“This is an exciting product because it provides a minimally invasive treatment that doctors can turn to when conservative therapies like increased fiber consumption and biofeedback don’t work, or when surgery isn’t an option,” says Mike Banner, executive VP, managing partner and director of Client Services with Concentric. “This can be as many as half of the patients suffering from fecal incontinence, who then have no other option but to learn to live with the problem.”

This is a patient segment with a significant need. While no existing options can completely solve their problem, Solesta will offer a unique and valuable solution that could dramatically improve many lives.

Concentric managers state that the agency embraces building relationship programs around the products they promote to help increase their value. It is an opportunity to use digital, mobile, and other off-line channels to help manage the day-to-day difficulties people face when dealing with an ailment. This helps increase the perceived value of the treatment and ultimately, the lives of those treated. At the same time, this approach lessens the burden on physicians and their staff — increasing their appreciation of the treatment as well.

According to the National Digestive Information Clearinghouse, more than 5.5 million Americans suffer from fecal incontinence. The condition can be caused by a variety of issues, including aging and childbirth, and treatments range from modifying nutritional intake to surgery. The condition can have significant effects on a patient’s quality of life and psychological well-being, as many people resort to altering their social and physical activities, even their employment, to cope with the problem.

“We have worked with Concentric on many projects over the past two years,” says Matthew Rue, senior VP, marketing, Oceana Therapeutics. “Their process-driven approach will uncover creative ways to communicate the benefits of this treatment to physicians treating, and patients dealing with, this overwhelming condition.”

Concentric specializes in specialty pharmaceuticals and understand that the dynamics of the specialty environment are more complicated than most. Agency managers believe it is important to help exemplify how a drug or medical device can solve the problems patients deal with on a daily basis. It is not always about efficacy, but rather a delicate balance between practice issues — including cost and physician resources — patient satisfaction and sound clinical action.

In this instance, patients are dealing with a serious quality-of-life issue that cannot be completely resolved and competing with surgical solutions that are simple and profitable. The benefits of this product extend well beyond the efficacy data that is seen in clinical trials and the agency is working to help the physician, patient, and managed-care customers understand and appreciate these advantages.

Core-Create

“As healthcare communications specialists, we know that sometimes the disease can define the individual,” says Ken Ribotsky, president and CEO, Core-Create. “Here, kids just get to be themselves. We love having the opportunity to help patients feel like the disease does not own them.

The ad, which reads “Slaying A Dragon Is A Welcome Break From Fighting Cancer,” is designed to reinforce the camp’s important mission of providing a magical escape where kids can be kids. The inspiration came from the idea that the American Cancer Society is offering kids an opportunity to get away from the daily challenges presented from being effected by cancer, and enjoy and be kids again.

The campaign, created on behalf of the American Cancer Society’s Eastern Division, is designed to inform the public about the many different support services — such as Camp Adventure — provided to patients and families by the American Cancer Society. This event happens every year so the ad will be used for next year’s camp as well and throughout the year to increase awareness of the offerings of ACS. Core Create may be working on additional materials, such as the Camp portion of the Web site as well. Overall, Core Create’s task was to increase the awareness of Camp Adventure, position the American Cancer Society as an organization with patient and family services, and reinforce the many opportunities offered by American Cancer Society — Camp Adventure is just one of them. In regard to additional initiatives with the American Cancer Society, the agency is working on other initiatives/programs with them.

“We’re so inspired by the ad Core-Create has developed,” says Elisa Brundige, director of Camp Adventure. “Camp Adventure provides kids with cancer with the ability to get away for a week to a very special place where they can forget all about their illness. This ad really conveys the important role of Camp Adventure and the impact we have on the children who come to us.

The journal advertisement was released to the American Cancer Society in February and several publications were targeted, as well as local Long Island hospitals, donors, and volunteers. Those who worked on the campaign included Levy Valverdi, creative director of art; Dorene Weisenstein, creative director copy; Marc Murray, art director; Paul Maurer, creative director of copy/copywriter; and Jennifer Hollis, account team.

