Apr23

Finding the Right Balance

Posted by Kristen Giordano from Ogilvy CommonHealth - Parsippany, North America

By Kristen Giordano from Ogilvy CommonHealth - Parsippany, North America | Published: April 23, 2013

PaperOne day, you wake up and you are an Art Director. The sun is shining, the birds are singing, you have the Icona Pop song stuck in your head. You realize that you are exactly where you want to be—in the middle. Some people may want to be a little to the right or a little to the left, but I personally like to have my cake and eat it too. I started out my career with a big slice of interactive pie. For the past 4 years, I have worked for Ogilvy CommonHealth Worldwide’s NJ-based interactive marketing group. My key role was to work on various interactive projects (websites, iPads, banners, e-mails). I learned so much from my amazing co-workers. Some of them have left to find a different path in their design careers, but I still hold them all close to my heart. I will never forget the teachings of those from my past.

Today is a new day. I am pulling the cobwebs out of my brain and refreshing myself to the world where I began: PRINT! I went to college at the School of Visual Arts in NYC. I remember spending my grocery money on expensive paper for my design projects. There is nothing better than walking down the north side of 18th Street toward 6th Avenue to Paper Presentations and then spending an hour feeling textured paper. I can still smell it. (Everyone close your eyes and smell the paper with me). In college, I mostly studied print. We all need to acknowledge and appreciate where we came from, because it made us into the designers we are today. Over the past few years, I have been lucky to help out with some print projects. I have been moving back and forth between print and digital for years now.

My new role as an Art Director for a women’s health client is like sunshine on a cloudy day. I am lucky enough to be working on both print and interactive design. For this particular project, we are working with another multimedia agency, located in NYC. My Art Director partner and I do a lot of traveling back and forth from New York to Jersey. Our collaborators hold most of the digital work, but now that I’m in town, we are bringing some of the interactive work to New Jersey, Ogilvy style (not to be confused with Gangnam Style). As we all know, it is hard to be the new kid on the block, and the agency has a wonderful, tight-knit interactive team. The more that I go there, the more I feel like a member of the design gang. The other day, the SVP Creative Director gave me an e-mail design test. He threw me some copy and a logo and let me at it. I came up with a few concepts that I felt confident about. When I met up with him the other day, we discussed the designs and it turns out that he really liked them. He said that they had a good balance of design and easy development. I couldn’t have been happier! It is always an exciting feeling when someone has seen your work for the first time. Each time is like a new chapter in your life, another page has turned where you get to prove yourself.

I think we all need to achieve a good balance of interactive and print. Most of us come from a print past and we need to look to the digital future. Print isn’t going anywhere. I still love paper, drawing in my sketchbook, and cutting things up with scissors. We also need to embrace the technology ahead of us. There is a lot of fun, innovative work coming our way and we all need to get excited about it! Let’s all strive for balance, because that is where we will be strongest!

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Mar28

What Health Marketers Need to Know About Google’s Knowledge Graph

Posted by Anthony Danzi from Ogilvy CommonHealth Worldwide - Parsippany, North America

By Anthony Danzi from Ogilvy CommonHealth Worldwide - Parsippany, North America | Published: March 28, 2013

Tiger_ADDo you know Tiger Woods’ real first name? It’s Eldrick. How about his middle name? No, it’s not Serial Philanderer, it’s Tont. As a weekend hacker and golf enthusiast, I knew about Eldrick, but I had never heard Tont before.

I came across this little nugget when I did a Google search on “Tiger Woods.” In fact, if you do a search on any celebrity, historical figure, artist, movie title, geographic location, etc., the right side of Google’s page will likely display a mini bio of facts, images and links to related information.

Lipiator_AD

Google implemented this feature, which it calls the Knowledge Graph (KG), in May of last year, and it has slowly been evolving to include other verticals. At the end of November, Google got the attention of healthcare marketers when it began including brand and generic drug information into the KG, or what some in the industry have relabeled as the Medication Knowledge Graph (MKG).

MKG results are populated from three primary sources—the FDA, the National Library of Medicine, and the Dept. of Veterans Affairs—and any brand whose drug label information is sent by the manufacturer to the FDA is eligible for inclusion.

