Pfizer did it. Bayer is doing it. So are J&J, Novartis, and others.There is evidence that use of mobile market ing is slowly taking hold in the industry. As texting grows within the United States from teens BFFing and ^5ing to baby boomers using short codes to respond to ads, pharma is slowly SU2P (stepping up to the plate). THETEXTTIDE IS TURNING Several factors have converged recently to create a more robust environ ment for mobile marketing pharma pioneers. One, while the United States has been behind other countries — such as the United Kingdom and many countries in Asia — in its use of text messaging, it is beginning to show growth, racking up more than 240.8 billion texts a year in 2007, an increase from 57.2 billion in 2005, according to CTIAThe Wireless Asso ciation, an international nonprofit membership organization. According to a recent eMarketer report, U.S. mobile spending is pro jected to almost double to $1.7 billion this year. (Please see chart on page 30 for more information.) 28 BY ROBIN ROBINSON (At the end of the day, MOBILE MARKETING is on its way. AREYOU READY?) Mobile marketing is gaining ground in pharma @TEOTD, MM is OIW. RU RD? M a y 20 08 PharmaVOICE P PV0508 Issue FINAL2 4/23/08 10:36 AM Page 28 MOBILE marketing Some experts say shows like American Idol have been the biggest influences in increasing the use of text messaging in this country. The public voting via short codes during the popular televised singing competi tion has allowed the Ameri can public to become very comfortable with giving and receiving informa tion over their cell phones. “The U.K. traditionally has been hotter, but in the past 12 months the United States has caught up incredibly quickly,” says Tim Davis, cofounder of Exco InTouch. “Today in the Unit ed States, 80% of the population across all demographics has cell phones and there isn’t a bump in the younger segment, which is some what unique to the United States. Shows like Dancing with the Stars and American Idol that use textmessage voting facilities have driven up the social acceptance of mobile marketing techniques. Even U.S. presidential campaigns are using text messaging.” Mr. Davis, based in the U.K., reports that all Central European and former Eastern Euro pean countries have tremendous cell phone penetration. As a nation the U.K. sends 1 bil lion text messages a week — 150 text mes sages per person on a monthly basis. Asia Pacific countries are using cuttingedge mobile technology extensively and Latin America is catching up quickly. Facebook also has helped define where social networking Websites and mobile can meet, says Geoff Melick, senior VP, managing director at Kinect. “People `friend’ others or update their per sonal information without actually going online,” he says. “Social media, such as Face book, have extended to a much broader audi ence past the `traditional’ Web browsing peo ple do on their phones or other mobile devices.” Other countries, such as the United King dom, the Philippines, and Asia use text mes sages far more than Americans. Obviously the onset of Internetenabled multimedia devices, such as the iPhone, have helped to boost the mobile trend, but the fact that most cell phones are now designed to eas ily accommodate texting also is a contributing factor, says Robert Flynn, CEO of Pulse Media Response. “QWERTY phones and devices are cur rently marketed to business people as much as consumers now that the installed base has grown and it is easier to text people,” Mr. Melick agrees. TOO EARLY FOR THE BANDWAGON? With the growing consumer acceptance and the worldwide proliferation of mobile devices — there are more cell phones than people in some countries — mobile marketing might seem like a nobrainer to pharma brand teams. But not everyone in the industry thinks mobile marketing is worth the invest ment. Consumer resistance to spam, privacy, and low optin rates could all jeopardize adding mobile to the marketing mix. Mobile marketing to consumers is still too risky for pharma to warrant the investment, says Donna Wray, management advisor, TGaS Advisors. According to Ms. Wray, fewer than 10% of TGaS Advisors’ benchmark brands are using cell phones and PDAs to reach con sumers, and those that have tried the medium 29 PharmaVOICE M a y 20 08 MOBILE BEST PRACTICES ANDTIPS FORPHARMACEUTICALCOMPANIESTHATAREREADYTOVENTUREDOWNTHEMOBILE PATH,MICHAELDEVLIN,EXECUTIVEVPANDMANAGINGDIRECTOR,CONSUMER, CONCENTRICPHARMAADVERTISING,HASSEVERALTIPSFORMARKETERS. Look at the overall objective:Who are you trying to speak to? What kind of dialogue are you looking to spark? Is this brand relevant right now to your customers and community,and if so, how do you