Graphic Design and Medical Reporting… Odd Couple, or Just What the Doctor Ordered?
In today’s health-conscious world, where folks of all ages are struggling with obesity and diseases like heart disease and cancer are being diagnosed at an alarming rate, the general public is being encouraged to take a more active role in understanding their medical care. It’s becoming more commonplace for a patient-doctor relationship to be more of a partnership than ever before.Technology, particularly the internet, has allowed patients to do their own research and gather information to take to their medical provider so they can work together in managing the patient’s health. All that knowledge and understanding comes to a grinding halt when it comes to patient lab reports, which are filled with terminology and abbreviations that have the lay person confused and usually concerned.
Enter a few designers into this medical world and voila! Leave it to a group of marketing and advertising professionals to give a make-over to some hum-drum reports, making them understandable, informative, and even appealing to the eye. My hope is that this catches on nation-wide so that everyone has the benefit of understanding what’s literally coursing through their veins.
Read the entire story in the Spark Report for more information.
This was posted by Kristan Braziel on Tuesday, January 11th, 2011 and is filed under Blog, Design, Healthcare, Media Team Blog, Misc, it contains the following tags .You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
Colt McCoy donates to Children’s Hospital at Scott & White
McCoy knows firsthand the life-saving and life-improving care children’s hospitals provide… Read More This was posted by Kristan Braziel on Tuesday, November 2nd, 2010 and is filed under Blog, Healthcare, Media Team Blog, Misc, it contains the following tags .You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
The Power of User Generated Media aka “That Hotel had Bed Bugs!”
I recently booked a long overdue, much anticipated family vacation to the Dominican Republic. I’m a self-described internet research geek, especially when it comes to purchasing big ticket items like cars and vacations. I actually get excited as I log onto Google or Yahoo and start my searches. Depending on the item I’m looking for, the search can last for days or weeks until I’m satisfied I’ve made the right purchase decision at the right price. And that almost always involves reading consumer reviews of the product or travel destination from trusted websites.A recent post by Cynthia Stephens, Consumer Influence: Measure for Measure, discusses this fast growing trend of consumers going to trusted media resources, also known as user-generated media (UGM). The article is insightful and provides a look into understanding, measuring and embracing this new consumer-driven marketing trend.
This was posted by admin on Tuesday, September 14th, 2010 and is filed under Blog, Media Team Blog, it contains the following tags .You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
The Birds and the Bees Can’t Always “Make it Happen”
Finally! A healthcare advertising message that is funny! This campaign is brilliant. Instead of taking itself too seriously, EMD Serono, the manufacturer of fertility drug Gonal-f, has launched a viral campaign that takes a serious medical condition and takes the taboo out of it a bit. The videos, currently only on the web, are hilarious and are relatable, even for those of us who have not experienced infertility. What couple hasn’t given two very different versions of the same reality they’ve both shared, as these two have in the video called, “A year and a half”?
The videos sends viewers to the website www.increaseyourchances.org, where they can click through and learn more about why 1 out of 8 couples have trouble conceiving. No sterile images of a hospital where all your fertility procedures make your baby-making dreams come true. No images of the previously-troubled couple at last walking off into the sunset, mom-to-be gently rubbing her baby bump.
These videos are at once effective and funny. And brilliant. My only suggestion is to get these on TV pronto. These are too good not to share with the masses.
This was posted by Kristan Braziel on Sunday, August 1st, 2010 and is filed under Blog, Healthcare, Media Team Blog, Strategy Team Blog, it contains the following tags fertility treatments, Healthcare, humor, online video, pharma advertising, pregnancy, video, viral video.You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
Facebook Accidentally Lifts & Supports Cancer Group Memberships
I don’t know how I missed it, but I was apparently in the minority. A few months ago someone on Facebook started a movement with one simple message, asking women to post their bra color on their status. The request took hold and as it spread across the globe, the wording changed slightly and as it began to gain full momentum, changed enough to give false credit to several cancer groups. See more on this in this post by Sarah Brown for examiner.com. Or at Snopes.com.
Does social media work? The end result of this little game for the Susan G. Komen Facebook group was an increase in followers by more than 950% in less than a week!! Although this particular movement blossomed from what began as a simple, “let’s see if we can get people to do this,” then morphed into what some deem a scam, the outcome was a needed boost for one of the highest-profile charitable organizations in the country.
The lesson: YES. Social media works. YES. Social media can be used to benefit the healthcare industry. And YES. There are some beautiful bra colors out there.
