Google Think Health: From Script to Screen

Physicians are using digital tools more than ever before to make clinical and treatment decisions, presenting an opportunity for marketers to reach, engage and drive action in new ways. This infographic from the Google/Manhattan Research "The Doctor's Digital Path to Treatment" published in April 2012 illustrates how physicians are constantly connected and how they utilize search, mobile and video in their daily clinical decision-making and patient education.

HEALTHRAGEOUS AND BOEHRINGER INGELHEIM TO COLLABORATE ON A DIGITAL DIABETES SELF-MANAGEMENT PROGRAM

HEALTHRAGEOUS AND BOEHRINGER INGELHEIM TO COLLABORATE ON A DIGITAL DIABETES SELF-MANAGEMENT PROGRAM

BOSTON, MA, JULY 10, 2012 -- Healthrageous, Inc., a digital health management company, announced today that the company is collaborating with Boehringer Ingelheim to evaluate a lifestyle behavior modification program to improve the health status of people with Type 2 diabetes. Study participants will experience a digital technology intervention combining digital coaching and a wireless glucose meter. The study will evaluate the impact of the intervention on changes in lifestyle behaviors, glucose control, additional medical parameters and medication adherence.

The goal of the program is to leverage technology in a way that makes the personalized journey of self-managing diabetes easier and more effective. During the collaboration, adults employed by a self-insured employer in the U.S., and diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes for at least six months, will have access to Healthrageous’ digital diabetes self-management program. The web and smartphone delivered program will include a personalized action plan with health behavior improvement goals, biometric feedback to demonstrate goal achievement and milestones, digital coach interaction, recognition and incentives for progress, supply and strip refill ordering, capturing HEDIS measures, medication reminders, and social networking support. Further details of the agreement were not provided.

“Innovations in machine learning and technology offer the opportunity to create and deliver a unique experience for each person with Type 2 diabetes,” said Rick Lee, President and CEO, Healthrageous. “Our digital diabetes platform will help us to better understand what motivates individuals to become and remain engaged in self-managing their health. We are delighted to be working with Boehringer Ingelheim on this first-of-its-kind evaluation of the promise that digital technology holds in stemming the Type 2 diabetes epidemic.”

About Boehringer Ingelheim The Boehringer Ingelheim group is one of the world’s 20 leading pharmaceutical companies. Headquartered in Ingelheim, Germany, it operates globally with 145 affiliates in 50 countries and more than 44,000 employees. Since it was founded in 1885, the family-owned company has been committed to researching, developing, manufacturing and marketing novel medications of high therapeutic value for human and veterinary medicine.

As a central element of its culture, Boehringer Ingelheim pledges to act socially responsible. Involvement in social projects, caring for employees and their families, and providing equal opportunities for all employees form the foundation of the global operations. Mutual cooperation and respect, as well as environmental protection and sustainability are intrinsic factors in all of Boehringer Ingelheim’s endeavors.

In 2011, Boehringer Ingelheim achieved net sales of about 13.2 billion euro. R&D expenditure in the business area Prescription Medicines corresponds to 23.5% of its net sales.For more information, go to www.boehringer-ingelheim.com.

About Healthrageous
Healthrageous, Inc., is a digital health engagement and management company that supports individual journeys to prevent and self-manage chronic health conditions via the web and a mobile app. It achieves superior engagement through its proprietary platform that incorporates personalized goal setting, health journey maps with gaming dynamics, timely biometric feedback and interactive digital coaching. The digital coach leverages multiple tools such as inspirational messages, recognition and incentives, challenges, social networking, trackers and reminders, and interactive educational content. Healthrageous is headquartered in Boston, MA, and its investors include North Bridge Venture Partners (Boston, MA/San Mateo, CA), Egan Managed Capital (Boston, MA) and Long River Ventures (Amherst, MA). For more information, go to www.healthrageous.com.

Infographic: Physician-Patient Communication By The Numbers (Verilogue)

Ignite Health - Current Job Openings

Confirmed: Facebook Pages for Brands Will Get Profile Pic Makeover April 26

There have been some rumors lately that Facebook is quietly testing some new features for its recently-launched timeline-driven brand pages. Today, one of those rumors was confirmed by our friendly facebook reps (as well as tech blog TheNextWeb):

Starting April 26, 2012, the profile pic for brands (which currently displays at 125 x 125 pixels) will display at 160 x 160 pixels.

