Perhaps it's because my father labored for 25 years as a Pharmaceutical rep and my first experience with a traditional Detail Call was at about age 5 - tagging along with my father to Lankenau hospital. Every physician seemed to know who he was. They were happy to see him and they spent time with him.
My how times have changed.
Today, the odds of the average Pharma rep getting more than 2 minutes with a physician are slim to none. Most people who would actually read this blog are intimately familiar with the grim statistics of traditional detail calls.
eDetailing was meant to either replace, supplement or support traditional detailing efforts. Unfortunately, what I now term eDetailing v1.0 has been as difficult to pin down in terms of actually influencing prescriber behavior as the controversial use of mass DTC (Direct to Consumer {more on that shortly}) to drive scripts.
The fundamental problems with EDv1.0 are as follows.
- It has a very high production value that can become obsolete quickly based on changes driven by adverse events, new research or FDA labeling changes.
- It is linear and assumes a practitioner will behave in a linear fashion.
- Many have actually resorted to paying prescribers with honorariums for participating....excuse me....but find me another industry that pays it's audience to participate in marketing....and I would like to be part of that audience.
So the pharmaceutical industry has come at the problem of behavioral modification of prescribers from several angles. Attack on multiple fronts. Traditional detailing, sampling, e-Detailing (EDv1.0) and DTC. ROI has been measured based on data provided by companies such as IMS Health.
A recent article in the USA today discussed the research study done by Harvard which brought into question the impact DTC has on prescriber behavior. "Two recent reports say drug-makers cut Rx ad spending in the first six months of this year. TNS Media Intelligence puts the drop at 3.9% to $2.4 billion. Rival ad tracker Nielsen Monitor-Plus calculates the decline at 4.8% to $2.7 billion."
I was involved in OTC Sample marketing back in the 90's and was always suspect of the actual value in ROI DTC would provide. Mass media is difficult to pin down outside of spikes in product sales outside of couponing when it comes to closed loop ROI analysis. I've always viewed mass media to be the domain of the brand marketeer.....not the direct marketeer.
So where does all of this leave EDv1.0?
Pharmaceutical and Med Device MFG's I've spoken to this year all believe in eMarketing. They just haven't fully gotten thier arms around how to use it effectively.
So what's in store for EDv2.0?
As companies shift budget dollars from Mass DTC, I believe you will see a new wave of eMarketing targeted at the prescriber using the tools and tactics that have been battled tested for years by the Tech Industry.
Statistics are bearing out from numerous credible research firms that physicians actually like email...they like the Internet for research? and they like blogs and social networks just like the rest of the web2.0 world...again...seen initially in the always early-adopting tech sector.
Think of a physician coming out of med school today and completing residency. They have "grown up" using the internet as part of their education.
How we capitalize on the fantastic technology available, the next generation of web-savvy prescribers and the new realities of economics and regulation in the industry will be explored in detail in this blog.
Stay tuned.....
USA TODAY ARTICLE
http://www.usatoday.com/money/advertising/2008-10-15-media-advertising-spending-drug_N.htm
Posts