This was posted by Kristan Braziel on Saturday, July 17th, 2010 and is filed under Blog, Featured, Healthcare, Media Team Blog, Misc, Social Media, it contains the following tags Bra Color, breast cancer, Examiner, Facebook, Facebook status, Healthcare, pink ribbon, Scam, Snopes, Susan G. Komen.You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
If You’re Smart, You’re Social!
comScore, Inc. released its MobiLens report today on trends in the US mobile phone industry. Surprising almost no one who has been paying attention, accessing social media sites or blogs grew at more than 3% for the period October 2009 through January 2010 over the previous three months, making it the number one growth activity, ahead of “used browser”, “played games”, or “listened to music”. That’s nearly 8 million people Facebooking, Tweeting and blogging without being tethered to a computer. And the number is growing rapidly.For brands that may still be on the fence about the need or desirability to have a social media strategy, the jury is in. This is particularly true for certain brands and business types.
To paraphrase Jeff Foxworthy, if your brand/product/service…
- appeals to early technology adaptors
- relies on word of mouth referrals
- provokes an immediate emotional response or opinion from its consumers
- prompts shoppers to seek advice and referrals from friends
- has a limited marketing budget
- wants to engage with customers in addition to creating transactions
- has a need for immediate customer feedback
… you just might need a social media strategy.
Share (%) of Smartphone Subscribers, Jan-10
There are 42.7 million people in the U.S. using smartphones. That’s 18.25% of total mobile phones in the U.S., and that number grew by 18% from just the previous three months. You might ask what percentage of smartphone users actually uses their cell phone for social media. The answer? Nearly all of them; 94%.
Other key findings:
- 234 million American (ages 13+) were mobile subscribers
- Motorola was the top handset manufacturer (22.9%)
- RIM (Blackberry) was the top smartphone platform (43.0%, or 18.36 million)
- Apple ranked #2in smartphone platforms (25.1%, or 10.7 million)
- Microsoft was the only platform to decline in share (down 4.0%)
- Google had the biggest growth among smartphone platforms (+4.3%)
Additional information and the complete report can be found here.
This was posted by Steve Calkins on Wednesday, March 10th, 2010 and is filed under Blog, Interactive Team Blog, Media Team Blog, Misc, Social Media, Strategy Team Blog, it contains the following tags .You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
Healthcare Records Unite!
It’s exciting as a patient to see healthcare technology keeping up with the times. Not just from a standpoint of advanced medical procedures and the like; but also from an administrative standpoint. FastCompany released last week their Top 10 Most Innovative Companies, giving GE top honors in the Health Care category because of their Healthymagination program. According to fastcompany.com, GE is investing $6 billion over the course of the next several years in a variety of innovative health care technology. GE’s Centricity Electronic Medical Record system will allow doctors to manage a patient’s complete medical history, helping to reduce errors *.As a patient, visiting a medical facility that uses this type of technology is a God-send. If I have a choice, I want to go with the doctor who has all my medical information in one place – it’s more convenient (I don’t have to repeat all my medical information every time I visit someone new); it’s more accurate (I don’t have to worry about one doctor having to decipher another doctor’s handwriting); and it’s more complete (I don’t have to rely on my memory to recite all the ailments I’ve had throughout my 40 years).
This technology is demonstrated beautifully in GE’s “Doctors” commercial . Wouldn’t it be wonderful to have all of your past and present medical professionals assembled in one room to give their undivided attention to you and your medical history? That is the point of EMR and it’s brilliant.
Another nugget: the digital database. FastCompany says that GE, together with Intermountain Healthcare, the Mayo Clinic, and other institutions have created the database, which connects to electronic medical records, allowing comparisons of patients’ medical histories. Imagine having at your fingertips a vast number of patients from which to compare symptoms and diagnoses. As a patient, this type of technology not only gives me comfort, but makes me thankful to be living in the 21st century.
One must wonder, then, why more hospitals do not tout their capabilities in this area? Scott & White Healthcare, based in Temple, Texas, is an example of a medical group that is leading and innovating in this area, but is not getting the credit they deserve. An early adopter of EMR, Scott & White introduced this technology into their health system more than 10 years ago, yet there isn’t much hubbub about it. Perhaps hospitals are concerned with patients’ perception that they are jeopardizing their privacy.
According to Naveen Venkatachalam, the creator of Sushoo EMR software, however, patient records are perfectly safe. He says the security measures used are similar to what banks use for online transactions*.
Probably the reason for avoiding marketing these behind-the-scenes capabilities are because the capabilities are just that: behind the scenes. What patients really want to see is the warm-fuzzy, the “we-are-here-to-make-you-feel-better” messages. The only technology patients care about seeing is the kind that involves medical procedures and how they can be made less invasive or more effective.
But the behind-the-scenes technology is just as important. Until marketers develop messages – like GE did – that convince patients of the benefits of EMR (versus its risks), this technology will remain in the backseat and won’t ever really get the heyday it deserves.
