/7.  ...  You can also have an opt-in for a re-contact survey so that you can determine if people took action or learn why they did not.  

...Finally, since social media is so important in healthcare marketing, I believe that you should utilize analytics that can give you some information on what customers are saying to each other.  

...I like to show cost per visitor to my website as the web is usually more cost effective than other channels.  ...  You would be surprised how many people love to hear that we had a 20% lift in intent to ask for our product as a result of people who visited the website vs. those that did not visit the website.


Finally, with all these web analytics are your disposal, you should see a picture developing of what people are looking for and make changes to your website as needed.    I don't mean developing a whole new website, I am talking about continually optimizing your site so that you can both meet customers expectations and business objectives.  

...A great web analytic set of tools can provide eMarketers with more than enough information to win over even the most skeptical managers that the web is a great platform to meet business objectives.]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>With pipelines drying up drug companies turn to schools for help</title><dc:creator>rmeyer52@mac.com</dc:creator><category>Pharma Business</category><dc:date>2008-05-11T08:06:36-07:00</dc:date><link>http://www.worldofdtcmarketing.com/files/b6d564175ffad15c26132ac02d7a981c-310.html#unique-entry-id-310</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.worldofdtcmarketing.com/files/b6d564175ffad15c26132ac02d7a981c-310.html#unique-entry-id-310</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[No matter where the new products come from the fact remains that pharma is doing everything possible to find the next new blockbuster.  ...  Are the days of the billion dollar drugs gone and should pharma be concentrating on The Long Tail in drug development and marketing?


...New & improved replacements for aging drugs have to prove efficacy against generics and insurers are doing all they can to hold down costs.     Pfizer's took a risk with a possible replacement for Lipitor and as a result lost hundreds of millions of dollars in development costs.     So where do drug companies invest their R&D dollars?


This author believes that in fact a new class of products will begin to appear in the market for serious diseases like diabetes and cancer.    There is already a great PR campaign underway to showcase these new products as more and more stories begin to appear in everything from business magazines to consumer health magazines.    The race is on to patent these new therapies but as development takes longer it means more dollars for R&D and higher costs for patients and payers as drug companies recoup costs.


With the new bread of CEO's taking over new business models will need to be developed and DTC marketing will need to be reexamined.    Already the big players in the pharma world are downsizing their sales force but sales forces today are still bloated and there are cost effective better ways to reach physicians with messages.


So alliances with universities to find new treatments is a great idea and good investment.    The next great blockbuster just might come courtesy of Harvard Medical School from someone who is not bogged down by drug company development guidelines and is not afraid to ask "what if..."
]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Working at Eli Lilly &#x26; Company</title><dc:creator>rmeyer52@mac.com</dc:creator><category>Working in pharma</category><dc:date>2008-05-10T07:35:44-07:00</dc:date><link>http://www.worldofdtcmarketing.com/files/9a11dceb73973f26d9aada15e5866477-309.html#unique-entry-id-309</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.worldofdtcmarketing.com/files/9a11dceb73973f26d9aada15e5866477-309.html#unique-entry-id-309</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Not only were we going to spend an enormous amount of money for the product launch but we were going to show two people in a bath tub which was a major coup for a very conservative midwest pharma company.     We had a lot of agencies working with us and to ensure that we were all on the same page we held agency integration meetings so that we could all share information and open up the lines of communication.  

...When we submitted our NDA to the FDA we were first given an "approvable letter" and had some additional time before we could launch in the US market.  ...  To this day I find that the people who took the packages and were laid off for the most part to be a little bitter especially at the people who stayed.


...Our DTC manager, Paula, I am sure had a lot of sleepless stress filled nights as she struggled to show success so that she could get more money.    On the one hand she had to fight for dollars and then fight us off for asking for more money for our individual programs.     Matt, our team leader, held us all together by communicating what was happening and why so that we had a better understanding of the total picture.   


So at times it was a difficult environment for us to work but in the end we did what we had set out to do and that was make a difference in a very competitive marketplace.      There have been a lot of negative things said about Lilly in the media recently around Zyprexa and I only can say that what I have read is NOT the company I knew an worked for.    Yes I have said some things about Lilly here as well but only because my passion of believing that we are here to make a difference in patients lives is so important and what better way to do that then the Web?