The info you’re likely to find will be:

  • Indication
  • Side Effects
  • Warnings
  • Drug Class
  • Related Medications or Related User Searches

Interestingly, there is currently no option for removal or exclusion from the MKG. And while the implications to marketers may at first seem negative—having side effects, warnings and competitor information positioned prominently against your brand—there may be positives as well. For example: the indication, which is always a challenge to present against a brand name because of fair balance requirements, is now being displayed for you. Your brand may show in the MKG of a competitive brand. Some MKG listings have a “May Treat” result, containing potential off-label uses for that drug.

As I mentioned, the format is evolving.  As users become more familiar with the MKG format, and more trusting of the info being provided, the greater the SEM/SEO challenge becomes to gain visibility in the all-important search space. Creative pharma marketers will find ways to complement or feed off of the MKG results. Those who ignore this new format will likely miss out on qualified website traffic.

And no, while we don’t yet know all there is to know about the impact of the Knowledge Graph, we do know that we need to stay in the know—know what I mean? So keep on it, I gotta run—my wife just called and said she got a provocative text message from some guy named Eldrick. Yikes!

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Mar21

Telemedicine for All – The Future of Distance Diagnosis

Posted by Maureen Ruff from Ogilvy CommonHealth Wellness Marketing, North America

By Maureen Ruff from Ogilvy CommonHealth Wellness Marketing, North America | Published: March 21, 2013

telemedSeventy-nine years and never sick a day in her life…until 79½. Diagnosis was grim: pancreatic cancer that has metastasized to the liver. Stage 4, inoperable. It rang over and over in our ears…unbelievable.

Mom wasn’t a medicine person—barely took an Advil. She wasn’t overly fond of doctors but would go when she was supposed to. So seeking out a second opinion wasn’t going to be an option. We’d be lucky if she’d try chemo. Although the oncologist she went to provided treatment options, we would never know if there was more that could have been done. Too bad we couldn’t get a second opinion; maybe a pancreatic cancer specialist could have reviewed her case—all without leaving her doctor’s office. Who knows if Mom would have gone for that, but it would have been a great option when seemingly all hope was gone.

Luckily, for those who do want it, telemedicine is here and provides patients exactly that option.  Without traveling out of state or even out of your doctor’s office, patients can now connect with specialists anywhere across the globe for diagnosis, treatment regimens, or guidance when the news is, well, unbelievable.

Understanding Telemedicine

The best doctor for your condition might not be in your neighborhood, but rather across the country. Imagine if you live in New Jersey but the thought leader is located in San Francisco. It might not be feasible for you to hop on an airplane, but with the click of a mouse you might be able to gain a diagnosis. Imagine a doctor in Chicago asking a child in Florida to open wide and say “ahhh”—this is happening today because of the new technologies and advanced healthcare networks that are making telemedicine a likely future for patients and healthcare professionals.

But many ask, is this too good to be true? Telemedicine is rapidly growing and is becoming a cost-effective alternative to the more traditional face-to-face way of providing medical care. Although it may take a few moments to get used to speaking to a TV monitor versus speaking to your doctor in person, the assessment can be as real as speaking to your physician face to face.

Patients may not feel comfortable without the typical hands-on, in-office experience they were once used to. However, now telemedicine opens doors to gain the expertise of a doctor who specializes in your disease state—although he or she might not actually be in your “state.”

Distance Diagnosis
How is it done, you may ask? Technology such as cameras and screens are making it affordable and effective for doctors to examine patients without actually being there. More hospitals and medical practices are adopting these techniques, finding that they save money and for some patients work as well as flesh-and-blood visits.

Right now, telemedicine may seem a bit futuristic and perhaps too expensive for the average patient. But historically, technology decreases in price over time, so telemedicine may become a way for patients to get better care for less money. Maintaining a convenient office location with a large support staff may no longer make sense for busy physicians. They may move to a model where they can serve patients in need from anywhere in the world.

In fact, actually seeing a physician face to face may become an optional recommendation determined by your doctor.

The question remains: does or will telemedicine change the outcomes for future patients? Would it have made a difference for Mom? Maybe. We’ll never really know, but it is certainly starting to change medicine for today’s patients. Earlier detection, less upfront guesswork, and leveraging the best resources might just start to shift healthcare in the direction of, well, the patient’s health. Today, patients AND doctors have access to the information and expertise to deliver the best possible treatment…no matter where they happen to be.

