From Mark McCoy, SVP, Brand Planning Director, Palio

Opinion Research Corporation interviewed 1,023 adult Americans for CNN this February and they found out some interesting facts about Tea Partiers that should interest marketers.

They are a big demographic

As Harry Morgan said about Captain Renard in To Have and to Have Not, “There’s a lot of ’em.” There’s a lot of Tea Partiers, too. The Opinion Research poll found that 35% of people favor the Tea Party, and 12% of those interviewed have gotten involved in Tea Party activities.

They are smart

Not Sure, played by Luke Wilson, was the smartest guy in the world in the film Idiocracy and he was made president. Compared to the general population, Tea Partiers are pretty smart, too. Almost three-quarters of Tea Partiers (74%) went to college compared to 54% of all respondents in the poll. This makes perfect sense: Anyone who actually read about the American Revolution and understands the importance of the Boston Tea Party would probably clean up on “Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader.”

They are affluent

Sergey Brin and Larry Page are the 2 youngest people in the top 20 on the Forbes list of the richest Americans. They are each sitting on $15.3 billion in sweet Google cash. When Tea Partiers are not protesting, they are living the PHAT life, albeit on a somewhat smaller scale than Sergey and Larry.  Two-thirds of the Tea Partiers earn over $50K compared to only 42% of all respondents in the poll. Over a third (34%) of Tea Partiers earn $75K+.

They enjoy country life

Speaking at the celebration of the Celtics’ win of the 1981 world championship in front of thousands of fans in Boston, Larry Bird famously said, “There’s only one place I’d rather be – French Lick.” French Lick is a small town in Indiana and Larry Bird’s boyhood home. Tea Partiers also seem to love rural America. Half of Tea Partiers live in rural areas, while only 9% live in America’s cities.

They are kids

If Justin Bieber joined the Tea Party, he would be considered one of the old guys. Admittedly, that is an exaggeration, but 60% of Tea Partiers are under age 50, while only 55% of all respondents in the poll were younger than 50. Only 12% of Tea Partiers are 65 or older compared to 17% of all respondents.

Complete Results

If you would like more details on the CNN/Opinion Research Poll, check out this link: http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2010/images/04/13/rel7d.pdf

The Tea Party demographic may be a market segment that you could target to grow sales of your brand.

From Tiffany Ryan, VP, Account Services, Palio

I recently stumbled across a blog post about HIV in America, thanks to my good friend Twitter, who never ceases to open my eyes to newsworthy items every day.

The point is simple – HIV is still a major issue in America. Many of us believe that what was once a death sentence is now a chronic condition. Yes, the medications have side effects, and living with HIV is not easy, but the drugs exist to help people live longer, healthier lives with HIV. The danger we face in acknowledging our progress in this disease state is developing apathy for the disease itself.

Jose Antonio Vargas makes a compelling point – AIDS must be part of our national consciousness. As a society we can fund better prevention programs, we can better educate on the risks, we can hope for better therapies – but until it is a part of our national consciousness and, I’d argue, part of our personal consciousness, the epidemic will continue to spiral out of control.

Check out the post, and more importantly, take 3 minutes to view the trailer for a new 90-minute documentary that will be premiering at the Tribeca Film Festival next week. I sent the trailer to a colleague of mine who had worked in the HIV category with me for years. We were both overwhelmed and impressed with the clarity and focus it brings to this ongoing issue. And while neither of us is lucky enough to be attending the Tribeca Film Festival, we are anxiously anticipating a DVD release or perhaps will be lucky enough to find a screening in a nearby theater following the festival.

If nothing else, it’s brought the reality of HIV and those at risk for it back into my stream of conscious thought.

From Todd LaRoche, EVP, Managing Director of Creative, Palio

Here’s a real simple thought that we’ve all heard over and over again: If you’re not having fun at your work (at least some of the time), you need to change something. Why? Because you’re going to make yourself unhealthy, and your work – and the people you work with – will suffer.