...These are the people who will drive new programs and do whatever they need to do get managements buy-in on new media to engage patients and consumers.  ...  This is the continued evolution of pharma as they strive to meet the challenges of the new marketplace but I am confident that they will come out of this better and stronger organizations.]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Cymbalta DTC spot shows how good DTC can be</title><dc:creator>rmeyer52@mac.com</dc:creator><category>Current DTC</category><dc:date>2008-05-03T10:31:36-07:00</dc:date><link>http://www.worldofdtcmarketing.com/files/6b33abc5b3653bc673b13b595ca412f8-308.html#unique-entry-id-308</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.worldofdtcmarketing.com/files/6b33abc5b3653bc673b13b595ca412f8-308.html#unique-entry-id-308</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[It's hard to miss the Cymbalta depression hurts spot because the music fits the spot so well.  ...  As the spot unfolds we see see a variety of real life situations such as people losing interest in everyday things they once enjoyed or just going through the motions of shopping.    People who watch the spot can relate to these symptoms and thus are better able to talk to their HCP after going to Cymbalta. com


Cymbalta.com has some great tools for caregivers, current patients and people who think they may have some signs of depression.    It is well laid out and easy to navigate and even has an eMail tool to learn from others, although this is not a social network and as thus people maybe skeptical of the contents.   


...People who have taken Cymbalta seem to have a hard time stopping the medications and have to work with their HCP's to taper down the dose.  ...  The other potential issue, although I have not seen it too much, are the issues with Cymbalta and potential liver damage.  

..."Postmarketing reports of liver injury (including hepatitis and cholestatic jaundice) suggest that patients with pre-existing liver disease who take [Cymbalta] may have an increased risk for further liver damage," says the FDA.


A quick search of Google turns up a lot of hits for Cymbalta & liver damage with the usual legal professions looking for clients who may have sustained liver damage as a result of taking Cymbalta.     Instead of hiding this information Lilly could be more transparent and let patients know the risks and how to discuss and evaluate them with their physician.    It's interesting to note that my physician who prescribes Cymbalta for a lot of patients, was not aware of the risks and is going to do some more research to determine the type of tests needed to ensure patients are doing OK on the product.


Still the Cymbalta spot is executed very very well and I am sure many people have gone to the Website and their doctor to ask about/for Cymbalta.   ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>What&#x27;s really important?  Patients of course</title><dc:creator>rmeyer52@mac.com</dc:creator><category>Pharma Business</category><dc:date>2008-05-02T06:49:19-07:00</dc:date><link>http://www.worldofdtcmarketing.com/files/453c9df9aa70b556fdd833f9472169aa-307.html#unique-entry-id-307</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.worldofdtcmarketing.com/files/453c9df9aa70b556fdd833f9472169aa-307.html#unique-entry-id-307</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Perhaps the first priority of executives is to get back to basics and install a sense of pride with employees over what we do and what we could do.   ...  If we really believe that our products can help patients than we should be willing to use a variety of channels to reach patients with engaging messages.  

...People are using the Web to look for health information and the fact that pharma marketers have not tried to reach these people more effectively with targeted, engaging communications is a terrible oversight.


...Way too much time is spent trying to convince people that "we need to do this" and then because of outdated legal requirements much of what marketers wanted to do is watered down to a program that is ineffective.  


DTC marketers who are successful need to stay in a DTC marketing role and not be promoted to other positions within the organization where they cannot use what they have learned.  ...  We have to learn to do a lot more with a lot less today and that means redefining the marketing mix from top to bottom.   


...This means less dependency on market research to support what you already should know and more feedback from you current customers to keep them engaged with the brand.


As for CEO's they have the so called analysts from Wall Street breathing down their necks looking at short term gains rather than long term strategic business objectives.    Rather than cater to these MBA types pharma needs CEO's who can guide the organization for the long term while they, the CEO's, take the heat from investors.  

...Those of you who read my BLOG know that I am very passionate about the use of the Web and I believe that pharma needs more passionate people in the ranks to succeed.  ...  The people who are in pharma for the "bucks" are the ones that are leaving now because they know that the good old days of 50-70% bonuses are over.     What they forgot is that the real bonus is seeing a patient with cancer living longer because of our products or knowing that someone with depression can live a normal life because of treatment options and DTC advertising.  ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>The storm approaches....</title><dc:creator>rmeyer52@mac.com</dc:creator><category>Pharma Business</category><dc:date>2008-05-01T05:42:36-07:00</dc:date><link>http://www.worldofdtcmarketing.com/files/d2f176d50149b81f82a4f58fa0e190fb-306.html#unique-entry-id-306</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.worldofdtcmarketing.com/files/d2f176d50149b81f82a4f58fa0e190fb-306.html#unique-entry-id-306</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Changes are needed within pharma companies and the new crop of CEO's are making changes to respond to the realities of the new business world.    Regardless of what others say I believe there will be cutbacks in DTC advertising as new managers questions the allocation of dollars to programs that could provide better ROI's.     With so many eyes now following every DTC campaign it's now a great time to go into hiatus to regroup and rethink overall strategy.