So, when the doctor you need is hundreds of miles away, you may just need to pick up the remote, aim it at the flat-screen TV and say “ahhh” into the camera. The good news is the “doctor is in” and your results are only a click away.

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Mar18

SXSW 2013: Bad Behavior – the Saga of SXSW

Posted by John Nosta from OCH Specialty Marketing - NJ, North America

By John Nosta from OCH Specialty Marketing - NJ, North America | Published: March 18, 2013

sxsw logoAs you act, so you become

Health and digital health are emerging themes at this year’s SXSW.  The chatter is robust, the personalities many, and the health and fitness devices ubiquitous.  The behavior is also legendary.  One notable tweet was: “SXSW is a fountain of knowledge where all go to drink!”  And while this is partly true, it’s the behavior that really got my attention this year—but not what you think.

My observations were around health behavior as it relates to the digital health movement that is taking hold at SXSW.  The “device” was clearly embraced by the attendees.  From higi to dosIQ, the technological mechanics and theories seem to be in place to transform your smartphone to a wellness device that’s going to save your life.  At least, that’s the desired impact.  But it all seems to hinge on this huge leap of faith—will people really do it?

I’m not sure.

Communication must empower innovation

The success of digital health is a function of both technology and a story well told.  We all know about the Higgs particle.  It’s the biggest discovery in physics in the last 100 years.  Some even call it the “God Particle.”  But I challenge anyone to provide a brief description of any aspect of this innovative discovery.  Simply put, there’s a disconnect between the discovery and the relevance.  Similarly, I’m afraid that the mishmash of health devices has become more of a novelty than a true innovation.  And while CERN, the lab that discovered the Higgs particle, continues to receive praise, so do the likes of device manufacturers such as Scanadu, Misfit Wearables, and Fitbit.

Understanding the nature of the health dialogue and how it impacts outcomes is an essential part of the digital health journey.  The complicated discussion of disease is already largely broken in the physician’s office.  And adding to this complexity is the “sell” of digital health.  And conversely, the hectic and often confused lifestyle of a patient (I’m not talking about the fitness freak, where adoption is much simpler) doesn’t bode well for engagement and learning.

So, maybe we need to add a few more presentations at next year’s SXSW around driving the correct behavior when it comes to digital health.  The technology side of the equation seems to be coming together, but the human side is still a bit unclear.  “Build it and they will come” doesn’t always apply to health.  And digital health is no exception, regardless of how cool or sexy.

Check out OCHWW’s other SXSW 2013 blog posts:

SXSW 2013: Small Data in a World of Big Data

SXSW 2013: How Zombies Are Helping Us Get Fit

SXSW 2013: BIG Data and Personal Technology at SXSW

SXSW 2013: The Mobile Healthcare Revolution

SWSW 2013: Empty Information Calories

 

Also posted in Apps, behavior change, Digital, Health & Wellness, SXSW Interactive | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment
Mar12

SXSW 2013: The Mobile Healthcare Revolution

Posted by Martha Walz from Ogilvy CommonHealth, Parsippany, NJ

By Martha Walz from Ogilvy CommonHealth, Parsippany, NJ | Published: March 12, 2013

Fitness+AppMobile has come to healthcare, and in a big way. From digital healthcare products that created a buzz at CES in January to innovative new fitness apps on display at SXSW this week, it’s clear to see that mobile technology will change the way we manage our health. But it also has the potential to revolutionize healthcare globally.

mHealth apps have the potential to improve patients’ quality of life while at the same time reducing healthcare costs. Remote monitoring of patients will reduce the need for face-to-face consultations, saving patients time and money. Electronic health records (EHRs) save on administrative costs for practices and hospitals. Mobile technology can also help save lives in situations where typically nothing can be done. For instance, a mobile heart monitor allowed a doctor to diagnose heart conditions in passengers in-flight on two separate occasions over the past two years–http://bit.ly/WOFeFt. In one case, he diagnosed the passenger as having a heart attack, which led to the pilot making an emergency landing so the passenger could receive treatment.

