J&J is Wired About the Web

J&J is Wired About the Web

APR 11, 2007

BY: BETH HERSKOVITS   

PHARMEXEC DIRECT MARKETING EDITION       

Could Big Pharma be casting off its Luddite habits and catching up with the Internet age? Well, Johnson & Johnson at least is turning to the Web as the next frontier in corporate and promotional communications--at a time when most of its competitors are also struggling to get more bang for their advertising buck.

The New Jersey-based drug giant cut 10 percent of its marketing budget last year, spending $1.9 billion compared to $2.1 billion in 2005; this added up to 32.7 percent of sales last year, down from 34.1 percent in 2005. But that wasn't the only surprising marketing-money move: Many of the cuts appear to come from DTC television advertising in favor of more experimental methods of reaching consumers.

The new approach can also be seen in the newly posted videos featuring employee stories on J&J's Web site. Links to the videos are displayed on the homepage (http://www.jnj.com/home.htm)--where they're accessible to analysts and investors, doctors and consumers, career-searchers and current employees--and also woven through its 2006 annual report. The online report is perusable in standard PDF format or on self-turning "virtual paper," where a camera icon launches the videos.

"There's more passion and enthusiasm in the people who work here than you can convey," said Ray Jordan, vice president of public affairs and corporate communications. "The videos really brought the stories to life, and the stories really brought the strategic principles to life."

Jordan noted that while many companies include employee stories on their own Web sites, he couldn't find another firm that is taking it a step further by adding video.
The videos aren't related to the advertising shift per se, but the same line of thinking drove both. "It's about a migration from print to online," Jordan said. "It's no surprise that where we're going in the advertising space is consistent with corporate communications."
Last month, for instance, the company invited several medical bloggers for an over-dinner discussion of social media like blogs and other online forums. "This is a very appealing space, and we're looking into it," Jordan said.

About the Author:

Beth Herskovits News and Online Editor About Beth Herskovitsemail: bherskovits@advanstar.com

Survey shows health information search level impacted by age

Survey shows health information search level impacted by age

Source: ePharm5(tm)
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Interest and willingness to learn about health and healthcare online is high across gender, political party affiliation, and ideology, but not age, according to a survey of 800 registered voters. Those aged 65 and older are significantly different from the rest of the population in terms of their interest in pursuing further medical information online. A recent survey by American Survey finds that 79% of those surveyed report that they would seek additional online information after receiving a diagnosis from a doctor. However, according to an editorial in the Washington Times about the survey, the numbers drastically change when broken down by age. When voters aged 65 years and older were asked that same question, 48% report going online for healthcare information, versus 75% of voters aged 55 to 64. In the future, the numbers will even out, because as the age groups move up, they will take the higher percentages with them. In the short term, however, any policy initiatives should include outreach and educational programs to those more than 65 to reduce their reluctance to go online for health information, says the Washington Times report.
 

Let Consumers Control More Than Just Ads

Direct Involvement: Innovative Marketers Invite Consumers to Guide Business Strategy

By Diane Hessan

Published: April 09, 2007 (Advertising Age)

Stop selling consumers short. They want to do more than create ads for you.

The latest wisdom of the crowds is that it's a good idea to ask consumers to create ads they think will appeal to other people like them. Is it smart to allow everyday people to vote on which ads should be aired? Sure. Will more companies copy this year's Super Bowl do-it-yourself ad promotions? No doubt. Does this trend show that marketers have turned the corner and put customers at the center of their marketing strategies? No way.

Consumers crave control
Let's not kid ourselves about the value of consumer-generated ads. The consumer-in-control movement isn't just about developing new ways to create ads, as fun as that may be. The real deal is that consumers want to have a say about everything from a company's overall direction to its products and services -- how they should fit into their lives; how they're designed and packaged; where they can buy them; and, yes, even how they should be advertised. In other words, what consumers are screaming for is the desire to help companies make decisions, not just ads.

Some of today's most successful brands are letting consumers do this.

For Frito-Lay, consumer-generated ads are simply the most publicly visible evidence of a customer-centered marketing strategy. For almost two years, the snack-food maker has continuously consulted with consumers in online communities about a whole range of topics. Plus, by listening to how people in these communities interact with one another every day, Frito-Lay has a better view of how its brand fits into the bigger context of consumers' lives.

