Merck, BMS' Pargluva recommended for approval by FDA advisory committee

A Food and Drug Administration advisory committee voted 8-1 in favor of approving Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. and Merck & Co. Inc.'s oral Pargluva (muraglitazar) as a monotherapy for treating type 2 diabetes, Dow Jones Newswires reported.

The panel also voted 7-2 in favor of the drug being used in combination with metformin, but voted 6-3 against its use in combination with sulfonylurea drugs.

The Endocrinologic and Metabolic Drugs Advisory Committee was convened to discuss potential cardiovascular risks associated with the drug, which, if approved, would be the first in a new class of drugs called glitazars.

Pargluva studies were conducted in more than 3,000 patients and nine cardiovascular deaths were observed, Dow Jones reported, adding that an FDA reviewer said "the agency could not conclude the deaths were linked to the drug."

Panel member Dr. Thomas Aoki, an endocrinologist at the University of California at Davis, said he thought the potential risks could be monitored and managed, according to Dow Jones. An example he gave was that if patients rapidly gained weight as a result of fluid retention, they should call their physician and be taken off the drug.

Additionally, the FDA noted that just having diabetes increases a person's risk for cardiovascular problems and that other peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor drugs for diabetes are also associated with "dose-related fluid retention ... edema and congestive heart failure," according to Dow Jones.

If Pargluva is approved, Merck and BMS plan to conduct additional studies on the potential cardiovascular risks, Dow Jones stated.

 

Novartis' Starlix plus metformin may be safer...

Novartis' Starlix plus metformin may be safer initial combination therapy than glyburide plus metformin among drug-naïve type 2 diabetes patients

Novartis AG's Starlix (nateglinide) plus metformin may be a safer initial combination therapy than glyburide plus metformin among drug-naïve patients with type 2 diabetes, according to study results published in the September issue of Diabetes Care.

In a double-masked, two-year study, researchers randomized 428 drug-naïve patients with type 2 diabetes to either 120 mg of Starlix before meals or 1.25 mg of glyburide daily in addition to 500 mg of open-label, daily metformin for the initial four weeks.

During a subsequent 12-week titration period, investigators increased glyburide and metformin by 1.25-mg and 500-mg increments to maximum daily doses of 10 mg and 2,000 mg, respectively, if a subject's fasting plasma glucose (FPG) was at least 6.7 mmol/L biweekly. Starlix was not titrated. Researchers maintained blinding by using matching placebo for Starlix and glyburide.

During a subsequent 88-week monitoring period, researchers measured hemoglobin A1C, FPG and postprandial glucose excursions (PPGEs) during an oral glucose tolerance test.

Average HbA1C levels were approximately the same for both groups at baseline (8.4 percent for the Starlix arm vs. 8.3 percent for the other treatment group) and at week 104 (6.9 percent for the Starlix group vs. 6.8 percent for the glyburide arm).

Results indicated that both treatments achieved similar efficacy with differential effects on FPG versus PPGE.

However, hypoglycemia occurred in 8.2 percent and 17.7 percent of patients treated with Starlix/metformin and glyburide/metformin, respectively.

More than 90 percent of patients in both treatment groups experienced one or more adverse events (AEs); most were mild or moderate. Aside from gastrointestinal symptoms and those typically linked to falling glucose, the AE profile mirrored common ailments observed in the general population, the study authors said.

"Similar good glycemic control can be maintained for two years with either treatment regimen, but [Starlix]/metformin may represent a safer approach to initial combination therapy," the authors concluded.

How to Use a Podcast to Promote a White Paper That Generates New Business Sales Leads

How to Use a Podcast to Promote a White Paper That Generates New Business Sales Leads 09/07/2005 (Source: Marketing Sherpa) SUMMARY: First it was email newsletters, then webcasts, then blogs ... and now the newest, hippest, marketing tactic is podcasting. But, just because podcasting is incredibly hip doesn't mean it actually works for campaigns targeting high-level execs in the Fortune 1000. Or can it? Check out our exclusive Case Study detailing how one b-to-b marketer tested podcasting this summer. (Yes, includes sample podcast and results data:)