While a lot of mHealth focuses on such advanced apps and technologies, simple SMS messages can have a great impact on healthcare as well. SMS appointment reminders can reduce the incidence of missed appointments, while text reminders can increase compliance for patients undergoing treatment for chronic conditions.

TxtAlert, an open source project developed by Praekelt Foundation, has exclusively been used for over two years to send antiretroviral treatment reminders to patients in South Africa. According to a report from GSMA and PricewaterhouseCoopers, the success has been resounding with missed appointment rates declining from 27% to 4%. Additionally, SIMpill, a medication management system that detects noncompliance with medication regimens, uses SMS reminders. Results showed 94% compliance in a tuberculosis trial and a 92% cure rate.

Increased compliance and cure rates coupled with lower costs and less hassle for patients is a perfect recipe for patients and healthcare providers alike to adopt mobile solutions in healthcare. This mobile healthcare revolution has the potential to lead to a much higher quality of life for people the world over.

Check out OCHWW’s other SXSW 2013 blog posts:

SXSW 2013: Small Data in a World of Big Data

SXSW 2013: How Zombies Are Helping Us Get Fit

SXSW 2013: BIG Data and Personal Technology at SXSW

SXSW 2013: Bad Behavior – the Saga of SXSW

SXSW 2013: Empty Information Calories

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Please allow 24 hours for response.

Also posted in Apps, Digital, Health & Wellness, Social Media, SXSW Interactive | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment
Mar11

SXSW 2013: BIG Data and Personal Technology at SXSW

Posted by Matt Balogh from Ogilvy CommonHealth, Parsippany, NJ

By Matt Balogh from Ogilvy CommonHealth, Parsippany, NJ | Published: March 11, 2013

4153048(2)Big data isn’t new. We’ve been talking about it for years. What’s new is where it’s coming from and what we’re doing with it.

When it comes to personal information, the term big data used to be synonymous with Big Brother. Google, DoubleClick, pretty much anything you did online was tracked, categorized, and sold. The value exchange wasn’t there (or at least it wasn’t obvious)—so people resisted.

Today that’s not the case. Big data is still there, but we have a new rallying call: context. A personalized layer of technology is built on the aggregate data of yesterday and then combined with personalized data of today linked to deliver real value to users.

The wearable technology that generates personal data is a huge theme at #SXSW this year. Nike has Nike+ and the FuelBand to measure track activity, Oakley has Airwaves for real-time feedback to skiers, Artefact created a Pilates shirt that monitors body position, Google has Project Glass (which we all know), and now a live-feedback talking shoe.

Personal data stemming from mobile technology is in ready supply.  Think of all the things you tell your smartphone.  We list our friends and family in our contacts, we search and browse the Web for things that interest us, and we have favorite apps like Facebook we use all the time. Facebook alone captures tons of data on our likes, dislikes, interests, birthday, and several other demographics.  Gimbal, a mobile contextualization platform dubbed the “digital 6th sense” released by Qualcomm last year, does more than just track you—it uses this data to learn about you.

Indirectly, these devices come standard with a plethora of sensors. Our phones know where we are at all times, how fast we’re moving, in what direction, and at what elevation. They know where we came from, how long we stayed, and where we went next. All that plus the option to add even more personal sensors. Fitbit will track both your activity and your sleep; iHealth tracks your weight, blood pressure, heart rate, body fat, muscle mass, blood glucose, pulse oximetry, and much more.

These devices know everything from who our friends are to what food we like and what’s happening in our own bodies. And because we have begun experiencing the value of the data they collect, we’re okay with it.

Big data isn’t new. What’s new are the wearable and mobile technologies we use to track, optimize, and augment our daily lives.  We no longer fight big data, we contribute to it.

As the SXSW presenters of the Sensor Technologies: The Future of Health talk asked, can you imagine a world in which all your physiologic parameters were measured, monitored, and managed in such a way that you always maintain perfect health?  That world may be just around the corner.

Check out OCHWW’s other SXSW 2013 blog posts:

SXSW 2013: How Zombies Are Helping Us Get Fit

SXSW 2013: Small Data in a World of Big Data

SXSW 2013: The Mobile Healthcare Revolution

SXSW 2013: Bad Behavior – the Saga of SXSW

SXSW 2013: Empty Information Calories

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Questions? Comments? You can contact the author directly at blog@ochww.com.
Please allow 24 hours for response.