...They are becoming less and less effective and with costs of fuel rising they are more expensive to maintain unless you move them all into hybrid vehicles.    It is now estimated that 35% of physicians will not see pharma sales reps anymore and as physicians struggle to maintain work life balance and make their practices profitable that number will surely go up.


...The real fundamental change however is needed in the way pharma recruits people and motivates their current employees.   In this authors opinion they need to focus more on patients and less on ROI.  ...  I can see your eyes start to roll "the job of American business is to make money" but I believe that pharma CAN make money and be profitable by focusing more on patients.    In the end, with patient empowerment, they are the ones who are going to decide if they want to take your product or not.


...There are lots of ways to reach your audience using more cost effective models based on an integrated campaign that both raises awareness and drives business.  ...  They can ill afford to wait to see what others are doing they have to be willing to both take more risk and measure each program for the effectiveness of specific metrics.     Change is coming and those companies that can see the storm approaching are the best ones to weather the storm until it passes over.
]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>ROI analysis is an oxymoron when it come to mass media &#x26; pharma</title><dc:creator>rmeyer52@mac.com</dc:creator><category>DTC Environment</category><dc:date>2008-04-29T15:12:06-07:00</dc:date><link>http://www.worldofdtcmarketing.com/files/8747d5cda63585955fe779440ac7da27-305.html#unique-entry-id-305</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.worldofdtcmarketing.com/files/8747d5cda63585955fe779440ac7da27-305.html#unique-entry-id-305</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[From DTC Perspectives comes this little gem " a good media plan requires both mass and non-mass media".  

...So at the latest DTC convention more talk about new media and more generalities about the Web.    Oh..., but when it comes to mass media I can show true ROI ! ...  Anyone who went to this show should ask for a refund, these are nothing more than platforms for people to self-promote themselves so they can get promoted.    There is no mention of the new consumer or helping people,  you see it's all about ROI and manipulating the data to show that TV does work even though premiere marketers are shifting dollars away from TV to the Web.


Bob Ehrlich then says that it will take more time for pharma to integrate better Web marketing.    Guess what Bob,  the ship has sailed...pharma is already so far behind the times that they are no longer relevant to patients or consumers anymore.    Web 2.0 is yesterday and more and more marketers are now getting ready to embrace Web 3.0.    But then Bob has ad space to sell and he was the person responsible for Lipitor's success.


I predict that  there will be cuts in DTC as we are seeing it already online and offline.    Drug company marketers have no idea how to embrace the social web and could care less about it.  ...  So go ahead and wait pharma marketers...invest in mass media to gain awareness but when that awareness reaches a certain level you're wasting dollars.  ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Physicians sound off in market research</title><dc:creator>rmeyer52@mac.com</dc:creator><category>HCP Marketing</category><dc:date>2008-04-29T05:39:54-07:00</dc:date><link>http://www.worldofdtcmarketing.com/files/b884de4c3c41bd506ed3c9bcdb817c0c-304.html#unique-entry-id-304</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.worldofdtcmarketing.com/files/b884de4c3c41bd506ed3c9bcdb817c0c-304.html#unique-entry-id-304</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[The doc explained that he was not ready to prescribe anything until the tests came back and then, if his cholesterol was indeed high, he would talk to the patients about options.  ...  I was really quite upset that this patient asked for a product when we didn't even know if he needed it first.


When it came to Websites I heard an earful:  "There are just too many sites for patients now and they're getting more and more confused by all the information out there".   ...  "I don't have time to interpret websites, they have to make it easier to understand and for God's sake stop with the self diagnosis tools", said another.


...Another said that even when she does she pharma reps the calls often last less than 5 minutes and don't tell her anything that she doesn't already know.    "I remember one drug rep who came into to see me with her boss, I had a full lobby of waiting patients and just didn't have time to see them so after 90 minutes they finally left".     One older physician told the group "at one time sales people were resources for information now they are used car salespeople with way too many promotional claims".


When it came to their use of the Web they all agreed that they are using the Web more and more but they just don't have the time to surf the Web.  ...  "Sure it's there for me anytime but at the end of the day the last thing I want to do is spend an hour or so staring at a computer".   