Apparently this change resulted from feedback from testing. The profile pic will sit 23 pixels from the left and 210 pixels from the top.

Why does this matter? For one, brand profile pics uploaded at 125 x 125 pixels will be automatically scaled up to fit this new dimension -- and will risk looking pretty terrible unless a new image is uploaded.

Secondly, for those brands that have carefully crafted cover & profile pictures to fit nicely together, this change will create problems in terms of alignment.

So, for those of you out there managing brand pages on facebook, you might want to take another look at your brand page to ensure that when these changes take effect you are ready. To stay informed of other updates coming that might impact your brand, follow us on twitter.

Images in this post courtesy Michael Eggelton who wrote an excellent blog speculating on this subject a few days ago.

The Medical Marketing & Media Virtual Summit 2012 A virtual event with real results.

The Medical Marketing & Media Virtual Summit 2012 A virtual event with real results.

When: March 27, 2012
Where: Wherever you have internet connection
Time: 10:00 a.m. ET
CLICK HERE to register for this FREE virtual conference.

One lucky registrant will win a new Kindle Fire

The MM&M Virtual Summit is an online event where some of the finest leaders and thinkers in healthcare marketing will discuss and share strategies, observations and insights on key issues facing the industry. It's also a forum to foster live, interactive dialogue between delegates, speakers and sponsors. Delegates will be marketing executives from pharmaceutical, biotech, device and diagnostics companies, plus advertising and marketing agency executives, vendors, industry consultants and other prominent figures in healthcare marketing. Last year's inaugural MM&M Virtual Summit drew almost 1,000 registrants, with 500 of those attending live on the day. This year's attendance is expected to surpass that.

WHAT’S ON THE AGENDA?

Keynote: State of the Industry
10:15 a.m. - 11:15 a.m.
Presented by:
Deborah Dunsire, President and CEO, Millennium: The Takeda Oncology Company

Facing a perfect storm of patent expirations, dwindling pipelines, regulatory roadblocks, empowered patients and healthcare reform, is there any hope for pharma? You bet there is.

The Mobile Phenomenon

11:25 a.m. - 12:05 p.m.
Presented by:
Joan Mikardos, Senior Director and Head of the Digital Center of Excellence, Sanofi US
Sponsored by:
eHealthcare Solutions

How apps and location-based mobile will further impact wellness, disease awareness, treatment adherence, behavioral change, marketing efforts-and health outcomes.

Regulatory Outlook

12: 20 p.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Presented by:
John Kamp, Executive Director, Coalition for Healthcare Communication

Are you ready for the Sunshine Act? Do you know what you can do online yet? What else is coming? Be better prepared with our crash-course in navigating the regulatory landscape.

Are We Putting Patients First Yet?

1:15 p.m. - 1:55 p.m.
Presented by:
Jack Barrette, CEO, WEGO Health
Kelly Beyer, Associate Director Digital Strategy & Services, Novartis Pharmaceuticals
Erika Brown, Colorectal Cancer Health Activist and Mayor Pro-Tem, Colontown.org

The quest for open dialogue between drug makers and drug takers is not so much a pipedream these days, as a necessity. Marketers and health activists chart the progress and the pain.

Between a Rep and a Hard Place

2:10 p.m. - 2:50 p.m.
Presented by:
Mike Luby, Founder/President, BioPharma Alliance

With the rep arms race a distant memory, pharma's sales operations must foster more valuable, insightful and technologically savvy exchanges with physicians. How do you do that, exactly?

Platinum Sponsors:

e-Healthcare Solutions

CLICK HERE to register for this FREE virtual conference.

Questions? Contact Anthony Curry @ anthony.curry@haymarketmedia.com / 646-638-6009

Facebook Timelines for Brands and The Implications for Pharma Companies

Welcome to “Brand Narratives & Storytelling”

Written by Michael Spitz, VP Channel Engagement at Ignite Health

Something absolutely unprecedented has happened in digital: The most powerful movers and shakers don’t react to the immediate needs of their customers, but actually shape those needs by creating compelling communication devices and platforms that none of us can live without. The key to this success is the ability to mirror how we naturally communicate with the tools we use to communicate; Apple and Facebook have revolutionized the world by innately understanding people first, then tech. And with every update they up their game in terms of engendering communication experiences that are increasingly compelling, customized, and connected.