Also posted in behavior change, Data, Digital, Health & Wellness, Healthcare Communications, Social Media, SXSW Interactive | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment
Mar8

SXSW 2013: How Zombies Are Helping Us Get Fit

Posted by Martha Walz from Ogilvy CommonHealth, Parsippany, NJ

By Martha Walz from Ogilvy CommonHealth, Parsippany, NJ | Published: March 8, 2013

Zombies Running_1Zombies seem to be everywhere these days, from the big screen (Zombieland, 28 Days Later)  to the small screen (The Walking Dead), to the smallest screen (Plants vs. Zombies). And now they are invading our fitness regimes as well, thanks to a new app, Zombies, Run!, an app that combines immersive storytelling with video game play to make exercise a fun and exciting adventure.

Many mobile apps “gamify” fitness—applying  game-design thinking, turning exercise into points to make it a game. Many companies employ similar fitness competitions at their workplaces, using the number of steps taken per day, number of minutes exercised per week, or percentage of weight lost over a pre determined period of time. Apps take this a step further by adding a social component, encouraging users to add their friends to see how they stack up against them.

Some apps take it to the next level by integrating social media, allowing users to post their progress to their favorite social networks. That social component adds an element of accountability: if Joe posts that his goal is to run a 5K in three months and posts his daily runs on Facebook, his friends become invested in his success as well. If Joe is tired at the end of the workday and wants to skip his run, he might think twice, knowing that his friends are aware of his goal and might ask why he didn’t run that day. Sometimes this accountability is the extra kick that’s needed to decide to tough out a workout instead of scrapping it.

But back to the zombies. Zombies, Run! adds yet one more element to the mix: immersive storytelling. The setup is that you are Runner 5, and hundreds of people are counting on you to save them from zombies. The story is delivered through your headphones while running, and you have 33 missions to choose from, allowing for different speeds and types of workout. On the run, you collect items that you need for your base, and when you are done with your run, you can use these items in the app to rebuild your base. With this app, you become the hero of a story that continues each time you lace up for a run.

The creators of Zombies, Run! are speaking about this innovative new approach this weekend at SXSW. They believe that adding this extra level of entertainment to fitness apps might be the next big thing in digitally tracking personal health. Making exercise fun is exactly what the average American needs to get off the couch and get moving. And if zombies can’t do it, I’m not sure anything can.

Check out OCHWW’s other SXSW 2013 blog posts:

SXSW 2013: Small Data in a World of Big Data

SXSW 2013: The Mobile Healthcare Revolution

SXSW 2013: BIG Data and Personal Technology at SXSW

SXSW 2013: Bad Behavior – the Saga of SXSW

SXSW 2013: Empty Information Calories

CONTINUE THE CONVERSATION:
Questions? Comments? You can contact the author directly at blog@ochww.com.
Please allow 24 hours for response.

Also posted in behavior change, Digital, Health & Wellness, Healthcare Communications, Social Media, SXSW Interactive | Tagged , , , , | 1 Response
Mar4

Catch Us if You Can: Part 2

Posted by Courtney Kober from Ogilvy CommonHealth Wellness Marketing, North America

By Courtney Kober from Ogilvy CommonHealth Wellness Marketing, North America | Published: March 4, 2013

photo 2_m and CCo-authored by Maria Colicchio and Courtney Kober from Ogilvy CommonHealth Wellness Marketing – Parsippany, NJ

As you may have read in our first blog post, seen here, Millennials are taking the world by storm. We’re becoming a prevalent force and we’re shaking things up! Our behaviors and habits may be different from those of other generations, but we’re eager to contribute in a positive way—just give us a chance.

Read on to learn even more about the mystifying Millennial generation as well as to see how you can attend a panel of executives, marketers and media mavens discussing Navigating Today’s Multi-Generational Workplace, hosted at our very own Ogilvy & Mather Chocolate Factory in New York.