deepen that awareness? If not, how do you spark that connection? Mobile marketing used to be a nicetohave option and was added if there was money available, but if the budget got cut, it was the first to go. In the coming year, mobile marketing is expected to become a permanent option.Eventually, it will command a piece of the budget. The commitment level is deepening and companies now really need to makemobile fit into their overall plans. Use mobile to supplement other efforts. DTC can only take a brand so far. And not every company has DTC money,so mobile is a great way for a brand to create a personal connec tion with someone.Companies are finding that the value of digital and mobile media is a lot more than branding awareness.The media and the way people are interacting with media have changed so drastically that today it’s all about providing multiple channels and giving consumers as many options as possible. Dig into the target market:Who are they?Where’s the best place to have a conversation with them? And determine how the audience is utilizing media. TIPNO.1 TIPNO.2 TIPNO.3 While there is a boom in mobile marketing to physicians, there certainly is not a boom in pharma mobile marketing to consumers. DONNAWRAY,TGAS ADVISORS PV0508 Issue FINAL2 4/23/08 10:36 AM Page 29 MOBILE marketing are less than satisfied with the results. “I can’t recommend mobile marketing for the consumer side this year,” Ms. Wray says. “Sure, people do opt in to compliance programs all the time, but they do that for information, not for refill reminders. In my experience, e mail refill reminders are cheap to implement, but often less than 2% of visitors to a Website will opt in. Since cell phone reminders would be more intrusive, I would expect the optin rate to be miniscule.” ROI models suggest that even if opt ins were at a meaningful level, half of prescription brands would not see a positive ROI for this channel, according to TGaS Advisors bench mark results. A mobile device is another channel in multichannel marketing that pharma can use to achieve the strategic objectives of a brand. But not all brands have a viable mobile oppor tunity. Mobile is not like a Website; not every brand has a mobile marketing plan, Mr. Melick cautions. “The types of products that may benefit from mobile marketing are those that target chronic conditions where daily or neardaily compli ance is necessary or where patients must take multiple pills per day,” he says. Reaching physicians with mobile messaging is a different story: 58% of TGaS Advisors’ clients use mobile means to reach physicians, up from 40% in 2007 and 29% in 2006. “On the healthcare provider side, PDAs are a popular channel and acceptance is really picking up, even though it is a fairly mature channel,” Ms. Wray says. Since the pharma industry has had to restrict personal promotion to physicians, the PDA provides an alternative, yet direct channel to the physician that cuts through the clutter, Ms. Wray says. She views the ubiquity of cell phones as a plus, and says eventually using the medium to communicate with consumers will be effective. “The consumer packaged goods industry is experimenting with delivering coupons over the phone and free trial offers or ongoing coupons through CRM programs,” she says. “When big pharmacy chains get involved in these programs and work out all the bugs, I can envision how this would be a good strate gy for pharma, but that probably won’t hap pen until after 2009.” “I’m pretty sure in two to five years things are going to be dramatically different,” Mr. Flynn says. “U.S. mobile advertising is expect ed to grow to $4.7 billion by 2011. This year, companies are starting to test out mobile and text short code responses. I believe there will be more growth on the advertising side with reminders and motivational messages.” Even in the first few months of 2008, there has been a huge groundswell of interest com pared with two years ago when the main focus was the Internet. “A more multichannel approach is the new area of focus for pharma,” Mr. Davis says. Mr. Davis predicts that in five years more people will be accessing the Internet from their cell phones worldwide. Website content and design will be created around the use of cell phones and reminders will be driven from central Web services. Within 10 years, he sur mises, patients may be monitored through 30 M a y 20 08 PharmaVOICE MOBILE ADVERTISING SPENDINGWORLDWIDE BY FORMAT,20072012 MOBILE MESSAGING MOBILE DISPLAY MOBILE SEARCH YEAR ADVERTISING* ADVERTISING** ADVERTISING *** TOTAL 2007 $2.56 billion $52 million $83 million $2.7 billion 2008 $4.2 billion $142 million $244 million $4.59 billion 2009 $6.44 