On February 29th Facebook announced sweeping changes to the way brands market on the platform, including coupon creation, premium ad products, real-time insights, and the introduction of Timeline for Brand Pages. Set to go live March 30 with a testing grace period until then, the new Brand Page user experience enables brands to tell their stories in the same way people narrate each other’s lives, and follows a format nearly identical to personal timeline pages: highlighted by a cover photo stretching across the top, with content chronologically arranged in criss-cross fashion down the page, with tabs running along the top instead of the left side.

Nothing could be more glorious for marketers, who have historically grappled with one-way, poorly targeted push channels that have gotten in the way of as much as encouraged communication and behavioral change. Stunning advances in social media and mobile make messaging increasingly relevant and engaging, heightening the likelihood for conversion. So marketers the world over are rejoicing over this amazing opportunity for brands to tell their stories and captivate eager, participatory audiences with even more customized content, real time two-way dialogue, and personalized engagement.

Unique Challenges & Opportunities for Pharma

But as pharma marketers we already know that our playing field is radically different. Patients and healthcare professionals aren’t shopping, and pharmaceutical companies are highly regulated. So every exciting improvement in social media often sends a shudder down the halls of pharma, further exposing them to adverse event reporting, reputation management concerns, and the promulgation of misinformation. Compounding these worries is user privacy, as the public dissemination of patient and even physician information opens up a Pandora’s Box of legal, ethical, and even clinical challenges.

The good news is a vast majority of pharma social communications are corporate and unbranded initiatives, ones where risk aversion and creative expression need not be mutually exclusive. So for campaigns outside the boundaries of FDA/OPDP the new Timeline Brand Pages could hold amazing promise and usher in new era where pharma can begin to tell its own narratives and engage the public in a manner truly transparent, credible, and trustworthy. With that in mind, let’s take a look at each new Facebook feature, and discuss its direct implications for the industry. Our goal is to decide whether or not and how our pharma clients will be able to take advantage of the new layout, and what kind of insights we can provide them as valued digital partners.

Cover Photo & Fair Balance Concerns

An 851 x 315 pixel photo runs across the top of each Timeline Brand Page. Photos can be easily swapped out and offer an inviting masthead starting the brand narrative and beckoning engagement, but cannot contain any text whatsoever—raising our first pharma-specific issue, and a potentially serious one at that. Since the real estate is both above the fold and one of the few pieces of static content on the otherwise highly dynamic Timeline, one would hope to anchor requisite indication and safety information in this area. But since that’s precluded by the no-text rule, pharma will be forced to house the ISI in a custom content area, accessible through one of the page tabs. Obviously our clients take the prominent and ubiquitous display of fair balance extremely seriously—so many legacy brands will likely be forced to remove their pages, while those willing to migrate must address these challenges. An ideal solution could be a pharma-specific cover photo rule and template designed to feature scrolling ISI on 60% or so of the area, but in lieu of that we must be cautious about our recommendations for branded content on Facebook, and alert our clients to this limitation.

Timeline Content Areas & White Listing

Brand Page administrators will be given control over each post, able to make some larger than others, as well as hide them. The new “pinning” feature a la Pinterest lets admins place content prominently at the top of the timeline for as long as seven days. Most importantly for pharma, Facebook has informed us that White Listing WILL be made available, enabling eligible pages to completely shut off all commenting and “Likes”. The process for getting White Listed is similar to the current approach of working with regional Facebook reps assigned to larger clients, so we advise reaching out directly to Facebook to ensure eligibility and expeditious processing.

Challenges will remain, however, for legacy Brand Pages migrating to this format because their Wall content is sparse or non-existent. Additional challenges raise their head in the “Friend” areas as seen above, where users will be able to see other friends who have liked the page, and related friend content could be dynamically generated and shared in a manner that could be unwelcome, inappropriate, or even considered a violation for a healthcare audience valuing privacy above all. Once again, Ignite highly recommends that Facebook reps be engaged early and often in this process to ensure the features and functionality sets fall safely within regulatory boundaries, and the results communicated to brand teams in a manner that’s simple and actionable.

