Number of "Cyberchondriacs" - U.S. Adults Who Go Online for Health Information - Increases to Estimated 117 Million

The Harris Poll® #54, July 15, 2005 Number of "Cyberchondriacs" – U.S. Adults Who Go Online for Health Information – Increases to Estimated 117 Million Despite a decrease over the last three years in the percentage of online U.S. adults who have ever searched the Internet for health-related information (from 80% in 2002 to 72% now), the actual number of adults who have ever searched for health information online (Harris Interactive® refers to them as "cyberchondriacs") has grown due to an increase in the percentage of U.S. adults who go online (from 66% in 2002 to 74% in 2005). The percentage of cyberchondriacs who search sometimes or often appears to also be on the rise. Most adults who have ever looked for health information online have been generally successful in finding what they are looking for and believe the information to be at least somewhat reliable. Furthermore, many of these people use this information in their discussions with their doctors or use the Internet to help augment the information that doctors provide them. These are some of the results of a nationwide Harris Poll of 1,015 U.S. adults surveyed by telephone by Harris Interactive between June 7 and 12, 2005. Specifically the survey found: The number of U.S. adults who have ever gone online to look for health or medical information has increased to approximately 117 million up from about 111 million last year. The main reason for this increase seems to be that the total number of Internet users has been increasing (from 69% of all U.S. adults in 2004 to 74% now). Cyberchondriacs now represent 72 percent of all online adults, down slightly from last year’s 74 percent. However, compared to last year, online adults appear to be searching the Internet for health-related information more frequently. Almost six in 10 (58%) say that they have looked for information about health topics often (25%) or sometimes (33%), an increase of eight percentage points from 2004 (50%). The percentage who says they hardly ever search for health information has dropped to 14 percent, down from 24 percent last year. Eighty-five percent of those who have ever searched the Internet for health information have done so one or more times in the last month. This is up substantially from last year when 60 percent said that they had gone online one or more times in the past month looking for health information. On average, a cyberchondriac searches the Internet almost seven times per month, an increase from five times per month a year ago and three times per month four years ago in 2001. A large majority of cyberchondriacs (89%) indicate that they were successful in searching for health information online. Forty-six percent say that they were very successful and another 43 percent say they were somewhat successful. Among those cyberchondriacs who search for health information often, those saying they were very successful increased to 60 percent. Conversely, only a third (32%) of cyberchondriacs who hardly search for health information say that their searching was very successful. Nine in 10 (90%) cyberchondriacs say that the health information they found online has been reliable (37% "very reliable" and 53% "somewhat reliable"). Cyberchondriacs are not only using the Internet to better educate themselves but many are also using it to assist in their discussion with their physicians. By 57 to 43 percent, a majority of adults who have gone online to get health information say that they have discussed this information with their doctor at least once. Furthermore, just over half (52%) of cyberchondriacs have searched for health information based on a discussion with their doctor. Those who often use the Internet to find medical information are even more inclined to discuss this information with their doctor or to search for information based on a discussion with their doctor. Over half (53%) at least sometimes talk to their doctor about information that they found online. A higher 70 percent have gone to the Internet to look for presumably additional information to supplement what their doctors have told them. TABLE 1 CYBERCHONDRIACS: TRENDS   1998 1999 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005   % % % % % % % Percent of all adults who are online* 38 46 63 66 67 69 74 Percent of all those online who have looked for health information 71 74 75 80 78 74 72 Percent of all adults who have looked for health information online 27 34 47 53 52 51 53 Percent of all adults who have looked for health information online in last month NA NA 27 32 NA 31 45 Estimated number of adults who have looked for health information online+ 54 million 69 million 97 million 110 million 109 million 111 million 117 million Note: Percentages may not add up exactly to 100% due to rounding. *Includes those online from home, office, school, library or other location + Based on July 2004 U.S. Census estimate released January 2005 (220,000,000 total U.S. adults