billion $338 million $597 million $7.38 billion 2010 $9.2 billion $629 million $597 million $11.8 billion 2011 $11.96 billion $945 million $2.34 billion $15.25 billion 2012 $14.17 billion $1.2 billion $3.77 billion $19.15 billion Note: numbers may not add up to total due to rounding; *Spending on placement in text messages includes direct spending on message campaigns as well as spending on promotional coverage of enduser messaging costs; **Spending on display banners, links, or icons placed on WAP,mobile HTML sites or embedded in mobile applications such as maps or entertainment services (i.e. games,video); *** Spending on sponsored display ads and text links that appear alongside mobile search results, as well as spending on audio ads played to mobile phone callers making a directory inquiry. Source:eMarketer,New York, March 2008.For more information, visit emarketer.com. U.S.WIRELESS USAGE MONTH NO.OFWIRELESS WIRELESS MONTHLY SMS ANNUALIZEDYEARLY SUBSCRIBERS PENETRATION MESSAGES SMS MESSAGES (% OF U.S. POPULATION) 2007 $2.6 $52 $83 $2.7 June 2007 243.4 million 81% 28.8 billion 240.8 billion June 2005 194.4 million 66% 7.2 billion 57.2 billion June 2000 97 million 34% 12.2 million N/A Source:CTIAThe Wireless Association,Washington,D.C.For more information, visit ctia.org. Mobile is both contextual and immediate; it needs high amounts of relevance to the consumer and usually requires nearimmediate action by the recipient. GEOFF MELICK,KINECT PV0508 Issue FINAL2 4/23/08 10:36 AM Page 30 AD #: FMD65793E3 (VERSION 3) CLIENT: FORMEDIC PRODUCT: CORPORATE SIZE: 9 1/2″ X 11 1/2″ COLOUR: 4C PROCESS SCREEN: DATE: VARIOUS PUBLICATION: PHARMAVOICE CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK When it matters most , your brand is there. Formedic Patient Record Forms deliver brand exposure at the point of prescription — every practice day, throughout the day. Your ads on Formedic forms reach doctors when and where it matters most. These timely exposures have been proven to increase new Rxs (up to 236%) and market share (up to 228%). And with a proven 24:1 ROI, you can rest assured that your investment in Formedic forms is solid. For more information, contact [email protected] or by phone at 7324697031. Claims can be supported through ongoing IMS studies (20002007); all specific results can be individually reviewed upon request. Right place, right time. **ART_00_FMD_PrintAds_P65793E3_1 1 2/11/08 2:19:53 PM MOBILE marketing medical lifestyle devices incorporated into their cell phones. There will be a lot more push to the Web and a redesign of Websites to accommodate more freeflow browsing from mobile phones. According to Mr. Flynn, the pharma industry should start investigating mobile marketing now. In these early years, a phar maceutical company can get some lowrisk practice while it gears up for a larger adher ence campaign. Also, as part of the overall marketing campaign, marketers can use short codes to complement print, radio, and televi sion ads, which could create a nice lift in response rates. Mr. Flynn says the early adopters in the industry are still discussing patient adherence programs more than ad response campaigns. “We spoke with all the major pharma com panies and we were expecting them to start to use mobile marketing as an ad response tool, since so many of their radio and print ads are responsedriven messages that send people to a URL or a tollfree number,” he says. “But to my surprise, most companies are looking for mobile adherence and retention programs.” Mobile marketing is a perfect fit with adherence and retention programs, says Mike Devlin, executive VP, managing director at Concentric Pharma Advertising. “The pivotal decision for pharma is how to figure out ways to help patients stay on track, when every patient has different motivations and needs,” he says. “It’s all about recognizing that people want information that is personal to them, and health is as personal as it gets, and they will want it wherever they are. That means delivering information to their hand held device or phone. People with healthcare issues need ideas and mentors to connect with during treatment, and mobile technology allows this interaction.” Mr. Davis says receiving important medi cation or health information on a cell phone can be more beneficial for patients trying to 32 M a y 20 08 PharmaVOICE Sound Bites From The Field PHARMAVOICE ASKED EXPERTSTO DISCUSS HOWMOBILEMARKETINGWILLGROW ONTHECONSUMERAND PHYSICIAN SIDE,ANDWHATTHEYBELIEVE IS THE BEST USE OFMOBILEMARKETING. MEREDITHABREURESSI is VP of Research at Manhattan Research,NewYork,which conducts syndicated market research surveys among physicians and consumers. For