INFLUENCE 3.0: WHERE SOCIAL MEDIA MEETS PHARMACEUTICAL COMMUNICATIONS

By Larry Friedman, PHD

OVER THE PAST DECADE, U.S. PHARMACEUTICAL manufacturers have spent billions of dollars communicating directly to consumers about their brands via TV and print advertising. While bypassing physicians remains controversial in some quarters, the effectiveness of DTC means that pharma companies are likely to continue using it in some form as part of their arsenal of techniques to drive their business.

While DTC is still relatively young in the pharmaceutical industry, it is based on a century-old model of selling called the “Interruption Model.” A consumer is watching TV, listening to the radio, or reading a newspaper or magazine, and a brand interrupts that experience to deliver a (hopefully) persuasive message, attempting to convince the consumer to buy that brand (or in the case of pharmaceuticals, “ask your doctor”). The brand is talking to, not with the consumer.

As the saying goes, “The world ain’t what it used to be.” Mass media, the home of DTC advertising, is losing ground to the new world of digital media. While marketers in a variety of categories, including pharmaceuticals, have begun advertising on Web sites, they are still using approaches that are basically “Interruption” techniques, such as banner ads and pop-up ads.

The rapid growth, however, of social media—including blogs and social networking sites, such as Facebook, MySpace and Twitter—fundamentally changes how pharmaceutical marketers communicate with consumers. Rather than “interrupting” other experiences, marketers can now create their own experiences— real opportunities to interact with, rather than just talk at, their target audiences.

Some may think this new world does not apply to many pharma brands, which target those in older demographics. The stereotype is that only young people have flocked to social media. In reality, however, recent Forrester data shows that a growing majority of people in all age groups who are online— including older ones—are at least reading social media sites.

Social media (and all forms of “consumer-generated media,” including traditional word of mouth) has changed the monologue—brands talking to consumers—into a dialogue. Now, brands not only talk to consumers, consumers also talk back to brands. In addition, millions of others are “listening in”—and potentially participating in the conversation.

A NEW MODEL FOR A NEW WORLD Understanding this new communications world requires a new communications model that incorporates both brand generated and consumer-generated media into one holistic view. This new model—which TNS calls Influence 3.0TM— is shown in Figure 1:

FIGURE 1: WELCOME TO THE WORLD OF INFLUENCE 3.0TM To download, visit www.PM360online.com/tools.

• The left-hand route represents the historic pathway of Brands talking to Consumers, attempting to persuade them to make a purchase or take an action, such as call their physicians.
• The right-hand pathway represents the radical departure from the past. Social Media has taken “word of mouth” to a vastly different level. Consumers are talking with each other about brands based on their experiences. They now are influencing decisions, creating new products as well as talking directly to the brands.
• The model also shows the points of interaction developing between the Brand-generated and Consumer-generated sides. The new media doesn’t operate in a vacuum. It’s affected by what’s happening in traditional channels. For example, the second most common action people take after seeing a DTC ad is to go online. The mistake some make is to view the new social media separately from the rest of brand experiences. But, in fact, all contacts with a brand work together. It is critical to look at the full range of channels and how they interact to develop the right communications strategies for brands.

CONSIDER THE FOLLOWING:

• Consumers now incorporate ads and brand images from traditional channels into their Facebook pages to help define who they are and what they talk about to others.
• Brands in some categories now “listen” to what consumers are saying in social media. Marketers then incorporate language and messages from social media back into content that they are directing at consumers. Consumers today have a huge number and variety of contacts with a brand—some through channels companies purchase and control, such as TV or print ads, and others which they don’t, such as blogs. These contacts are not neutral. Each either adds to or takes away from a brand’s image. Pharma’s challenge is to assess the full range of media options—new and traditional—and understand which are most influential for their brands, how they interact and what the best mix is to drive positive brand experiences.

IMPLICATIONS FOR PHARMA BRAND MANAGERS
The adoption of the Influence 3.0 model has significant implications for pharmaceutical brands:

• A culture of listening needs to develop among pharmaceutical marketers. While there are potential regulatory issues that distinguish pharmaceuticals from other categories, it would be a huge mistake to keep one’s head in the sand and pretend the “great booming buzz” doesn’t exist.*
• By listening, pharma marketers can make their part of the conversation more relevant to their target consumers. They can realize tremendous efficiencies by identifying the most relevant messages for their half of the conversation and how best to deliver those messages through both traditional and new media.

The opening of DTC was a revolution for pharmaceutical marketing. With the growth of social media, the time is ripe for another major change—the transition from DTC to CWC (Conversations with Consumers). Those companies who master the art of interacting with—not just speaking to—their customers will gain an important competitive edge.

* To provide insight into regulatory issues, a white paper from TNS Cymfony— Overcoming Regulatory Hurdles to Social Media Monitoring and Marketing—is available by contacting TNS at tnshealthcareinfo@tnshealthcare.com.

Larry Friedman, Ph.D. is the Chief Research Officer TNS North America. He welcomes feedback at Larry.Friedman@tns-global.com.