aged 18 or over) NA = Not Asked TABLE 2 FREQUENCY OF ACCESSING HEALTH INFORMATION ONLINE: 1998-2005 "How often do you look for information online about health topics – often, sometimes, hardly ever or never?" Base: Have access to Internet   1998 1999 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005   % % % % % % % Often 12 13 16 18 17 19 25 Sometimes 30 30 30 35 37 31 33 Hardly ever 29 31 30 27 23 24 14 Never 29 26 25 20 22 26 29 Total who have looked for health or medical information sometimes or often 42 43 46 53 54 50 58 Total who have ever looked for health or medical information 71 74 75 80 78 74 72 Note: Percentages may not add up exactly to 100% due to rounding TABLE 3 FREQUENCY OF LOOKING FOR HEALTH INFORMATION IN LAST MONTH "About how many times have you looked for information online about health topics in the last month?" Base: Ever look for health information online   2001 2002 2003 2004 2005   % % % % % Not once 40 39 NA 21 14 1 or more (NET) 58 60 NA 60 85 1 or 2 times 29 34 NA 26 31 3 – 5 times 17 16 NA 14 29 6 – 9 times 3 2 NA 5 6 10 or more times 9 8 NA 15 19 Not sure 2 1 NA 19 1 Mean (average) 3.0 4.8 NA 5.1 6.8 Median 1.1 2.0 NA 2.0 3.0 Note: Percentages may not add up exactly to 100% due to rounding. NA = Not asked in 2003 TABLE 4 Successful in Searching for Information Online about Health Topics "How successful were you in your search for information online about health topics? Were you…?" Base: Ever look for health information online     Frequency of Looking for Health Information Online   Total Often Sometimes Hardly   % % % % Very successful 46 60 45 32 Somewhat successful 43 34 48 36 Neither successful nor unsuccessful 2 1 2 7 Somewhat unsuccessful 3 3 2 10 Very unsuccessful 3 2 2 8 Not sure/Decline to answer 3 1 1 7 Note: Percentages may not add up exactly to 100% due to rounding. TABLE 5 Reliability of Searching for Information Online about Health Topics "How reliable do you believe this information is concerning health topics? Is it …?" Base: Ever look for health information online     Frequency of Looking for Health Information Online   Total Often Sometimes Hardly   % % % % Very reliable 37 45 34 30 Somewhat reliable 53 49 57 48 Neither reliable nor unreliable 4 4 4 5 Somewhat unreliable 3 1 2 10 Very unreliable 2 1 1 2 Not sure/Decline to answer 1 - 1 4 Note: Percentages may not add up exactly to 100% due to rounding. TABLE 6 Discussion with Doctor About Information Found Online "In the past year, have you ever discussed with your doctor the information you found online?" Base: Ever look for health information online     Frequency of Looking for Health Information Online   Total Often Sometimes Hardly   % % % % Yes (NET) 57 73 57 33 Yes, always do 15 24 11 4 Yes, sometimes do 25 29 25 12 Yes, have done once or twice 18 20 21 17 No, never do 43 27 42 66 Not sure/Decline to answer * - 1 1 Note: Percentages may not add up exactly to 100% due to rounding * Less than 0.5 percent. TABLE 7 Frequency of Searching Medical Information Online Based on Discussion with Doctor "Have you ever searched for medical information on the Internet based on a discussion with your doctor?" Base: Ever look for health information online     Frequency of Looking for Health Information Online   Total Often Sometimes Hardly   % % % % Yes (NET) 52 70 52 30 Yes, often 17 26 14 3 Yes, sometimes 36 44 38 27 No, never 48 30 47 71 Not sure/Decline to answer * - * - Note: Percentages may not add up exactly to 100% due to rounding * Less than 0.5 percent. Methodology The Harris Poll® was conducted by telephone within the United States between June 7 and 12, 2005 among a nationwide cross section of 1,015 adults (aged 18 and over). Figures for age, sex, race, education, number of adults, number of voice/telephone lines in the household, region and size of place were weighted where necessary to align them with their actual proportions in the population. In theory, with a probability sample of this size, one can say with 95 percent certainty that the overall results have a sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points of what they would be if the entire U.S. adult population had been polled with complete accuracy. Sampling error for those who have Internet access (764) and those who have ever looked for health information online (623) is higher and varies. Unfortunately, there are several other possible sources of error in all polls or surveys that are probably more serious than theoretical calculations of sampling error. They include refusals to be interviewed (nonresponse), question wording and question order, interviewer bias, weighting by demographic control data and screening (e.g., for likely voters). It is impossible to quantify the errors that may result from these factors. These statements conform to the principles of disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls. J24423 Q755, Q760, Q765, Q770, Q775, Q780

©2005, Harris Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction prohibited without the express written permission of Harris Interactive.