No big revelation here. Just stating the obvious: Make something of your every day at work fun. Even if it’s something as enforced as a little break from the ordinary that happens to come along on wheels, with balloons and flashing lights – it picks everyone up and, even if for a brief moment, it let’s you take your mind off the challenge you’re wrestling with, which may just provide you with a new perspective when you get back to it. I guess that’s one reason why Fun is one of our five core values at Palio.

Thanks Donna, Jody and Rich and the entire Environment Team for making our lives at Palio a little more fun every day… in all of the unexpected ways that you do.

From Ken Messinger, SVP, Creative Director, Palio

Who in their right mind would wake up early on a rainy, cold Saturday morning in order to rake someone else’s property — for free?

The people of Palio and their friends and family!

This past weekend, a group of 20 gave up a good part of their Saturday to help prepare the Double H Ranch for their summer campers.

Now, you may be asking yourself, “What is it about the Double H Ranch that would compel the fine people at Palio, who work so hard all week, to give up a significant part of their weekend?” And, “Why would they drag their friends and families in to this as well?” And, “Why in the world would they volunteer to paint cabins, clear ball fields, rake huge expanses of wooded land, or who knows what else that might be asked of them?”

Glad you asked.

The Double H Ranch (which is also a pro bono client of Palio’s) was founded by Charles Woods and Paul Newman as one of Paul Newman’s “Hole in the Wall” camps, which are the world’s largest family of camps for children with serious illnesses and life-threatening conditions such as cancer, sickle cell anemia, HIV/AIDS, and many other conditions. While at camp, these children discover the joys of childhood often missed during extended medical treatment, without compromising any of their medical needs thanks to on-site, state-of-the-art medical care.

All children attend the Double H Ranch free of charge as a result of generous contributions from individuals, corporations, foundations, and other organizations.

The Double H Ranch (the “H” stands for Health and Happiness) sits on 320 beautifully wooded acres that include the fish-friendly Lake Vanare. Each summer, the Double H Ranch provides fun, support, and adventure for approximately 1000 children. Activities include horseback riding, creative arts, a high-rope challenge course, boating, swimming, and, of course, much, much more. The Double H also offers year-round, family-based support programs as well as an adaptive ski program throughout the winter months.

So why have we worked with the Double H Ranch for all these years? Because volunteering for this, or so many other worthy causes, makes you focus on the important things in life, like helping others, being selfless, and becoming part of a community instead of just living in one.

And, it makes us happy.

For more information about the Double H Ranch, visit http://www.doublehranch.org/partners.html

From Ian DeMeritt, Senior Medical Writer, Palio

“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” – Romeo and Juliet (Act II, scene II)

What if that rose didn’t have a name, yet claimed that it smelled sweet?

Late last week, DDMAC issued several regulatory letters to pharmaceutical companies, bringing the total number of letters it has issued so far in 2010 to 22, already topping the 21 letters sent in 2008. Of interest was a letter addressed to GlaxoSmithKline for an unbranded, single-page ad (also shown above) placed in the Journal of Clinical Oncology last December.

The simple ad announced that a “New Treatment Option for Refractory Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL)” was “NOW APPROVED.” A footnote clarified the treatment was for CLL “refractory to fludarabine and alemtuzumab,” and a disease-specific Web-site address (www.cllinformation.com) and the GSK logo were included on the bottom of the page. That’s it. No efficacy data were included, no overt promotional claims were made, and no fancy images of happy people walking along a beach were present.

Most importantly, however, no safety information was contained in the ad, despite its unbranded nature.

Even though the name of the treatment was not provided, DDMAC considered the ad misleading because “the characteristics of the product promoted in the ad can only describe Arzerra,“ the only drug recently approved by the FDA to treat refractory CLL. Because the promotional material could only apply to a single product, the ad was effectively considered a branded advertisement requiring full disclosure of safety and risk information.

In our line of work, the response to what we perceive as unfair feedback from a client’s regulatory team is often jokingly along the lines of “can’t we just turn this into an unbranded campaign?” thinking that by simply removing the branding elements, the regulatory requirements will also magically disappear.