I don’t recall ever seeing what looks like internal corporate social media rules and regs posted in a public place like this. Doesn’t mean it hasn’t happened before – I try not to spend my days scouring big pharma Websites – but this might just be a first.

And Roche’s Rules are full of what looks like good common sense. Like,

The best advice is to approach online worlds in the same way we do the physical one – by using sound judgment and common sense, by adhering to the Company’s values, and by following the Roche Code of Conduct and all other policies.

and,

There is a big difference in speaking “on behalf of Roche” (as an official spokesperson) or speaking “about” Roche, our products or business partners. It is important that you always remember who you are or who you are representing and what your role is in the social media community.

Or,

Do take time – despite the speed and urgency of the new opportunities and challenges – to think through and plan for your engagement in the social media field. Always remember that engaging in social media is not a one-off activity. What is the long-term concept: who do you want to engage with, for what aim and result, what are opportunities and risks?

The underlying implication behind many of the rules appears to be, social media isn’t really different from other communication opportunities – people just treat it differently. Or, put differently, folks are lulled by the informality of the Web into forgetting that corporate communications will always be viewed and treated as corporate communications, no matter where they are found.

Perhaps the most interesting part of the Roche Rules is that half of them are devoted to what the company calls “personal” social media use; i.e., personal activities online where the user might refer to a Roche product or service but is not serving as an official spokesperson of the company. The Rules state a few points for “personal” social media use that seem obvious, but obviously haven’t been obvious. Like,

Be conscious about mixing your personal and business lives. There is no separation for others between your personal and your business profiles within social media.

and,

Mind the global audience. Even if you are posting on a “local” platform, the information may be accessed globally. This is particularly important in our regulated business. While your message may be accurate in some parts of the world, it could be inaccurate or violate regulations in others.

and, most importantly,

Be transparent about your affiliation with Roche. If you are commenting on any of Roche’s or our competitors’ products or initiatives in a public forum or on a website or personal blog, make sure to fully disclose your affiliation with Roche and that your opinions are personal and not attributable to Roche.

An unnamed senior marketing compliance executive for an unnamed big pharma company (not Roche) once told me that the single worry that keeps him up at night the most is regarding employees messing about on social media sites on their own time. He more or less said the same thing the Roche Rules imply – that, in the wilds of the Web, it is terrifyingly easy to forget about consequences. As the great purveyor of pornography, Second Life, AshleyMadison.com, and all sorts of wild gatherings of human oddities, the Internet earns much of its cachet by being a land without consequences. But not for Roche.

The Cure for the Common Celebrity Search:  Rx Entertainment

New Agency Focused on the Healthcare Entertainment Marketing

This wasn’t the best-written leader ever – you’d think it was about Grey’s Anatomy, and the “the” in the second line is unnecessary – but it caught my eye enough to read further and find out what it was really about: an agency that pairs celebrities with healthcare brands for marketing campaigns.

And THAT was interesting. I’m certainly aware of many of the prominent celebrity campaigns for pharma brands – that Mandy Patinkin commercial for Crestor has been stuck in my head for years now – but didn’t know that somebody could make a living out of engineering such marriages. So I had a little digital talk with Nancy Caravetta, the founder of said agency, and she had some very interesting things to say.

Josh: What brought you to this particular endeavor?

Nancy: I had been in healthcare public relations for many years working at many of the top international agencies, based in NYC. I owned a global healthcare boutique called CPR Worldwide which I sold with my partners to Omnicom in 2003.

Josh: How does someone get into the business of pairing celebrities with healthcare marketers?

Nancy: As the rules of direct-to-consumer advertising changed in the 1990s, using celebrities in pharmaceutical campaigns became much more popular.  Since I had been in pharmaceutical public relations for 16 years, I already had a large client base of pharmaceutical companies and PR and advertising agencies.

When I sold my agency in 2003, many of my clients began asking me to find celebrities for them.  I had implemented many celebrity campaigns when I worked on the agency side and I also went to USC film school, so I had a plethora of friends who worked in the entertainment industry.

Josh: Can you give me some examples of deals you’ve done between celebrities and prescription pharmaceutical brands or companies?