..."It's really getting bad, now I don't know if it's because of the aging population or the abundance of poor food choices but  people are making a lot of bad health choices and it's effecting their overall health".     "Pharmaceutical companies are making it way to easy to compensate for bad health decisions"  As an example he used Viagra...."most men who say they have ED  have ED because they are couch potatoes, they sit at their desks all day, come home eat dinner and watch TV and then wonder why they have ED?"  


...Finally..."if you want to help me than start by helping my patients first",   then she said "there was a time when the drug companies were more interested in helping patients than making sales but those days seemed to have disappeared forever".]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>First there was ED now is pharma trying to convince people they hace UC?</title><dc:creator>rmeyer52@mac.com</dc:creator><category>Current DTC</category><dc:date>2008-04-26T09:11:48-07:00</dc:date><link>http://www.worldofdtcmarketing.com/files/1b82b81c22851aab2f198c440dc1930c-303.html#unique-entry-id-303</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.worldofdtcmarketing.com/files/1b82b81c22851aab2f198c440dc1930c-303.html#unique-entry-id-303</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[The home page quickly communicates the key brand messages and there is a lot of information for sufferers to read including patient stories.    The free 30 day offer also pops out at you and overall the site is clean, functional and well laid out.    With such a small target however, I personally would not be running ads on Websites like the NY Post.    This requires a more targeted approach and I would definitely be looking a behavioral targeting model for general sites. 

...The site is well laid out and the uplifting lifestyle image creates a feeling of patient empowerment


What really impresses me, however, is that Shire has decided to USE the WEB for the launch of this product !  ...  The fact that they  are doing ANYTHING on the Web puts them ahead of other pharma companies in a big way.    For metrics they can measure how many people clicked on their banners and what pages they went to and how many downloaded the free trial.    If they used the correct programming metrics they could even analyze how man people redeemed a coupon for a free Rx from coming to their site from an online ad and what site they came from.


...I noticed that on the site they have converted ulcerative colitis to UC.     That might be pushing it a little...you don't want people going to the doctor and saying "I think my ED might have caused my UC which in turn has lead to HBP".     Still it is a great first step now if Shire could find a way to act as aggregators online to bring these people together and have them discuss what works and what doesn't work they would really have a winner.
]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Regardless of polls spending on &#x22;e&#x22; by pharma will be anemic</title><dc:creator>rmeyer52@mac.com</dc:creator><category>Internet &#x26; DTC Marketing</category><dc:date>2008-04-25T05:34:43-07:00</dc:date><link>http://www.worldofdtcmarketing.com/files/8b1ecbb4588c28825dfbba8aa7ef8bc7-302.html#unique-entry-id-302</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.worldofdtcmarketing.com/files/8b1ecbb4588c28825dfbba8aa7ef8bc7-302.html#unique-entry-id-302</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[It came as quite a surprise to me when I read surveys that indicated that pharma was going to increase spending online but when I examined the numbers more closely they are still only planning to spend 5% of their budgets online and most of that money will go into wasteful search engine optimization that has little to do brand objectives.


Pharma marketers waste millions of dollars on Google stock and invest in keywords purchases because they have been sold a bill of goods.    Yes people will start their health searches on the Web but if your site is correctly done it will show up first in organic search.    Manhattan Research has consistently shown that people are now smart enough to go to product.com to get information on your product and if your brand has high awareness than any money you throw at Google for search engine keywords is money that is wasted.


...The top site, at the time, for RX conversion and a 20% increase in intent to ask physicians for an Rx after coming to the site.    I was not surprised to learn from colleagues that most do not do user testing or any research to determine how their website should be laid out for users.    Typical of pharma marketers to spend money testing and retesting messages for TV but ignoring the Web sites effectiveness.


...At Lilly the people I worked with who propelled Lilly's eMarketing to new levels have all either left the company or moved onto other jobs within the company.    Hint to senior managers: it takes a long time to gain expertise in "e" and when someone if doing a great job the last thing you want to do is move them to another position.   