Administrator Panel & Direct Messaging Capabilities

Facebook has taken a new and highly functional approach to Brand Page management with a panel that appears at the top of pages for administrators. The tool presents a real-time snapshot of topline insights, people Liking the page, all notifications, and even an inbox for messages received from fans. For the first time administrators will be able to directly and privately respond to messages sent to the Brand Page, but only in response to those messages already received—great for consumer goods marketers but again potentially highly problematic for pharma, opening the door to the risk of adverse event reporting. So alert your pharma brand teams of this functionality, and the need to address this direct conduit of information accessible to anyone who likes your page.

Page Tabs & Static Content

Moved from the left margin to the top of pages right below the Cover Photo, page tabs allow access to custom content and even apps, although these subpages can no longer act as default landing areas. Fortunately for pharma, these areas are ripe for larger buckets of static content ill-suited to the chronological criss-crossing format, such as detailed drug information repurposed from the branded brand.com, including all requisite fair balance information—but since traffic is automatically driven to the Timeline area devoid of these opportunities, the problem of presenting ISI in a fully compliant manner remains a significant one.

Summary & Recommendations

The good news for pharma regarding the new Facebook Timeline Brand Pages is the fresh and exciting way company narratives and unbranded educational initiatives can come alive. For branded content the outlook remains hopeful as White Listing remains in effect, enabling all user-generated commenting and Likes to be shut down. But the bad news is a prominent area for required safety information will be one click away, a situation likely unacceptable for most med/leg teams. Additional concerns revolve around the “Friend” boxes, where others who have liked the page are revealed, and custom content from an individual user’s friend list could become visible. Legacy pharma brand pages will also have to grapple with migration issues—so now is the time to take advantage of the 30-day moratorium and test period before go-live on March 30th.

To summarize:

• White Listing will be allowed for branded pharma pages
• Engage your med/leg teams and Facebook reps immediately
• If you’re already White Listed, figure out your migration strategy
• If you’re not White Listed, begin the process now

• Potential obstacles
• Fair balance will be problematic as Cover Photos will NOT allow text
• Friend boxes could also be problematic


• Best practices
• Explore and experiment with the Facebook Timeline Brand Pages that have already launched
• Take advantage of the one-month moratorium to test and tweak the page


• Key takeaway
• Crawl before you walk, and if possible wait until the new format goes live before leaping on the new look and feel

If you manage any existing pharma brand pages on Facebook, then preview the Timeline layout and present the complete user experience to your med/leg teams as soon as possible. Explain the opportunities and challenges described above, and determine, first and foremost, if the features and functionality expose your client to risk, mindful of the unique sensitivities of both unbranded and branded content. For the latter, make sure fair balance can be properly handled within the new format to client expectations, and ensure any and all communication and content between users and the client company and between the users and each other through the Brand Page is thoroughly controlled, monitored, and wherever necessary eliminated. If a new page is being considered, we heartily recommend engaging the White List process with your Facebook rep immediately, and designing a fresh look and feel mindful of the new layout. The bottom line: Partner well with your brand and med/leg teams on the one hand, and Facebook on the other to ensure your Facebook Timeline Brand Page for pharma—whether unbranded or branded in nature—is fully compliant.

Additional Resources

Take a look at what others are writing and commenting about the new Facebook Timeline Brand Pages:

Official Facebook Announcement
https://www.facebook.com/business/fmc

Mashable Overview
http://mashable.com/2012/02/29/facebook-timeline-brand-pages/

Business to Community Overview
http://www.business2community.com/facebook/5-key-changes-to-the-new-facebook-brand-pages-marketers-need-to-know-0141917

Techcrunch Overview of New Ad Tools
http://techcrunch.com/2012/03/04/facebook-marketing-conference/

Search Engine Watch POV on engagement
http://searchenginewatch.com/article/2156891/Facebook-Launches-Premium-Mobile-Ads-Offers-Real-Time-Page-Insights

American Cancer Society Wins Ignite Health’s Charitable Giving Video Contest

Ignite Health Donates $4,000 to the Winner of “The Love War,” a Social Media Experiment that Gamifies Charitable Giving

IRVINE, California – February 17, 2012 – Ignite Health, an inVentiv Health company and leader in healthcare communications, announced today that the American Cancer Society is the winner of “The Love War” (http://www.facebook.com/winthelovewar), a social media-driven experiment that the company launched on Facebook on February 1, 2012 to encourage users to record and post personal videos that “show their love” for charities. As of midnight on Valentine’s Day, February 14, 2012, the American Cancer Society received the most video posts of the nine selected charities and secured the $4,000 donation prize from Ignite Health.