Nancy: Although I cannot speak of campaigns we currently work on, we have worked with top celebrities, chefs, and athletes.  I’ve worked with:

-      Keri Russell on a campaign for Sanofi-Aventis  on the Sounds of Pertussis vaccine campaign

-      Angelica Huston to help launch the well-known Merck Manual

-      Elisabeth Hasselbeck and Marg Helgenberger for a fundraiser sponsored by P&G where all the proceeds went to breast cancer research

-      Robert DeNiro to help launch a nicotine patch. He was premiering one of his films in NY and we coordinated a fundraiser for cancer research tied to the event.

-      Dara Torres; we worked with Dara, Centecor, and The National Psoriasis Foundation on a public service campaign to raise awareness for psoriasis

-      Hector Elizondo on a campaign for CaringforAlz; campaign focused on the caregivers of Alzheimers patients and Hector’s mom suffered from the condition. This was a national campaign supported by the Exelon brand team at Novartis.

Josh: Tell me about the process of selecting a celebrity for a particular campaign. How involved are you in that process?

Nancy: We are very involved.  Initially, our clients either share just the campaign overview and we brainstorm together the best type of celebrity that would resonate with their target audiences or they have already determined what parameters they need for a celebrity spokesperson.  At that point, we begin to cull our proprietary databases that include information about the celebrity’s connections to certain healthcare issues or diseases; and more basic information about their latest and upcoming projects, demographics and how they appeal to a variety of audiences.  We will then provide the client with a research report that includes our input on which celebrity opportunities might be the best fit for their campaign.

Rx Entertainment manages the negotiation process from beginning to end.  In order to have consistent communication amongst all parties during this sensitive time, we assign one senior staff person to be on call for every aspect of the campaign.  This goes beyond once the contract is signed; we also work to coordinate media trainings, media days, interview requests and any other appearances.

If the campaign we are working on involved product placement or branded integration, the process is even more involved.  Our team spends a great deal of time working with major movie and television studios and production companies looking for properties that would be appropriate to pair with healthcare brands and integrate them into the story line of the show.  This includes both over-the-counter products, prescription medications, and unbranded awareness campaigns.

Josh: Do companies usually come to you saying, “I want XYZ celebrity,” or is it more of a discussion/negotiation/process of figuring out who best fits the campaign?

Nancy: It’s really a combination of both of the above. Some have a precise idea of who they want. In other instances, it can take a fair amount of discussion and brainstorming to find the right fit.  Because we have spent years cultivating data on celebrities, we are often able to make recommendation that fit the bill pretty quickly once we know the client’s needs and goals.

Josh: As nearly as I can tell, the list of celebrities involved in prescription pharmaceutical campaigns is a relatively short one, and a few of them (like Robert Jarvik) have gotten into trouble along the way.

Nancy: I think you would be surprised at the actual number of Rx campaigns involving celebrities. Often times the campaign is strictly focused on disease awareness and there won’t be mention of the brand or related pharmaceutical company. We actually have a pretty robust database on our site that lists most of the campaigns that have been launched in the past 10 years. Some of the more recent ones include:

-      Claire Danes and Brooke Shields for Latisse

-      Food Network’s Ellie Krieger for Centecor in the area of arthritis

-      Gretchen Wilson for LapBand

-      Jennifer Lopez for childhood vaccines

-      Vanessa Williams and Virginia Madsen for Botox

-      Sally Field for Boniva

-      Jim Belushi, Bruce Jenner, Danica Patrick, and Patty Loveless for COPD

Josh: What would your pitch be to a prescription pharma marketer who is nervous about the risks of tying their brand to a celebrity?

Nancy: I would tell them that the most important factor is that the celebrity has to have a legitimate tie to the disease. In fact, I’ve never worked on a campaign where this wasn’t the case.  At Rx Entertainment, we are known for due diligence, to ensure there are no other issues that may arise as a result of the partnership.  Our years of experience have given us a feel for which celebrities are more or less volatile, which is another factor that we base our recommendations on.

