Source: blog.roskadigital.com
Author: Kurt Mueller

I’ve talked a lot recently about new technologies and even shown some examples of what I think are solid implementations in the pharmaceutical marketing and healthcare spaces.

QR (quick response) codes, for example, are gaining traction. Nonprofit organizations like the American Cancer Society and the Oral Cancer Foundation have effectively used QR codes to promote disease awareness, and now other healthcare marketers are beginning to take note. We are even using them as part of branded product programs designed to engage young mothers and provide them with educational content served right to the device they use most…their smartphone.

Now here’s the catch.

All of these success cases began with a solid strategy, not with the technology. All too often marketers get caught up in the glitz and glam of the next hottest technology (or what they’ve heard from others) and then look for a product, brand or initiative in which to find it a home. This usually ends up with a campaign that’s a dud, get’s executive management upset, and usually reduces your budget the following year when you haven’t been able to deliver the goods in terms of ROI.

I recently received an email as part of a product campaign I subscribe to (which shall remain nameless to spare them the shame), with a QR code at the bottom as a call to action. When I snapped the code it did nothing more than take me to an existing page on the product website I could have gotten to by clicking a link in the email. Not only did it not provide me with any tangible value, it made me work harder to get to the same place I could have reached had I just clicked the link in my email.

Maybe if it delivered a coupon or rebate to my phone that I could redeem at register when I went to the pharmacy I could somewhat rationalize the approach. But nothing more than a link to existing web content? Are you kidding me?

That’s why we really need to get people thinking differently. And to that point, it was a main driver behind an initiative we’re launching with PharmaVOICE this month called “A Different Perspective.” In 2011 we’re on a mission to publish content each month designed to provide brand managers, pharma marketers, and agencies alike with viewpoints and guidance that help get the industry thinking differently.

In the January 2011 edition titled, “Technology Fad or Rad?” I talk about the need for a solid digital strategy, citing data from Accenture and John Mack from Pharma Marketing News.

And, if you want more information that answers the question, you can access my presentation from the ePatient Connections 2010 conference on YouTube.