However, one of the important lessons to be learned from this letter is that a pharmaceutical brand comprises more than just a logo and color pallete. The totality of the message being conveyed must also be considered a key branding element, especially in the eyes of the FDA.

This latest DDMAC letter provides a useful reminder that failing to call a rose by its name doesn’t make it any less of a rose.

From Jeremy Lichtenberger, Senior Brand Planner, Palio

I love my two dogs. I especially love their excitement when I walk through the door at the end of the day.

If they could speak I bet it would go something like this:

“Dads home!”
“Dads home!”
“This is awesome!”
“Walk time?”
“Pet me time?”
“Hey Dad, here’s a ball.”
“Dad, watch this, I can roll on to my back.”
“Hey Dad, watch me jump on the couch!”
“No?”
“OK, I’m gonna lick your face off, Dad!”
“What was that, Dad?!”
“Mailman!”
“Get him!”
“WOOF! WOOF! WOOF!”
“Wait!”
“Dad’s got a treat!”
“I’ll be quiet.”

Yes, a treat. One tiny little dog cookie that can divert the attention of any ordinary pooch and make him settle down. I usually throw them in the air so the dogs have to jump up high to get ‘em – and they love it.

“I’m jumping!”
“I’m jumping!”
“Here it comes!”
“Here it comes!”
CHOMP!

The few seconds it takes to deliver that treat is a special moment between dog and owner. Now, Pedigree® has created a spot that captures this moment perfectly. To sell their dog treats, they diverged from the typical idea where a mom is in the kitchen happily making PB&J for the kids and the family pet is there demonstrating to the target audience that the dog is part of the family. Yeah, yeah, we get it. It’s dull and overdone. Pedigree has recreated an emotion that the target audience can relate to. No voiceover. No giant logo. No slamming the competition. No statistics on how many people buy their dog treats – just pure emotion. And the ability to use emotion to connect with your audience is the key to developing great advertising.

Dogs rule.

From Mark McCoy, SVP, Brand Planning Director, Palio

“A weak analogy is a type of logical fallacy in which the argument is based on comparing two things that aren’t alike in some important aspects.”  -Evan Williams Bourbon Campaign: Master of the Weak Analogy

Despite the obvious flaws, weak analogies are great fun when used in most advertising. A current, successful ad campaign that is based on a weak analogy is the Evan Williams Bourbon campaign. One execution in the campaign pictures an awkward teenage girl and a photo of the same girl who has now grown up to be an extremely attractive woman. The headline states, “The longer you wait, the better it gets.” The tagline is, “Evan Williams. Aged longer to taste smoother.” The weak analogy is that women are like bourbon. The campaign works because it targets men who read Sports Illustrated – guys who also probably like bourbon and ‘chicks.’ The decision to buy a particular brand of bourbon is a purely an emotional one and doesn’t have to stand up to any logical analysis.

Why Weak Analogies Often Don’t Work In Pharma

The logical analysis is where consumer brands and pharma brands often part company. It is certainly possible to create a highly effective ad for a pharma brand based on a weak analogy. Consumers may respond well to the ad and ask physicians to write them a prescription for the brand. And physicians could see the ads and be motivated to prescribe the brand. Prior to the ascendance of managed health care, if a creative strategy was based on a logical fallacy, such as a weak analogy, it didn’t really matter as long as the campaign motivated physicians to write prescriptions for the brand.

Managed Care Looks Below the Surface

Today, prescribing decisions have become group decisions. Managed care is a major player in the decision because it sets the price that the patient will pay. Managed care decides how many hoops physicians have to jump through in order to get their prescription approved for reimbursement. Think of managed care as an unemotional deconstructionist who looks below the surface of the campaign to understand how the brand promise is supported. If the managed care deconstructionist see that the brand’s product differentiation is based purely on an emotional appeal and is not substantive, the brand will be relegated to an unfavorable reimbursement status.

