Social Media in Healthcare Case study:Digitas Health

Research Question: How Can Social Media Be Used to Move Healthcare Forward? A Research Case Study Agency: Digitas Health SM Campaign: Celebrationchain.org

Health 2.0 Revolution
Why Now ?
E- Patients are going online for Health Info
Physicians are going online for Professional Resources
Revolution Health founder Steven Case said “the consumer will demand to know [the good and bad] and will want to be empowered."
Paul Levy Blog “How to Run a Hospital”- Hyper-Transparency. Now 200+
Healthcentral.com: “patient-experts” blog to share experience & support
Patientslikeme: Shares ALL patient information with names, sells data
Electronic Health Records - Businessweek coverage by C. Arnst
SEMO, Medipeadia: Trusera, WEGOHealthcare, San Francisco & Brooklyn Web-docs.
Holt’s Health 2.0 Conference “Patients as Partners”
The Economist April ’09 Special Issue on “Digital Health”
Healthcare Reform: Obama “Social Media King”

Social Media Revolution
“ Social media spending will grow faster than spending in other interactive marketing channels” Christine Overby, Forrester Research VP-research director, said in a statement .
“ For consumer-facing companies, that means tapping into consumers’ increasing expectation that they will participate with your brand.
For b-to-b firms, it means leveraging the power of innovative customers who are increasingly engaging with their peers to solve their problems.”
One third (35%) of American adult internet users have a profile on an online social network site, four times as many as three years ago, but still much lower than the 65% of online American teens who use social networks
Pew Internet & American Life Project’s December 2008 tracking survey.

Digitas Health “likes to take a product to market in the midst of a revolution.” CEO David Kramer
Publicis said digital and interactive communication revenue accounted for 19% of the company's revenue in 2008, up from 15% in 2007.
Publicis' stated goal is "to generate 25%
of its revenues from digital, interactive and mobile
communications by 2010."
Measure of Success for Digitas Health:

Uses & Gratifications Theory The choices which people make are motivated by the desire to satisfy (or 'gratify') a range of needs. U&G identifies how people use the media to gratify their needs. Blumler J.G. & Katz, E. (1974).
Needs which audiences seek to gratify:
Information seeking
Personal Relevance
Continuing relationships
Social Interaction
Eentertainment
Eighmey & McCord ‘97
U&G Scholar Sampling:
Herzog ‘44
Katz ‘74
Palmgreen & Rubin’86
Rubin & Bantz ‘89
Rafaelli ‘96
Kehn ‘94
Yoo ‘96
Eighmey & McCord ‘97
Ruggerio 2001

Uses & Gratifications Theory Evolution
Why U&G?
U&G has a long history of evolution in application to any Mass Communication in Media:
Radio, TV, CMC, Social Media
Best Suited to Social Media
“ Information becomes a relationship on the W.W.W.…the audience… can engage in the exchange of information.”
Eighmey and McCord, 1998

Research Methods
First Person Interviews:
CEO phone interview
One former DH employee
One user of Celebrationchain.org
Documentation Articles: and Financials (Publicis)
Internal Communications: Informal Corporate Communications
Trade Magazines, Business Journals
Books: Groundswell, The New Influencers,
New Rules of Marketing & PR
Published Expert Blogs
Online Health sites

Why? To Participate in the Conversation
AstraZeneca wanted to build an online tool for the breast cancer community to celebrate and support its patients and survivors.
One of AstraZeneca’s cancer drugs is Arimidex, which is indicated for early and advanced breast cancer.
The aim was to raise awareness of Arimidex and AstraZeneca and demonstrate the company’s commitment to breast cancer and provide charitable contribution to advocacy groups.  
Celebration Chain represents individual women who are united by an experience with breast cancer.
Friends or family who want to honor a breast cancer sufferer can choose an avatar or celebration doll, a simple, whimsical, and endearing rich-media animation that reflects a patient/survivor’s personality . They can then send the doll to their loved one via email to create a celebration chain. For every new doll created, AstraZeneca donated $1 to charity.
Other friends can also create their own celebrations in support of the cancer patient.
The idea is to act as a supportive network for the women being treated for breast cancer. The idea spread virally and was picked up by bloggers who endorsed the Celebration Chain.  As of February 2009, over 17,000 celebrations had been created, and many more (90,000+) had visited the site to view them.  

Astra Zeneca’s Celebrationchain.org for Armidex “… to Celebrate and Support breast cancer patients and survivors…” Astra Zeneca Spokesperson

BigPharma: The Obstacles
UGC Regulatory/ Legal Issues
Adverse Effects Reporting
Fair Balance Representation
Off Label Discussions
Lack of exposure/experience with social media
No defined federal/industry regulations
Associate social media with lack of control (e.g. My Space, random blogs, etc.)
Traditional Pharma has a convoluted and outdated Business Model

Social Media Guidelines are Opposed to Pharma Marketing Approach
Social Media is NOT just a Technological evolution… It’s also a Cultural Revolution…In fact, it’s a cultural shift
From PUSH content (TV, Newspaper, Journals, Radio, etc.), To PULL content (blogs, podcasts, wikis)…
From a monologue, To a conversation…
From individual consumption, To group participation…
From a sales pitch, To authenticity and transparency…
From trying to get publicity, To pursuing personal interaction…
Shwen Gwee
Founder & Host Med 2.0 Blog and Podcast
Social Media Requires 2-Way Conversation. Traditionally BigPharma has been conservative in all its communications preferring to “shout” at consumers and disseminate only select information.