“We sincerely appreciate when companies like Ignite Health apply their compassion and experience to help people in need and advance causes that seek cures,” said Shauna Levine, Senior Relay For Life Manager at the American Cancer Society. “We were amazed by the outpouring of emotion and love captured on these videos, and want to sincerely thank Ignite Health for this Valentine’s Day gift brought forward through such heartfelt caring and sharing.”

Putting the experience of healthcare professionals, patients, and their caregivers first, Ignite Health, a customer experience agency founded in 2000, is committed to pioneering innovations in communications by leveraging emerging technologies and channels. “’The Love War’ embodies the spirit of our agency,” said Fabio Gratton, founder and Chief Experience Officer at Ignite Health. “We combined our passion for health, our understanding of science and technology, and the skills of our internal Ignite Labs team to help create this unique social donation experiment.”

Ignite Labs, an internal think tank at Ignite Health, was created to help infuse constant innovation into the agency’s client work, as well as explore the possibilities of new platforms and technologies to evaluate their feasibility and effectiveness for broader applications.

Gratton added: “Everyone is talking about the explosive potential of combining game mechanics with social media, in particular, user-generated video content, but there are many variables that can impact the success of these programs. The logic behind social engagement is not always obvious. For example, what makes people do something in one circumstance doesn’t always apply to another. This is also true about technology platforms. Someone might be comfortable posting a video on their family’s YouTube channel, but not if it’s being shared on a Facebook fan page.”

For this project, Ignite partnered with VYou, an innovative social video platform that facilitates instant sharing and almost real-time video conversations. Along the way, by heightening awareness of worthy causes, this initiative created excitement for nonprofit organizations such as the American Diabetes Association, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, and the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.

VYou Premium Partnership Manager, Erik Stern, said: “We enjoyed the opportunity to be the go-to technology for crowd-sourced video content. This was a very unique and well-executed example of using VYou to connect people to a worthy cause.”

Pauline Phan, President of UC Irvine’s Colleges Against Cancer, an organization that brings together college students, faculty, and staff members nationwide who are dedicated to fulfilling the mission of the American Cancer Society, added: “We loved this contest. Imagine what a better place the world would be if more companies with the imagination and wherewithal of Ignite Health devoted more of their expertise and time to creating charitable social experiences like this one.”

To further support organizations such as those featured in the contest, Ignite Health is expanding “The Love War.” While no longer a contest, the campaign is now available on an ongoing basis, allowing people to continue using online video posts to show their support for worthy causes.

About Ignite Health

Ignite Health ranks among the top 20 healthcare agencies and was a finalist in 2011 for MedAdNews' Agency of the Year. With offices in Irvine, Calif., and New York City, Ignite Health offers clients a broad range of fundamental best practices and digital excellence to create unstoppable momentum for brand success across the continuum of a brand's lifecycle. Ignite Health is an inVentiv Health company. For more information, visit http://www.ignitehealth.com.

About inVentiv Health

inVentiv Health, Inc. is a leading global provider of best-in-class clinical, commercial, and consulting services to companies seeking to accelerate performance. inVentiv’s client roster includes more than 550 pharmaceutical, biotech, and life sciences companies. With 13,000 employees in 40 countries, inVentiv rapidly transforms promising ideas into commercial reality. inVentiv Health, Inc. is privately owned by inVentiv Group Holdings Inc., an organization sponsored by affiliates of Thomas H. Lee Partners, L.P., Liberty Lane Partners, and members of the inVentiv management team. For more information, visit http://www.inventivhealth.com.

