More evidence of the rise of mobile in healthcare

I just read this article "With new smartphones, doctors reinvent the house call" minutes after my last post. An infectious-disease physician was able to view an injury through a digital photo on his iPhone. He then diagnosed and prescribed antibiotics. And over the next few days, he monitored the situation via photos sent to his iPhone.

Prediction: Mobile Solutions Will Impact Healthcare

Two different sources, one point of view -- that mobile is going to continue to play a larger role in our lives (including our healthcare).

First, from the Pew Internet & American Life Project report. Among expert respondents, 77% mostly agreed that in 2020, the phone (with significantly enhanced computer power) is expected to become the primary connection tool to the internet.

Second, from a health industry conference on the role of mobility and mobile solutions in the health industry. All speakers agreed that as it relates to the cell phone, we are only now beginning to uncover its full potential:

• in the management of chronic diseases
• as a tool for accessing timely information
• as an essential device for capturing information
• as a way to collaborate across time and distance
• as a means to interact in new ways with patients
• and as a platform for education and entertainment.

Yet all acknowledged that we have barely scratched the surface on the ways these devices and mobile solutions will play out in the future.

Baby Boomers Present Opportunities for Health and Healthy Lifestyle Brands

Baby Boomers represent one of the few growing markets around. While many marketers remain focused on the stagnant under-50 market, the 50+ market (40 million and growing) continues to show tremendous growth.

Baby Boomers (typically defined as those folks born between 1946 and 1964) are the largest buying group in America. They represent the generation with the greatest buying power in the history of the country (controlling approximately 70% of the nations wealth) and account for 40% of total consumer demand - even in a recession.

To attract this huge segment, a brand needs to:

• understand the segments that make up the 50+ market
• treat these customers with respect and dignity
• appeal to their desire to feel, think, act and stay young
• beyond products, offer "life-enhancing" experiences
• support their products with great service
• be positive, as people don't want to be reminded that "time is winding down"
• develop communications that show you understand the audience

For insight into this demographic, check out babyboomer-magazine.com.

140 health care uses for Twitter

Thought-provoking, status-quo challenging e-book by Phil Baumann, RN BSN about the possibilities micro-sharing (using Twitter as the example) offers as a powerful means of healthcare communication and collaboration.

Inspiration for Healthcare, Healthy and Energy Brands

A Simply Better Way is a great talk from Saul Kaplan at the Business Innovation Factory. "My dream for the future is that we can come together as a connected community with a shared purpose for a simply better way" are the words he uses to introduce his talk. He focuses primarily on healthcare, education and energy, but if you are not in one of those sectors you will still find inspiration. 

First, you can connect it back to my last post. You can either wallow in the mud of the current situation, or consider his metaphor of "a simply better way" so that you're the one consumers turn to when we turn the corner.

But  On the idea of "connected community" with a shared purpose to achieve a better way. He states that it "has become easier to connect via the internet with someone on the other side of the world then it is to connect with the rich diversity of citizens and institutions in our own backyard. Despite all of the networking technology, we have become surprisingly disconnected from our own neighbors."

So much of our focus has turned to social networks. Creating connected and collaborative virtual communities of people with shared interests. But his point is that we've missed something important along the way. We need to mobilize. We need to collaborate, not in Second Life, but in real life, to make change happen. As he states, "we need to reconnect the dots into purposeful networks focused on healthcare, education, and energy independence as the path towards prosperity and a simply better way." Because communities really do matter.

Finding energy for health and healthy lifestyle brands

Like all other industries, healthcare and healthy lifestyle brands are feeling the effects of the recession.

There's no magic bullet that will help you come out stronger on the other side of the downturn. But there are ways to seize what is admittedly an awful situation and steer it to your advantage. By discovering new insights. Uncovering and providing what your customers are hungry for.

Address these five questions to help you position yourself as the one to turn to when things come around. Questions that revolve around three "R"s - reshaping, refining and rationalizing. And which are ultimately about customers. Because without them, nothing us really matters.

1. Is your message simple and sharp? Are you providing a crystal clear understanding of the value of your offering?

2. Does your portfolio reflect this clarity and simplicity? Is it focused on those offerings that drive reputation, relationships and business? Is it simple for customers to easily shop and choose what they want?

3. Are you adding value in ways that are important to customers while building on your differentiation and strengths, e.g. through new product or service enhancements, channels, partners, content, experiences?

4. Are you investing in what matters most to customers? If not, go dark. Because nothing else really matters. Stop marketing to them, and do for them. Engage then where they are and how they want. Align all your activities and spending to deliver that value. And if you can’t find the value in an activity, let it go.

5. Are you operating with integrity and treating employees, customers, shareholders and partners with respect? Too many have already let us down. And they've been called out. Rise above, and you'll come out stronger on the other side.

Healthcare: Direct to consumer disease control and prevention

Super Protection from Super Bugs

This convenient PatientPak kit is a smart idea and offers excellent protection against hospital Superbugs and viruses as well as at-home protection. It's a simple, highly desirable disease prevention product that I believe has legs beyond its current market focus. Sold and marketed direct to consumers instead of through health institutions, PatientPak is a collection of antimicrobial and other hygiene items for those planning a hospital visit. Its aim is to kill 99.99% of bugs, including MRSA, salmonella and E. coli.