Many hands hold Aloft
To develop its new Aloft brand, expected to launch in 2008, Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide invited hundreds of travel-savvy consumers to join a private online community dedicated to helping the company reimagine the hotel experience. Over the past several months, these consumers have advised Starwood on how to make the hotel experience different and fun compared with the all-too-typical concrete-and-polyester hotel experience, what to name the new brand, what services to include, the design and style of the space and furnishings, how to introduce the concept, and even what they think of the Aloft prototype in the virtual world Second Life.

 

Diane Hessan is president-CEO of Communispace, a social-networking company. She is also co-author of "Customer-Centered Growth: Five Strategies for Building Competitive Advantage."

GlaxoSmithKline has been listening for more than a year to a community of women struggling with weight issues in order to better understand how to develop and market its first weight-loss pill, expected to be introduced this year. The women have shared their struggles with one another and Glaxo, and they've offered input into everything from packaging to where to place in-store marketing.

To hone its digital-photography business, Hewlett-Packard connects every day with 300 digital-photography enthusiasts who act as a virtual digital-photography advisory board, sharing opinions, experiences, frustrations and ideas with one another -- and with hundreds of HP employees responsible for this business area. HP believes that being able to interact with a private group of trusted consumers any time of any day gives it a sounding board to use to make more decisions more quickly and keeps it grounded in what's most relevant and important to consumers.

Less R&D, greater profit?
A tighter and more substantive connection with consumers also makes economic sense. A recent Booz Allen Hamilton study, "Smart Spenders: The Global Innovation 1,000," found that although research-and-development spending by these companies last year rose more than $20 billion, a group of "high-leverage innovators," including Caterpillar, Christian Dior, Apple, GlaxoSmithKline and Google, spend far less than their competitors on research and development -- and consistently outperform their rivals.

What sets these innovators apart? "High-leverage innovators listen closely to their customers across the entire innovation cycle. Companies such as Stryker and Black & Decker design their innovation strategy around a keen understanding of their end customers' needs," according to the study. And they don't do it in a traditional market-research silo: These high achievers have in common a focus on building multifunctional, companywide capabilities.

Welcoming consumers
Online customer communities are central to creating innovative products and customer experiences, according to best-selling business writer Patricia Seybold in her book "Outside Innovation: How Your Customers Will Co-Design Your Company's Future." "The only way organizations can break out of the pack is to open up their business to passionate customers and welcome them into every aspect of product, service and customer experience design," Ms. Seybold says.

So as the buzz about consumer-generated ads continues, remember that these spots aren't the Next Big Thing in marketing. Consumers want more. They want to be more directly involved in providing advice that will lead to better products and overall brand experiences, and they want to be heard. This, not just ads, is the heart of today's consumer-in-control marketing movement.

Study Reveals TV Pharma Ads Are Not As Effective As Print

Study Reveals TV Pharma Ads Are Not As Effective As Print

by Nina M. Lentini, Wednesday, Apr 11, 2007 5:00 AM ET

AFFINITY, WHICH RESEARCHED CONSUMER REACTIONS to pharmaceutical advertising in the first quarter of the year, has found that fewer people recall TV drug ads than they do print ads for drugs. The research and consulting firm surveyed 4,000 people by showing them visual storyboards of direct-to-consumer (DTC) TV ads and found that 36% recalled specific TV campaigns. That compares with 50% that recall specific print campaigns. However, Affinity also compared consumer reaction among those with and without the medical problems associated with specific drugs and found that those with ailments had higher recall of ads that discussed their ailments and took the most action to find out more about the advertised product. In some cases, the percentage was double or more. For example, 43% of people who suffer with osteoporosis recalled a TV ad for Fosamax Plus D compared with only 19% of non-sufferers. "Recall can double even though TV is viewed by many as being a broad medium," says Affinity's managing director, Tom Robinson. "The reality is, you're reaching enough of them that you're having impact among the target audience." The top-recalled DTC categories were sleep disorder at 64% average recall; erectile dysfunction at 42%, and high cholesterol at 42%. Among the top campaigns were those for Lunesta (70% recall), Lamisil (67%) and Nasonex (65%). Recall scores among women were higher than among men, the study found, while net-action levels generated after exposure were similar. The top actions consumers took were "Have a more favorable opinion about the brand," "Ask a doctor of other medical professional about the product" and "Gather more information about the product." The campaign that generated the highest action score among consumers was Roche's Tamiflu, a drug designed to treat the flu within the first two days of symptoms. Nearly 60 unique campaigns ran in the first quarter, Robinson says. One of the general issues addressed by the survey was the way prescription drug advertising is viewed by consumers. "There is some confusion about this category," he notes. "One of the intentions is to get people to comply with their own prescriptions and the numbers show this kind of impact is pretty small." As for consumer perception, Affinity found that consumers most often turn to "Doctor, nurse or pharmacist," "Friends, colleagues or family members" and "Health-related articles on Web sites" for information about new medications. Other key findings: More than eight out of ten consumers (81%) believe that prescription drug commercials should also highlight the potential risks and side effects of the advertised medication. More than four out of ten consumers (41%) believe that TV commercials are a good way to learn about new prescription drug medications. One-third of consumers (33%) report that after viewing specific DTC commercials, they were better equipped to talk to their own doctor about potential treatments. Nina M. Lentini edits Marketing Daily. Email her at nina@mediapost.com