 

Marketers Scan Blogs For Brand Insights

Marketers Scan Blogs For Brand Insights
By William M. Bulkeley
The Wall Street Journal
June 23, 2005

Many marketers suspect there are probably some valuable insights contained in the Web logs produced by the estimated 12 million online diarists. But in the cacophony of trivia, vitriol and bombast that fills the blogosphere, useful nuggets have been hard to find.

Now, a growing number of marketers are using new technology to analyze blogs and other "consumer-generated media" -- a category that includes chat groups, message boards and electronic forums -- to hear what is being said online about new products, old ad campaigns and aging brands. Purveyors of the new methodology and their clients say blog-watching can be cheaper, faster and less biased than such staples of consumer research as focus groups and surveys.

Blog watching helped advertising giant WPP Group PLC craft a new promotion aimed at teenagers for its Chicago-based client U.S. Cellular Corp., says Bethany Harris, senior vice president of WPP's G Whiz Entertainment unit. Using technology from Umbria Communications, a Boulder, Colo., company that aims to identify demographic groups online based on their speech patterns and discussion topics, G Whiz concluded that teens were "really anxious" about exceeding their cellular minutes, often because parents make them pay if they talk too much. The teens also resented being "ambushed" by incoming calls that pushed their minutes up. Ms. Harris says that led U.S. Cellular to offer unlimited "call me" minutes.

Marketers say bloggers' unsolicited opinions and offhand comments are a source of invaluable insights that are hard to get elsewhere. "We look at the blogosphere as a focus group with 15 million people going on 24/7 that you can tap into without going behind a one-way mirror," says Rick Murray, executive vice president of Edelman, a Chicago public-relations firm.

Walter Carl, a professor at Boston's Northeastern University who has studied "word-of-mouth" communication and marketing, says blog-watching services "are very useful for quickly getting the lay of the land" in trends and consumer reactions. Still, he says, it isn't clear how closely online comments mimic the 80% of "word-of-mouth" that still occurs face-to-face.

Not everything bloggers have to say about brands correlates to the real world. Last summer, Umbria, working for a fast-food client, was monitoring Burger King Corp.'s Angus Burger and found it got some bad reviews from bloggers. Some were deriding Burger King's tongue-in-cheek TV ads that called the burger a diet food. Bloggers notwithstanding, the Angus Burger has become a hit.

Blog-monitoring services typically charge big companies $30,000 to $100,000 a year. They say their technology goes beyond basic tools, such as keyword searches or counting links from one Web site to another, both features available at no charge from online services such as Technorati.com and Yahoo's Buzz Index.

Intelliseek, a Cincinnati firm started by veterans of Procter & Gamble Co., has a free Web site, BlogPulse, where users can enter up to three keywords and see how they compare. Before the latest "Star Wars" release, mentions of Natalie Portman briefly topped those of Paris Hilton, indicating the movie's pre-release marketing was making an impression.

Intelliseek and most other blog-watching services combine technology with some human analysis. They say their full services provide more insight than a simple keyword count. Some companies have developed text-analysis techniques as the result of funding or contracts from the Central Intelligence Agency and other intelligence services that monitor newspapers and other media. The technologies make use of software technologies known as "natural-language processing" and "unstructured-data mining" to understand even ungrammatical writing.

Bernice Cramer, vice president of market intelligence for Polaroid Corp., a unit of Petters Group Worldwide, says she uses Intelliseek's service. "If you look for it manually, you'll spend months searching through a lot of junk," she says. Polaroid recently found that consumers online frequently discuss photo longevity and archiving, making that an important issue in product development.