Take Away

A logical fallacy – like a weak analogy – can be the basis for a brand campaign if the decision to buy the brand is made only by people who are not unemotional deconstructionists who look below the surface of the campaign. When some of the people involved in making the buying decision are immune to the brand’s emotional appeal, successful marketers must employ a story that is ultimately paid off by a unique selling proposition (USP) that the brand can defend.

What do you think: Do you see the need to communicate differently to the managed-care audience because they, unlike patients or physicians, are immune to emotional appeals made by pharmaceutical brands?

From Jon Hussey, SVP, Director of Brand Planning, Palio

Don’t get me wrong, I love Gatorade. And by that, I mean that I love orange Gatorade, and sometimes drink red or yellow, or maybe purple when I am tired of orange. I am an avid cyclist, runner and triathlete, so I probably drink an average of at least two bottles a day. At $1.50 a bottle that works out to over $1,000/year…of Gatorade. Frightening. Especially since I had never thought about it until they pissed me off.

How did Gatorade manage to make me angry? Confusion. It’s as simple as that. First they expanded the number of flavors beyond all reason (according to their Web site, there are at least 25 flavors, with more coming). In order for a store to stock all of the different flavors they have to limit the amount of space allocated to each flavor. That means they run out of orange. A lot.

Next, they made flavors that look so similar that you have to actually read the label carefully to make sure that you are getting what you want. I buy this product every day. It should be a simple exchange. I see it, I grab it, I pay for it. Imagine expecting a nice orange Gatorade and getting a mouthful of Extremo Mango Electrico. Not pleasant.

They introduced a low-calorie line. Are you kidding me? I drink it for the calories. To make matters worse, the low-cal labels look a lot like the regular Gatorade labels. Another thing to watch out for.

Then they changed the labels, rebranded if you will. Now I have to figure out which of these newly labeled products is the one that I want. Did it change somehow? What is different about it?

Finally, and this is what pushed me over the edge, they are in the process of adding a whole new layer of confusion by introducing the G Series, which includes 01 Prime, 02 Perform, 03 Recover, and G Series Pro product groupings. Apparently, my beloved orange Gatorade will fall into the 02 Perform G-Original sub-grouping with 19 other flavors. Somehow, the G2-Low Cal sub-grouping of flavors will also fall into the 02 Perform group (low-cal Gatorade that will help you maintain your energy during exercise?). Their thinking must be that I will now buy 3 different orange Gatorades, one before workouts, one during ,and one after. Plus, they have the nerve to tell me that for the last 15 years they have had an elite system of Gatorade products that was only available in professional locker rooms, but that it will “soon be available to you.”

So what am I going to do? Switch to something else. There are a lot of better options for serious athletes. And most of them are going to be cheaper.

From Steve Dubansky, MD, SVP, Medical Director, Palio

“In the spring, a young man’s fancy lightly turns to thoughts of toxic pesticides.”  ~Adapted from Alfred Lord Tennyson

The journal Environmental Health Perspectives has just e-published a report that was as predictable as it was disturbing. Researchers have concluded that agricultural pesticides may be an important risk factor in the development of cutaneous melanoma.

We know that the rates of melanoma have tripled in the last 30 years, and most of the increased risk is presumed to be due to excess sun exposure. We know this as a fact, yet we continue to bake away on the beach and in the suntan parlors. We hear it, but somehow we don’t get it. Assuming that suntans make us look better, we blithely ignore the health threats posed by unnecessary ultraviolet exposure. But UV rays are apparently not the only threat to our skin.

The researchers of the Agricultural Health Study at the University of Iowa studied 50 agricultural pesticides (do we really need that many?) by comparing the rates of melanoma in 56,285 pesticide applicators (popular poisons!) in Iowa and North Carolina (we certainly have to protect those valuable North Carolina tobacco leaves). Cancer rates were compared for the various pesticides used.

The results? After adjusting for factors such as age, sex, and other potential cofounders, there were significant associations between cutaneous melanoma and maneb, mancozeb, methyl-parathion, and carbaryl. These 4 toxins are routinely sprayed on a variety of crops in the United States, including nuts, vegetables, and fruits.