Health & Wellness

  • Healthy enough. In general, Millennials haven’t yet reached the lifestage where their health is affected by issues/conditions that older generations may be currently facing. As a result, we’re less likely to frequent our physician’s office and may only go if we really feel under the weather. Online diagnoses play a huge role in our normal life and are a typical pre-step to scheduling a doctor’s appointment. However, it’s understood that search results should be taken with a grain of salt, as there is a bombardment of mediocre health information on the Web. I cherish the doctor’s office that sends me appointment reminders via text and the ones that allow me to schedule appointments online.
  • Fitness information isn’t tailored for us. Fitness experts have been slow to adapt to the needs and demands of Millennials. We’re at an age where we’re not necessarily working out to address health-related issues—rather, we want to relieve stress and feel good about ourselves by staying active. It’s surprisingly difficult to find fitness information that is tailored to our needs.
  • We like social fitness. Fitness is more fun and competitive when done socially. Group classes, such as hot yoga or cycling, are on the rise, and Millennials love this. Even if you can’t get a group of friends in the same fitness studio, we’re working out “together” via apps that track our progress. When I go for a run, I sync up my Nike+ app and post my results to my social feeds. Or, I’ve tallied my workout minutes and calories burned via an app that lets me share with select friends. Seeing social feeds of friends’ workouts or attending a group workout class helps push me to do better!
  • When it comes to food, options are important. Millennials have a heightened awareness of the foods they eat. In response to the nation’s obesity epidemic, our culture is shifting its focus more and more toward health and fitness, and Millennials are demanding healthier food options. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’ll still eat pizza at 2 AM if the situation calls for it. But in general, we’re not interested in foods that have 26 ingredients that we can’t pronounce. We’re also more aware of how food affects our bodies and performance.  I know that if I’m starting to feel ill, there are certain types of foods I need to eat, or if I need to keep my energy levels high all day, I know what combination of foods would achieve that goal.

Social Interactions

  • Dating for a Millennial is totally different. It usually starts with long, drawn-out series of impersonal communications: Facebook messages, texts, or even emails. A “first date” means going out to a bar or maybe a party with groups of friends, and dates stay in that group format for a while.  Gone are the days when you receive a call and are invited out to a romantic dinner for a first date. But, for Millennials, this casual dating style works and we like it.
  • Travel. As a Millennial, I’m eager to see the world. International business trip? Yes! Please send me! Your sister wants you to visit her in SoCal and you want a travel companion? Sure!  While travel for my age group may be different due to limited free funds, I’m still eager to see new places and try new things and will try my best to make it work.
  • Communication. Millennials communicate with their friends and the world differently than previous generations. We’re more likely to send a text versus making a phone call. It’s also typical to have “digital friends,” who are close friends we may have never met. I’ve heard about this, though I don’t have digital friends myself. On any one of my social networking pages, I often post statuses that the average person may not understand—from a funny picture that serves as an inside joke, to a quote from a song or movie that explains a feeling at that moment.

Attitudes Toward Career

  • More optimism than experience. Even in the current economy, Millennials see a bright future ahead of them. And, while they may not be making the money they want right now, they’re confident that they will one day soon.
  • Pay your dues, rookie. A common misconception is that young professionals don’t take their work seriously, or that they lack a strong work ethic. However, nothing can be further from the truth. Rather, we just don’t necessarily trust in the traditional “corporate hierarchy.” We would much prefer approachable, accountable leadership and transparency in the workplace rather than blindly following a CEO title just because we’re told we’re supposed to.
  • Is profit the only thing that matters? Ninety-two percent of Millennials believe that business success should be measured by more than just the bottom line. Innovation and societal development are just as important.
  • Work hard, play harder. We’re a generation that fully embraces the mentality of working hard and playing harder. Millennials will work long hours, without lunch, to get their work done. So, at the end of the day we want to reward ourselves with a good time.

