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From Mike Myers, President, Palio

There isn’t a week that goes by in recent months that a client or media publication doesn’t reach out to us to discuss social media. It’s the new “thing,” and everyone wants to make sure that they aren’t missing an opportunity to use social media to effectively market and manage their brand.

Surprising to some, social media isn’t that “new.” It’s been used in various ways for years. Yes, social media on the Internet.

Forbes Magazine put out a great article last week reviewing their analysis of the Top 20 social media campaigns. We thought it was well done and very interesting. A quick review will show you how clients and brands have been creating buzz and engaging customers for well over 10 years using the “latest rage.”

We’ve taken the original Forbes list and commentary, placed it into PowerPoint for easy review, provided a set of worthwhile and interesting links, and embedded it here via a SlideShare plug-in for WordPress.

If you’d like to download it for yourself, here is the link.

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From Mike Myers, President, Palio

We’re big fans of Michael Gass’ ‘Fueling Ad Agency New Business’ blog. He regularly posts interesting insights that are worthy of a read regardless of your position or industry.

Michael recently wrote a blog post entitled “52 Facts About Social Media for Ad Agency New Business” that drew from a blog post by Danny Brown.

This summary is directly drawn from the content that these two published. We found it interesting, timely, and worthy of passing along.

From Mike Myers, President, Palio (@mmyerspalio)

Big brother is definitely watching and more importantly further defining his role.

I had heard of the $81 million dollar fine/settlement that J&J had to pay for allegedly promoting Topamax (their anti-epileptic and migraine prevention drug) for off-label psychiatric uses.

But Ed Silverman over at Pharmalot was the one who let me know in one of his recent posts about the extent of the Corporate Integrity Agreement (CIA) between the Office of Inspector General and Ortho-McNeil-Janssen Pharmaceuticals.

J&J reps are now going to be accompanied by Ortho-McNeil-Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (OMJPI) Compliance Personnel or other designees on random sales calls. When conducted, sales reps will not be allowed to interact with physicians or any other healthcare professional without direct observation. At the end of the day, a report will be prepared to outline what happened, whether anything inappropriate occurred, and a general overall assessment of the rep’s compliance with appropriate promotional guidelines.

I don’t believe in off-label promotion. As a former sales rep, it was drilled into my head as the ultimate no-no. As an agency guy, we don’t support it either. It goes against what I personally and professionally feel is right.

And while the overwhelming majority of pharma personnel that I’ve worked with feel the same way, someone feels that everyone needs to hear the strength of this message. Basically, “we’re going to fine you and we’re also not going to trust you to follow what we agree is the right thing to do either.”

My 401K and our current economy are largely where they’re at as a direct result of business improprieties. And while I want people to toe the line and face regulation/scrutiny when they fail to do so, I’d also like pharma to be treated like other industries.

Frankly, the political reasons that politicians and their associated agencies utilize to justify vilifying pharma as the purveyor of all that is bad are wearing thin on me.

If what J&J must do to be compliant in the eyes of the government includes this level of scrutiny, then so be it. I’m all for it. But, when will the countless other industries and firms that have knowingly or unknowingly made mistakes be held equally accountable?

What do you think?

From Mike Myers, President, Palio

Information overload is the norm these days. There never seems to be enough time to read all of the publications and newsletters that I receive in the mail or via e-mail. Add in Twitter updates, Facebook posts, LinkedIn notices, news sites, sports sites, blogs, and the information on the Internet in general, and it’s easy to feel overwhelmed.

Never fear, I’ll manage. One of the things that I do to keep up is to try to focus on a few key sources in all areas of information need. This is the first in a like minded series of things that I peruse regularly.

Listed below are 10 blogs that I find interesting, insightful, and/or generally good food for thought. Let me know what you think and what’s on your list.

• Dose of Digital – Jonathan Richman’s blog on e-marketing and social media in healthcare. Some of the most thorough analysis on social media in healthcare accompanies posts with solid insight.
• Chris Brogan – He wrote Social Media 101 and Trust Agents. One of the gurus in the social media space. While I don’t like the video blogs as much as his other approaches, the messages are always resonating.
• Notes from the Back of the Book – Ellen Hoenig Carlson’s blog on e-marketing, healthcare and social media. She doesn’t post every day which makes keeping up easy. Posts are always amusing at some level.
• Make the Logo Bigger – In their words, make the logo bigger is advertising and a bunch of other stuff. The irreverence coupled with their view on advertising is refreshing.
• Pharmalot – I missed Ed Silverman and am glad he’s back. He often has leading edge news information and provides a nice voice through his blog.
• Eye on FDA – FDA happenings and their impact on pharma with thoughts on the great social media pharma debate.
• Mashable – The self proclaimed social media guide provides a good dose of just that, but also has solid information on technology innovations and happenings that will impact marketers and consumers in general.
• Fuel Lines – The goal of this site is to fuel “ad agency new business through social media.” Frequent updates and good information. Heck, I got the idea for this post from one on this site.
• How to Change the World – Guy Kawasaki’s blog. The blog is good. Following him on Twitter is even better. Hey – Guy – we need an updated post…
• DTC In Perspective – A post a week. Always focused on DTC. Good content and not too overwhelming.

If you’re not on this list, relax…this is just 10 of the many that I peruse. For an exhaustive review of my broader list, see my personal blog IdeaPharmer. Anyone have something that I’m missing that I should be reading? Please share. In an effort to find the best and lower my reading volume, I tend to make the “electronic pile” bigger and bigger…

From Mike Myers, President, Palio

I’ve been asked over time by many clients, agency personnel and people representing media to describe the key elements of a successful agency-client relationship. Listed below are my top 10 “platform messages” on the subject. Originally put down on paper for an article in MedAd News in 2007, my current thoughts are outlined below and were recently included in an article on the subject in the current issue of PM360.