Sometimes blog watchers spot trends before they emerge in mainstream media: Pete Blackshaw, Intelliseek vice president, says blog mentions last summer of the Swift Boat Veterans ads against Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry indicated their claims were a big issue three weeks before the Kerry campaign finally addressed them.

Mr. Blackshaw says companies used to dismiss vocal complaints from one or two consumers as an aberration. But now, they have to pay attention because now those complainers may have blogs. "Those folks have influence with others via the Internet," he says. PR firms are hiring Intelliseek to monitor their clients, he adds, because once-obscure consumer issues are surfacing at awkward moments, such as CEO interviews with "reporters who go to Google and type in a brand and [then] ask tough questions."

Umbria, with clients including Sprint Corp. and Electronic Arts Inc., says its natural-language analysis can determine blogger demographics based on language, subject matter and acronyms. OMG ("oh my God!") or POS ("parent over shoulder") are expressions defining Generation Y girls, or those ages 10 to 25; FUBAR ("fouled up beyond all recognition") is often used by male baby boomers.

Such analysis can be important. Umbria says Laker guard Kobe Bryant has lost his cachet with most bloggers, but he is still the No. 2 National Basketball Association personality, behind LeBron James, among the boys of Generation Y, important buyers of videogames, sneakers and basketball jerseys.

David Rabjohns, president of blog watcher MotiveQuest, calls the field "online anthropology" and says he regards his firm as "almost a mouthpiece for the consumer." The Evanston., Ill., firm's clients include Motorola Inc. and Citigroup Inc.

For a Japanese auto maker, Mr. Rabjohns says MotiveQuest studied online postings about minivans. Soccer moms said their young children love minivans, which they regard as "a playhouse on wheels," but teens regard them as lame and want SUVs. MotiveQuest recommended developing a loyalty program to persuade minivan owners to buy the company's SUVs, rather than trying to get them to buy another minivan.

French GSK arm starts blog to engage consumers, spark debate!!!

French GSK arm starts blog to engage consumers, spark debate

GlaxoSmithKline's (GSK) French arm has started a blog called Avenir de la Sante (The Future of Healthcare), according to the weekly public relations magazine PR Week. The blog is written only in French and is intended to provoke debate over France's plans to retool its healthcare system, according to the report. A GSK spokesperson said the blog shows that the company is involved in the debate and offers a way for the pharma to engage directly with patients and other stakeholders, according to the PR Week report. There is also a link to the blog on GSK's French Web site. Visit the blog at avenirdelasante.fr. Other companies are jumping on the healthcare blogging bandwagon. United BioSource Corporation is sponsoring a blog about third-party payer reimbursement for prescription drugs, while GSK, Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, and at least one regulator plan to hire a firm that has devised software to spy on blogs.

MORE BIG MARKETERS MOVE TO MOBILE PHONE ADS

MORE BIG MARKETERS MOVE TO MOBILE PHONE ADS

McDonald's, Masterfoods, Coca-Cola, Heineken, Timex Ready Summer Dial-in Campaigns

July 11, 2005

QwikFIND ID: AAQ73L

By Alice Z. Cuneo

SAN FRANCISCO (Adage.com) -- The mobile phone appears to be making headway as an advertising delivery system as growing numbers of major marketers launch summer campaigns designed for the "third screen."

Coming of age
Along with McDonald’s, marketers including Masterfoods, Timex, Coca-Cola Co., Heineken and Johnson & Johnson are readying promotions that encompass everything from mobile games to ring-tone giveaways and text-in trivia contests and sweepstakes.

Mobile elements have already become an integral part of the mix for movie marketers, with most film sites now including a “mobile” link. Fans of Batman Begins can fight evil in Gotham in a mobile game, enter a text-messaging sweepstakes or buy ring tones or wallpaper; the Bewitched site offers 12 ring tones, including Samantha’s signature sound.

It’s been slower to develop on the package-goods side, but marketers who tested the waters last year are now poised for a bigger plunge. Masterfoods is running a contest with a promotion code on 60 million Starburst packages in which about half the responses have come via text messages. Nestle ran a “Grab. Gulp. Win!” promotion for Nesquik placed on 40 million bottles of ready-to-drink flavored milk and milkshakes offering text-in giveaways ranging from a gaming house party to music downloads. Kraft Foods is said to be planning a text-messaging promotion involving a raft of products; currently Kraft’s Oscar Mayer is giving away free ring tones of its ad jingle.

