The problem may lie with how most marketers are using Twitter, that is, as a “broadcast medium” rather than a forum for conversation:

“…only 1% of consumer tweets that mention a brand are part of an active conversation with that brand, meaning marketers are, for the most part, conducting one-way conversations — the opposite of the way consumers often use Twitter.”

Rather instructive, but how do you make Twitter more conversational in a heavily regulated industry in which every last word of communication must be vetted by numerous gatekeepers? Well, it’s time to change the game a bit.

Don’t think DDMAC will ever lighten up? Don’t be so sure. Other branches of the federal government recognize the value of social media; the FDA may not be far behind.

A recent article in the New York Times details the State Department’s embrace of “digital diplomacy” and, more importantly, its understanding of the use of social media (when was the last time you heard that about the U.S. government?).

“Traditional forms of diplomacy still dominate, but 21st-century statecraft is not mere corporate rebranding — swapping tweets for broadcasts. It represents a shift in form and in strategy — a way to amplify traditional diplomatic efforts…”

There’s nothing to be gained by sitting out the social media age, as the article points out, and that’s as true for corporations and brands as for the federal government. It requires rethinking some of the givens of more traditional communications, though.

“‘The loss of control you fear is already in the past,’ [according to New York University professor Clay Shirky.] ‘You do not actually control the message, and if you believe you control the message, it merely means you no longer understand what is going on.’”

So complete, unyielding control is out of the question, but that doesn’t mean it’s hopeless until DDMAC and MLR catch up. Look at it this way: if you aren’t in the conversation at all, you can’t hope to influence it. But just being present isn’t enough; you need to be savvy.

Learn from the example of BP: in the early days of the oil spill, they muttered a few things under their breath in the media — both the traditional and social varieties — but were largely mum. Into this vacuum slipped BP Global PR, and the rest is Twitter history. (Not familiar? It’s worth clicking that link; it won’t need explanation.)

Brands may not be relevant on Twitter at present, but they can be. The question is, will your brand be among the vanguard that figures out how to use social media to the best advantage? DDMAC or no, it can be. It just requires a little finesse.

• NPR recently reported on doctor “speed-dating” at a Dallas-area hospital.  This practice is gaining traction: patients appreciate being able to vet practitioners quickly and in one shot, and physicians are grateful to have help growing their practices. The hospitals say they do it because it’s good business for them to make the docs’ lives easier — something every successful pharma marketer knows.
• An opinion piece in the LA Times sees a physician lamenting all the choices available to her in prescription drugs. It can get overwhelming: “…having options isn’t always all it’s cracked up to be. Often an obviously ‘best’ choice doesn’t exist.”
• This one has been bookmarked for a while: a fascinating article in Wired last summer about how the placebo effect is gaining strength (and why that’s bad news for the pharmaceutical industry).
• Perhaps we need placebo “chill pills” for worried parents: a new study finds that parents have a much darker view of their children’s health than the kids themselves do. While the ‘rents are sure their child’s quality of life is suffering (because of epilepsy, in this case), Junior is focused on the now, worrying about the things kids worry about: tomorrow’s math test, tonight’s Little League game, and OMG, is that a zit!?

Medicine’s journey through the body served as inspiration for the project, according to Rashid.  I think Oaza Zdravlja pharmacy would inspire me to forget my sniffles for a few minutes when stopping by to pick up my Tamiflu.

The design may not be to everyone’s taste, but you can’t deny that it is refreshing to see such an innovative approach.  There’s no reason a pharmacy needs to be sterile, at least figuratively speaking.  And that’s exactly our approach to pharma: it’s serious subject matter, but that doesn’t mean we can’t have a little fun with it.  And there’s no question in our minds that a big visual impact drives customer preference.  Rashid’s design demonstrates a keen understanding of the need to “own the minds” of his audience.  The importance of this can’t be stressed enough.  I know where I would fill my scripts if given a choice between Rashid’s appealing apothecary and the bland, beige drugstore around the corner.

Here’s a recent example of our Friday afternoon ritual: this time it involved a little jack-o-lantern-ing.

Some of us look a little too at home wielding knives.
The art directors were careful to sketch out their “concepts” before taking a stab, of course.	It’s all fun and games until someone loses his mind.
The payoff.

Enter mPedigree. This service provides drug distributors with uniquely coded scratch-off labels that are attached to individual units. When consumers receive their prescription medication, they scratch off the label to reveal the serial number, which they then text to an automated service that sends an immediate response indicating whether or not the drug they’ve received is authentic.

Unlike Western methods of combating counterfeit drugs, which rely on supply-side methods of verification such as radiofrequency identification (RFID), the mPedigree model puts power in the hands of those with the most at stake — the patients. Cell phones and text messaging are pervasive in much of Africa, making this a very simple and easily adoptable way to help ensure drug safety.

mPedigree began in Ghana, where its developers hail from, but there are pilot programs underway in other countries. I’d love to see Big Pharma get behind this initiative in a big way. The greatest danger posed by counterfeit drugs is, of course, the health threat: fake medicines have killed and injured thousands around the world. But drug companies’ bottom lines are also threatened by bootleg drugs. I certainly don’t mean to imply that pharmaceutical companies can’t act altruistically, but the financial incentive should provide further motivation to work with mPedigree and similar programs.

Find out more:
mPedigree: Putting Safety into Consumers’ Hands [World Changing]
Counterfeit medicines: the silent epidemic [World Health Organization]
China pushes fake “Indian” drugs in Africa [domain-b]

Is this what pharmaceutical ads will look like on Twitter?

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@DDMAC: Sorry that last tweet lacked a fair balance.

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We may have our work cut out for us.