Building healthcare brands from the inside-out

I gave a presentation to the global sales force of a current client this week. We're formally relaunching the corporate brand next month. We introduced the team to the new brand direction and talked about how we were going to help them strengthen and build connections with current and prospective clients and partners.

For most healthcare brands your staff is your sales force. Branding begins from the inside out.

The timing for the meeting was particularly important. Because there's a backdrop of doubt, uncertainty and lack of forward movement on the part of their clients. So the idea that they could actually 'sell" a compelling and differentiating brand promise that transcended their suite of products and services really resonated with them.

In particular, there were a few concepts that stood out for them:

• that their brand is not a logo, a themeline, a product or service or manual. Rather, it's the difference between an MP3 player and an iPOD, a battery and an "energizer bunny" battery, a banana and a Chiquita banana, the hundreds of defunct department stores and Target. Rather, brand is an expectation – of a product, service or organization – ultimately delivering a feeling- based on ideas and experiences.

• given a market backdrop of too many (and too similar) product choices, too much information, a discerning consumer who can now decide how they connect, create and consume media – the old modes of brand-building based on transactions has now evolved to connections (to dynamic conversations, doing vs. saying, experiences vs. touch-points, building community versus building audience).

• the fact that (to borrow on a native american saying) "it takes a thousand voices to tell a single story." That absolutely everything the sales force (and the organization) does, either enhances or detracts from brand reputation. The fact that all actions have consequences – which compelled them to say to leadership and other supporting cast members "don't screw this up for us."

• that if you consider the advantages of building a strong brand – from both an internal and external, relationship and financial perspective – there are tangible financial and relationship benefits beyond what they had considered. And that they could actually sell against these benefits.

• the fact that brand value is tied to stock market value (in fact, represents a disproportionate share of stock market value in strong brand-driven companies); and that these corporate brands are supported by strong brand-centric cultures, where
all employees understand and are aligned in brand delivery.

The team was excited and energized about what the company was doing. They asked about additional materials and tools. And they extolled the company to please not let this one slip away. Pretty cool that this feedback was coming from the sales force.

Your health - if it's too good to be true, it probably is

Good article Fitness Isn't an Overnight Sensation about how long it really takes to get into body-changing shape.

As the title suggests, discipline and commitment over a longer period of time than people would like to hear, is the only way to transform your body. Evidence that even with all the rational evidence we would ever need available at our fingertips, we override logic and base our purchase decisions largely on emotion and feelings.

The brands we buy and how they define us

Imagine the impact of each of us switching out just one brand per week (one of the "things" we use, throw away and waste), to help build a more sustainable, livable, prosperous future. Doesn't take much to make a difference.

“Our things define us."

What we buy, what we use, what we keep and throw away, what we waste, and what we save: the stuff that surrounds us and flows through our lives is a key indicator of the kinds of lives we're living. To be an affluent twenty-first-century person is to float on a sea of material objects - each with its own history and future.

They may be hidden from our eyes, but in practical global terms, those histories and futures tend to be the most important aspects of the stuff we own.”

This is from one of the chapters of a new book called Worldchanging: A Users Guide for the 21st Century - a compilation of innovative solutions, ideas and inventions for building a sustainable, livable, prosperous future. It's written by WorldChanging, a nonprofit media organization founded on the idea that real solutions already exist for building the future we want.

Social media a great platform for healthcare

Was thinking about Hawaii's online health initiative (see yesterday's post) and wanted to continue the social media theme. As Steve Case, founder of Revolution Health told the World Healthcare Innovation and Technology Congress "community is the killer app in health care." And why not. The same user-generated content tools that we use to converse, connect and collaborate in our daily lives also provide a great platform for us to use for health information and support.

Jane Sarashon-Kahn, owner of consultancy THINK-Health refers to the Health 2.0 movement as the use of social software and its ability to promote collaboration between patients, their caregivers, medical professionals, and other stakeholders. Again, see post below as an example of this collaboration.

Some complimentary and reinforcing facts:
iCrossing conducted a study in January 2008, and found that the internet (59%) is the leading source (followed by doctors at 55%) used to find or access Health and Wellness Related Information in the past 12 months. And following the docs was the influence of relatives/friends/co-workers (much of which is probably accessed online).
















Again from iCrossing, general search engines (67%), Health portals (46%) and Social media (34%) are the top online tools and resources used to locate health information. Again, followed by the influence of relatives/friends/co-workers.




















So what's next. Where is Health 2.0 going? Maybe look for clues from Microsoft Health Vault M and Google Health. And then to take this a step farther, what does Health 3.0 have in store for us?

Online Healthcare In Hawaii

The traditional doctor/patient visit has just moved to a virtual office via the web.