Concerts and games
Coca-Cola is exploring mobile games with developer Jamdat, said Doug Rollins, senior interactive-brand manager at the Atlanta marketer, while Heineken is using the short code “green” to allow consumers to text in updates and win giveaways in connection with its sponsorship of the AmsterJam concert scheduled for Aug. 20 at Randall’s Island in New York City.

Fresh off a successful co-promotion with the House of Blues, McDonald’s is launching a Hispanic-targeted music promotion called LoMcXimo, with an on-pack text-messaging code and a reference to text messaging as a response mechanism in supporting TV ads, an executive familiar with the program said.

Even TV commercial pioneer Timex plans a fall text-messaging campaign touting the “new face of Timex” with a text-messaging vote on preferred watch faces.

Trip to optometrist
Some marketers have gone farther. In an innovative use of text messaging, Johnson & Johnson will target patients awaiting eye exams in the doctor’s office with a point-of-sale poster asking patients to text in the code “MYEYE.” About 15 minutes later, when the marketer estimates the patient will be in the doctor’s office, it will ping a reminder to the patient’s phone to ask for the J&J lens brand. The marketer declined to comment on the promotion.

“Mobile is no longer a new media -- it has been tested and there is a protocol” for developing campaigns, said Nihal Mehta, president and co-founder of ipsh!, a San Francisco based mobile-marketing technology firm.

Where are the agencies?
That’s not to say there aren’t hurdles. An executive with one prominent package-goods firm acknowledged that mobile marketing is becoming more mainstream, but said brands are having trouble finding the resources to help them in the mobile space. “Brands want to go to the agencies and the agencies should be out there. They’re not, because they don’t see the scale.”

~ ~ ~
Kate MacArthur contributed to this report.

Marketing Requires a New Approach

Shift...

1. From demographics to lifestyle

2. From blind trust to 3rd party recommendation

3. From impersonal to concierge and customized

4. From broadcast to opt-in

(Presented by Jeff Bell at AD: TECH Chicago 2005, vp marketing Chrylser)

World websites

Over 30% of the world's largest websites are in Chinese.

Bristol-Myers Squibb's Ad Ban Spares Internet

www.clickz.com/news/article.php/3513211

Boehringer, Bayer to launch clinical trials Web sites

Boehringer, Bayer to launch clinical trials Web sites

 

Boehringer Ingelheim and Bayer joined the ranks of several other pharmas by announcing plans for their companies' clinical trial Web sites. Boehringer's will include all trials started today and after, and the company will post all ongoing trials by September 13, it reports. Results of completed trials will be posted one year after the drug is first approved and marketed in any country or within one year of the trial's completion. Boehringer says if a product is codeveloped or marketed with another company, the license holder will have the responsibility for providing trial information. Bayer's site will initially include information on 10 trials started after January 6, 2005, and will add trials started after today within three weeks of their start date, the company announced. By mid-September, Bayer says it will list all ongoing trials, concentrating mainly on phase III and IV trials, except in "exceptional cases," such as cancer research, which will include phase II information. Bayer also says by March 2006, all completed trials started after October 1, 2002, will be listed online. 

Zoomerang offers tips for healthcare industry online surveys

Zoomerang offers tips for healthcare industry online surveys

Healthcare companies increasingly turn to the Internet to conduct consumer research, according to Web survey software firm Zoomerang, which counts Wyeth and Johnson & Johnson as clients. Its online poll of healthcare industry professionals shows that 63% of respondents are shifting away from using paper surveys and 37% are moving away from the phone in favor of the Internet. When deploying online surveys, Zoomerang says companies should clearly define the survey's purpose; keep it short, simple, and focused; and use closed-ended questions whenever possible. Companies should also keep rating scale questions consistent and make sure their questions flow logically. For best results, companies should pretest the survey and deploy it on a Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday. Finally, Zoomerang recommends sending completion reminders and offering incentives for participation, which usually boosts the response rate by about 50%. To read more about using Web-based surveys, go to Zoomerang.com.