We often advise clients to tie in a charitable cause to the campaign, as opposed to a straight product endorsement. Folks want their celebrities to be relatable and they want to learn about support programs that can benefit them; they are adverse to the hard sell.

Another factor that we strongly suggest to our clients is they not always go for the A-list celebrity. The A-listers do bring a lot of cache, but they also bring a litany of scheduling issues, an entourage, and additional difficulties.  There are many relatable, likeable celebrities that can bring as much recognition and enthusiasm to your campaign, with less headaches, you just know need to know where to find them.

Josh: What benefits can they get out of the arrangement that might not be available through other strategies?

Nancy: Like it or not, our society is a bit obsessed with celebrities. Most of all there is nothing like putting a human face on a disease. Nothing is more powerful than when someone you know says, “I have this problem and I’m learning to deal with it in this way.”

It’s why social media campaigns can be so successful. People like to hear about things through other people with similar experiences and we all like to feel that we can have something in common with a celebrity.

Josh: What do you think are some of the biggest success stories in the recent history of celebrity/pharma brand relationships? Why so?

Nancy: I think the Sally Field/Boniva campaign was a home run. I don’t know anyone who hasn’t seen that campaign in both advertising and public relations. Most folks know the drug and the disease it treats. You can’t get any better than that. Doctors I’ve spoken to say they get patients coming in all of the time who ask for the “medication” Sally Field is taking. GlaxoSmithKline invested a tremendous amount into this campaign, but it definitely paid off in brand recognition and awareness.

­

But not so, says Bruce Grant, senior VP of business strategy at Digitas Health. He argues that FDA wasn’t making a statement about social media, but on the information Novartis crafted to share with the Facebook Share widget.

“Our own take on this is not as gloomy as the initial response has gone. There’s actually a few things to be pretty encouraged about, for those looking for a real view from FDA, vis a vis social media,” he says.

If the regulatory agency was intent on doing what a lot of people in the industry had feared – that is, making pharma manufacturers responsible for other people’s online comments about their products – this was the opportunity for FDA to do. “And they pointedly declined to so that,” Mr. Grant points out. “We take this to be a reasonably strong statement, as far as signals we’re going to get in advance to issuance of the guidance., that FDA is going to focus on what the statute says its responsibility is, which is to regulate what industry says and does,” he says.

The action did send a strong statement about FDA’s stance on one thing, Mr. Grant says, “For those who continue to cherish the hope that FDA might be persuaded to adopt a one-click rule, to reverse itself from the position it took a year last March in the famous 14 letters, I think this gives a pretty strong signal that the one-click rule is as dead a Generalissimo Franco – and not unreasonably so,” he says. “Their point, and it’s a pretty straightforward and reasonable point, is that the content that is generated on the user’s page, when they use the share functionality, is content whose form is close to 100% under the control of the pharma manufacturer, and therefore, it should be considered by the same standards that any other communication is. If it mentions the product, it has to mention both the brand name and the generic name as well as the complete indication as well as the material with information – the important safety information. It’s not an unreasonable position to take.”

Mr. Grant believes that Novartis “made it harder on itself” by omitting the material risk information and the important limitations on the indication. “If I had been there behind the curtain whispering in this particular client’s ear as to what their initial foray ought to be, in terms of incorporating Facebook Share functionality, I think I might have suggested to them that less complicated product, one that had a less complicated indication, with fewer significant limitations attached to it, and perhaps one with less risk information attached to it, might have been a better choice to test the waters in terms of doing that,” he says.

“There’s no new regulatory ground in principle being charted here, this is significant merely in that it is the first action take directly related to a social media vehicle,” he adds.

The lesson for all of pharma, in short? Make sure that even within the space limitations of a Google search result, a Tweet, or a Facebook Share Widget, that the information complies with present FDA statutes, and don’t expect the regulatory agency to create special rules just so the industry can work more easily within the limitations of Internet tools.

The full merger will officially be completed Jan. 1, when the organization will be under one P&L. Mr. Giegerich, who described the combined entity as a “powerhouse,” says the combination takes the agency “a huge and bold step ahead of our competition.”