• Trust – If you don’t trust your agency or client, your partnership will not work in the long run. Trust is critical.
• Sharing – Without it, you’ll collectively miss opportunities, overlook valuable insights, and never be able to help your brand get to the highest levels.
• Disagreement – As George Patton said, “If everyone is thinking alike, someone isn’t thinking.”
• Expertise – Agencies and clients both need to recognize the strengths that each party brings. At times, we all need to defer to expertise that is not our own.
• Expectations – Both parties need a mutual understanding. Take the time. Sit down with each other. Define mutual expectations. Define mutual desires. A little planning and time spent is all it takes to lay the groundwork for future success.
• Mistakes and Risks – It’s OK to make mistakes and take risks. No one is perfect, and we shouldn’t pretend to be.
• Research – Use, don’t misuse research. And never do what David Ogilvy alludes to: “Most people use research in the same way a drunk uses a lamp post: for support rather than illumination.”
• Fun – Have fun with each other. Advertising should be fun. Take time to make it enjoyable.
• Discomfort – Be willing to scare yourself a little with ideas. Author Peter McWilliams said it well: “Comfort zones are most often expanded through discomfort.”
• Apply the Golden Rule – Treat each other like you want to be treated. If you can’t or won’t, start planning for a new partner.

A little bit of luck and a lot of insight and effort built on a foundation of teamwork are the things that lead to market-moving ideas. It’s often said on the agency side, “Great work requires great clients.” Great clients enable us to work with them, not just for them.

In my view, trust is the most important aspect of a successful collaboration. Are you giving it? Are you doing what you can to deserve it? What could you be doing to create trust and a true partnership?

Please share your thoughts and let me know.

Get this hat at Stetson Hats. Click the image...

From Mike Myers, President, Palio (@mmyerspalio)

As a continuation of the theme brought forth in my recent post “Healthcare costs and pharmaceuticals – who’s the bad guy?,” I wanted to share an example of the positives that exist and continue in the pharmaceutical industry. In light of recent information that has come to light about GSK and Avandia, this may seem like “small potatoes.” In reality, this is one example of the countless number of “good” activities conducted by an industry that is all too often seen as the “bad guy.”

At a time when everyone seems to increasingly want to jump on the anti-pharma bandwagon, I was happy to see that the media is trumpeting the recent research collaboration between Eli Lilly, Pfizer and Merck. A not-for-profit, the company “will help speed up research on new medicines to treat gastric and lung cancers. The company, which will be called the Asian Cancer Research Group, is one of the first examples of a collaboration among major drug companies to combine resources and expertise to rapidly increase the knowledge of a disease and the disease process.”

“Over the next two years, the three companies will work on creating an extensive pharmacogenomic cancer database. The database will consist of information taken from about 2,000 tissue samples from patients with lung and gastric cancer and will be made available to researchers around the world.”

“Through its work and the subsequent sharing of information, the ACRG hopes to empower researchers, foster innovation and improve the prognosis and treatment of patients with cancer,” said Gary Gilliland, M.D., Ph.D., senior vice president and franchise head, Oncology, Merck Research Laboratories.

On all fronts, I think that this is an outstanding move. In what other industries do we see not-for-profits being set up by competitors?

As I’ve said previously, take a closer look. The guy wearing the black hat may not be the one you thought. Anyone out there want to shoot back?

From Mike Myers, President, Palio (@mmyerspalio)

Last year, I had a breakfast meeting with James Chase (Editor in Chief of Medical Marketing & Media) and Scott Dattoli (Publisher). Over coffee and pastries, we discussed a range of topics with a broad objective of getting to know each other at some level.

Near the end of our time together, I started bemoaning an issue that’s bothered me for years in the agency/client relationship dynamic. Like many things that cause problems in business and personal life, it involved and still involves money.

As a result of my enthusiasm on the topic, the kind folks at MM&M asked me to write an article on the subject. Entitled “Cash for Ideas” and published in their June issue of last year, the article focused on the fact that most agency compensation models seem to be counterintuitive to motivating an agency to be inspirational.

I likened the current compensation dynamic to a situation where people don’t want to admit or don’t recognize that something is amiss like the classic story “The Emperor’s New Clothes.” I won’t repeat all the points of my article here as the link embedded in the article name above can provide you with some thinking on this subject in broader detail. I will, however, share with you a few key points:

• The multimillion dollar idea for a client is really worth no more to an agency than the 15 minutes of coded time that it took to come up with, the pride associated with its creation, and any associated recognition that might come too
• This approach to compensation sends the wrong message and has the potential to motivate the wrong type of behavior
• This system has enabled many to lose sight of what’s really important in this business—ideas
• There are a lot of agencies that would be happy tossing the current system out the window and having clients pay for the value of their ideas instead of the time it took to create them

If you’re reading this and open to a new approach to agency compensation which is already being implemented by the likes of Coca Cola, P&G and others, give us a call. If you have an opinion on the subject, please share it. We’re willing to try something “new” or at least discuss alternatives. Are you?

Most marketers and brands live with a beleif that FDA involvement = bad. Marketing communications that take full advantage of a brand’s label = good. So, what happens when the big “bad” FDA comes calling when an ad or other promotional effort crosses that grey line?