Archive for January 2008

A recent post about the rise of the informed patient attracted some insightful comments. Dr J got me thinking about knowledge, responsibility and a few things in between.

Patient education is a good thing and we need more of it. The EMEA roadmap for 2010 promises more access to accredited medical information. Ideally this will help override the reams of flimsy information that, as Dr J points out, are in abundance.

I think the EMEA have their work cut out for them. How much information do people need for a start? Is it OK to broadcast an advert simply telling people to be more active, or do we need a clearer link to the real consequences of obesity? And what if we overload people with information - will we scare them into doing the wrong thing? Will they just stop listening?

What really alarmed me was Dr J’s comment that, even when patients know their onions, they often balk at decision time. Perhaps we know enough, but we’d still like to blame someone else if things don’t work out. Or is it the other way round - are we being urged to take more responsibility for our treatment, but don’t have enough insight to make decisions?

There’s a great take-out from this: We must be on the ball if our minds are boggling with the same question that patients’ are. What we all want to know is: how do we embrace patient empowerment without compromising medical integrity?

Looking forward to your thoughts on this one.

This, made by Michael Wesch is probably the best way to describe the revolution that communication is undergoing. For too long linear development has created a well trodden path for communications evolution. This shows you what we feel. The world isn’t changing, it has already changed. Take a look and let us know what you think.

It seemed to be going so smoothly, getting our offices up and running in just a month.

The key word is ‘seemed’. We are wiser now. We have seen the gap between promise and delivery. We know how it affects users attitude and behaviour.

It’s nice to be sweet talked at times; it’s fun visualising how great things will be. It’s less thrilling to hang around waiting for non-existent goods to turn up. That’s when you feel disappointed and want to kick your bright, flawless, newly painted walls down.

Customer service is something everyone gushes about. “We are competitively priced, but our premium is justified by our outstanding commitment to…” You’ve heard it. Why is it companies and brands still haven’t got it? Buying a service is about the delivery, not the promise.

Things that should have happened naturally were eclipsed by a tortuous string of phone calls and frustration: Transferring phone accounts: O2 say ‘1 day’, our panel say, Att-Ahhhh 2 months of chasing, cajoling and being let down. In the end we gave up and went to Vodafone, finding out that it’s easier to change provider than stay with the same one… hello? Putting landlines in. Our provider says cat 6 will be fine, so that’s what we do. Our panel said Att-Ahhhh, I meant cat 5, not cat 6 cable - 2 days wasted.

I could go on but I’m starting to tremble.

Brands must contain a promise, but more importantly they must fulfil it. One company that would never let that happen is First Direct. Their brand promise (or should I call it brand truth?) rings loud and clear from their call centre upwards, for them it feels that delivering the brand is actually more important than communicating it.

Something always comes good from bad as my Grandmother used to say. It got us thinking. Do we in the pharmaceutical industry focus so much on selling to HCPs that we fail to properly consider the impact on end users? The token patient programme, the leaflet, the poster. Not being able to talk to consumers is no excuse, we can talk to patients. Even if we can’t hear their complaints, the rest of the world will.

The PM Awards came round again recently, another superb day in Mayfair. Congratulations to Paling Walters for cleaning up in many of the categories with their usual excellent standard of ads and matching collateral.

This was Hive’s first year at the PMs - our company not yet a month old - so we naturally made use of the opportunity for our unveiling. Our plan to treat guests to honey-vodka body-shots did not quite cut the mustard with the organisers so we were forced into some last minute guerrilla tactics…

And a little something after dinner…

Working the room after lunch, we found that faces old and new seemed interested in our proposition. Indeed, the number of website hits we had over the weekend suggests our message is well and truly getting out there.

In most EU states, over half of people are overweight or obese. In March 2005, the EU Commission created a Platform on Diet, Physical Activity and Health to address the problem. Its aim is to get stakeholders committing themselves to promoting healthy living.

This 30-second ad will reach 80-100 million viewers in 40 countries during each week of Champions League matches. It is totally free content. Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO made it for nothing and UEFA has promised the 30 seconds of match airtime it spares for social initiatives.

Do you like this ad? Is it a big idea - does it define a brand entirely? Or is it just one part of the story? What do you expect to come out of the rest of the Commission’s media plan?

A few years ago, the rest of this consultation would have been relatively straightforward. I would ask some questions, run a couple of tests, recommend a treatment and the patient would feel reassured. Nowadays however, it tends to go rather differently.The patient will, more than likely, have already been on various websites looking for a diagnosis. They may also have looked into the different treatments available, even compiled a folder of information for discussion. They want and expect to be actively involved in their diagnosis and treatment plan. And if they aren’t completely satisfied with my opinion, they’ll get someone else’s. In short, “trust me, I’m a doctor” no longer holds much water.

Never before have patients been so well informed, so involved and influential in their healthcare. With a finger on the public pulse, the government is planning for personal healthcare budgets so that each patient can choose their hospital, consultant and treatment. Since I graduated 10 years ago, the face of medicine has become almost unrecognisable. It’s more like going shopping than to the doctor.

How does this make us healthcare professionals feel? I’ll be honest; a little mixed. The quality of information available to patients varies enormously and can sometimes do more to confuse than to clarify the situation. On the other hand it’s likely that a patient who feels invested and in control of their wellbeing will live a healthier lifestyle and engage with the required treatment. Isn’t that the aim?

Whatever the implications, the NHS claims to hold the needs and wishes of the patient at its core. This makes sense ethically and politically. The question is, why are healthcare communications agencies still servicing healthcare professionals before satisfying the public interest?

The founding members of Hive (Jas, Tim and Ian) all met at Paling Walters, way across the mighty Thames. Each of us spent a number of seriously formative years at Palings. So when we moved on - well, we were never going to be let off lightly.But cheer up guys, we’re still your mates.

We were interested in the Consistency over coherence debate recently posted on adliterate.com, which questions the importance of identity-driven communication. Should a brand repeat itself for the sake of recognisability?

Convention in healthcare communications says yes. HCPs lack time - the mental link must happen, and quickly. Consistency also makes sense when global visibility outranks the needs of diverse markets. Waning production budgets make this a fact of our industry.

Clearly we need to retain some consistency in our creative work, but brands can also capitalise on the much bigger premise of coherence. That means staying true to your message first, thus having more freedom in its execution. This brings meaning to brands - your materials and tactics don’t just strike a chord because they look the same, they resonate because they mean the same.

It works because your big idea becomes more than the sum of its parts. When we talk to doctors, why not be that much braver - who says they can’t put two and two together after all?

The real benefits of coherence lie in consumer marketing. New media has a lot to do with patient power. As people search wider for answers in healthcare, so we gain new ways to reach them. Our brand becomes a stream of conversations that evolves along with the community around it. Take a step back and you see how big and relevant the picture has become.

Agencies must face facts - the definition of integration has moved on. Let’s commit to bigger, braver thinking in healthcare with coherent strategies that everyone can profit from.