...Anyone can get clicks, visitors and time on the site but while most consumer packaged companies are adding departments for Web analytics pharma is buying software like Webtrends in hope that access to the program once a week will tell a story of ROI.  ...  Web analytics at its best can tell you a story of how you target is gathering information, what is important to them while making their decision and where they are going to gather all their information.    Oh...that's right you don't have time for that because you're too busy measuring the impact of TV so you can get more dollars to keep your ads on the air and go with your ad agency to great locations for a "shoot" and dinners with lots of wine.
]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>The Recession Will Dramatically Change the Way and the Reasons Why Your Target Buys -- in Many Cases&#x2c; Permanently</title><dc:creator>rmeyer52@mac.com</dc:creator><category>Marketing Environment</category><dc:date>2008-04-23T10:53:36-07:00</dc:date><link>http://www.worldofdtcmarketing.com/files/b35436deef2ec7e606fc93bc6b807ed9-301.html#unique-entry-id-301</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.worldofdtcmarketing.com/files/b35436deef2ec7e606fc93bc6b807ed9-301.html#unique-entry-id-301</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Consumers are notoriously bad at predicting or remembering their behavior, so don't rely on what they say in focus groups or one-on-one interviews. ...  Last year, people were ready to trade in their SUVs for hybrids at the thought of $3-per-gallon gas.   Today, those same SUVs are swerving across three lanes of traffic for the opportunity to fill up for gas that cheap. 


Reports indicate that half of consumers are reducing their spending to compensate for rising gas prices, but what we don't know is how that remaining spending is changing.   It is no longer safe to assume that store brands or other traditional category competition are the biggest threat. 

...Strapped consumers who are not willing to give up their TiVos might start cutting back on their daily VitaminWater or drop the Gold's Gym membership for jogging.     They forgo branded drugs and ask their physicians for generics if it means less money out of their pockets.


...A behavior change in some unrelated category or in another country could be affecting your brand.


...Either way, it is critical that brand stewards understand the changing emotional motivations driving their customers' behavior.    People might feel more down and out during these troubled times and go to their physicians to ask about products to help them cope.  

...To consistently ignore the changes in consumer behavior is a major blunder that can lead to wasted marketing dollars.    Think how your customers will be affected by the economy and understand that many behaviors will never return.  ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Pfizer gets warning letter for technical glitch on CNN.com</title><dc:creator>rmeyer52@mac.com</dc:creator><category>Internet &#x26; DTC Marketing</category><dc:date>2008-04-22T06:21:24-07:00</dc:date><link>http://www.worldofdtcmarketing.com/files/9a05ee2ae83e308e6f36753ab7cc70d2-300.html#unique-entry-id-300</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.worldofdtcmarketing.com/files/9a05ee2ae83e308e6f36753ab7cc70d2-300.html#unique-entry-id-300</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[When ads are developed they are tested and validated on development servers before ever going live.    This is good practice in the IT industry thus I am puzzled how CNN.com could run an online ad without the fair balance required and served in the ad from the agency that developed the ad?    It could be that the agency forgot to include the fair balance of that a programmer forgot a line of code but I am sure someone somewhere is feeling the heat from this misstep.


The FDA has promised to take a new look at Web ads and search engine keywords and it seems that they are in fact watching.    As marketers rush to leverage the online ad space however marketers need to work with IT people to ensure that industry good practices are used to test and validate websites, ads and keywords.     Oh by the way..  I am sure that very few people online read fair balance information for an established product like Viagra.]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Online still woefully underfunded in pharma</title><dc:creator>rmeyer52@mac.com</dc:creator><category>Current DTC</category><dc:date>2008-04-22T05:36:12-07:00</dc:date><link>http://www.worldofdtcmarketing.com/files/4b0b11a2a08f48cb6a2ac88a4043a13f-298.html#unique-entry-id-298</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.worldofdtcmarketing.com/files/4b0b11a2a08f48cb6a2ac88a4043a13f-298.html#unique-entry-id-298</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Since speed of implementation is a competitive advantage one would have to wonder when the lights are going to go on inside pharma marketers heads?    One reader recently posted a comment that "the reason for pharma not embracing new media is not because of ROI but because of the legal issues involved".    That myopic thinking is one of the primary reasons that pharma marketers are stuck in the past and refuse to embrace online media.


According to another report from eMarketer, pharma is planning to increase spending online but in a puzzle the increase in spending for online still only represents 5% of the total budget?    This means that either marketers are expecting DTC budgets to increase (not likely but with new products this is a possibility) and that the Web will never receive enough money for pharma to truly explore new media options.    By the way those marketers that do extremely well on the Web were spending 20% of their budgets online and some are now going to expand that number to 40-50% of dollars allocated for online.


In planned changes for spending in pharma websites the number one planned increase is Web sites.    Well if done correctly a branded and unbranded Website could cost $2-$3 million including research and user testing.  ...  Like I have written here before clicks don't mean a thing to me it is "cost per targeted action" as too many people will click come to your home page and leave on your home page.