*Sources:
1. http://www.fastcompany.com/mic/2010/industry/most-innovative-healthcare-companies
2. http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/-electronic-medical-records-safe-says-creator-sushoo-emr-/2010/01/05/4558745.htm
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Remember When a Pre-Owned Vehicle Was Just a Used Car?
During a recent interview segment on American Public Media’s Marketplace program, the guest, novelist John Lanchester, used the term “re-branding” to describe a contributing factor in our economic meltdown. Here’s the quote, in context (emphasis mine):Kai Ryssdal (host): That’s a great word, actually, frictionless-ness because that’s really sort of what happened to cause this whole thing. I mean, money was moving all over the place and nobody really knew it.
John Lanchester: Yeah, I think that is it. It’s strange how easy it is for that to seem natural. It’s almost a trick of re-branding. They didn’t so much call it money, they call it credit. Once upon a time credit used to be called debt, which is what it is. But if you rename money as credit, and give people the idea that access to credit is something that is almost a right, it’s something that should be easy, that should be freely available, that shouldn’t really have consequences, I think it becomes much easier to jam people with all the debts that they got stuck with.
This “trick” of simply calling something by another name, can be powerful. Remember when a “pre-owned vehicle” was just a “used car”? Wouldn’t you rather get behind “revenue enhancement” than a “tax increase”? Or does “climate change” sound more benign than “global warming”? Taken to the Orwellian extreme, this manipulation of language results in people believing “war is peace”, “freedom is slavery”, and “ignorance is bliss”.
As with any trick, it helps if it plays into what the audience wants to believe. And it seems you can never go wrong by appealing to self-interest and/or baser instincts. Therein lays the power of substituting the word “credit” for the word “debt”. It changes the focus from the consequences to the reward: instant gratification.
But does this constitute “re-branding”, or is this simply “spin”? And what’s the difference? First, it may help to define what we mean by “brand”:
According to Seth Godin,
A brand is the set of expectations, memories, stories and relationships that, taken together, account for a consumer’s decision to choose one product or service over another. If the consumer (whether it’s a business, a buyer, a voter or a donor) doesn’t pay a premium, make a selection or spread the word, then no brand value exists for that consumer.
The genius of changing “debt” to “credit” goes deeper than just the words. Indeed, our whole perception has been altered. What was once a mark of weakness and shame (you can’t afford to pay for that?) or even a crime (debtors prisons operated in America until 1850) was transformed into a mark of status (do you carry a green American Express? Gold? Black?) The amount you could owe became a source of pride and power. Who knew that people would actually spend money that they didn’t have, and probably would never be able to earn? Or that our bankers and financial institutions would do the same? Yeah, right.
Looked at in this light, it is easy to see why the growth of our credit culture qualifies as a true re-branding. Additionally though, it is a reminder that we need to be more discerning about the way we process and the way we use words. As brand signifiers, carefully chosen words can be the front line of the re-branding cascade. This kind of re-branding may become more difficult in the Internet age, where peer-to-peer communication, social networks and instantaneous access to information had led to increased value for authenticity. But then again, maybe not. Just look at some of the examples in Frank Luntz’s book, Words That Work. If you notice “energy exploration” replacing “drilling for oil” in public discourse, you can blame Frank. “Spin” — a simple choice of words or turn of phrase — can be the seed of re-branding.
This was posted by Steve Calkins on Tuesday, February 9th, 2010 and is filed under Blog, Brand, Creative Team Blog, Interactive Team Blog, Media Team Blog, Misc, Social Media, Strategy Team Blog, it contains the following tags .You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
Spam the Sham
I edit a military culture and history blog called civilianmilitaryintelligencegroup.com. We get spam from all over the world, and I am commenting on it because this is a blog about marketing and spam is the basest form of marketing in my not so humble opinion. I think about Spam as a marketing in the same way you might think about living in a gated community, and anyone with something to sell begins yelling at you over your fence with offers. Or they throw rocks with notes tied to them through your windows. They do so much of it that even a .001% return makes it worth it.
Our domain is housed at GoDaddy and if you have ever seen the GoDaddy commercials, you have some idea where their heads are in regards to taste and discretion. I believe they are successful because they offer a lot for a little. On the other hand, I am convinced that they believe their silicon enhanced well-endowed models are the reasons why they are succeeding. I know it’s frustrating.
That said, about a month ago we started getting twenty or more spam messages in the admin box. And whaddya know….Go Daddy started offering spam filters for just $30/month!!! What a coincidence.
Most of our spam comes from Russia and I will not even open it. Thanks to free online translation sites, I can sometimes cut and paste and it basically is the same crap that I see in English. Some of it nonsensical babble. Some of it is pretend sycophancy, i.e., “I really loved rading this. Please keep it up!” You just know some poor sap in a cave somewhere in Tajikistan is typing out this crap to get out of debt.