more information,visit manhattanresearch.com. “ As the use of cell phones and other mobile devices becomes increasingly ubiquitous,many companies are starting to consider content and promotions that take advantage of this new medium.We know that the top five cell phone consumer activities are:take or receive a photo; text message with friends or family;play games;download ringtones;and receive a text message from a business. Fewer than 20%of consumers whoown a cell phone or other mobile device have accessed the Internet through their mobile device,but this is a market that is expected to expand in the years ahead.So while we are in the early stages of consumer readiness for certain types of mobile applications or promotions, it is a platform marketers are wise to continually evaluate as the market matures. Among the 50%ofphysicians whoown a PDAor smartphone,the drug reference database is certainly one of the top professional activities physicians conduct on their mobile device.As devices become more advanced,physicians are starting to conduct more advanced activities on these devices.For instance,about onequarter of device owners have done some sort of CMEon their PDA.As devices and physicians’savvy with technology become more advanced,there will certainly be newopportunities for companies to leverage newmeansofpushing content to physicians. Although mobile Internet use is still a relatively advanced activity today,this is a market that is expected to grow in the coming years. ” BENJAMINLEI is eMarketing Group Manager at Genentech,South San Francisco,Calif,a biotechnology company that uses humangenetic information to discover,develop,manufacture, and commercialize biotherapeutics that address significant unmet medical needs.For more information,visit gene.com. “ Wehavenot attempted any DTC type of communications via mobile devices,nor would I say we knowmuch about the potential oppor unities.My perception is that most consumer types of messaging would be more intrusive than what are available to physicians. There are good uses of mobile for certain audiences and certain marketing objectives. In our experience,we’ve had the most success around quick news hits such as label updates or Dear Doctor Letters. I’m muchmore skeptical about the ability to have a rich interaction over the current formats available to pharma. For most of what is being done in this space currently,pharma marketers need to take a deep look at the metrics and decide what they are willing to invest on a costperinteraction basis,knowing that each interaction is usually a very brief one. I am,however,bullish on the future, especially as devices with touch screen and video capability like iPhones are opening up their development platforms. ” The benefit of text messaging is that it is personal and subtle and can provide a prompt to patients at the time they need it. If patients are supposed to take their meds at lunchtime, their phone will beep at lunchtime, no matter where they are in the world. TIM DAVIS, EXCO INTOUCH PV0508 Issue FINAL2 4/23/08 10:36 AM Page 32 You Can’t Get the Right Results, If You Are Using the Wrong Tool. Local Call Assessment Tools Won’t Drive Global Brand Success. That’s Why TNS Healthcare Introduces DetailMed TM — the First Consistent Measure of Sales Effectiveness across Countries, Categories and Brands. TNS Healthcare. Proven to Optimize Your Business Performance. Every job requires the right tool to get the right solution. You wouldn’t use a paper umbrella to keep you dry in a rainstorm. So why assess global call effectiveness with local measures? Now, TNS Healthcare introduces the first detail assessment tool for global brands— NEWDetailMed. WithDetailMed, you have globally consistent metrics for evaluating call quality across countries, categories and products. With DetailMed, you can see where reps are “on” or “off ” message— and measure the impact on prescribing intent. Evaluate call quality vs. competitors. Determine brand awareness and usage. Understand brand commitment. And more. All delivered through an easy to use, regularly updated, online dashboard. Plus, DetailMed lets you track your brands continuously—with the realtime speed that keeps you ahead of even the most dynamic market. Finally, you have the right measurement tool to drive the right sales results—domestically and around the world. To learn more, contact WesMichael at 4105590291 or [email protected]. FINAL PV.qxd:Layout 1 3/13/08 11:12 AM Page 1 MOBILE marketing learn about their disease or treatment since heavily branded Websites can be a turnoff and often patients don’t read product information leaflets because they are too wordy. “If, however, we