Now I don't want to say that the study from Cegedim Dendrite is flawed but they obviously have a self interest in seeing online budgets go up.    They may have also interviewed people who do not control the flow of dollars as most of the people I talked to in eMarketing have told me that they are looking at stagnant budgets for 2008.    As for me I'll believe the increases when I see them but 5% of a total budget leaves the web woefully underfunded.]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Relevant to your audience (your audience is not marketers in your group)</title><dc:creator>rmeyer52@mac.com</dc:creator><category>Current DTC</category><dc:date>2008-04-19T18:05:49-07:00</dc:date><link>http://www.worldofdtcmarketing.com/files/72849306511d3105fef60d4730e8a8ed-297.html#unique-entry-id-297</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.worldofdtcmarketing.com/files/72849306511d3105fef60d4730e8a8ed-297.html#unique-entry-id-297</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Marketers will spends lots of time and money on testing and retesting ad messages but when it comes to CRM they often feel that one message fits all segments.    As patients become more and more fragmented what is relevant to one segment may not be relevant to another and thus winds up in the trash can unread.    No wonder pharma marketers can't find a CRM program that works they have not been willing to invest the time and money into a working program and then there are the people within the organization who want an ROI and can't measure brand and company equity by delivering relevant information that people actually want and need.


...It's actually ironic that consumers and patients will spend hours and hours surfing the Web for health information but there isn't a pharma company yet that can deliver the information people WANT on a regular basis.  ...  First there is the credibility content gap; people don't trust your information so you need to find credible sources of information that your patients and target audience trust.    When I launched Cialis.com we purchased information from both Harvard Medical Newsletter and John Hopkins Medical school because this was information that our audience wanted and needed.    The information was generic in nature but there was also some information on the class of drugs and my feeling was that consumers were going to get this information one way or another, so better to get it  on my site than go to a competitors !


...It requires an intimate understanding of what your audience wants and needs so that information can be defines by rules in your CRM software.    You can't expect to send out a newsletter for all your registered users and get results.    You need to understand what's important to each sub-segment and ensure that your providing them with information THEY find valuable.    That means weighing the program more in favor of your customers needs than your business needs but in doing so you'll find that you can establish a dialogue with your customers and start to win trust.


One of these days someone within pharma will get a CRM program right but until then it will be more marketers scratching their heads trying to figure out "where we went wrong" as accounting and senior managers are asking for an ROIU analysis.]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>FDA phone number in drug ads?</title><dc:creator>rmeyer52@mac.com</dc:creator><category>Current DTC</category><dc:date>2008-04-18T05:27:29-07:00</dc:date><link>http://www.worldofdtcmarketing.com/files/e6659bb001df82c6c74d7b5a74bf089a-296.html#unique-entry-id-296</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.worldofdtcmarketing.com/files/e6659bb001df82c6c74d7b5a74bf089a-296.html#unique-entry-id-296</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Product website are not only used when making health decisions but consistent research also indicates that a large percentage of people also go to product websites after they receive a prescription from their doctor.    It actually would be quite beneficial to drug companies and patients if, on the website, there was an area where patients could register for product updates.    If the label changes and new side effects are reported the drug company could send an eMail to all registered patients but more importantly by establishing communications with current patients they could collect a wealth of market research information and start down the path to reestablishing trust with its customers.


In order to implement a CRM program of course pharma would have to ensure that they provided value to patients.    When starting any CRM program one o the key questions you have to ask is "what's in it for my customers to start a relationship with my company?"


One would have to wonder why pharma has not embraced this practice of database marketing but it requires a substantial investment up front and the development and evolution of a customer contact strategy.    Of course pharma would not want to do anything that may take away from their precious TV ads.    Current pharma CRM is poor at best with newsletters that are more promotional than providing real credible value to patients.  


An 800 phone number would do little but overwhelm an agency that is struggling to define its role.    I am sure that patients would use the phone number to complain about everything from slow pharmacies to drug pricing which of course is way beyond the FDA's scope.    It's time for drug companies to be proactive and suggest ways to help patients get the information they need when they need it and this goes way beyond a push marketing outdated website that is updated once a quarter.]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>How many more skeletons in the closet?</title><dc:creator>rmeyer52@mac.com</dc:creator><category>Pharma Business</category><dc:date>2008-04-16T05:41:40-07:00</dc:date><link>http://www.worldofdtcmarketing.com/files/8b8da5c6b97097f715d620f95ffc11f0-295.html#unique-entry-id-295</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.worldofdtcmarketing.com/files/8b8da5c6b97097f715d620f95ffc11f0-295.html#unique-entry-id-295</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Merck said that they indeed hire outside medical writers before handing them over to physicians whose names appear on the reports but they denied that the authors do little research or don't agree with the studies conclusions.  

