If you can fool half the people, half the time, with products that don’t work for all the people all of the time,,,,maybe its not a good time to be fooling around with this “Social Media” thing.
If it isn’t broke, don’t fix it – Some Sage once pronounced.
I mean, Social Media, why bother?
In 1999 we only had IM, Email, Direct Mail, Telephone, TV, Radio, Display Advertising,
Website, Search, Online Display, Paid Search, Landing Pages, Micro-Sites,
Online Video, Webinars and Affiliate Marketing to fool-around-with.
Ten years on we have added Mobile Email, SMS, MMS, Blogs, RSS, Podcasts, Wikis, Social Networks and the Mobile Web to the mix.
Who would want to mess with all that complexity when there’s no need?
Well actually, there is a need. Because Pharma isn’t fooling people any more – Is it?
The trouble with Social Media is that you can’t fool any of the people any of the time.
Well at least not for long. These Social Media people all talk to one another, and compare notes. Comments, ratings, links, wikis, these innovations make it almost impossible to fool people.
Along with Social Media the move towards Evidence Based Medicine ……
Along with Social Media the move towards Evidence Based Medicine represents yet another dint in Pharma’s capacity to ‘fool’ its clients.
And the shift to Evidence Based Medicine, as with Social Media, is as inevitable as it is inexorable.
(See: “Medical Guesswork” by John Carey Business Week online, May 29, 2006.)
Where Is The Evidence?
In 1991, Dr David Eddy and his colleague Len Schlessinger built a virtual biological model which they called ‘Archimedes’. It simulates patient responses to a variety of pharmaceutical interventions, to try and predict what works and what doesn’t.
As Dr Eddy says, “Even today, with a high-tech health-care system that costs the nation $2 trillion a year, there is little or no evidence that many widely used treatments and procedures actually work better than various cheaper alternatives. The problem is that we don't know what we are doing,"
Three years ago, Dr Eddy said "Our mission is that in 10 years, no one will make an important decision in health care without first asking: `What does Archimedes say?”
Pharma is represented on Archimedes client list, but by only four of the top twenty Pharmacos. Only two are in the top ten. There may be others, but if they do use Archimedes, they’re not admitting to it.
Why would that be?
Maybe it’s something radical, that they would prefer not to be discussed on Social Media.
Where is the Foolishness?
“The fool doth think he is wise, but the wise man knows himself to be a fool.”
William Shakespeare, "As You Like It", Act 5 scene 1
Pharma cannot ignore Evidence Based Medicine the Payers & Regulators are making sure of that.
We can all ignore the growth of Social Media – Can’t We?
Those engaging in Social Media – from physicians to their patients, health consumers and the wellness community are increasingly becoming wiser about all elements of the Pharma’s traditional world of expertise.
Health is top of just about everybody’s agenda.
Pharma’s thought leadership is ever increasingly being challenged.
Is it possible that Pharma should wise-up to this phenomena and make changes to it’s apparent foolishness.
(Tomorrow’s Blog: Big Numbers - Small Numbers – It’s All a Question of Numbers.)
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