CHALLENGE "There's tons of clutter in the system," says Paul Dunay. As Director of Global Financial Services Marketing for BearingPoint (NYSE:BE), Dunay faces stiff competition from hundreds of marketers also trying to get attention from top executives in the Global 2000. When it seems like every other marketer on this planet is offering a Sarbanes-Oxley white paper, it's hard to stand out. So, earlier this year, Dunay commissioned a series of research studies, partnering with the Economist's Intelligence Unit, to discover what top global financial execs were really thinking about. He figured the data would make great exclusive content, plus he'd discover pain points future white papers could address. He was right -- the results were fascinating. But, given the competing clutter, even the most fabulous content in the world might not garner the attention it deserved. How could his research grab prospects' attention? CAMPAIGN Naturally, Dunay used his proven system for getting out the word about new white papers. (See link below for our Case Study on his system.) But he wanted to take things one step further. So, he budgeted $1000 extra per new white paper for a podcasting test. (see below for links about podcasting.) Step #1. Pick a format Podcasting only started about a year ago, and few b-to-b marketers have tested it yet. Dunay had to invent his format from scratch. He considered three very different formats: Interview format -- The first idea was to use audio clips from some of the survey interviews. Sounds compelling, top execs revealing their thinking. But, Dunay felt BearingPoint's audio quality would be a key part of the brand .. and recorded telephone conversations just don't have a high-quality production sound. Plus, the goal was to demonstrate BearingPoint's thought leadership, not that of other companies' executives. White paper format -- Dunay's second was to turn whitepapers themselves into podcasts. "We tried reading the whole dang thing into the recorder," he explains. Then he listened to the results. "It was 20 minutes long. I *really* wanted to like it. I listened to about 10 minutes but then I couldn't stand it anymore. It was so painful. It was killing me." You guessed it, using one media as shovel-ware for content developed for another media rarely, if ever, works. Content prospects love to read is not the same as content anyone wants to listen to. White paper summary format -- "I realized, the podcast has got to be no longer than that six-to-eight minute zone. We decided to do a Reader's Digest version of the white papers." Dunay started by creating a nifty must-listen title such as "7 pitfalls of..." Then he copywrote a formal script for the podcast. (This is unlike many podcasts which often have that hand-held-film-style casual flavor.) Step #2. Figure out how to measure results As a paper summary, the podcast became the perfect format to offer the full white paper from. So, instead of replacing a normal white paper, the podcast served as a tantalizing preview of what you'd get if you downloaded the entire white paper. In short - the concept was podcast as white paper marketing campaign. Just as they would for any white paper promo campaign, Dunay's team created a vanity URL to track incoming traffic and created a registration form landing page to post there. Dunay didn't focus on the number of podcast downloads. Instead his measurement goals were: a. percent of podcast listeners who download a white paper b. quality of these leads compared to other sources (determined by tracking via the inside sales department who qualified incoming leads.) c. future activities of these leads on BearingPoint's prospect education site section (determined by cookies over time.) Step #3. Develop the audio brand Dunay worked with his interactive agency to create a branded audio logo for the podcast (see link below for info on audio logos), and to select an actor as BearingPoint's official "voice." Worth noting -- just as with your graphic logo, the voice talent you pick becomes part of your brand over time. If you switch actors, it's a bit like switching logos. Prospects and customers can be confused. (In fact Audible.com has told us regular audio-version newspaper listeners complain vigorously when their regular voice is switched during the reader's vacation.) All vocals were recorded and mixed at a local recording studio. Step #4. Promote the podcasts Dunay wasn't sure if the podcasts would be a hit or not, especially as his key prospects tend to be fairly conservative. So he didn't roll out trumpets and strobe lights for the launch. Instead, the team posted the podcasts and announcements at several related sites including Podblaze, FreshPodcasts.com, and iTunes (all of which currently promote podcasts for free.) They also rolled out a press release and an email announcement to the house list. (Link to samples below.) Their first podcast launched quietly July 29, 2005. RESULTS Joy and exultation! Hundreds of executives downloaded the podcasts. Dunay had hoped that 10% of podcast listeners would respond to the white paper download offer. Instead, 30% did. This 30% proved to be just as qualified as other more standard lead generation streams. We suspect one key factor in this was Dunay's choice of topic. While his titles featured catchy-wording, they were specific and niche enough to cause prospects to be self-selecting. Dunay acknowledges that a clutter-breakthrough tactic will only work this well for a limited time. The novelty value will wear off and results will lessen. In response, he's cranking out as many podcasts as he can to grab the attention while it's hot. The team has put published five podcasts so far, with another three due for release shortly. Each is on a very different topic, designed to get new prospects in to read particular papers (rather than being designed as an ongoing series of 'radio shows' to the same audience.) Despite this 18% of listeners have downloaded more than one BearingPoint podcast - a number that startled Dunay. Best of all, Dunay's internal client was delighted with results. "My boss loves them so much he wants them in Chinese, Japanese, German, British English.... Now we have to produce those for our other national sites." Useful links related to this article: Creative samples, including an actual podcast from BearingPoint: http://www.marketingsherpa.com/bearp2/study.html e-tractions -- the Internet marketing solutions company that BearingPoint used to help create and promote the Podcasts: http://www.e-tractions.com Audiolink -- the recording studio BearingPoint is using: http://www.audiolink.com MarketingSherpa article 'The Brave New(ish) World of Audio Logos & Podcasting': http://library.marketingsherpa.com/sample.cfm?contentID=3049 (Open access)

Proof! Blogs Influence Medicine Purchases

Proof! Blogs Influence Medicine Purchases

by Tracy Inserra at 11:10AM (PDT) on September 7, 2005

A new report was released recently showing that blogs do influence purchase decisions.  Joe Pilotta of iMedia Connection  shares the findings of a BIGresearch’s Simultaneous Media Usage Survey (SIMM VI), in an article titled Blogs, Purchase Decisions and Race yesterday.  The report breaks blogging influences into three categories:

1. Medicine

2. Car/Truck

3. Electronics. 

The impact for the Electronic category surpasses the others but the influence blogs have on Medicinal purchases is obvious.