can provide short bursts of information at the right time when patients are taking the medication they are able to understand and digest the information more readily,” Mr. Davis says. “One of the more important elements of the process is to use mobile marketing as a way to draw people back to a welldesigned Website. If a pharma company is engaging patients in a conversa tion on their cell phones, then it can easily send the Website address to access more infor mation.” But the message needs to be relevant, Mr. Melick says. “The changes we are witnessing in DTC text messaging programs mimic what has taken place in consumer text messaging,” he says. “When first introduced, DTC text mes saging was expensive. Cost was assigned each time a message was received. As use of DTC text messaging increases, feebase charges will decrease and there will be special packages and unlimited usage offered. There are limitations to DTC text messaging, because if the message delivered is not appropriate or unwarranted, it could do more harm than good.” Another opportunity for mobile marketing in the future is for pointofaction assistance to patients, Ms. Wray says. For example, if diabetic patients are shop ping at the supermarket and are wondering if a product is appropriate they could access the Internet through their phone or read a shelf talker that directs them to punch a code into their phone to receive the information they need. Ms. Wray believes, however, that these avenues are in the distant future for pharma companies. “As devices such as the iPhone gain more traction it will be worth developing these types of programs, but now companies would have to invest so much for a small segment of the market that the cost benefit isn’t there,” she says. “A few early adopters might get some good press, which is an advantage in itself.” TAKINGTHE EARLY LEAD A few early adopters have received some press. For example, in 2006, Pfizer sent text messages to consumers offering mobile coupons for a free trial of Lipitor. That same year, Johnson & Johnson invited MTV Music Award viewers to text in a code to vie for a trip and to receive a coupon for a free trial of Acuvue. In 2005, Novartis developed an alert service to help hayfever sufferers by texting daily pollen counts to their phones. The alert service was to support and promote the launch of Allereze nasal spray and eye drop products. Currently, Bayer is working with Concentric Pharma Advertising on a mobile marketing plan. While Mr. Devlin of Concentric agrees with Ms. Wray’s assessment that currently there is not a prolific use of mobile to reach consumers in pharma, he says many pharma companies are becoming more interested. “Every client is interested in mobile market ing and is asking how to do it,” he says. “Many are considering small pilot programs and are assessing their overall campaigns to see how mobile fits in. Once technology catches up, U.S. consumers will become as heavy users of mobile information as physicians have been with their PDAs.” Mr. Davis warns, however, that marketers need to be aware of using mobile marketing for the sake of using it — there are times when it may not be effective or could even incur some negative results. 34 M a y 20 08 PharmaVOICE When we look at what companies like ESPN and Starbucks are doing in terms of alternative marketing, using short codes and text messaging, it’s much more advanced than what pharma is doing, but that is where most advertisers will be in the next 18 months. ROBERT FLYNN,PULSE MEDIA RESPONSE Two years ago digital and mobile were part of the conversation but they were not acted upon.A year ago, the industry started to do much more dabbling, and today the dialogue really is changing. MICHAEL DEVLIN,CONCENTRIC PHARMA PV0508 Issue FINAL2 4/23/08 10:36 AM Page 34 MOBILE marketing “Best practices very much depend on the product; if we were working on a latestage cancer product then text messaging would not be appropriate,” he says. “However, for other products, service alerts and reminders may be a good fit. The benefit of using mobile is that any cell phone around the world can receive a text message or send one. It doesn’t require any software or hardware device, a connection to the Internet, or any special subscription.” Mobile marketing provides one of the low est common denominators, and it is a good way of engaging with people, but it does depend on the product being marketed, Mr. Davis notes. “There are three important factors that companies need to think about: the product, the therapeutic category, and the age of the patient,” he says. “There may be regional vari ations as well. There are hot spots for this kind of