As of last week, Hawaii residents can pay a flat fee for a 10-minute online visit with a doctor. While the brief interaction won't be able to address more complicated and emergency-based medical situations, it is an efficient way to handle more routine requirements and patient queries.

Forgetting the questions regarding possible abuse that come to mind, it's a strong advancement that benefits both patient and doctor and plays into the inherent advantages that the web has to offer. Read the article Hawaii tries out online health care

The impact of digital growth on healthcare and healthy lifestyle brands

If you think the past couple of years have brought about lots of change to marketing and advertising, you haven't seen anything yet.

An associate of ours, Michael Gass, who runs Fuel Lines, shared this video with me this morning. It's a compelling, eye-opening and thought-provoking piece of work about the global impact of digital.

Watch the video: "Did You Know? 3.0 (www.youtube.com)

Credits

“3.0 for 2008 - Newly Revised Edition Created by Karl Fisch, and modified by Scott McLeod; Globalization & The Information Age. Adapted by Sony BMG at an executive meeting they held in Rome this year. Credits are also given to Scott McLeod, Jeff Brenman.”

Avoiding high medical costs through health foods and supplements

Not surprisingly, sales of health foods and supplements (as reported by Chinese ingredient group Fencham ) are on the rise as a means to avoid high medical costs. The specific consumer segments integrating these functional foods and supplements into their lives aren't identified. However, we do know there are two segments -- the Well Beings and the Food Actives -- most predisposed to these proactive practices. The Well Beings integrate health into their lives through most wellness products, services and lifestyle activities. The Food Actives, on the other hand, are most focused on improving their health through food.

Can't help but wonder, however, how many of these consumers truly understand the implications of their actions. Hopefully, they're informed and not trying to take matters into their own hands based solely on the economic environment and the fear of incurring health care costs.

Read article brief (Sales Boosted…)

The parallels of fitness goals and healthy brand goals

Beyond the health benefits of this article (14 ways to make your fitness goals stick) to those who read this post, I found myself thinking about the parallels of trying to achieve personal fitness goals with that of trying to achieve brand fitness goals. For instance:

1. Tip #1 is Dig Deep -- which is the only way to reveal your brand's inner passions, strengths and aspirations. Unless you dig from the core, it's impossible to identify the sweet spot of what truly makes your brand different and relevant with what consumers are hungry for; and how you alone satisfy their desires.

2. Tip #2 is Make An Impact -- "for a powerful shot of inspiration, place messages where you'll see them right before a workout." Not much different from wanting to engage with audiences in ways the make deep and lasting connections. It's the difference between engaging them in ways that they want, value and enjoy -- versus interrupting them with traditional one-way tell and sell communications.

3. Tip #3 is Check Your Expectations -- "people get discouraged when they don't see a better body right away." As many organizational/non-marketing leaders get discouraged when brand initiatives don't yield results right away. As we tell our clients -- branding is a journey, not a destination. It takes time, patience, passion and consistency before you can expect to see results. But in the long run, those results pay both relationship and financial rewards.

4. Tip #9 is Know What You Want -- "Make the most of the gym by focusing on building what you want most, such as step classes, a pool or nutrition services." So too should client and agency agree to what clients want most, by identifying in advance their desired the measures of success - whether image or impact, formal or informal, internal or external.

5. Tip #11 is Get Support --"The more support you get early on, the better your chances for long-term success." Couldn't be any more appropriate to describe one of the requisites for brand-building success, which must start from the inside-out. Unless leadership walks the talk, you have no chance of ever realizing your full potential. Because if leadership isn't demonstrating their commitment through their actions, there's no way that rank and file will ever believe that the effort is that important to the organization.

Health + Healthy lifestyle brand consumers and social media

The results of this Pew/Internet survey show that "the share of adult internet users who have a profile on an online social network has more than quadrupled in the past four years – from 8% in 2005 to 35% now."

The implication for health + healthy lifestyle brand marketers is that social media (as many other objective sources reveal) can no longer be something that you keep on the back burner. Because Social is not a fad (as these statistics reveal). As the "web" wasn't a fad in the 1990's. The truth about Social is that it's really a tool for human beings to be human – participating in conversations, connecting and sharing with each other through communities and collaborating to create a better future for themselves and others.

You must come to grips with the fact that you alone aren't steering your fate. It's like driving class in high school, where your teacher could take over the controls – could steer, go slower or faster - at any time. Social is the next thing in our evolution. And while it might scare you - it will be a fatal mistake to ignore it. Because the old marketing model is dead!

Top 10 trends of the extreme future impacting health and healthy lifestyle brands

Keeping an eye on the trends that will impact health and healthy lifestyle brands.

Dr. Canton's compelling and thought-provoking view of the trends that will reshape the world over the course of the next 20 years. About The Extreme Future

Direct-to-consumer drug ads losing their punch

If you are in the healthcare or healthy lifestyle industry you probably aren't surprised.

So all the messages that would make one think that they're watching the pharma drug channel (mixed in with some college and pro sports) aren't delivering results. This shouldn't be a surprise. How much can you possibly interrupt people with messages that begin to blur together before you start to re-evaluate your practices. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28584952/