...All this information, whether true or not, is painting a picture of the pharma industry as a greedy corporation that only cares about profits above patients health.    With each new story it will be harder for DTC ads to work as consumers and patients become more and more skeptical.    Savvy DTC marketers are aware of this, but there are too many DTC marketers who continue to ignore informed and educated consumers who use the Internet to search for health information before making their medication decisions.


Last summer I was contacting thought leaders to write generic content on diabetes for my website.    More than once I had some distinguished physicians tell me to "just write the article and I'll review it and put my name on it".    I refused to do this because I personally felt it was not right.    The only changes we will make to content written for our website are because of legal and regulatory issues or to try and simply the language as to make it easier to understand.  


About three months ago someone wrote me via my Linked in account and ask me if business ethics could be "learned" .    My response to that is "no";  we know what is right and wrong and we should not learn from others as what is acceptable to one person may not be acceptable to another.  


How many more stories are coming to out of the closet about past pharma practices?    I thought maybe we had hit bottom but just then a story like this comes along and makes me laugh out loud and wonder how many more times the industry can step in dog droppings.]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Farewell old friend</title><dc:creator>rmeyer52@mac.com</dc:creator><category>Agency Side</category><dc:date>2008-04-15T06:06:01-07:00</dc:date><link>http://www.worldofdtcmarketing.com/files/f94499cd56f70f1263d1894dd51f3526-294.html#unique-entry-id-294</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.worldofdtcmarketing.com/files/f94499cd56f70f1263d1894dd51f3526-294.html#unique-entry-id-294</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Mr Mack's survey on Pharma Marketing Blog seems to indicate that most feel the pharma industry is indeed in a recession and frankly I would have to agree.    The pressures on pharma to both develop new blockbusters and satisfy Wall Street has left them in a no win situation.    CNN.com reported yesterday that Boomers could potentially bankrupt the healthcare system and insurers are raising co-pays for branded drugs to ever higher levels.


This of course all comes at a time when new media is becoming more and more relevant according to a new study on eMarketer.    So why does pharma turn a deaf ear to new media and continue to use marketing from the 60's?    Well the answer to that question is all too apparent; first, senior management believes the Web is important but they don't understand the implications of social networking nor do they understand how to measure such initiatives as everything in pharma is driven by ROI.    Second, once someone in a DTC role gains expertise in online marketing he, or she, usually moves onto a new role and is replaced with someone who knows very little about online marketing. 


Online marketing is changing rapidly and eMarketers have to stay on top of trends to push the envelope and find meaningful ways to measure online programs.    Online marketers now are aggregators while DTC marketers are still stuck in push marketing modes. 


Social Media is here to stay and is becoming more important to most marketers, except DTC marketers of course.


I understand the frustration of my friend taking a year or two off but I think he'll be back as he loves this business too much.  ...  Maybe someday they'll move to Web 2.0 but by that time the Web will have moved to 3.0.  ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Adapt to the new realities of the market or perish</title><dc:creator>rmeyer52@mac.com</dc:creator><category>Pharma Business</category><dc:date>2008-04-10T05:46:19-07:00</dc:date><link>http://www.worldofdtcmarketing.com/files/d4035535ef54dfdf96957b16b53f33f4-293.html#unique-entry-id-293</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.worldofdtcmarketing.com/files/d4035535ef54dfdf96957b16b53f33f4-293.html#unique-entry-id-293</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Blockbusters;  pharma seems addicted to big drugs that provide the revenue for ever big sales forces and fund expense budgets to print a lot of unneeded giveaways.    Pfizer bet the ranch on a replacement for Lipitor and lost a lot of money, Lilly is already working on a replacement of it's aging Zyprexa and other big sellers , Avandia & Vytorin, have been dethroned by the lack of transparency in order to save the sales dollars.    One has to wonder why pharma has not seen the writing on the wall and changed their organizations to better respond to the realities of the new market.  

...This is especially true as more of the big chains add $4.00 costs to patients who opt for generics over branded drugs.


...The FDA is going to take longer to approve drugs and will ask for a lot of data which will add to the costs of drug development.  

