PHARMA NEWS, MULTICHANNEL & CROSSCHANNEL MAKETING

Pfizer has launched a new mobile app for patients suffering from depression that it hopes will enable them to take a more active role in managing their condition.
The firm wants its new Moodivator app to complement treatment and says it can do so in a simple and efficient way.
The free iPhone app allows patients to set goals, track their moods using a simple scale and share their progress with their care team.
It also includes information about one of Pfizer's prescription treatments for depression, but the company says the app is not intended to take the place of doctors' care or advice.

Google has announced changes to how it will rank sites in mobile search, penalising some websites. Here's what pharma digital marketers need to know.

The dramatic speed of adoption of smartphones is making the fastest-growing marketing channel mobile; smart companies understand they need to be as mobile as their target audiences.

With mobiles apps, utility is king. Bearing in mind that only about 16% of people would try an app more than once, and up to 90% of downloaded apps are used only once then deleted, according to a study by Compuware, identifying users’ real requirements is key to the success of any mobile app.

Pharma can act strategically by creating apps that are centered on patients’ daily needs and integrating them into the broader health ecosystem.

To balance engagement and compliance, many pharma companies have launched non-promotional heath apps focusing on disease awareness and management.

This increasing adoption of mobile health apps presents a great opportunity for the pharma industry to truly empower patients and healthcare professionals, by providing apps that improve the ways they understand and manage disease.

For this shift to happen, new capabilities must be developed to unleash the potential of digital innovation in the healthcare industry.

Mohanad Fors, global director of Digital Marketing and Innovation, Novartis Ophthalmology Franchise, believes pharma is taking “powerful and serious strides” in digital innovation, especially mobile health apps. He sees two main areas where the industry can improve to achieve more success:

“In most cases, app development or production is done on a tactical level without an overarching strategic plan, which sometimes results in short-lived apps that do not achieve the desired success. Launching digital awareness and training programmes can help us build digital capabilities and embed the digital mind-set in the business.

“The second one, which I believe is more critical, is the need for dedicated teams working on the whole cycle of health apps creation, from idea to maintenance and follow up. If you look at any successful app on the market you will find a complete team working day and night on it to ensure user satisfaction and interest. This is slowly happening now as digital becomes a top priority on industry executives’ agendas.”

IBM, Pfizer launch joint experiment to help measure Parkinson’s symptoms using IoT and analytics

Doctors who attend the American College of Chest Physicians' meetings will now receive targeted messaging on their mobile devices from advertisers on non-medical websites. 

This represents a new way for medical associations to diversify their revenue stream and it also opens up new channels by which to target healthcare professionals.

The American College of Chest Physicians announced a new partnership with Social Reality, an advertising platform provider that delivers targeted ads to healthcare professionals attending the ACCP's meetings. It's Social Reality's first formal partnership with a medical association.

“We're able to target physical locations, be it hotels or convention centers within a 100-meter radius using cellular data and inside the building utilizing IP or WiFi targeting to meetings, hotel and practice locations,” explained Erin DeRuggiero, Social Reality's co-founder and chief innovations officer.

Physicians are not individually targeted. Instead, the platform targets specific spots and serves them in-app and mobile web banners. The ads show up on non-endemic, or non-medical content, like sports or news websites. Doctors may check these sources more frequently than they look at a medical journal's website.

Inventory on Social Reality is sold through its own programmatic platform.

Technology transforms health care. Digital solutions are the future of medical landscapes. The pharmaceutical industry keeps pace with innovation and technology.

Norm Johnston is responsible for overseeing and expanding the Mindshare agency’s digital capabilities and strategy. His agency was one of the first global, full-service media companies.

Johnston spoke with eMarketer’s Lauren Fisher about the importance of looking beyond media devices and advertising channels when crafting a multichannel campaign.