“It’s just such a great fit,” he told Med Ad News. “CommonHealth has been very focused on the U.S., and Ogilvy Healthworld has a strong focus outside the U.S. In fact, we’ve had a sort of informal relationship with Healthworld for the past 15 years; when I started as an account executive at Ferguson, they were our go-to people for anything that we were working on outside the United States.”

Mr. Giegerich says talks on merging the two entities became in earnest a few months ago. We note that back in March, Ogilvy Healthworld was set to have its own profile in the Med Ad News April agency issue – but then we were told suddenly that they would not be participating in the issue. It was also at that time we were told anonymously that Donna Tuths had left the agency, a fact that Mr. Giegerich confirmed in his interview yesterday. Ms. Tuths departed to “pursue personal interests,” Mr. Giegerich says.

Ogilvy Healthworld was founded in 1986 and taken public in 1997 as Healthworld Corp. by former Chairman and CEO Steven Girgent. WPP acquired the agency in 2004 when the network took over Cordiant Communications, Healthworld’s holding company, and merged Healthworld with the consumer-oriented Ogilvy Healthcare Communications. Ms. Tuths joined the organization in 2008 as regional president, North America, and then became joint CEO with Gloria Gibbons. Mr. Girgenti is now president, CEO, director, and co-founder of DermWorx, a specialty pharmaceutical company specializing in prescription and OTC products for skin diseases.

Although the organization will be operating under the Ogilvy CommonHealth Worldwide umbrella, there will be individually branded Ogilvy Healthworld and Ogilvy CommonHealth agencies in some markets, operating in case of account conflicts, Mr. Giegerich says.

The organization will headed in New York and Parsippany. The executive team reporting to Mr. Giegerich comprises Ms. Gibbons, who will run all of the offices outside the United States for the Healthworld managing partnership, and CommonHealth managing partners David Chapman, Michael Parisi, and Marc Weiner, who will run the U.S. business.

Ogilvy CommonHealth Worldwide will have more than 1,100 employees in 64 offices across 33 countries, with offerings that include professional and consumer advertising and promotion, relationship marketing, digital/interactive services, media planning and buying, public affairs and relations, managed care marketing, medical education, clinical trial recruitment, market research and analytics, and strategic consulting.

This national education campaign provides patients, caregivers and the public with information about the abuse of prescription medications that affects as many as 6 million Americans and now surpasses the national use of most illegal “street drugs.” The expanded program provides educational tools in select pharmacies across the country and online at the program Website, GoodMedicinesBadDrugs.com. This new Website features practical tips and information, including videos with leading experts in the pain and addiction community.

As part of the program’s expansion, Cephalon partnered with ACPA and APhA to develop educational materials for use in the pharmacy, providing patients, caregivers, and the public with information on how to safely and appropriately use prescription pain medicines. These materials include a countertop display and a patient CARE card, a graphic-based tool that shows how to use, store and dispose of prescription medicines.

“Pharmacists play a key role in educating the public about prescription medicines, and the expansion of this program provides hands-on resources to support those conversations with the goal of reducing prescription pain medicine abuse,” says Dr. Lesley Russell, chief medical officer, Cephalon. “The When Good Medicines Become Bad Drugs program is part of our continued commitment to patient education to help ensure that prescription medications are used safely and by the appropriate patients.”

Prescription medications play an important role in the management of medical conditions for millions of patients. Through the When Good Medicines Become Bad Drugs program, Cephalon and its partners plan to educate nearly three million people and help remind patients to keep their medications safe in the home.

Vox Medica worked very closely with Cephalon to develop the When Good Medicines Become Bad Drugs program as part of the Cephalon commitment to patient education and to provide hands-on resources to help minimize the risk of misuse or abuse of prescription pain medicines. As a company that markets prescription pain medicines, Cephalon recognizes its corporate responsibility to help ensure that medicines are used safely and by the appropriate patient.