The Digitas Health Way: Interview with CEO David Kramer
Digital at thinking core: tech, analytics, creative, mission, individualization
MBC emerged from David’s insight of need for Relationship and Relevance in pharma marketing
“ Guide, Provide, Connect”
“ Direct-For-Consumer”
“ Clients, Get a Helmet”
No bargins
No reservations
No secrets
What Next?
SM is no USP for DH any longer.

Woops! Further AZ Findings
Recent Astra Zeneca social media missteps highlight the experimental and delicate nature if HC foray in to SM.
A) AZ Twitter FDA breech as a result of conservative approach to SM.
B) AZ caught as secret source in Wikipedia edit regarding non-approved uses of the drug Quietapine by WikiWatch
Revised statement/proposition:
DH currently in pivotal position. They are still the healthcare digi-marketing leader but how will they stay there?
Maintain growth in world economic downturn?
USP of SM in HC application becoming the widely accepted norm in agency work?

How Did that Work for Digitas Health?
Digitas Health Measurements: 2008
Revenue growth of approximately 50 percent
Increase in employees from 180 to 275
95 new hires in Philadelphia
More than 110 Digitas Health employees in New York
15 new brand/account wins
Our first global assignment with many to follow
21 awards and honors for great work including Webby, PHAme , and MMM’s Agency of the Year 2009
Client List:

ROI vs. ROP “Investment vs. Participation”
Measurement Depends On Your Objectives
Determine what you want to measure
Corporate reputation?
Conversations among target audience?
Awareness in naïve group?
Conduct Front-end Research to see if the needle has been moved
Relate objectives to traditional media…
How do you measure the effectiveness of your SM campaigns (press mentions) ?
Remember how low Investment is.
Monitor all relevant SM outlets and blogs including competitors!

Q2: How can DH maintain its position as a digital market leader going forward?
Relationships, Relationships, Relationships:
Deepen interaction and relationships with Healthcare professionals: Medical SM, World-wide Access & Open Source Forums
Strengthen and develop long-term relationships with Regulatory Government Offices like FDA and individuals
Maintain and develop strong strategic alliances: Google
Optimize Publicis Resources: China & India role-out of low-cost digital production

Q2: How can DH maintain its position as a digital market leader going forward?
Alternate Option:
Establish a new USP
Establish a new USP: Specialize in Individualized Relationship Management & PR along with existing agency services
Establish a new USP: Develop client-based services of individualized and specific healthcare crisis communication planning
Establish a new USP: Innovate in guiding client responses to UGC and AE pharma-challenges establishing DH as a participant in the establishment and interpretation of Pharma SM guidelines.
Establish a new USP that is still in line with DH founding mission.

Proposal to Improve upon DH success with a new Communications Strategy:
Build consumer base for sustainable and loyal health care social network (ref: Groundswell Best Practices) through community outreach programs educating seniors in SMHC literacy.
Reasoning: U&G attribute data on Senior G/S and G/O correspond to DH core mission and goals of SMHC
Further Research:
Gather further data on applicable U&G attributes in HCSM to tap new and segmented audience opportunities
Explore E/V models in relation to U&G of HCSM such as self-efficacy in attitudes and behavioral intentions
Implement grass-roots programs to bridge digi-divide as DH roles out across the globe for relationship-building, community goodwill as well as insight and data gathering .

The Digitas Health Mantra Continues
Guide The Conversation
Provide Participants with Tools and Information
Connect Them to Each Other

Limitations and Implications for Future Study
One of the biggest challenges in this study was defining interactive media. The lines
between social media and other forms of interactive programs, applications, games, etc. is
blurred. During an exploratory pre-test consisting of open-ended questions, respondents
confused websites like myspace and facebook with interactive media. When asked what types of
interactive media they were familiar with, most respondents listed search engines, email and
social networking sites. Despite the prevalence and success of online interactive campaigns, the
term 妬 interactive media does not necessarily translate to advertising to the average consumer.
This study was limited in that it did not provide sufficient insight into the level of brand loyalty
consumers exhibit by participating in interactive media, nor did it capture historical information or
self regulation processes as they pertain to goal generation in light of past experiences.
Conducting a study focusing on this aspect of consumer attitude and behavior based on outcome
expectations would make good use of E/V theory, which when applied to Internet
uses and gratifications study can explain how expectations about positive outcomes of Internet
use increase usage (LaRose et al.).

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Social Media in Healthcare Case study:Digitas Health

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