The document discusses the evolving landscape of health communications, highlighting the shift towards digital platforms and social media, with health information consumption increasingly driven by online sources. It emphasizes the importance of understanding diverse patient populations and leveraging new technologies like podcasts and broadband to reach and engage audiences effectively. The analysis also points to the need for healthcare communications firms to maintain strong stakeholder relationships and adapt traditional PR strategies to meet contemporary communication challenges.

1. Healthcare PR: A 360 ° View The Changing Communications Atmosphere…

2. Covered Topics Today’s Health Communications Atmosphere What’s Hot, What’s New and What’s Working Meet Spectrum Science Communications

3. Today’s Health Communications Atmosphere: A Changing World Increased scrutiny Pressure to maintain ROI Explosion of health information but health literacy not keeping pace Increasing sophistication, specialization of patient groups More educated consumers, more active groups Diverse patient populations with special needs

4. Mass Communications Channels Losing Power Landscape changing with advent of satellite radio 77% spend “a lot of time” reading health and medicine stories Local, health news still popular BUT Explosion in new comm. vehicles such as blogs, texting, social networks, etc. Local TV News Down 30% Regular viewership is 54% Nightly Network News Down 53% Regular viewership is 28% Regular listenership is 36% Radio Down 23% Regular readership is 40% Papers Down 31%

5. Social Media Use Climbing 31% go online for news – up from 2% News aggregators, large sites dominate (MSNBC, Yahoo, CNN) Valued for headlines, convenience Accessibility and speed are key Online audience is aging – almost all growth among those 25-64 New technology expanding news consumption 13% of young people get news from cell phone, PDA, iPod Social Utilities Facebook users age 35+ increased 98% from May ’06 – May ‘07 Blogs Over the past 5 years, the number of times blogs and bloggers have been mentioned in major newspapers and magazines has increased 16 fold. 57 percent of surveyed journalists read blogs at least 2-3 times per week. Source: Pew Institute

6. Internet Empowering Health Decisions 80% of Internet users searched for one of 16 major health topics online 59% first go online for health info vs 55% who contact health professional Online support groups especially helpful for those with uncommon, hard-to-treat diseases BUT Half of all Americans - nearly 90 million adults - have difficulty understanding and using health information Over 300 studies indicate that health-related materials cannot be understood by most of the people for whom they are intended.

7. Internet Also Empowering Reporting Reporters and bloggers are like you and me 1st stop for information is the Internet Blogs, Internet chatter provide validation and relevancy Creates wide-world of experts Online outlets act as “farm teams” Opportunity to develop relationships with future media stars

8. It’s a Media Convergence Media convergence occurs when a medium crosses-over into the territory traditionally occupied by a different class of media. Blurring the boundaries of print and electronic media, radio and television. Benefits Reach your audience in multiple ways Audience remembers your message through repetition Fosters communications on the user’s own terms

9. Integration: All the Variety of Main Street Right at Your Fingertips

10. Targeted Messaging/Audience Segmentation Identify and target appropriate audience Create relevance Understandable message Credible Breakthrough hurdles Relevance to their daily life Resonance = emotional response Offer the solution in an accessible forum

11. Virtual Communications New forms of media provide endless opportunities to connect with your audience Broadband and mobile technology are creating new avenues to share information

12. Tapping Into Online Communities Virtual communities allow people to share information about products, find support and establish a sense of belonging Provide an opportunity to target and engage audiences 84% of internet users belong to some kind of online group Health care communities 35% look for advise or support from others 32 % look for information or compare options 28% look for professional/ expert services

13. Wiki: Encyclopedia for the Common Man Wikipedia is a free, open-content encyclopedia project User-generated content Monitored for citations, making it more credible Can be useful exposure for companies, advocacy groups, etc.

14. Look Who’s Talking: “ME” Media A blog is an online journal that provides your customers with the ability to share their thoughts with other people just like them Establishes a 2-way conversation with visitors How does this relate to the industry? It’s important to monitor blogs to understand how people perceive your company, products, issues Blogs provide a window into your customers’ psyche **Good practice: patient blogs share struggle with health issues and talk about solutions Technorati now tracks more than 112.8 million blogs and 250 million pieces of tagged social media.

15. Blurring the Lines Between Local/National News An individual blog + allows “ ME” media to join mass media. Really Simple Syndication is a inexpensive file format that also allows syndication of Web content from sources like blogs, newsfeeds, and podcast subscribers.

16. Catered Content: Podcasts Internet audio or video file that can be downloaded to a portable listening or video device: ipod, mp3 player, Zune Good for audiences in the right demographic of user Allows users to listen whenever and wherever Topics don’t have to be time sensitive Market trend Podcast audience expected to climb from 840,000 in 2005 to 56 million by 2010

17. Lights. Camera. Broadband. What is it? Broadband is a technology that allows you to distribute larger, more sophisticated content across multiple media platforms such as web, cell phones, wireless devices, cable, etc. Market trend The number of broadband households is expected to grow from 13 million (2005) to nearly 131 million by 2010.

18. How we Leverage Broadband Video Content Explore opportunities to share new studies, results, video press releases, press conferences, network interviews, etc. Content aggregators such as Yahoo, Google, AOL, etc. currently lack variety of health related video content. Video content online allows companies and users to tell and share their stories through new media platforms.

19. Strong Stakeholder Relations Earn Enhanced Reputation

20. Reputation: It’s All About Relationships Branded Web Site News Article on Research YOUR BRAND or HEALTH ISSUE Unbranded Online Community Branded Event Word of Mouth Doctor’s Office Materials Patient Profile News Story Conversation with HCP

21. Creating Touchpoints to Create a Preference Spectrum has a track record of successful partnerships with celebrities, foundations, and advocacy groups. Tour of Hope with Lance Armstrong Foundation, promoting cancer awareness David “Squiggy” Lander, promoting MS awareness

22. Consistent, Reflective Programming will Resonate Embrace transparency to build trust Speak with one voice, message consistency across all functions Put yourself in your stakeholders’ shoes Brand you’ve created internally must meet the outside world Strong PR capability will establish the base from which a product can move

23. All PR is Local

24. The Basics Still Work: Not Much Pixie Dust in Today’s PR Press releases and press kits remain important Streamline: think b-roll, Web-ready video Cultivate relationships with top-tier media – they value 1:1 interaction Write for the communications channel – nuance and style differ for Internet, print, broadcast Know how to tailor your pitch – make it big, make it local or forget about it

25. Meet Spectrum: One of the Nation’s Top Healthcare Communications Firms The Right Size 50+ health-only professionals Big PR firm experience, service, global reach Independence = laser focus The Right Smarts Top health media contacts Strong track record High-performance, top-quality results Can-do, creative approaches Enthusiastic, empowered teams The Right Specialty 100% health care communications

26. SPECTRUM SCIENCE COMMUNICATIONS 2000 K STREET NW SECOND FLOOR WASHINGTON, DC 20006-1890 T 202 955 6222 SPECTRUMSCIENCE.COM