The program is designed to reach patients, caregivers, and the general public to raise awareness about the importance of safe and appropriate use of prescription medicines. The Cephalon team, including Product Communications, Marketing, and Commercial Operations, worked with Vox Medica to develop and expand the When Good Medicines Become Bad Drugs program. The American Chronic Pain Association and the American Pharmacists Association developed key educational resources for the program.

The When Good Medicines Become Bad Drugs program was initially launched in October 2008 with a Webcast addressing how consumers can safeguard prescription pain medications in the home; understanding abuse and addiction; and issues related to selecting the right medication for the right patient.

“Prescription medicine abuse is a growing concern in our country, so we need to use every available channel to communicate about safe use,” says Thomas E. Menighan, BSPharm, MBA, SCD, executive VP and CEO of the American Pharmacists Association. “As pharmacists, we promote public understanding of risks and benefits of prescription medications. With a greater understanding of how to use and store medicines safely and appropriately, patients, parents and caregivers can protect themselves, their families and their communities from the effects of inappropriate use.”

The main goal of the When Good Medicines Become Bad Drugs program is to help ensure that prescription medications are used safely by the appropriate patients. Although the campaign focuses on safety concerns and minimizing the risk of abuse and diversion, the initiative also recognizes the role prescription medications may play in the management of legitimate medical conditions. With a specific focus on prescription pain medicines, the program addresses common patient concerns related to opioids, such as abuse and addiction, as well as practical ways people can help prevent prescription medication abuse in their homes and community.

“People with pain deserve appropriate treatment for their condition, including prescription pain medicines, but one of our goals as an organization is to help people learn how to use them safely and correctly,” says Penney Cowan, founder and executive director of the American Chronic Pain Association. “We are proud to be a part of this valuable program and to be able to provide people with easy-to-understand information on prescription medicines, including how they should be taken and what things should be avoided, as well as safe storage and disposal.”

Breaking down what the changing commercial business model entails, 40% of respondents identified the increased focus in market access strategies as the biggest change to the business model. Other factors cited as the biggest change to the commercial business model include primary sales force realignment (20%), increased focus on managed care (17%), increased focus on key opinion leaders (11%), and increased use of e-detailing channels (6%).

Beyond the changing commercial model, the Cegedim Dendrite survey found pharma execs anxious about pipeline growth (24%), the impact of regulatory reform (16%), generic competition (16%), cost, capital, and funding issues (3%), and patient involvement (2%).

Survey respondents stated that new product innovation and profitability growth are the most important business objectives in 2010. New product innovation and successful launch was cited by 67% of respondents as the top objective for 2010 and 51% cited profitability growth.

Not surprisingly, most survey respondents view prescribers and patients as their most important primary and secondary customer groups. What may be somewhat surprising, however, is a full 36% of respondents ranked patients as the primary customer over prescribers. Meanwhile, 27% cited managed care organizations as the primary customer and 24% cited government. Cegedim Dendrite analysts anticipate seeing the balance continue to tip away from prescribers as a primary customer toward these other groups.

The survey also sought pharma executives’ opinions on social media. Respondents are aware of and use social media, but it generally does not receive a large appropriation of their marketing budgets. Almost all (97%) of respondents indicate that they use at least one social media site on a daily basis, though whether that is for personal and/or professional use is unclear. The majority (51%) invest less than 5% of their sales and marketing budget in social media channels.

Social media is primarily used for external applications such as marketing and PR but is also used to a lesser extent for internal communications and human resources. Fifty-nine percent of respondents list “marketing” as the top way their company is using social media.

Software as a Service (SaaS) and cloud computing only seem relevant to a relatively small number of respondents. Only 7% cite the technology as “very important”, and 15% cite it as “important.” Many respondents do not appear to understand the topic, with 45% responding “Don’t know” to the question, “How important is SaaS or cloud computing in your sales and marketing initiatives?”

China was cited as the most strategically important BRIC country. Thirty percent of respondents chose China but 27% did not know which country was most strategically important for their company.

In reviewing the results of their survey, Cegedim Dendrite analysts came to the conclusion that the next six months of 2010 will most likely show pharmaceutical companies remaining focused on changing business models and product innovations. And as market growth in China and other BRIC countries has more of an impact on the industry, Cegedim Dendrite analysts expect to see pharmaceutical companies making changes to become more global-minded.

