Merging Media and the Market

“Happiness is nothing more than good health and a bad memory”

Albert Schweitzer

French philosopher and physician (1875-1965)

 

 

As I stated in my introductory post, I’m kind of behind the curve when it comes to utilizing new media.  I surf the Internet and watched one of the presidential debates on my cell phone. However, from an advertising standpoint I don’t feel competent about being effectively able to reach consumers using new media.  So while I’m able to use new media I don’t feel as if I know enough about it yet to utilize it to its fullest extent in a marketing campaign.  Nonetheless, when discussing new media I’m realizing that I underestimate my reliance on and interaction with new mediums: Especially when it comes to blogging. 

As I mentioned in my introduction, I was lucky enough to get Rheumatoid Arthritis my senior year of college.  Unfortunately, it was a very aggressive and unresponsive to any treatment for several years.  During this time I heavily relied on the Web sites of different companies to research every thing about this disease and possible treatments.  When things were really bad, I even started participating in the RA specific blogs and communities that are available through the Arthritis Foundation’s Web site.  I guess I kind of spaced this participation out along with the rest of the bad times. 

 

 

Nonetheless, blogs were actually a type of treatment for me, allowing me to connect with thousands of others who were experiencing the same things that I was: Enabling me to easily vent my feelings to others that could sympathize with what I was going through and offer some hope.  Looking back at the situation I can only say that it would have been unbearably difficult to deal with the pain of RA if I hadn’t been able to connect with other RA sufferers via blogs and online communities.  My heart goes out to those who had to go through this horrible disease seemingly alone before new media offered us an outlet. 

 

It is obvious that innovative media has revolutionized the medical field for doctors and patients alike.  The latest research, information, and treatment options can be easily accessed through the Web sites of various organizations and drug manufacturers.  New media has allowed consumers to become proactive in the treatment of their diseases both emotionally and physically.  Blogs and online communities definitely help consumers deal with the emotional aspects of any chronic condition.  While RA and other autoimmune diseases are very common it is difficult to find others who suffer from these conditions: because they are either too sick to leave their home or putting on “a happy face” outside of their home so as not to worry their loved ones. 

 

As such, I’d venture that blogs and online communities are the only outlet where patients will openly and honestly discuss what they are experiencing.  I know I always sugar coated everything for my friends and family; and made sure I timed my nice big cortisone shots accordingly so I could best function and fake that I was alright in front of them.  However, when I was blogging via the Arthritis Foundation’s Web site I didn’t feel like I needed to put on a happy face.  The people on this blog put on their brave faces all the time and its relieving to take them off and talk to others who can offer advice based on their experiences and that you’ll never have to meet face-to-face. 

 

Health blogs are a great way for patients to learn about new medications, and track the experiences others are having on recently approved FDA medications and on clinical trials.  I’d also say that these blogs are a great source for doctors and scientists to discover how patients are really doing on their medications and with their diseases.  Because along with putting on a brave face for families and friends, I know I wasn’t totally honest with my doctors when my RA was really bad: it’s just hard to circle the 100 on the 0 to 100 scale of how much pain you have. 

 

From a marketing perspective, drug manufacturers could gain ideas about how to effectively reach patients with their advertising messages.  One brand that seems to have visited quite a few patient blogs is the makers of Orencia, a new treatment for people with RA.  In reading the blogs of RA and other auto immune patients the one thing that resonates is “I can’t”.  I can’t do this anymore….I can’t do that anymore…  Orencia’s advertisements revolve around saying “I can” again.  And while Orencia was the only medication that provided me with some relief from the RA, I still hate their commercials.  These commercials seem to remind me of the I can’t times, and since I was on this medication before they started advertising it I just wanted to forget there ever was a time that I couldn’t.  Nonetheless, I think that Orencia’s “I can” campaign really resonates with its target market. 

New media has revolutionized the way patients, doctors, scientists, and drug manufacturers communicate with each other in truly remarkable way.  Health blogs served as my initiation into online communities and blogging.  While I am not an avid blogger, my experiences with health blogs was truly one of a kind and the only place I could truly say what was on my mind.  As such, you can understand how health blogs are truly invaluable to any marketer or business professional in the health care field.  More companies need to learn how to make Web sites that are accessible for users with disabilities, especiallys those in the health care field. 

 

Arin