ePharma

Does pharma need an iPhone?

Pharma Blog Image iPhone

iPhone Image - CareGiving Application

Traditionally, pharma is NOT the first to try technical innovations and take risks in terms of marketing strategy… and… there is a good reason for it. The industry is highly regulated and for a long time the traditional approach simply worked well. However, there has recently been some changes and a tendency to sway towards the digital is more and more apparent. ‘Stick with what you know’ no longer appears to be good enough.

iPhone Applications

iPhone Applications

One of the recent mobile technology innovations that took the interest of pharma industry is the iPhone. iPhone use has soared with over one million sold in the UK up to February 2009. With the iPhone comes applications (apps) and people are becoming more and more used to managing their lives through this practical software it enables. Statistics show that over 60% of mobile internet usage is through the iPhone and a staggering 800 million applications have been downloaded from the App Store.

So.. How can it be used for pharma? Patient education, patient compliance, physician education, edetailing just to name a few. Has anybody tried it yet..? The answer is yes, Johnson & Johnson created Care Connector app, which is aimed at patient caregivers to keep track of appointments, prescriptions as well as to connect with other caregivers. Another example is Asthma-Charter application, which is a disease management application. Software developer Airstrip has developed some apps to enable doctors to monitor patient data remotely.

Airstrip iPhone App

Airstrip iPhone Application

http://events.apple.com.edgesuite.net/0906paowdnv/event/index.html?internal=ijalrmacu

http://healthinformaticsblog.com/2008/06/16/mim-radiology-iphone-app-wins-apple-award/

Is there scope for more..? With just under 300 medical apps among nearly 300,000 currently available, certainly yes! Patient compliance and support are the obvious ones to start with but there are still plenty more opportunities in this area. To find out more about how you can use an iPhone to support your marketing campaign, contact Elevator.

Comments (0)

First pharma branded Tweet released! Revolution?

Novo Nordisk released the first branded Tweet! The US racing driver Charlie Kimball ‘tweeted’ from his Novo Nordisk sponsored ‘Race With Insulin’ page http://twitter.com/racewithinsulin

This is the first instance of using branded direct to consumer advertising (DTC) and is a very bold step made by the company since the US PhRMA regulators are yet to release a set of regulations about using DTC advertising through the social media.

Will it change online communication in pharma for better or worse…?

Comments (0)

Pharmaceutical digital marketing workshop

With the noise around digital marketing appear to be growing on a daily basis, the digital era is here like it or not.

Investment in digital marketing by many companies has resulted in a poor return. This does not need to be the case and is often due to the simple fact that it is utilised as a bolt-on to traditional activities.

It is no longer easy to use the excuse of lack of understanding or regulatory issues, as it becoming impossible to ignore the potential digital marketing offers for improving relationships and dialogue with stakeholders.

In an effort to untangle the concerns and improve understanding of digital marketing, Elevator has launched a digital marketing speed learning workshop.

Using a unique digital marketing life cycle map, the workshop illustrates the types of digital marketing activities which may be appropriate for brands in different phases of  the life cycle, integration of digital marketing within the wider marketing mix and the potential benefits for each phase of the life cycle.

Each workshop is tailored based on an organisations training objectives, current level of understanding, marketing challenges and opportunities and key therapy areas.

For further information contact Rob Wyer on:

tel: +44 (0)161 244 5544

email: business@elevatorlearning.com

Comments (0)

Reaching Doctors and Patients Through New Digital Media

Reaching Doctors and Patients Through New Digital Media - The recent Datamonitor report highlights the role digital technology is increasingly playing in overcoming the challenges facing existing sales and marketing models.

The report focusses on three key areas:

  • Increased access to the internet has led a growth in physician and patient websites.
  • Pharma companies need to move forward from the traditional company website and actively engage with its customers.
  • The rise in social media, blogging forums opens up potential opportunities for pharma marketers, also there are a variety of mediums such as podcasts and live video detailing which are currently underutilised.
Comments (0)