The premise of the article is that people in the marketing industry tend to fall into the “Word” category – people who prefer to work with words and have a longer-term focus – yet Word people make up just 18.5% of the population. Thus the ads they create that appeal to them may not work as well with the rest of the population.

Xyte is a unit of online-sampling firm StartSampling. The Advertising Age article quotes StartSampling CEO Larry Burns who cautions marketers that when developing ads, “there’s a risk in going with gut instinct because often our gut instinct is hitting only a portion of the market.”

Curious if these findings had any application to the world of pharmaceutical marketing, I turned to Johanna Skilling, executive VP, director of strategic planning, Saatchi & Saatchi Wellness.

Ms. Skilling agrees with the advice not to base decisions on gut instinct.

“Instead of going on your gut, you need to talk to people and really get them involved in the kind of things you’re hoping you can help them experience,” Ms. Skilling says. “We talk to people before the process and during the process.”

Saatchi & Saatchi Wellness has introduced a process with its clients called Co-Creation, where the agency actually gets consumers in a room with its creative staff to solicit opinions on what works and what doesn’t work from the patient perspective.

“We’re very much in tune with the idea that we need to speak to the people in their language in a way that works for them,” Ms. Skilling says.

As far as segmenting the audience by behavior and learning styles, Ms. Skilling agrees that people react to advertising differently depending on whether they are more emotional, more rational, etc. She believes, however, that these groupings are rather big buckets to throw somebody into. In the pharmaceutical space, consumers are bracketed together more specifically by condition or disease state. This shared experience binds the audience more powerfully than geography or personality type.

“We’re very conscious that most of us don’t have a personal experience with the disease states that we cover,” Ms. Skilling says. “Our job is to be as empathetic and truthful and as honest as possible in trying to understand what people go through, whether that means sitting with people in long conversations or whether that means going to patient meetings and conferences. We try to go on the ground as well. We have a client that works with patients who have multiple sclerosis. People from the agency routinely go on the MS walks and mingle with patients and caregivers. We have a different mission than many consumer products, and that mission is to help people take a hard look at something that can help them heal or live with or treat something that is tough.”

The third assignment is for the potential launch of a new drug from Orexigen Therapeutics Inc., a San Diego-based biopharmaceutical company that focuses on the treatment of obesity. The drug is now undergoing FDA review.
For Alcon, StrikeForce will be heading up all global strategic and creative responsibilities for I-CAPS, a line of ocular nutrition products designed to promote healthy eyes—and delay the progress of age-related macular degeneration — and Systane, the world’s leading OTC dry eye therapy.

“Accounts like these demand a lot of specialization — and an unconventional approach — to stand out from the competition,” says Mike Rutstein, president of StrikeForce.

I-CAP and Systane are classes of products designed for the treatment of conditions that were once rare, but are now increasingly prevalent. Age-related macular degeneration, which is the leading cause of blindness among older adults, is on the rise because people worldwide are living longer. Dry eye is a byproduct of the changing environment; it is both age-related and acutely sensitive to pollutants in the air.

According to Rutstein, the switch from traditional agencies to unconventional models is a reflection of both a changing economy and an industry weakened by mergers.

“Clients are not interested in standardized formulas or one-size-fits-all solutions,” Mr. Rutstein says. “They want more for less — more creativity, with less bureaucracy and expense.”

Elyse Stoltz Dickerson, global director, Dry Eye & Ocular Nutrition, Alcon, agrees completely.

“We retained StrikeForce because they can literally choose the best talent for a job — regardless of whether it’s big or small — instead of using the in-house staff that’s available,” Ms. Stoltz Dickerson says. “That kind of freedom means better work and a more cost-effective solution.”

Other assignments that StrikeForce has handled have come from Pfizer Inc. (formerly Wyeth), Abbott Laboratories, Sepracor, and Pozen Pharmaceuticals.

For more details about these account wins, please pick up an August issue of Med Ad News.