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Aug 6th 2012 

ICANN Released New gTLDs – Now What?

On June 13th, ICANN (the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) approved a slew of new gTLDs (generic top level domains) that potentially create new web suffixes ( or, more technically, strings ) to supplement the existing stable which includes .com. .net, .org, .gov, .mil, .edu, .biz, .info and .int ( country specific gTLDs also exist ). The full list, which can be found here requires a $185,000 application fee, plus a yearly service fee of $25,000 paid directly to ICANN. Needless to say, that’s some serious
coin.

The requested gTLD strings included applications from some major pharma companies, with some applying for brand trademarks and program names. I may have missed a few combing through the list, but at last tally they included:

  • Abbot ( .abbot .abbvie )
  • BMS ( .bms )
  • Boehringer ( .boehringer )
  • Eli LIlly ( .lilly .cialis )
  • Johnson & Johnson ( .jnj .baby )
  • Merck ( .merck .emerck .merckMSD )
  • Pfizer ( .pfizer )
  • Sanofi ( .sanofi )

Also interesting to note that several of the bigger pharma companies opted to pass on securing a new gTLD string, including Roche, GSK, Novartis, AZ and Bayer. Pepsi, along with a few other mega-brands, have been very vocal about their decision to stay on the sidelines of the gTLD land rush, while Google and others have applied for multiple strings. So who’s going to come out ahead? Those who acquired the domains now, or those who waited? Given the expense involved and the lack of a road map to implementation, the answer isn’t a clear one.

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Jun 1st 2012 

Filling some very large shoes

Happy Friday-

I wanted to take a moment and thank you all for the kind notes and words of encouragement you’ve passed along since Jonathan’s note yesterday. I am both excited and humbled by the challenge before me. Many thanks of course to Jonathan, who has been instrumental in helping this transition along. I can only hope to continue the work he started by providing our readers interesting points of view, provocative ideas, and new ways off thinking about the industry we all know and love.

While I will be the primary contributor to these pages, my role at WPP has allowed me the opportunity to get to know many of the brightest minds in the business, and their perspectives will be shared here regular basis as well. It will truly take a team effort to build on the tremendous success of this blog and I hope you’ll enjoy what’s next.

Jonathan has agreed to pop in every now and again and provide his perspectives on the issues of the moment. So this transition isn’t so much a goodbye as it is a see you soon.

Please have a great and relaxing weekend, and I’ll see you all on Monday.

-Bill

Nov 21st 2008 

Welcome Readers to Dose of Digital

Thanks for joining me on this important journey. I know it’s a corny beginning, but we are going to learn some things together in the coming years or whenever digital technologies stop being important. Since that should be a while, I think we’ll have a lot to discuss for quite a while.

The goal of this blog is to help figure out how healthcare can leverage some of the digital technologies available today. We aren’t going to talk about drug discovery or innovative products themselves, but rather the sales and marketing of these products. We’ll talk about how patients and doctors find out about products, determine if they are right for them, how they stay on therapy (or quit), and how digital technologies can make this all simpler for everyone. Fact is, healthcare is far behind almost every other industry in terms of leveraging digital technology to market their products and interact with their customers.

I’m hoping to change that just a bit.

Now, understand that my goal isn’t to put more money in the hands of pharma companies (though I am a former pharma employee). My goal instead is to improve patient care. For some pharma companies, this will increase their sales, but for others, my ideas are going to cut into their sales. It’s all about who’s willing to listen and implement what’s possible. Digital technologies can help improve adherence to treatment and help determine which people are the right candidates for a given therapy. Ignoring this fact wastes billions of dollars and probably costs a lot of lives.

I know, it all sounds a bit dramatic, but it is. Can something like Facebook or YouTube really save lives by improving healthcare? The answer is yes and I hope to show you how.

So, here’s the premise: Digital technologies properly utilized in healthcare can save lives. Simple, right?