From the graph in the article it looks as medicine fares as follows:

• Hispanics are influenced somewhere around 3.5%

• African Americans come in just below 2%

• Whites are less influenced in this category at approximately 1%

This is only the beginning.  A year ago the influence of purchases due to blogs for electronics was much lower than it is today. 

Blogs are entering into the Pharma space

Blogs are entering into the Pharma space

by Tracy Inserra at 03:18PM (PDT) on August 16, 2005

 

Blogs are reaching closer to home for the Pharmaceutical Industry.  Yahoo is driving a strong message about health education with two of its blogs.

Yahoo’s Health Expert Blogs is a consortium of health expert’s blogging on specific topics ranging from yoga to cancer.  The latest diabetes entry as of 3:07 PM mountain time, August 16, 2005 is a hot topic in the drug delivery arena - Inhaled Insulin.  Inhaled Insulin was posted by Simeon Margolis M.D., PhD.  He is a professor of medicine and biological chemistry at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.  This article blog was written an hour and 2 minutes ago and already has two responses.  One which is a suggestion for developing a cure. 

If you are AstraZeneca, you will want to watch the Cholesterol & Heart Disease blog.  On Fri, Aug 12, 2005, 12:42 pm PDT a blog article was posted Crestor: Should You Be Taking It?  The first line reads ‘Physicians have reported more serious adverse events to the FDA with the use of Crestor than with three other cholesterol-lowering statin drugs. This finding obviously raises the question of whether you should be taking Crestor.’ This particular post doesn’t have any comments attached to it.  Is no comment good or a bad? 

Take the patient perspective for a moment and imagine the thoughts going through the Crestor® patient’s mind while reading this article. Then imagine this patient going back to read the other side of the story day after day. Three days go by and still no rebuttal, no answer from the pharma company, not even from another doctor.  Would it make the patient call his/her physician and change medications?  This is a definite possibility.  Can AstraZeneca win in this situation?    

Take these examples 10 fold or 1000 fold and imagine the power and potential a blog can have for your therapeutic area, drug, patient or physician base.  The possibilities are infinite. Blogs do not stand alone they solicit comments, RSS Feeds, Tags, Permalinks and Trackbacks.  Not to mention this is a global medium! 

A pharmaceutical company with a drug in one of Yahoo’s Health Expert categories should ask itself several questions.  The first question should be, do we know the ‘expert blogger’?  If so what is our relationship with this professional?  If the expert blogger is one of your thought leaders is this a good or bad situation to be in?  Are there legal ramifications?

The marketing department may ask questions such as ‘do we know the ‘expert blogger’  should we get him/her a sample?  Should we advertise on this page?

The other notable Yahoo blog is Blog for Hope.  This blog is a temporary blog effort  between Yahoo and the American Cancer Society.  The objective of this blog…promotion… is to ‘connect individuals in the fight against cancer.’  An ingenious idea, the blog has celebrities such as Deepak Chopra, Hillary Clinton, Sam Donaldson, Peggy Flemming and others share their personal stories via the blog.  Fran Drescher writes ‘I got famous, I got cancer, and I LIVED to talk about it. Once you wake up and smell the coffee, it’s hard to go back to sleep.

So let me sound the alarm! We must become better medical consumers. We must challenge our physicians…’  She has 397 comments as of this writing.

This is a great example of using blogs to reach the masses for health education.  

With blogs on the up rise Pharma should expect its patient and physician base to read a posting about the company, a therapeutic area, drug or drug class they manufacture a product for at least once a week if not more often. 

Pharma should ask itself four more very important questions in relation to blog media. 

1. Do we know enough about blogs? 
2. Are we prepared for this new revolution?
3. How do we keep track of this medium?
4. How do we respond?

 

HARTE-HANKS: MARKETERS INVESTING RESOURCES IN E-MARKETING, DATABASE DEVELOPMENT IN 2005

HARTE-HANKS: MARKETERS INVESTING RESOURCES IN E-MARKETING, DATABASE DEVELOPMENT IN 2005


NEW YORK – August 22, 2005 – A new survey report underwritten by Harte-Hanks, Inc. (NYSE:HHS) and prepared by CSO Insights, Inc., reveals that more than one in five organizations spend more than 45 percent of their entire marketing budgets on "target marketing," and an additional two in five spend between 15 percent and 45 percent on such activity.

According to 2005 Executive Report: Target Marketing Priorities Analysis, nearly three of four companies plan higher investments in database management this year; three in five companies are planning to spend more on e-mail, Web design and data quality initiatives; and more than one in two on search marketing.

A total of 281 companies participated in the survey, reflecting a cross-section of vertical markets among them retail, manufacturing, high-tech and services, among other categories. The survey, conducted via the Web in April and May 2005, was distributed to senior marketing executives from a combination of proprietary and commercially available sources. One in four responses represent firms of more than $1 billion in revenues, and nearly 70 percent of firms are located in the United States. Confidence interval is ± 6 percent (for 95-percent confidence level).

The report was co-authored by Jim Dickie and Barry Trailer, both partners of CSO Insights, based in Boulder, CO (http://www.csoinsights.com), with additional analysis provided by market researchers at Harte-Hanks.