# # #

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Vince Parry
Ignite Health
646-437-4856
vparry@ignitehealth.com

Spitz Weighs in: FDA Guidance on Product Name, Size & Prominence

Written by Michael Spitz, VP of Engagement Planning, Ignite Health

The FDA’s recent guidance regarding “Product Name Placement, Size, and Prominence in Advertising and Promotional Labeling” features a section of particular interest to digital marketers called “Electronic and Computer-Based Promotional Labeling and Advertisements.”

Here the dual presentation of the established and proprietary names of a drug is stipulated for when the proprietary name is part of the running text (headlines, taglines, etc.), and if the running text spans more than one screen. By calling attention and providing name placement guidance for electronic text going to multiple pages, the FDA is beginning to think about the qualities of digital content, as qualitatively distinct from print and broadcast media—might this new approach usher in an era of FDA guidance specifically focused on the unique and increasingly pressing needs of the digital space?

Only time will tell, but all the signs point to this fresh and very welcome perspective.

FDA Issues Guidance for Industry Regarding Product Name Placement, Size, and Prominence in Advertising and Promotional Labeling

January 2012

[Click here to download full PDF of Guidance]

TOPICS COVERED:

PRODUCTS WITH ONE ACTIVE INGREDIENT
• Juxtaposition of Proprietary and Established Names
• Size of Proprietary and Established Names
• Prominence of Proprietary and Established Names
• Frequency of Disclosure of Proprietary and Established Names:
- Traditional Print Promotional Labeling and Advertisements
- Audio-Visual Promotional Labeling and Broadcast Advertisements
- Electronic and Computer-Based Promotional Labeling and Advertisements
PRODUCTS WITH TWO OR MORE ACTIVE INGREDIENTS

[Click here to download full PDF of Guidance].

[Click here to read Ignite's quick take on the Guidance].

INTRODUCTION

This guidance is intended to clarify the requirements for product name placement, size, prominence, and frequency in promotional labeling and advertising for prescription human drugs, including biological drug products, and prescription animal drugs. The disclosure of the product name in promotional labeling and advertising for these products is important for their proper identification to ensure their safe and effective use.

The Office of Prescription Drug Promotion (OPDP) in the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER), the Office of Surveillance and Compliance (OSC) in the Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM), and the Advertising and Promotional Labeling Branch (APLB) in the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER) frequently receive inquiries about the placement, size, prominence, and frequency of the proprietary name and established name in promotional materials. Generally, the inquiries address two topics: (1) the juxtaposition of the proprietary and established names in relation to certain graphic presentations and (2) problems that stem from obscuring the presentation of, or minimizing disclosure of, the established name.

The placement, size, prominence, and frequency of the proprietary and established names for prescription human drugs, including biological drug products, and prescription animal drugs are specified in labeling and advertising regulations. These regulations are applicable to prescription human and animal drug products that contain one or more active ingredient(s).

The recommendations in this guidance pertain to product names in traditional print media promotion (e.g., journal ads, detail aids, brochures), audio-visual promotional labeling (e.g., videos shown in a healthcare provider’s office), broadcast media promotion (e.g., television advertisements, radio advertisements), and electronic and computer-based promotional labeling and advertisements, such as Internet promotion, social media, e-mails, CD-ROMs, and DVDs.

[Click here to download for PDF of Guidance].

“Search Plus Your World” Could Wreck Pharma’s World

Written by Michael Spitz, Ignite Health's VP of Engagement Planning

[Check out the breaking news and videos here]

Ever since Google realized that its uncontested strength of connecting people with websites paled in comparison to the infinite potential of connecting people with people, the once unstoppable company has made a concerted effort to embrace and conquer not only search, but social media. Following several missteps including the regionally popular Orkut and flat-out embarrassing Buzz, Google Plus recently entered the scene with an interface, features, and functionality in many ways rivaling or exceeding those of Facebook.

The next logical step in the evolution of search toward its inevitable integration with social media is “Search Plus Your World” rolled out this Tuesday, another line extension in Google’s unfolding and often awkward attempt at melding these two worlds and owning the online world. Simply by clicking the “show personal results” icon in the upper right hand corner of the results page users now instantly integrate their Google Plus experience with search, triggering contextually relevant links, status updates, and even photos of Google Plus friends to seamlessly integrate into the results area in a manner that profoundly personalizes search results.