 

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Poll: Healthcare Companies Say Online Research Displacing Phone and Mail Research

PR Newswire via NewsEdge Corporation :

MILL VALLEY, Calif., June 28 /PRNewswire/ -- Healthcare companies and organizations say online research, one of the most affordable and effective marketing tactics, is displacing phone and mail research, according to a recent Internet survey by Zoomerang, maker of the leading global online survey software.

Based on the study, more than 3 in 5 healthcare industry professionals involved in online research (63%) report shifting from paper or mail research to the Internet. In addition, nearly 2 in 5 (37%) are moving away from phone research in favor of online research.*

Zoomerang Vice President and General Manager Paula Rivers explains, "Healthcare professionals are shifting from traditional research methods towards online research because, simply put, it makes great business sense. They are realizing that the tool can potentially expand their ability to make informed decisions and help grow revenue, lower costs and increase productivity."

Among those healthcare professionals in the survey who are benefiting from productivity gains, more than 2 in 5 (43%) say that productivity has increased by more than 20% over the previous year. Also, among those who are benefiting from cost savings, nearly 3 in 5 (59%) report lowering costs by 10% or more over the previous year. Similar trends are cited among those who are benefiting from increased revenues.

Online survey usage has penetrated 20% of the healthcare sector and is growing steadily among adopters. Nearly three-quarters (74%) of health care industry professionals involved with online surveys report increased usage of this technique over the previous year.

Online surveys are an easy way for industry decision-makers to obtain the feedback they need to help them make critical decisions. Through online surveys, healthcare organizations large and small can query their customers about their satisfaction with care or services, accomplish a host of human resources-related functions or even obtain feedback about education and training efforts.

Top Ten Tips

Obtaining quality feedback means asking the right questions. Here are 10 tips from market leader Zoomerang for creating effective surveys:

1. Clearly define the purpose of your survey.

Spend time up front to plan objectives. For example, you might want to find out if your customers are satisfied with your company's service.

2. Keep the survey short and focused.

It shouldn't take a respondent more than 10 minutes to complete a survey, so it's generally better to focus on a single objective.

3. Keep the questions simple.

Make sure your respondents will understand the questions. Don't make the questions complex and avoid the use of jargon.

4. Used closed-ended questions whenever possible.

Closed-ended questions make it easier to analyze results and can take the form of yes/no, multiple choice or a rating scale.

5. Keep rating scale questions consistent.

If you use rating scales -- for example, rating customer service on a scale from 1 to 5 -- keep them consistent and make sure the meanings of high and low remain the same.

6. Make sure your survey flows in a logical order.

Start with the broader-based questions, later moving to those that are narrower in scope, and make sure that one questions naturally leads into another.

7. Pre-test your survey.

Before launching your survey, be sure to pre-test it with a few members of your target audience to help you uncover glitches and unexpected question interpretations.

8. Schedule your survey by taking the calendar into account.

Keep in mind that Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays are the best days to deploy your survey -- you'll generate more responses than if you send it out on one of the other four days.

9. Offer an incentive for responding.

Incentives typically boost response rates by an average of 50%. However, if you do decide to offer an incentive, be sure to keep it appropriate in scope.

10. Consider using reminders.

While not appropriate for all surveys, sending out reminders to those who haven't yet responded can often provide a significant boost to your response rates.

About Zoomerang

Zoomerang is the leading online survey software and the most popular tool around the globe for obtaining vital feedback at rapid-fire speed. Since its 1999 debut, it has quickly gained momentum, growing a "fan base" of users in over 200 countries worldwide. To date, over 1 million Zoomerang surveys have been launched and over 27 million responses recorded.

Zoomerang customers range from multinational corporations to small businesses and nonprofits. DuPont, Johnson & Johnson, Wyeth Pharmaceuticals and United Way are just a few of its many high-profile clients. Zoomerang is owned by MarketTools, Inc., a leading provider of full-service, online market research services headquartered in Mill Valley, California. For more information on Zoomerang go to www.zoomerang.com.