"Database and interactive marketing lead all categories in new marketing investments," said Richard Hochhauser, president and chief executive officer, Harte-Hanks, Inc., in announcing the availability of the full study report. "Web sites and e-mail, in particular, really show strength. Yet struggles with data quality and data management remain pervasive. There is more work to do."

According to the study, 43 percent of respondents have a regular or constant program to support personalization and one-to-one marketing; 33 percent feel they are "good" or "very good" at calculating customer profitability; but more than a third rate their database management as "poor" or "very poor" (just 12 percent rate themselves "very good"). Further, 53 percent of respondents believe that their own customer data are at least 75 percent accurate – and 40 percent of respondents believe that less than half their prospect data are correct.

"Disciplined planning still eludes many marketing organizations," said Hochhauser, who noted that 58 percent of firms have an informal or no process at all for direct marketing planning, while 42 percent do.

Other observations from the report findings:

• 'Mission Critical' Web Sites, Search and E-mail: Among respondents, Web sites and micro-sites, search optimization and e-mail marketing are described as "mission critical" by 53 percent, 43 percent and 41 percent, respectively. Wireless messaging and blogs still have not "broken through" – just 7 percent and 5 percent, respectively, rate these interactive media as "mission critical."
• Market Research and Analytics are Priorities: Businesses want more customer insight in the way of understanding perception of product and services (49 percent), knowing reasons why customers buy and respond (49 percent), and knowing the impact of marketing on awareness, attitudes and intentions (49 percent).
• Lists and Segmentation Challenge Direct Mail: The availability of the right "lists" (66 percent) and the ability to mail the right segments (65 percent) are top cited challenges for postal mail.
• Telemarketing Stays the Course: Fifty-six percent of respondents indicated that they have not shifted marketing from outbound telemarketing, despite added government regulation.
• Information Concerns for an Interactive Age: Security (60 percent), privacy (59 percent), spam (56 percent), and data accuracy (56 percent) are among top levels of concern for digital marketing.

An executive summary and table of contents of the report is available from Harte-Hanks by contacting the company toll-free (USA only), (800) 456-9748 or via e-mail at mailto:contactus@harte-hanks.com?subject=. A full 79-page report also is available.

[Editor's Note: A copy of the full study itself and selected charts from the study are available to editorial members of the media. Harte-Hanks and CSO Insights ask that the report not be posted in its entirety until after October 2005, when links to the full report will be public. Contact Chet Dalzell at (212) 520-3232, or mailto:chet_dalzell@harte-hanks.com?subject=, to request a hard or soft copy of the executive summary or full report.]


n=235
Source: 2005 Executive Report: Target Marketing Priorities Analysis, Harte-Hanks

About CSO Insights
CSO Insights is a research firm that specializes in benchmarking how companies are leveraging people, process, technology, and knowledge to optimize the way they market and sell to customers. During the past ten years, CSO Insight's survey of more than 5,000 sales effectiveness initiatives has become the benchmark for tracking the evolution of how the role of sales is changing, the challenges that are impacting sales performance, and most importantly, what companies are doing to address these issues. For more information, go to http://www.csoinsights.com .

About Harte-Hanks
Harte-Hanks, Inc., San Antonio, TX, is a worldwide, direct and targeted marketing company that provides direct marketing services and shopper advertising opportunities to a wide range of local, regional, national and international consumer and business-to-business marketers. Harte-Hanks Direct Marketing improves the return on its clients' marketing investment with a range of services organized around five solution points: Construct and update the database -- Access the data -- Analyze the data -- Apply the knowledge -- Execute the programs. Expert at each element within this process, Harte-Hanks Direct Marketing is highly skilled at tailoring solutions for each of the vertical markets it serves. Harte-Hanks Shoppers is North America's largest owner, operator and distributor of shopper publications, with shoppers that are zoned into more than 1000 separate editions with circulation of 12 million in California and Florida each week. Visit the Harte-Hanks Web site at http://www.harte-hanks.com or call (800) 456-9748.

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ipod gives birth...

http://www.engadget.com/entry/1234000153057792/

WSJ: Blog-only search engines popping up online

WSJ: Blog-only search engines popping up online

With the number of blogs estimated to be about 16.5 million and rising every day, consumers and Internet start-ups are finding ways to sort through the clutter, according to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ). Unlike search giants such as Google and Yahoo! that search billions of Web pages and, as of now, don't allow blog-only searches, new sites use a variety of Web-tracking tools to perform nearly real-time searches of new blog posts. For example, the most popular of these sites, Technorati.com, monitors blogs using a mechanism called "pinging," where bloggers send out an electronic notice called a ping when they finish posting. Some sites comb through news feeds, while others use automated Web crawlers to search for new entries, says WSJ. Other blog-searching sites include IceRocket.com, Feedster.com, DayPop.com, and BlogLines.com.

 

How (and Why) DTCs Can Use Search Engine Marketing

How (and Why) DTCs Can Use Search Engine Marketing

By Scott Delea, SVP and GM, DigitalGrit, Inc.

What’s the most effective tool available to DTC marketers with limited budgets?

The easy answer: Search Engine Marketing. Last year, $7.3billion was spent on Internet marketing, exceeding the spending highs of the Web’s turn-of-the-century heyday.2 In the second quarter of 2004, 40% of all Internet advertising dollars ($947 million) were spent on Search Marketing – a sure sign that smart marketers know where the highest return on investment is.