But the interesting thing is that some companies, most of them online businesses inundate our inboxes with fake letters. It’s as if some company is trying to disguise itself as a real person who has actually read the article and is trying to fool me into approving the comment.
I will post a few of these and I urge you not to go to the sites marked .ru as Russian spam is known to be trojan horses for malware.
Today, a “woman” named Krista, whose track-back is a company website called Magicoservices wrote me a comment posted on an article entitled Barrage Balloons at Normandy. Defending Freedom With A Lot of Hot Air.
“She” writes: “I know you speak at great risk. Thanks for taking the opportunity to share deeply.”
Then I received this kind thoughtful post from a gentleman named Make Money At Home In Your Spare Time: “He” writes: “Arrg, my mouse got jammed. What I was about to say, was that this is a terrific post. Very insightful and informative at the same time.”
Sometimes I get really well thought out comments, like this one from a person named Ssnbzx:
“[url=http://rphktefhxjmk.com/]rphktefhxjmk[/url],[link=http://wtuyrhwflhon.com/]wtuyrhwflhon[/link], zxvycznhyl”
(I mean, I have to say that THIS I why I take the time to blog. There is nothing more satisfying than to know I have really made a difference in Ssnbzx’s day).
Of course occasionally I will get a spam from a really depressed Internet marketer like this one I found on an article we posted called The Northrup P-61 Black Widow, America’s Fight Operational Radar Equipped Fighter. This is from a Mr. Banking-On-The-Web/Spare Time writes:
“I think that is an interesting point, it made me think a bit. Thanks for sparking my thinking cap. Sometimes I get so much in a rut that I just feel like a record.”
Of course I often get great tips for making my blog more interesting. This one came from a fellow named “naturalseaweedfertilizer.blogspot”
“He” writes: “Have you ever considered adding more videos to your blog posts to keep the readers more entertained? I mean I just read through the entire article of yours and it was quite good but since I’m more of a visual learner.”
Of course every third post is a video as it has been since we started this blog. I wonder if he was beaten up in school for his weird name. “Hey naturalseeweedfertislizer, you’re Mother’s a Carp!”
I am always glad to know that our blog is reaching people across the globe and building a sort of mini global community. Last week a Mr. Каталог статей wrote me a long letter. It said:
“Bactrium for boils, Viagra for erection,
Bactrium for boils, Viagra for erection,
Bactrium for boils, Viagra for erection,
Bactrium for boils, Viagra for erection,
Bactrium for boils, Viagra for erection,
Bactrium for boils, Viagra for erection,
Bactrium for boils, Viagra for erection,
Bactrium for boils, Viagra for erection,
Bactrium for boils, Viagra for erection,
Bactrium for boils, Viagra for erection”
He goes on:
“Casino, online betting, bib boobs, bacterium, Viagra, Halidol, bacterium low cost, bet on horse, bet on car, bet on game, casino, online betting, bib boobs, bacterium, Viagra, Halidol, bacterium low cost, bet on horse, bet on car, bet on game, casino, online betting, bib boobs, bacterium, Viagra, Halidol, bacterium low cost, bet on horse, bet on car, bet on game.”
I mean, I was literally moved by the passion. This guy must be related to Chekov.
Last night a “Ms. Eboniemoorhead45” wrote this to me: “I really liked reading your post!. Quallity content. With such a valuable blog I believe you deserve to be ranking even higher in the search engines . Check out the link in my name. That links to a tool that really helped me rank high in google. This way even more people can enjoy your posts and nothing beats a big audiance ”
I wanted to email her back to tell her she spelled audience improperly, but did you know that it just tracked me back to a site about oral sex? (Is that when they just talk about doing it?) I guess I never thought to connect the dots on her name, Eboniemoorhead45 might be a name like Dick Goesenya or Ben Dover.
All I can say I wish the rest of this industry would catch up with Spam. Not particularly it efficacy. It’s entertainment value.
Daniel Clay Russ
This was posted by Daniel Russ on Thursday, February 4th, 2010 and is filed under Blog, Interactive Team Blog, Media Team Blog, Misc, Social Media, Strategy Team Blog, it contains the following tags .You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
Number of Social Media Experts May Surpass Number of Bacteria
. . .I’m just saying. If you Google “social media experts on Twitter” you’ll get more than 44,000,000 results. That’s a lot of mass-distributed expertise! By the way, these people are also experts in walking upright, chewing gum, and aging one day at a time. This was posted by Steve Calkins on Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010 and is filed under Blog, Interactive Team Blog, Media Team Blog, Misc, Social Media, it contains the following tags .You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