Consumers say e-newsletters, samples would help Rx decisions

Consumers say e-newsletters, samples would help Rx decisions

Forty-seven percent of surveyed consumers said informational Web sites are their preferred online format for receiving drug information, according to a survey of more than 2000 respondents from e-mail marketing and customer acquisition firm Prospectiv. An additional 37% said e-mail is their preferred online method. Prospectiv, whose clients include Pfizer, Procter & Gamble, and Schering-Plough, also found that 92% of respondents would be likely or very likely to visit treatment Web sites and 83% would be interested or very interested in receiving educational information about drug treatments. When asked about offers from pharmas, 51% of surveyed consumers would prefer free samples and 34% said educational e-newsletters would be most valuable in helping them make their drug buying decisions, according to the survey. To learn more about the survey results, go to prospectiv.com.

 

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Prospectiv Survey Shows Growing Consumer Preference for Learning about Pharmaceutical Drugs Through Online Resources; Consumers Express Preference for More Information via Educational E-Newsletters and Informational Web Sites

Business Wire via NewsEdge Corporation :

WOBURN, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 28, 2005--An increasing number of consumers are looking to online resources for accessing information about drug treatments relevant to their ailments, according to results from a Prospectiv Consumer Preference Index (CPI) poll conducted last week that gathered responses from more than 2000 consumers. The poll results also showed that physicians remain the primary resource for pharmaceutical drug information.

Prospectiv's CPI shows the majority of respondents; at 73 percent, currently look to their doctors as their primary source of information for drug treatments, while websites and email came in second at 14 percent, and mass market vehicles including television, radio, magazines, newspapers and books; at 10 percent. When consumers were asked how they would like to receive information in the future, websites and email increased to 17 percent, while magazines, newspapers and books declined slightly to 3 percent, and television and radio declined to 1 percent.

When asked about their preferred online vehicle for receiving drug treatment information, informational web sites, at 47 percent, and email at 37 percent were the top selections. Ninety-two percent surveyed said they would be very likely or likely to visit a website focused on treatments for their ailments. Eighty-three percent responded that they would be interested or very interested in receiving educational information about drug treatments.

Prospectiv's CPI also revealed that in terms of preferred offers from pharmaceutical companies that would most likely peak consumer interest in drug treatments, 51 percent would prefer free samples, while 34 percent identified educational e-newsletters as most valuable in helping them make drug purchasing decisions.

"These results confirm what we see as a growing trend for pharmaceutical marketers to leverage online technologies and communications to build closer and more direct relationships with the consumers who can benefit from the drug treatments they have to offer," said Jere Doyle, Prospectiv's president and CEO. "As a result, we've seen many of our pharmaceutical clients allocating more marketing resources on building their direct-to-patient databases through online channels."

For more information about these results, please contact Tom Francoeur at 781-388-7900, ext 205, or by email at tfrancoeur@topazpartners.com

About Prospectiv's Consumer Preference Index (CPI)

Millions of active, self-profiled consumers have registered at Prospectiv's vertically-targeted online properties - Eversave.com (connects consumers with quality offers from leading brands), TheKnowledgeStop.com (premier resource for online and campus-based education and degree programs), and Healthy-Individual.com (online resource focused on health and well-being offers) - enabling Prospectiv to compile insightful survey data for advertisers and marketers. Prospectiv's 20-point data authentication, cleansing and validation process ensures the database of self-profiled consumers is current, active, and accurate in order to deliver the highest quality data to clients.

About Prospectiv

Prospectiv provides industry-leading customer acquisition, email marketing and data analytics solutions to leading consumer brand marketers. The company's solutions enable the world's best brands to find and build profitable relationships with the right customers through multiple online channels, proprietary optimization technology, and comprehensive data validation. Prospectiv generates more than 50 million pre-qualified responses per year on a pay-for-results basis for clients, including many Fortune 1000 companies such as Procter and Gamble, Wal-Mart, Pfizer, Dell, General Mills and Schering-Plough. Founded in 1999, Prospectiv is privately-held and is based in Woburn, Ma. Please visit http://www.prospectiv.com for more information.