“Pharmaceutical companies are starting to pay closer attention to advertising ROI and their DTC budgets have shifted accordingly,” says Mary Ann Belliveau, Head of Healthcare in Google’s Vertical Markets Group. “People today spend as much time on the Internet as they do watching television, and we’re seeing brands plan their ad campaigns in a much more integrated manner than ever before. Pharmaceutical companies realize that the wide reach they get with television ads prompt consumers to go to a search engine like Google to research information about both the condition and the brand.”

With Google and Yahoo! among the most heavily visited sites on the Web, it’s clear that her assertion is true (MSN and AOL, with searches fed by Google and Yahoo!’s Overture network are also among the most popular) 5 . Consumers now turn to the Web, not just for work or entertainment, but for information about health and wellness for themselves and their families. 6 In fact, Google is the top referral site for the Healthcare industry, referring over 53% of users to doctor’s sites and over 49% of users to medical sites.

Why is search so popular? A few good reasons: High ROI, pinpoint targeting and true accountability. With the majority of paid Search campaigns charged by the click, advertisers pay only for the leads they receive. (Click prices vary widely as keywords are typically bid upon. The more popular the keyword, the higher the price.) Astounding results can be achieved with as little as 10% of an existing marketing budget.

The ability to zero in on a target audience makes Search especially effective. By bidding on keywords – or search terms – that relate to their product, marketers can place their information right in the path of consumers who are actively seeking health information. For example, the marketer for a prescription allergy treatment might bid on keywords and phrases like “nasal congestion,” “pollen” and “itchy eyes,” as well as their product name. This way, consumers performing searches on any of these terms will find information on that product.

Also attractive is the accountability of Search. Clicks can be tracked accurately and easily – often within the Search Engine itself. (Google and Overture both offer basic campaign tracking.) So marketers can not only see how well their campaigns are performing, but what time of day their ads pull the most, which keywords are working best for them, and where the majority of their traffic is coming from.

Furthermore, because Search campaigns exist – and can be monitored – in real time, testing and tweaking can be affected easily. If a campaign isn’t performing well, keywords can be changed, copy can be altered, and clicks can be redirected – almost instantaneously.

Touching Consumers at Every Stage “DTC Search advertising allows pharmaceutical companies to reach patients at every stage of the pharmaceutical buying cycle,” observes Belliveau. “These programs can be used to reach the undiagnosed population and drive them to seek treatment; create a dialogue between patients and physicians; educate diagnosed patients; increase brand awareness; encourage patient compliance and build brand loyalty.”

Having a Search campaign, according to Belliveau, “allows the brands to reach consumers when they are raising their hand saying ‘Please tell me more about high cholesterol treatments.’ Search advertising is a powerful DTC marketing vehicle.” Search presents the opportunity for DTC marketers to put their products in front of these potential customers in the most effective way. Search offers a “pull,” as opposed to the uninvited “push” of TV ads. Consumers are trolling the Web, actively looking for product information. Their next step is likely to be a trip (or at least a phone call) to their physician – and you want them to ask about your product.

As an example, a patient who suspects they have a specific illness or condition, say, rheumatoid arthritis, may perform a search to learn more about the condition and available treatments, as 55% of online consumers do11. Similarly, a patient who is already on a course of antivirals may have questions throughout his treatment. He may be too embarrassed to call his doctor and first perform a quick search on “herpes treatment” to find the information he needs. (In fact, 48% of prescription drug buyers with Web access report going online to research a drug after receiving a prescription from their doctor.12)

Both scenarios present the opportunity to create a long-term, loyal customer. By providing relevant, informative Search results (and of course, useful information on your product’s site) you can make this consumer feel safe and confident in his course of treatment. Patients may turn to online Search for answers to the questions they’re too embarrassed to ask their doctors. Marketers have the capability, through Search Engine Marketing, to provide these consumers with answers to the questions they have about their prescription medications – and subsequently create a high-level of brand loyalty.

How does Search Engine Marketing work?

Search Engine Marketing (SEM) may seem a little trickier than other areas of Internet marketing simply because there are three different approaches yielding similar results. Here are some definitions of the key types of search listings as defined by the Search Engine Marketing Professional Organization (SEMPO).

Paid Placement: Advertising program where listings are guaranteed to appear in response to particular search terms, with higher ranking typically obtained by paying more than other advertisers. Paid placement listings can be purchased from a portal or a Search network. Search networks are often set up in an auction environment where keywords and phrases are associated with a cost-per-click (CPC) fee. Overture and Google are the largest networks, but MSN and other portals sometimes sell paid placement listings directly as well. Portal sponsorships are also a type of paid placement.

Basically, Paid Placements are brief advertisements that appear as “sponsored links” in most Search Engines. In sites powered by Overture (like Yahoo and MSN), these ads appear as the top listings, as well as along the right-hand column of the page. In Google, through their AdWords program, ads appear only in the right-hand column. Generally, these advertisements are purchased via keyword bidding – selecting a term that best matches your product and a per-click price that you’re willing to pay for it. Based on your bid, your ad will appear higher or lower in the ranking of results. With these ads, you only pay for the traffic you receive. That is, you only pay if someone actually clicks through your listing.