technology. To get the best ROI, marketers need to be able to reach their consumers and patients.” Mr. Flynn advises pharmaceutical mar keters to open their minds to the mobile option and determine how it can work best with their brands. “Mobile marketing is not as risky a ven ture as a lot of marketers perceive it to be,” he says. “This is simply a different entry point for all the other forms of communications and a different way to spend advertising dollars. It needs to be used to start a conversation; peo ple won’t spend 20 minutes text messaging, it is just a convenient way to start a conversation about the brand, then leverage the other ad assets” “On the adherence and the retention side, the whole reason to have a relationship is to build confidence, trust, and loyalty with con sumers,” Mr. Flynn continues. “If patients are willing to receive text messages and engage with the brand in this way, then pharmaceu tical marketers will go a long way to build that relationship.” In the future, mobile devices will incorpo rate graphics, pictures, videos, etc. This may also pave the way for additional marketing and branding, and may provide opportunities to download proprietary content related to specific treatments with attached promotion al messages. Marketers should look at mobile marketing as an extension of the Web, which is still being used as a primary information resource. # PharmaVOICE welcomes comments about this article.Email us at [email protected]. 35 PharmaVOICE M a y 20 08 TIM DAVIS.Cofounder,Exco InTouch, Harlow Essex, United Kingdom;Exco InTouch is a provider of global, secure, and regulatory compliant SMS solutions to the biopharmaceutical and healthcare industries. For more information, visit excointouch.com. MICHAEL DEVLIN. Executive VP and Managing Director, Consumer, Concentric Pharma Advertising, New York; Concentric is an independent advertising agency.For more information, visit concentricrx.com. ROBERT FLYNN. CEO and Founder, Pulse Media Response,Windsor Locks, Conn.; Pulse Media Response uses text messaging to improve an advertiser’s mass media response and measurement,while providing consumers with a confidential vehicle to respond to advertisements that interest them.For more information, visit sendapulse.com. GEOFFMELICK.SeniorVP,Managing Director,Kinect,Chicago;Kinect provides effective,strategic emarketing solutions to create ongoing dialogues between clients and customers.For more information,visit kinect.com. DONNAWRAY. Management Advisor, TGaS Advisors, East Norriton, Pa.;TGaS Advisors provides pharmaceutical companies with customized information that enables them to evaluate their commercial operations against industry benchmarks.For more information, visit tgas.com. Experts on this topic PFIZER’S MOBILE MARKETING CAMPAIGN IN 2006,THE PFIZER LIPITOR BRANDTEAMAND ITS MOBILE AGENCY IPSH! USED MOBILE COUPONINGTO ENCOURAGETRIALS AMONGANOLDERAUDIENCE,WHICH HADNOT RESPONDEDTOTRADITIONAL DTC EFFORTS. he campaign reached out to potential customers at the doctor’s office.To extend the reach of its marketing efforts, Pfizer displayed posters advertising the Lipitor drug in 20,000 doc tors’ offices in the United States. By advertising mobile in traditional print media at a rele vant location, Lipitor successfully connected with older consumers who were not mobile early adopters. The program offered a free Lipitor trial. Consumers dialed the advertised number to receive via text message a mobile coupon for a free 30day prescription. Consumers then showed their mobile coupon and prescription to their pharmacist to redeem the trial offer. The campaign also used nonintrusive tactics of engagement. The phone optin meant that only interested consumers received the Lipitor text. The case study results conclude that marketers can reach baby boomers and seniors through text messaging. While only 66% of consumers with high cholesterol have mobile phones — a lower penetration than the general population — many are accustomed to using online channels to learn about treatment.Fortyseven percent have researched amed ical condition, and 38% have researched a drug online. Brands that want to incorporate mobile into boomer and seniordirected campaigns need to anticipate a lack of familiarity with texting and other nonvoice communications.Pfizer arranged for live operators to speak to consumers who were unable to access or receive the text message. Overall, integrating mobile with offline media at the moment of truth improved response. Source:Forrester Research,Cambridge,Mass.For more information,visit forrester.com. T PV0508 Issue FINAL2 4/23/08 10:36 AM Page 35
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