News roundup

The most effective weight loss tool may be anonymous supporters

Adherence programs take note, one of the most effective ways for patients to stay compliant with their programs is by engaging others. The Reddit group works on the phenomena of Consistency (which makes us more likely to follow through with something if we declare it to others) and positive reinforcement from peers.

While not an adherence program per-se, a lot can be learned by looking through this public site.

Mashable

Get these news alerts delivered to your inbox every Friday, subscribe to the Klick Wire and stay on top of digital marketing with a healthcare focus.

The trouble with mobile? Speed.

This report by the PEW Internet group shows a number of issues that mobile users face, including dropped calls etc. The most important issue for digital healthcare marketers is the issue of download speed. We need to revisit the issues of the late 1990′s when websites were optimized for slow modem speeds to account for the painful variability of connection speeds that users experience on smartphones.

See also:

• Digital Rx post – My ten-second rule
• Keynote Systems paper on mobile users… 64% want a mobile site to download in 4 seconds, “too slow” is top frustration

PEW Internet

80% of consumers’ choice influenced by digital by 2015 – Gartner

Some insights from the report (you can download the PDF from ExactTarget):

• Email preference dropped for personal communications, but increased for opt-in marketing communications
• 20% have made a purchase after receiving a marketing message on Facebook
• Mass market campaigns are getting a response rate of 2% and declining

As marketers prepare for the 2012 holiday season, Rohrs said a successful cross-channel strategy requires knowledge of device, channel and content preferences for a specific campaign. The study approached 1,500 U.S. online consumers on online interactions and brand expectation.

Online Media Daily

P&G uses Olympics events to create “perfect storm”

We couldn’t let the Olympics go by without a mention. P&G has described its social tactics as a way to create a “perfect storm” of coverage through TV, digital, social, and PR.

Mr. Pritchard gave an example of how P&G sought to create the “perfect storm” during a recent beach volleyball match played by Americans Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh. Halfway through the third set, NBC aired a “Thank you, Mom” segment where Ms. Walsh praised her mother, which was followed by an ad from Pampers (Ms. Walsh’s sponsor) and then a P&G ad. Meanwhile, Facebook posts and tweets were being fired out to cheer them on.

Also: McDonalds loses on Twitter, P&G wins

AdAge Digital

Mobile and social converge for Americans

An eMarketer report shows the penetration and growth of social activities on mobile devices in the US. This data shows current social usage on mobile devices at 33.7% and rising to 46.3% following continuing conversions from feature phones to smartphones.

Also from eMarketer this week:

• Android grabs ever-greater share of smartphone market
• Twitter usage surpasses 20% of social media users (10% of population)
• Uncovering demographic differences in tablet activities

eMarketer

Daiichi Sankyo uses internal social media to boost interaction

Daiichi Sankyo has created an internal communications channel, named Chatter, that helps its different regions and divisions share information and ideas. The system is integrated with the company’s Salesforce CRM platform.

According to Taylor, the initial response was ‘generally curious’ but a little wary. As staff gained confidence, though, Chatter has seen a ‘massive’ increase in usage. Now it is “hard to imagine business life without it,” while e-mail is looking ‘increasingly pedestrian’ as a communication channel.

On a related note, Klick’s intranet, Genome, also has a social element named Chatter that helps our teams share information and ideas. It’s a popular name…

InPharm

The average tablet owner is getting older

Marketing Charts reports that the average age for tablets is getting older as they penetrate all demographics (based on comScore data).

Other findings in the study were that the OS of the tablet is not tied to which phone the owner has, price is important, and user satisfaction is high.

For the source data, look at the comScore press release for its new TabLens product.

Marketing Charts

iPads improve cancer care

iPads being used at the Duke University oncology department has helped both physicians and patients. The physicians were reported to reduce recording time for patient information by 17% while patients were able to provide more accurate, and more honest, information.

“Three-quarters of breast-cancer patients reported that they were able to remember their symptoms more accurately, and one-third of them said the online questionnaire prompted them to bring up issues with their doctors,” he adds. “Patients are also more forthcoming about alcohol use, sex lives, anxiety and depression on the tablets than they are in person.”

Mobi Health News

FDA Roundup

• Untitled letter to Valeant for overstatement of efficacy and unsubstantiated superiority claims for Zovirax cream.
• Untitled letter to Forest for verbal comments from a Rep to a physician that reportedly served to broaden the indication and minimize the risk of the drug. Reported as part of the bad ad program.
• Generic Singulair approved for ten companies: Apotex Inc., Aurobindo Pharma, Endo Pharmaceuticals, Glenmark Generics, Kudco Ireland Inc., Mylan Inc., Roxane Laboratories, Sandoz Inc., Teva Pharmaceuticals Inc., and Torrent Pharmaceuticals.

FDA Website