Dear Solutions,

New technology can help to solve this issue, which is shared by many pharmaceutical marketers. The restrictive regulatory environment you mention in your question applies primarily to content – not to the method of delivering that content.

In a world where tech is constantly changing and programs are constantly upgrading, it’s important for pharma marketers to find the most current tech to convey their message. You’re essentially banking on the “cool factor” to help get a jaded audience to sit up and take notice. Here are some innovative methods of information delivery that are likely to have your audience pay attention:

•Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality

Using devices such as Google’s digital contact lenses or Oculus Rift helps HCPs and patients experience augmented and virtual reality, providing them with a new view of the world through digital information. You can convey the same content as you can on your website or via a slide deck by using one of these devices. However, the difference is that your audience can see how a drug works in 3D or immerse themselves in a migraine patient’s world. Sure, fewer people can be reached at once – but each impression will be deep and lasting. The experience is so powerful, so visceral, that they’re not likely to forget it anytime soon

•Games and Apps

Sometimes, pharma marketers still try to use incentives to motivate patients and medical professionals to use a certain product. These are, of course, obsolete – and with the PhRMA guidelines, unseemly. These marketers would be better served by turning to “gamification” to reach people where they are online, which can help improve both adherence and pharma’s image. If the customer no longer uses one advertisement platform, a new one is needed – one that keeps the patient or HCP engaged. That way, information about product features and benefits, lifestyle options for managing certain conditions, and other content can stick.

•Body Sensors

From simple step-counters to more complex blood glucose monitors, body sensors measure health parameters in a comfortable and cheap way that provides crucial data to pharma marketers. This data can be used to personalize standard messaging according to patient type, for example. In addition, if the pharma industry changes its method of gathering data to a body-sensor model, cost-benefit could be immense. It is crucial, however, to remain vigilant about the strides technology makes to be able to truly enjoy the benefits

•3D Printing

Thanks to the 3D printing revolution, the devices can manufacture medical prostheses, equipment, and even drugs themselves. The first drug printed out with a 3D printer was approved by the FDA in 2015. Imagine the marketing uses for this piece of technology: small-scale models of room-sized machines for performing scans and medical procedures, huge sculptures of a new medicine (or the body system it treats) to be displayed at medical conventions and/or health fairs. In every case, the same story is being told as that in the company’s other marketer communications – but the delivery vehicle is entirely new

At Xavier Creative House, we’ve been fortunate enough to service clients who already use and see the benefits of these technologies. We’d love to explore how use of advanced digital tools could help deliver your message more effectively, so feel free to reach out to us via phone, email, or social media. We look forward to hearing from you!

Reference: http://medicalfuturist.com/disruptive-technology-pharma/. Accessed March 11, 2018.