Paid Inclusion: Advertising program where pages are guaranteed to be included in a search engine's index in exchange for payment, though no guarantee of ranking well is typically given.

This is fairly self-explanatory. For site listings with Overture or AskJeeves – particularly if your site has been created with Flash, is frames-based, or features frequently-changing content -- Paid Inclusion is the best way to go. Overture’s SiteMatch option charges reasonable per-page fees for listings, then serves up results based on their relevance to search terms. Google does not offer paid inclusion.

Organic Listings: Listings that search engines do not sell (unlike paid listings). Instead, sites appear solely because a search engine has deemed it editorially important for them to be included, regardless of payment. Paid inclusion content is also often considered "organic" even though it is paid for. This is because that content usually appears intermixed with unpaid organic results.

If you like to play the odds, Organic Search is for you. Results aren’t guaranteed. In fact, if your pages change frequently or were created using Flash, your site might not show up at all. That’s because Search Engines send “spiders” over the Web to seek out text-based content for Organic Search results. For example, if a consumer performs a search on the term “GERD,” the spider will scan the Web looking for Web pages containing that term. The results will be listed in order of relevance – as determined by the Search Engine, not the marketer. Which means if you’re the marketer for a well-known DTC GERD treatment, your listing could be at the top – or somewhere on the fifth page of search results.

And if you are at all concerned about the credibility of Paid Placement or Paid Inclusion listings, you needn’t be. Research shows that the majority of Search users – at least 71% -- are unconcerned about sponsored links and listings.

Scott Delea is Senior Vice President and General Manager of eMarketing Services at DigitalGrit Inc. Scott can be reached at sdelea@DigitalGrit.com.

Social Marketing Comes In Four Flavors

Social Marketing Comes In Four Flavors Consumers' trust in traditional forms of advertising is waning. In 2004, less than 50% of consumers trusted TV and radio ads, and only slightly more trusted print ads. What's more, consumers increasingly say they're bombarded with too many irrelevant ads. These negative attitudes toward traditional marketing have led consumers to take measures to block direct mailers, telemarketers, and TV advertisers from their homes in an accelerating consumer ad backlash. Social or viral marketing -- with its minimal obtrusiveness and trustworthy sources (often other consumers) -- avoids most of the anti-ad reactions that fuel the backlash. By engaging consumers in a dialogue about their products or encouraging consumer-to-consumer dialogue, marketers inevitably lose some control over the message of their campaigns. But what marketers may lose in control, they gain in audience attention, velocity of communication, and much-needed trust from loyal consumers. Tools For Social Marketing How can marketers connect with jaded consumers who avoid traditional campaigns with spam-blockers, DVRs, and Do-Not-Call lists? Four flavors of social marketing can help:

1: Word-of-mouth (WOM) Marketing Disillusioned consumers -- those who've lost trust in marketers -- now turn to each other for trustworthy product information. This consumer-to-consumer "buzz" naturally occurs without the intervention of marketers -- 46% of North American consumers often tell friends and family about products that interest them. When marketers get involved to stimulate WOM activity -- like P&G did when it offered to donate money to an energy-saving charity if Tide Coldwater users sent along product samples -- they must relinquish the control they would have had over a traditional campaign. But this is a small price to pay for the increase in consumer trust created by WOM marketing. While Tide created a buzz arou! nd Coldwater based on environmental awareness, Burger King's successful "Subservient Chicken" Webcast created a humorous buzz for its BK Tender Crisp. 2: Blogs Blogs (think: online journal) provide a venue for marketers and consumers to open a dialogue and facilitate WOM marketing among consumers. Blogs can be a space where corporate executives post their musings and consumers respond, marketers solicit consumers to post reviews of products, or consumers connect and recommend products to each other. Blogs about kids' issues help Stonyfield Farm create a dialogue with parents. Vespa's blogs give its consumers the opportunity to share Vespa scooter experiences. 3: RSS Really Simple Syndication (RSS) is an XML standard that gives consumers the opportunity to aggregate all of their information into one location. RSS provides marketers with many options to reach consumers: Feed sponsorships, ad placements within feeds, and ad headlines are only a few. Though current adoption of RSS is relatively low (only 2% of North American online adults use RSS today), those who use this technology now are the valuable, information-hungry consumers of tomorrow (see figure above). Marketers like Purina and Apple use RSS to inform consumers about new products, send updates about product support, and disseminate consumer-generated content from their Web sites. 4: Podcasting Like RSS, podcasting separates media from a single channel, delivering audio content in a new way. For marketers, podcasts provide opportunities for sponsorships, on-air ads, and original product-specific content. The upside? A captive audience. The downside? A small audience (only 10% of online adults are familiar with podcasting) but a growing one, especially with the addition of a podcasting library in iTunes, which lists more than 600 podcasts about technology and 100 about travel. Marketers looking to repeatedly reach a valuable, younger, tech-savvy crowd should actively explore this new medium. So while traditional one-way marketing campaigns are losing their audience to consumers' ad fatigue, multitasking, and distrust of marketing messages, marketing itself is not dead. It's just gone to the masses. Get involved in the dialogue. If you're interested in learning more about why social marketing works and how to do it, come to our upcoming Boot Camp. Social Marketing: Tapping Into The Power Of Connected Customers with Charlene Li and Jim Nail will take place October 13, 2005, in San Francisco. For details, contact Jennifer Joseph at jjoseph@forrester.com. In the upcoming weeks, look for research on Internet video, mature consumers (55+), advergames, young bloggers, local search, consumer security and phishing, social computing, the CE retail purchase process, mobile music, youth and music, and database marketing trends. Chris Charron Vice President, Research Director Devices, Media, & Marketing Research P.S. If you'd like to suggest research for us to write or if there are data points you're looking to track down, feel free to drop me a line anytime at chrischarron@forrester.com.   Research Referenced In This Issue Best Practices In Market Mix Modeling (35129) Blogging: Bubble Or Big Deal? (35000)    Charting The Course Of Marketing Software (37565) Financial Services Email Marketing Best Practices (37274) Getting Real About Podcasting (37473) How To Build A Word-Of-Mouth Marketing Campaign (37018) Podcasting For Marketers (37016) RSS 101 For Marketers (37422) The Consumer Advertising Backlash Worsens (35123) The North American Consumer: Online Retail Update (36730) The State Of Consumers And Technology: Benchmark 2005 (36987)    The Truth About Teens And Advertising (37574) The Web's Latest Trend: Fashion (37531) Using RSS As A Marketing Tool (35005) VoIP Liberates Voice From The Phone (35749) What Consumers Plan To Do With Content (36741) What's Driving The Hot Consumer PC Market? (37050) What's In Store For Marketing In 2005? (35593) What's The Buzz On Word-Of-Mouth Marketing? (36916) Word-Of-Mouth Marketing Needs Ethics Now (37044)

