There are a surprisingly healthy number of case studies and research projects that validate and support the Web's multi-faceted role in the pharmaceutical sector.

Lately, Best Practices has been honing in on various industries and calling out the leading tactics in these categories that are slowly (and sometimes not so slowly) transforming businesses and business models in their respective areas.

Every week I say something to the effect of, “this is the one industry that has been revolutionized by the Internet” and just when you thought it couldn't get any better, along comes the next article which makes the same assertions – and then some.

This week is no different.

When I saw my first pharma-related television commercial, I recalled four distinct calls to action:

1. Call 1-800-PINK-PILL
2. Visit our Website on www.pinkpill.com
3. See our ad in Horses ‘n Hounds magazine
4. Ask your doctor if Pink Pill is right for you.

The toll-free number made sense, as naturally did the Website option. But for the life of me, I couldn't understand why anyone would care enough to seek out an obscure magazine like Horses ‘n Hounds (OK: People) to read an ad.

The doctor option, however, opened up a slew of thoughts and possibilities. Could lowly I have an impact on determining or influencing which drug was right for me? Was this my right? Was I imposing on the man who spends all of 15 seconds with me per visit? Was I telling him how to do his job?

So many questions, but from where would come the answers? For starters, the four calls to action are mandates from the F.D.A. Intuition suggests that when talking about drugs, consumers should be given as many options as possible to ask questions and seek out information that would help educate them in the process.

This may be so, however, the magazine or newspaper call to action is just plain stupid and ever so redundant. Then there's the 30-second ad itself, which lies anywhere on the continuum between absurd-and-misguided to insulting-and-patronizing.

Case in point…

• Opening Scene: An elderly couple dancing together
• Scene 2: Introduction of a drug remedy that has seemingly little to nothing to do with the dancing scene
• Scene 3: See our ad in Martha Stewart Living flashes on the screen
• Scene 5: Warnings of vicious and dangerous side effects of taking the drug
• Scene 6: Cut back to yon elderly couple Maringa-ing away
• Scene 8: Obligatory rolling of remaining call-to-action-credits
• Scene 10: Some final warnings about startling results from independent studies
• End Scene: Yup, they're still dancing.

You reach out in vain to make the connection between dancing and Incontinence. When the light bulb glows dully, you realize you just saw this ad during CSI. You wonder if this placement is an expression of contextual relevance, considering the show's explicit nature of content. Highly unlikely.

“The message in pharmaceutical marketing can be so complicated (and scary) to a patient so giving them as much information as possible is key,” advises Gerry McGoldrick , VP Media Services at Insight Interactive Group. “This not possible with a :30 or :60 spot.”

So let's rather call out to the obvious (which for the most part is still the exception, and not the category norm): The supreme power of the Web. The anonymity of the Web. The researching pull of the Web. The ability to fulfill through the Web (through requesting a sample of downloading a coupon). The list goes on.

Despite being an industry that is intensely competitive, and hence highly guarded about results, there are a surprisingly healthy number of case studies and research studies that validate and support the Web's role in the pharmaceutical sector. Many have been cited in previous best practices articles.

So instead of rehashing these studies, I'll let McGoldrick share some pharma-specific how-to nuggets:

1. Capture people in the mindset – Know where your patient is going and be there with the message. From a performance standpoint, search has been the most successful component for pharmaceutical campaigns. Not just in terms of CTR but also in terms of the actions that may follow, i.e., interact with a tool, sign up for a newsletter, consume particular content, etc.

2. Integrate offline and online for success – Too many times, we still see clients looking at their online initiatives separately from their offline. Use all the mediums together to achieve objectives.

3. Creative matters – Take the time to modify and get more mileage. Take advantage of the medium and figure out the best use: with larger ad sizes and rich media technologies, the fair balance info can be a tab on the unit, thereby meeting legal and regulatory standards without compromising branding in the process.

4. Relate to your patients - People are becoming more and more willing to provide data. Through a variety of tools and tactics, such as rich media, surveys, newsletters, interactive tools, etc., marketers can truly establish one-to-one relationships with patients.

5. Don't dump the data – Before you go out and collect the data, have a plan in place. What will the value be to the patient? What will they receive? Sounds simple but its surprising how many pharmaceutical brands don't have this buttoned up.

A marked difference that stands out in Pharma is the multiplicity of primary target audiences.

“What separates this industry from some others we work in is the dual audience, the multi-step sale and the regulatory environment,” states Robin Neifield, CEO of NetPlus Marketing, Inc. “Much of the creativity and most of the sheer work is in finding a place and a way to memorably, effectively communicate a complicated and restricted message in the concise ways necessary online.”

Following from his outline of the duality of audiences, Neifield outlines the differences and nuances relating to both the messages and challenges for each segment:

Physician Marketing

For hard-to-reach physicians it makes sense to make your Website a portal for them. Offer them newsletters, patient education materials, training modules, e-detailing opportunities.

With Nexium we produced MediClicks , a newsletter targeted towards Gastroenterologists.

This newsletter allows AstraZeneca to communicate with a very specific target without the clutter found in other mediums. The attrition rate for the newsletter is negligible.

Also remember:

• Physicians are affected by consumer messages, so make sure that if you are marketing to both consumers and physicians that you let your sales force know about the campaigns and that the campaigns are complimentary to each other.
• A physician's time is very valuable and very limited. Offer opportunities that allow the physician to control how you communicate with him or her. Create banners that allow the person to request information within the banner. Enable the physician to e-detail on his or her schedule.

Direct to Consumer (DTC)

There are so many targeted opportunities available to connect with consumers that suffer from specific condition states, with very little waste in the process.

• Highly targeted placements allow for direct messaging; less targeted placements may require category selling to build demand.
  • For example: If you are selling a product indicated for allergy sufferers, the message you use in an allergy center can be more direct since chances are the visitor knows he or she has an issue and needs a treatment option.

• Don't always try to transfer a potential patient to the brand site. Consumers trust the third-party conveyor of information (e.g. WebMD). Content sponsorships are a great way to deliver these types of messages.
• Employing creative that allows a patient to interact with your brand, without actually leaving the site, is another way.
  • For example, with Rhinocort Aqua we developed creative units where the user could play games, answer questions, and learn about Rhinocort all at the same time and without leaving the publisher site.
• Don't forget to brand – your primary concern is to educate and to make sure consumers remember your brand when they're at the doctor's office. Don't forget media fundamentals: consistency of message, frequency, and reach.
• Patient compliance is a huge problem and a huge opportunity for pharmaceutical marketers. If you can remind consumers of the health benefit of sticking with their treatment programs, motivate them to refill a prescription or keep them from potentially switching to a competitive product then you have dramatically increased the value of those consumers.
  • Online tactics to fulfill that goal include consumer emails, branding campaigns and other targeted messaging.

Feeling better?