Meredith 360: Launches Better.tv To Encompass All Media

Meredith 360: Launches Better.tv To Encompass All Media

by Wayne Friedman, Wednesday, Apr 11, 2007 8:00 AM ET

MEREDITH IS LAUNCHING BETTER.TV, THE company's first broadband video network, gleaning content from its array of home-making magazines. Better.tv will also offer original content and programming from the company's television stations, book division and other areas. With some 20 video channels--spanning food, family, home, style, remodeling, entertainment, relationships, fitness and health topics--Better.tv can mine material from its magazine stable. Those publications include Better Homes and Gardens, Ladies' Home Journal, More, Family Circle, Parents and Fitness. Like other media companies, Meredith wants to be a "360-degree" company for its advertisers, encompassing all relevant media extensions, including a broadband Internet channel. Meredith Publishing Group President Jack Griffin says the company currently reaches 75 million women through its media properties and has a "unique understanding of how to deliver service-based information to them..." Better.tv will also film on location. One of its first efforts is a behind-the-scenes look at the Family Circle Cup women's tennis tournament.

Study: TV ads drive consumers online for disease information

Study: TV ads drive consumers online for disease information

Source: ePharm5(tm) To receive these articles and others like it, click the link below to sign up for a FREE 30-day trial. http://www.epharm5.com/aboutepharm.cfm?s=EN55651A TV ads that encourage consumers to go online to learn more about a condition or disease are effectively building awareness for certain conditions, Manhattan Research reports. Restless Leg Syndrome was the top condition researched online due to TV ad prompts, followed by smoking cessation, erectile dysfunction, acne, and HPV. The rankings are based on a comprehensive online consumer research study of 4,965 U.S. adults titled ePharma Consumer v6.0: The Future of Integrated DTC Marketing. "It is clear that unbranded ads are having an impact," Mark Bard, president of Manhattan Research, tells ePharm5. In some cases, more than one-third of consumers who researched a certain condition online reported that a TV ad motivated them to do so. Bard says the study also provides data on more than 100 leading pharmaceutical product sites, visitors to unbranded sites, consumer site satisfaction, use of search engines for health information, and more. Go to ePharma Consumer for more information.

Reports point to women as important online targets for pharma

Reports point to women as important online targets for pharma

Source: ePharm5(tm) To receive these articles and others like it, click the link below to sign up for a FREE 30-day trial. http://www.epharm5.com/aboutepharm.cfm?s=EN55651A eMarketer has produced two reports this spring that cover online consumer behavior. ePharm5 talked with senior analyst Lisa E. Phillips, the author of one of the reports, about the findings. More women rely on the Internet for health information than men, and people between the ages of 30 and 49 are heavier users of online health resources than 18- to 29-year-olds, she says. Those above the age of 40 are online looking for information and do not want to go to places such as YouTube and MySpace. Consumers of that age want to get their information from a source that's more reliable, such as WebMD or a pharma site or health portal, Phillips tells ePharm5. Sixty-eight percent of seniors aged 65 and older check the Internet for health information, and many of those aged 70 and older ask their caregivers to go online for them, Phillips says. Another report by eMarketer found that females constitute the majority of Internet users, but that they are less likely to view video online than males. Nearly 78% of male Internet users will view video online this year, whereas only 66% of females will. "Women don't go online for fun," Phillips says. "If a video was instructional and not entertainment, more women would view it."