 

Focus Features Promotes 'Wolf' With IM Game

Focus Features Promotes 'Wolf' With IM Game

by Shankar Gupta, Monday, Aug 29, 2005 6:00 AM EST

IN A SIGN OF THE movie industry's effort to expand beyond traditional advertising, Universal Pictures' Focus Features two weeks ago quietly started promoting its upcoming movie "Cry Wolf" via an online game played on America Online's instant messaging service. Recently, Focus Features has made news for eschewing traditional advertising in favor of blogs and other newer media. The New York Times reported last week that Focus purchased ads for the upcoming movie "The Constant Gardener" on the blog Wonkette, owned by Gakwer Media, as well as Web sites of magazines. For the game, players attempt to identify the "wolves in sheep's clothing," while messaging with other players in an AIM-powered chat room. The game involves dividing players into "sheep" and "wolves." The sheep have to vote on which players they believe are wolves, while the wolves attempt to hide their identities. Players receive clues, but most of the voting is based on comments made by other players in the chat room. The game, which launched Aug. 15, requires a valid instant messenger screen name, and supports six 200-player "lobbies," each of which can support dozens of individual games at a time, with each game hosting up to 15 players. An AIM spokeswoman said the game's concept came from AOL, while development was outsourced to Klear Games. "Cry Wolf," which is scheduled for release Sept. 16, came out of the 2002 Chrysler Million Dollar Film Festival, which offered independent film producers the chance to win a million dollars to produce their movies. AOL was one of the sponsors. The original title was "Living the Lie." The film tells the story of a group of bored boarding school students who invent a story about a serial killer and post it on the Web, only to have their created killer develop a life of his own. The film is being distributed by Rogue Films, which is a division of Focus Features.

 

African-Americans, Hispanics influenced more by new media than whites

African-Americans, Hispanics influenced more by new media than whites

A higher percentage of African-Americans and Hispanics than whites are influenced in their purchasing decisions for medicines via new media, such as picture phones, instant messaging, and blogging, says Joe Pilotta, PhD, vice president of research for BIGresearch which conducted the study. "The new mobile lifestyle is much more a part of the Hispanic and African-American lifestyle than it is for whites," he tells ePharmaceuticals. Talking to others as an ongoing, everyday experience for social confirmation is more prevalent among Hispanics and African-Americans, he says. BIGresearch's "2005 Simultaneous Media Survey" also shows that word-of-mouth and reading an article have equal amounts of influence over all the three groups, and Pilotta says that those two methods are still more effective and better overall for medicine promotion and advertising.

FDA okays genetic test for more personalized medicine

FDA okays genetic test for more personalized medicine

Personalized medicine has taken another step forward with the FDA's marketing approval of a genetic test that helps determine the correct dosage of certain drugs for individual patients, according to the FDA. The test, from Wisconsin-based Third Wave Technologies, detects variations in the gene UGT1A1, which affects how certain drugs are processed in the body and shows that people with different gene variations should receive different doses of the same drug. For example, the test was studied on a group of 66 patients receiving the drug irinotecan for colon cancer treatment. The study showed that people with one type of gene variation have a five times greater risk of irinotecan toxicity than other patients, says the FDA. The test, Invader UGT1A1 Molecular Assay, joins several other personalized medicine tools, including the Roche AmpliChip and the TRUGENE HIV-1 Genotyping Kit.