Does the name “carbaryl” strike a familiar chord? Probably not, but it should. Carbaryl, which doubled the risk of melanoma in this study, is the active ingredient in the popular home and garden pesticide Sevin. Introduced in 1958 by our friends at Union Carbide and now ranking third in domestic sales among all pesticides, Sevin has been implicated as a causative agent in birth defects in mammals (especially dogs, for all you dog lovers), in worsening hypertension and depression, and in impairing pituitary, thyroid, and reproductive function. It’s good to know that we can potentially add melanoma to this sterling public health record.

Fortunately, for all Sevin users, the EPA says, “The Agency has reviewed all available information on the teratogenic potential of carbaryl and concludes that the weight of evidence suggests that this potential effect from carbaryl in humans is low…The scientific data available concludes it does not pose an imminent hazard….” Damned by very careful wording. Good thing the EPA pronouncements have never been wrong before.

Clearly, it is too early to conclude there is a causative relationship between these 4 pesticides and melanoma. But why continue to use them? Even if the association is not yet proven where do you think these 4 toxins go after they’re spread on the tobacco field, and where does Sevin go after it’s showered all over your lawn. Correct. Right into our groundwater. Are you that confident in your Brita^® and Pur^® filters? I wouldn’t be.

And if these poisons are as safe for humans as the EPA suggests, why do you and your family have to remain off the lawn for a day after an application? Is that really enough time? And why do the pesticide company applicators come dressed like astronauts when they do their spraying? Do you wear all that equipment when you spray your lawn and garden?

Is increased agricultural yield really worth the risks posed to farmers who apply the poisons on their crops and to the general public that later consumes their products? How much is a green, weed-free lawn worth to you and your children?

If we’re not certain of safety, shouldn’t we be conservative and exercise great caution? Kermit was right, “It’s not easy being green.” And for lawns, unlike frogs, it’s not always natural.

Think about it: your pride is hurt a bit because your backyard garden yield is a bit off this year and your lawn isn’t as pristine and verdant as your neighbor’s lawn.

Remember, “Pride cometh before the fall.” ~Proverbs 16:18

"Adrift" by Eric Zener

From Ken Messinger, SVP, Creative Director, Palio

Recently, I took a rare and welcome day off and left quaint and beautiful Saratoga Springs for New York City in order to recharge my creative batteries. Everything in the art world is bigger, better, and more innovative in the Big Apple, right?

Not always.

Last Tuesday was spent gallery hopping with my wife throughout Chelsea, which is something we try to do at least once a year. Normally I come back thinking that I should gather all of the creative talent at Palio, rent a bus and get the team down there for a day in order to see what the art world at large is up to.

Not this time.

Unfortunately, this trip was really more like amateur hour than inspiring. I would guess that my wife and I hit at least 50 galleries, which isn’t too hard to do because when the majority of the work is really bad, you tend to move quickly. Also, the galleries are pretty much lined up one after another on each block, often with several in the same building between 20th Street and 27th Street on the West Side of Manhattan between 10th and 11th Avenues.

Anyway, a lot of the work really looked like student work, meaning sloppy or just obvious. For example, we saw a large painting that depicted only the left side of a church merged up against the right side of the US Capital. Down the middle was an actual handsaw sticking out a foot from the top. Separation of church and state! Get it? We also saw too many abstract pretenders, weak photography, and unappealing sculpture.

This isn’t to say there wasn’t anything good or even great because there was. In fact, just when we thought we were doomed to a day of mediocrity, along came the beautifully unique work of Korean sculptor, Jae Hyo Lee at Cynthia-Reeves Gallery (here’s a decent look at his work but it really doesn’t do it justice), and the amazing California artist, Eric Zener, with his underwater themes at Gallery Henoch.

The day was still great, and I’m anxious to go back since new exhibits are constantly being displayed. It’s important to remember that because art is so subjective you’ll see things differently because, using marketing lingo that we all know too well, we were just an “n” of two.