...Forget the label, if ongoing clinical trials show that your product may not be as effective as stated in the approval letter you had better change or stop your DTC ads.


...Doctors with higher ratings get more money but to get these higher ratings docs are going to have to learn to spend more time with their patients and listen to their concerns.  

...You can't rotate people into eMarketing jobs and expect them to perform at a high level, it takes years to stay on top of eMarketing trends.


...It sure looks that way, more and more DTC campaigns are being held to higher scrutiny even after they have been off the air.


It's not like these trends were hard to see, it's more like we know there is a storm coming but we think we won't get hit by the rain and snow.  ...  Downsizing has now become a tactic of downturns in business while pharma CEO's continue to rake in the big bucks to please shareholders and Wall Street.  


...It has to remind people within the organization that the reason we are here is to make a difference in patients lives and that great product can lead to great companies.  ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>The DTC crunch: worse than anyone expected?</title><dc:creator>rmeyer52@mac.com</dc:creator><category>Current DTC</category><dc:date>2008-04-08T05:44:35-07:00</dc:date><link>http://www.worldofdtcmarketing.com/files/38e31c364cdc9903f32e039ffa74b126-292.html#unique-entry-id-292</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.worldofdtcmarketing.com/files/38e31c364cdc9903f32e039ffa74b126-292.html#unique-entry-id-292</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Most are scaling back search and other online media but nearly all are not planning any major changes to their websites.      When I asked if pharma had dedicated eMarketing analytic people there was usually a silence on the phone and followed by a nervous laugh.    As one marketer told me "they just don't understand the importance of the Internet as a strategic channel to meet brand objectives and I'm sick and tired of presenting and representing market information on the value of Web when it comes to health information."


One DTC marketer, based in New Jersey, told me that she had presented an online marketing plan to her boss and received preliminary approval only to find out later that the presentation to other executives only included one slide on Web tactics and as such her online budget had been cut in favor of other media, namely TV.    When I tried to query her about the experience a little bit more she got angrier and said that she had all but given up hope that people in her organization understood the value of the Web.


...Some said that there is definitely more scrutiny by legal and regulatory and one person said "I think they are waiting to see if the courts decide that drug companies are excepted from liability exclusion , if they rule that FDA approval protects us from liability then I think you'll see a whole lot more dollars flow into our budgets". 


After my talk with fellow DTC marketers I have to admit that I was taken back by their lack of enthusiasm.   ...  To a person they are presenting and representing DTC ROI only to have to start from square 1 and do it all over again when managers change positions and move on.    "My new manager came in from sales so you know what her priority is going to be, less DTC more for salespeople" said one.


Finally I asked "If you had to do it all over again would you go into DTC pharma marketing, knowing then what you know now".  ...  "I'm burnt out said one woman it's the same thing year after year after year and after awhile you have to ask yourself if it's worth it".    "I got nominated for an award at the DTC convention later this month and once I have that I can move on and get out of DTC" said another, "there just aren't enough good senior managers who understand the value of marketing here anymore".  ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>2007 Pharma CEO Compensation</title><dc:creator>rmeyer52@mac.com</dc:creator><category>Pharma Business</category><dc:date>2008-04-06T08:33:03-07:00</dc:date><link>http://www.worldofdtcmarketing.com/files/3d266a4a7ba2bc774e0da41639ce2db3-291.html#unique-entry-id-291</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.worldofdtcmarketing.com/files/3d266a4a7ba2bc774e0da41639ce2db3-291.html#unique-entry-id-291</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[American CEO's are the highest paid in the world and it shows in the compensation of pharma and health CEO's for 2007.    While pharma CEO's are not alone in their huge salaries. must CEO's rape shareholders with multimillion dollar packages and perks, they have a lot to do in order to right the ship through turbulent waters.    Are they worth this much money?    Well only time will tell but their compensation is based on what they do for shareholders not patients.]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>The Internet and health information</title><dc:creator>rmeyer52@mac.com</dc:creator><category>Internet &#x26; DTC Marketing</category><dc:date>2008-04-06T07:28:55-07:00</dc:date><link>http://www.worldofdtcmarketing.com/files/872e9d6b3c28bec982510b574de9db1d-290.html#unique-entry-id-290</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.worldofdtcmarketing.com/files/872e9d6b3c28bec982510b574de9db1d-290.html#unique-entry-id-290</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Think about the Internet for a second:  in minutes you can type in a search term and have a wealth of information about diseases, symptoms, treatments and medications.    Everything from legitimate information on si