 

African American health Web site gets 2.5 million hits monthly

African American health Web site gets 2.5 million hits monthly

NetWellness.org has expanded its online African American health center to include original articles written by experts, an Ask an Expert section on health topics relevant to African Americans, and links to other relevant Web sites. The site, which receives 2.5 million hits each month, is aimed at providing consumer-focused content on African American health that may improve health outcomes for individuals, reaching those traditionally underserved through computers and Internet service at most public libraries. The University of Cincinnati, Ohio State University, and Case Western Reserve University sponsor the site. The Ohio State University Medical Center, due to its advanced information technology tools, was recently named one of the country's "most wired" hospitals (ePharm5, 7/14/05).

Bayer sponsoring bilingual program for prostate cancer education

Bayer sponsoring bilingual program for prostate cancer education

Bayer is sponsoring a series of 15 bilingual prostate cancer education and screening events throughout the Los Angeles county area with the Real Men Cook Foundation for Early Detection of Prostate Cancer, according to Bayer. Bayer and the foundation are sponsoring and running the events, which will use open forums conducted in English and Spanish to educate men about prostate cancer awareness, screening, and treatment. The program will also provide free consultations and confidential prostate cancer screenings to men 40 years and older. The Real Men Cook Foundation's Web site features a video about prostate cancer awareness. Bayer makes the prostate cancer treatment Viadur.

PediaMed launches text-messaging Rx compliance program

PediaMed launches text-messaging Rx compliance program

Pediatrics pharma PediaMed has launched a compliance program that uses text messages to remind teens to regularly apply their acne medication, Tazorac, the company reports. Teens can sign up for the program at the Web site 8TDaze.com by entering a promotional code that comes with a Tazorac sample from a doctor. Once users enter the code, they can opt-in to the program to receive text messages reminding them to continue with their treatment and offering free downloads, such as wallpaper, ringtones, and a $10 coupon for more choices of wallpaper and ringtones, according to the site. PediaMed partnered with mobile media company Virtu Mobile and healthcare ad firm Dudnyk to develop the program, according to the companies. Go to the Web site to learn more.

 

DTC Voluntary 'Guiding Principles' Receive Preliminary Approval by PhRMA Board of Directors

DTC Voluntary ‘Guiding Principles’ Receive Preliminary Approval by PhRMA Board of Directors

July 21, 2005

 

Washington, D.C. — Listening to the concerns of consumers, physicians and other healthcare professionals, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America’s Board of Directors today gave preliminary approval to a set of comprehensive “Guiding Principles” on direct-to-consumer advertising of prescription medicines. 

 

“Direct-to-consumer advertising can be vitally important to patient education, increasing awareness of diseases and motivating patients to contact their physicians.  By approving these Principles, the industry is demonstrating its commitment to direct-to-consumer advertising as a way to encourage doctor-patient discussions and provide patients and consumers with accurate, accessible and timely health information,” said Billy Tauzin, president and CEO of PhRMA.

 

“With these Principles, we recognize our responsibility to make sure that direct-to-consumer advertisements live up to their potential,” said William C. Weldon, chairman and CEO of Johnson & Johnson and PhRMA board chairman.  “We want to make patients more aware of the benefits and risks of medicines and of the importance of talking to their health care providers, not only about medicines, but also about other treatment options that might help them.”

 

PhRMA and its member companies have been working for the last several months to create the Principles to ensure that direct-to-consumer advertising in the future is even more informational and educational to patients and consumers.

 

“For many Americans, advertisements can be a good source of information on prescription medicines.  Patients should have access to a wide range of health information which is especially important at a time when under-diagnosis and under-treatment of serious diseases and medical conditions afflict millions of Americans,” said Karen Katen, Pfizer vice chairman and president of Human Health, who also chairs PhRMA’s Group on Access and Affordability (GAA).

  

Some of the areas addressed by the Guiding Principles, which go beyond current FDA regulations, include:

• Conversations with physicians prior to the launch of a new direct-to-consumer campaign.  
• TV advertisements should be targeted for audience and age appropriateness.
• Companies should promote health and disease awareness as part of their advertising.
• Companies are encouraged to include information about assistance programs for the uninsured and low-income.

 

Additionally, to help achieve better consumer education, the Principles say all direct-to-consumer advertising “should be accurate and not misleading; make claims only when supported by substantial evidence; reflect balance between risks and benefits; and be consistent with FDA-approved labeling.”

 

According to Tauzin, the PhRMA Board has approved the substance of the Principles and PhRMA is working out the final details regarding some of the specific language.

 

The Principles will then go before each PhRMA member company for its consideration, voluntary adoption and implementation.

 

The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) represents the country’s leading pharmaceutical research and biotechnology companies, which are devoted to inventing medicines that allow patients to live longer, healthier, and more productive lives.  PhRMA members alone invested an estimated $38.8 billion in 2004 in discovering and developing new medicines.  PhRMA companies are leading the way in the search for new cures. 

 

The Pocket Guide to Consumer Generated Media

The Pocket Guide to Consumer Generated Media
By Pete Blackshaw
June 28, 2005

http://www.clickz.com/experts/brand/cmo/article.php/3515576

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.