If you found this interesting and would like to learn more about Millennials, you should register for:

Talkin’ Bout My Generation:

Navigating Today’s Multi-Generational Workplace 

 Thursday, March 7, 2013

7:45 am—9:15 am

Register Now, Click Here

Topics will include:

  • How to manage relationships with everyone in the workplace: management, subordinates, and peers
  • How to navigate through Millennial stereotypes…and how can we improve perceptions?
  • How to manage (direct-report) Millennials
  • How to balance eagerness and passivity, both Millennial stereotypes

Moderated by:  Leslie Zaikis, Director of Brand Engagement, Levo League

Panelists will include:

  • Marie-Claire Barker, Global Chief Talent Officer at Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide
  • Aaron Harvey, Entrepreneur and Engagement Director, Ready, Set, Rocket
  • Nikki Nash, Marketing Manager, Consumer Campaigns, Intel
  • Alicesa Vonglukiat, Associate Director Human Resources, Hearst
  • Katharine Zaleski, Managing Editor, NOWTHISNEWS.COM (and former Washington Post Executive Director of Digital News)

 Where: Ogilvy & Mather, 636 11th Ave (between 46th and 47th streets)

CONTINUE THE CONVERSATION:
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Please allow 24 hours for response.

Also posted in advertising, agency life, Creativity, Healthcare Communications, Social Media | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment
Feb20

Jump Into the Petri Dish

Posted by Dan Chichester from Ogilvy Healthworld-NY, North America

By Dan Chichester from Ogilvy Healthworld-NY, North America | Published: February 20, 2013

sxsw logo

What’s the proper armamentarium when it comes to healthcare marketing and digital?

Innovation reports? Transmedia projections? Paradigm framework event horizons? Phased plasma rifles in the 40-watt range?

All may play a role. But I put forward that the most important tool is a firm belief in a simple axiom:

“You don’t know what you don’t know.”

That’ll keep you humble. That’ll keep you honest. Most keen, that’ll keep you hungry. And there’s no better place to find out what you don’t know in digital—and be inspired by the new knowledge that comes with those revelations—than SXSW Interactive.

“SXSW”—South by Southwest, or simply “South by” to vets—is the biggest conference of its kind in the world. Held every March in Austin, Texas, this “geek spring break” is an active incubator for leading-edge concepts and emerging tech. Last year, 25,000+ programmers, educators, designers, bloggers, and influencers took part in 1,000+ presentations, meetups and workshops.

With a crazy variety of programming, SXSW has been called a “big picture analysis of the future.” And as tech entrepreneur Geoffrey Clapp notes, SXSW refreshingly provides a “healthy dose of technologists, futurists, and thinkers who don’t start the conversation with: ‘But the FDA will never let us do that!’”

That doesn’t mean pursuing a compelling trend in spite of regulatory concerns. Experience provides the proper filters and balance. But achieving the potential of our clients’ brands means being energized and active in this critical area.

How does this compare to your typical healthcare web conferences? Web consultant Ed Bennett calls out most of those events as “3 to 5 years behind the curve. At SXSW, I’m seeing 3 to 5 years out.” Me, I’ve always liked the angle of living in the future, challenged and exposed to new ways of keeping the neurons firing. Plus I dig the idea of owning a personal jetpack.

At Ogilvy CommonHealth Worldwide, digital—laptops, tablets, smartphones, websites, apps or whatzits yet to be conjured — is the critical cornerstone for our next-gen biz. That’s sympatico with the words of web strategist Jeremiah Owyang: “With engagement experiments everywhere you look, SXSW is a petri dish of social and interactive behaviors, a bellwether of what could be…” I was never much good at math—but even I can multiply those two thoughts to see there’s enormous potential in being in Austin in March.

That’s why we’ve committed to participating in this “serendipitous living lab.” There’s a deliberate chaos at work that fosters connections that weren’t expected. Our troops on the ground are there to forge new relationships with digital stakeholders, garnering dynamic insights into what’s next—and exploring ways that our pharma and healthcare partners can take advantage. This is where we can hammer and hone our expertise, test bold ideas, and share thought leadership to the health and wellness discussions rising up at South by.

As evidence of that: SXSW’s highly competitive panel selection process picked not just one, but two of our presentations to be featured sessions at the 2013 show: Digital Primitives—The Anthropology of Social, by Brad Davidson and Rob Malouf; and Information Overload & Health Decisions, hosted by Joe Gattuso and John Nosta. Watch this space: they will be sharing details on these very interesting conversations in the weeks leading up to SXSW.