The good news for Google is that it simultaneously advertises the fledgling Google Plus social network in a vital and unprecedented manner, and provides the company with an expansive bolus of data for further refining and customizing search results. The bad news is that a vast majority of search users as yet don’t participate in Google Plus, so the unique benefits of Search Plus beg the question for most folks who can’t take advantage of the functionality in the first place. But the idea makes tremendous digital sense, and is a foreshadowing of how search and social media will soon become indistinguishable from each other.

Enter the concerns of healthcare communicators in general, and pharma marketers in particular. These battle-tested communications veterans had high hopes for Google Plus in that the “Circles” features seemed a way healthcare professionals, patients, and caregivers could segment their friends into discrete groupings enabling private updates, conversations, and content sharing. But what Search Plus seems to do is bust these silos wide open, openly and indiscriminately accessing all this social content and contextually mashing it up within another user’s search results.

So for example, imagine a cancer patient sharing branded treatment content and their personal observations of care with a family member or nurse within a designated and presumably private Circle on Google Plus, only to discover that the content was being potentially shared on the results pages of friends or acquaintances outside that ostensibly private group? In other words any semblance of privacy offered by Google Plus is destroyed by Search Plus, which transforms a private social domain into a public search results page. Similarly challenging issues abound for any branded content, as who knows when and how such content could be displayed.

As privacy issues become manifest Google will no doubt offer ways to tweak and control the various settings. But for healthcare communicators and pharma marketers the verdict, at least for now, is to steer clear of Google Plus when sharing any information that is private, proprietary, or subject to regulatory scrutiny. The future is clear: As search and social meld into a contiguous user experience these issues will play themselves out, presumably with our shifting boundaries of propriety and privacy. Until then, let’s wait and see how Search Plus will influence our world, before we do anything brash to wreck it.

Google Search, Plus Your World - Stories

FDA Draft Guidance & Social Media - Industry Reacts

The Ticket Store Game Launches Online

Offering a Revolutionary Approach to Parenting for a New Generation of Tech-Savvy Familie

As TED (Technology Entertainment Design) keynote speaker Jane McGonigal brought to light in her talk "Gaming Can Make a Better World," we can use desire, focus, rewards and 3 billion hours a week of experience we have with virtual gaming to impact positive changes in the real world.

The Ticket Store Game is the ultimate application of this theory to improve child behavior, introducing an online interactive game and connecting the virtual world with positive behavior changes in the real world. While the traditional board game has been successfully utilized in over 10 countries, the online game brings the concept to a modern level.

With a new generation of families with tech-savvy parents and kids, The Ticket Store Game provides a new virtual platform in which kids are comfortable interacting. As an online children’s development strategy, the game leverages a parent’s effort in behavior modification through positive reinforcement and pioneers modernized virtual relationships for better child listening and responsiveness.

Following Malcolm Gladwell’s "Outliers" formula for success, being 10,000 hours spent on an effort, and knowing kids typically spend that many hours with virtual games by the time they are 18—if even a portion of that time is applied to The Ticket Store Game, the result is "virtuosos" of good behavior.

The Ticket Store Game offers an advanced approach in making responsive and responsible acts attractive. Creating a virtual board game with animated characters and avatars, parents assign each child tasks to complete in exchange for ticketed rewards. Parents/teachers and children craft personalized game boards to provide the ultimate recompense for favorable behavior. A digital piggy bank is available to accumulate tickets and allow the child to use their savings to "cash" in for rewards. A bonus board welcomes kids to move through "Tickieville" to earn additional tickets for community service, online library reading, performing a school activity and more. The Ticket Store Game provides a world of real life experiences to improve kids behavior.

The Ticket Store Game is not just for home use. The concepts of ownership, savings, community service, anti-bullying, acts of kindness and rewards can be incorporated into a classroom, parenting group, or school district, where kids play in competition with others, often for meaningful but inexpensive rewards. Through interactive digital literacy for positive behavior modification, the game has welcomed the next generation of parents, teachers and children who are more responsive to digital stimuli.

For more information on The Ticket Store Game visit www.ticketstoregame.com

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MEDIA CONTACT
Zakarin Martinez
Public Relations
305-372-2502