This isn’t an event for every agency. The buzz isn’t always accurate. The noise level can be overwhelming. Up against that, some marketers may conclude that the comfort zone of business-as-usual has an easy, “We’ve got this!” appeal. Until that buffer erodes—quickly—and hanging back becomes left behind.

That’s not a position we’ve ever been willing to take. That’s what makes our investment in SXSW so worth it. To learn what we don’t know. To debate possibilities. To level up. To make certain our contribution to each client’s business features the right piece of the future.

If your calendar doesn’t feature SXSW Interactive this year, don’t feel left out. We will be glad to catch you up—in person, or via WebEx. More than a recap, we can also make this about identifying opportunities for your company and brand at the 2014 show. Let me know and we’ll set it up.

And if you do find yourself in Austin between March 8th and 12th, shoot me a note, text or tweet. I can always use a good collaborator on getting that jetpack fired up.

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Questions? Comments? You can contact the author directly at blog@ochww.com.
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Jan18

Consumer Electronics Show 2013 (4 of 4): The Car as a Platform

Posted by Chris Cullmann from Ogilvy CommonHealth Worldwide - Parsippany, NJ

By Chris Cullmann from Ogilvy CommonHealth Worldwide - Parsippany, NJ | Published: January 18, 2013

Connected-CarThis year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES) has seen the maturation of a relatively new category of hardware and software integration: the connected car. Our cars are quickly becoming platforms the same way our computers and tablets are.

Smartphones have introduced us to “app culture.” We are quickly adjusting to including these small tools into our daily lives. We tweet, chat, take photos, share experiences, look up information, journal our health, and photograph and deposit checks.

For the last few years Ford, BMW, and Toyota have been working on integrated solutions that bring app technology to our car’s console. These systems, often referred to as “embedded,” are bridging our connected digital world with the somewhat sequestered automotive one.

What does a connected car do for a driver? The more straightforward applications include: entertainment from your cloud-based library and streaming services, and location-based services that present your favorite foods at key times or special coupon offers as you run your weekly errands. These are low-hanging fruit for app developers.

The application program interfaces (APIs) released at this year’s CES offer developers access to systems within the car: environmental conditions, braking and acceleration information, climate control status. All of these are useful information if we are keeping our drivers and their passengers safe. Inconsistent acceleration and braking may be signs of an alertness issue or, if a patient is recovering from cardiac complications, signs of a heart attack.

For a diabetic patient or family member, access to blood sugar status can help families remain proactive in their health. With an API like the one that Ford announced for their SYNC software, patients using an insulin pump can be alerted to changes without being distracted from their driving. This same technology can help monitor time behind the wheel without stopping and encourage an appropriate break from a long road trip.

Patients who have implanted defibrillators can also benefit from communication between the car and patient. In the event that such a device is triggered, the car can be brought to a stop or perhaps even “driven” to safety.

The “Internet of things” has become the vernacular for devices, like our cars, that communicate with the devices around them. Automotive manufacturers that are releasing their APIs are not only ahead of the curve, but are also extending their value to consumers and the public at large.

What it means to pharma

As devices like our phones and cars become aware of one another and their owners, there will be an increasing focus on how our personal behavior can be used to improve our lives. Healthcare (and personal health) is quickly becoming the focus of many new innovations. Our calories are being counted, our walks cached and calculated. All of this data can now be used to create profiles and predict outcomes that result from good and bad behaviors.

Pharma will have a difficult time accessing people’s personal data, but being able to help physicians and healthcare professionals interpret and find insight from this data will be an easy pathway to improved wellness and superior outcomes.

Keep an eye out for the first round of apps and programs that begin to combine data using APIs and help tailor services to those healthy and ill. Sooner than later, our devices and electronics will be advising us to have a hot cup of soup to ward off the sniffles.

Next steps

There is no reason to sit idly by while the revolution of connectivity happens at CES and in the coming year. The benefit to APIs is the creation of an accessible platform developers can leverage to quickly and easily get projects off the ground and into market.

Reach out to your agency, internal teams, and technical experts and see what they’re excited about. Challenge these teams to think about and build solutions that can work with your patients and customers. We have an entire team of experts who are excited to share their ideas and vision with you and your entire team.

CES 2013 Series:

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Questions? Comments? You can contact the author directly at blog@ochww.com.
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