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May 31st 2012 

The Future of Dose of Digital

For those of you who have been paying close attention, you might have noticed that there hasn’t been much activity on the blog for a few months (okay…almost 5, but what does “few” mean anyway?). There’s a reason for this beyond that I couldn’t think of anything to write. Regular readers will know that I’m never at a loss for something to say (or write). The reason is actually quite simple. And in case you haven’t heard, I’ll give you the short story.

On January 13, I left the agency I’d been at for almost five years. While at the agency (first called Bridge Worldwide and now Possible Worldwide), I started this blog and was supported in its ongoing development by the company. Of course, that means that they are really the owners of this blog, so I felt that they should retain control of it once I left. In addition, I’ve moved completely away from the agency business and from healthcare. Because of these couple of factors, I stopped writing. At the same time, I’ve been searching for some options for the blog so that it didn’t simply wither away and die. I’m pleased to announce that I’ve finally got a great solution (more on that in a bit).

First, a little more about where I’m at now and why. Again, this will be the short version of the story, but if you want the whole thing, then I’d invite you to head over to my new blog, which has a really detailed “farewell” post. Here’s the gist for those looking for the short version from that post:

“I’m now headed off to something totally different. I’m moving from a large (medium?) sized company to a small one. And I’m headed to the world of startups. It’s something I’ve been thinking about doing for a while and didn’t know when it might make sense. Well, the right opportunity just made itself apparent and I’m going to follow it. SO, starting Monday, January 16, you can find me at Zipscene.”

That’s where I’m going. What is Zipscene, you ask? The simple explanation is that it’s a digital marketing platform for restaurants. We help turn restaurants digital properties (including desktop, tablet, and mobile versions of their website) into powerful ecommerce platforms, dramatically improve the user experience, and really help improve every aspect from first acquiring customers all the way through them paying their check in the restaurant. We work with some pretty big national chains like Bob Evans and Macaroni Grill (with plenty other big ones coming soon that I can’t quite share yet).

And yes, it’s a startup company, which is something I’ve always wanted to be a part of. We’ve already grown since I started in January, but are probably a lot smaller than what most of you are used to. I’m the VP of Product Marketing, which means that I’m responsible for developing our product offerings and figuring out how to market them. Sound simple enough, right? In the five months that I’ve been here, I’ve loved every challenge and I’m really glad I made this switch.
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Aug 29th 2011 

Healthcare Privacy: Good or Bad? Discuss.

If you happened to be on the Internet, particularly Twitter, a couple weeks ago, you likely noticed the deluge of tweets about SXSW and requests from people to get you to vote for their session. Today, I wanted to share my session and spark a little debate. My session is all about why healthcare privacy will soon disappear and why we’ll all be healthier for it. More on that in a minute.

But first, in case you aren’t aware, SXSW is (now) a huge conference held each year in Austin that features interactive, music, and film portions. The sessions for this conference are in part selected by the votes and comments that the public leaves about them (they count for 30% of the selection criteria). So, you have a chance to dictate what goes on at this conference. Why should you care? Regardless of what industry you are in, I’d strongly recommend considering this conference next year. Last year was the first year that there was a strong contingent of healthcare related sessions and this year there will likely be even more. So, you can go and hear some great healthcare related talks. However, I’d recommend that you go to listen to everything else (assuming you work in healthcare everyday). Why? Well our healthcare industry could use a little outside influence from time to time just to see what’s possible and where we might be headed. If you only look at healthcare all day, you’ll never see “what’s next” until it’s too late.
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Dec 30th 2009 

2010 Dose of Digital Sneak Preview

As 2009 wraps up, I thought I’d give a sneak peek into what’s planned on this blog for 2010. Just as aside, I find it odd that we’re going into a year that had a movie made about it. Seemed like the distant, distant future in 1984 when 2010 was made. Sadly, we still don’t have a lot of the futuristic inventions from the movie and I don’t think we’re likely to make contact with any new life forms in 2010 unless they visit us or NASA has a really, big year.

Alas, all is not lost, for we do have the Internet and with the Internet comes blogs just like the one you’re reading now.

So, what can you expect from Dose of Digital in 2010? Sorry, no flying cars or meal-in-a-capsule type inventions here, but hopefully some content to help you become an even better marketer in 2010 and beyond.

Here are some of the major things you’ll see in 2010 from Dose of Digital:

  • 10 Things to Inspire Pharma’s Digital Creativity — Just as the title suggests, I’ll show you 10 things that others have done (both inside, but mostly outside pharma) to inspire you to think about what’s possible
  • New Year’s Resolutions for Pharma Marketers — It was a successful series when I did it to start 2009 (how’d you do keeping the resolutions?), so we’ll try it again this year. Here’s part 5 of last year’s, with links to the other four parts.
  • The “Dosies” — Wondering which efforts in healthcare and pharma social media are the best? Wonder no more. Early in 2010, we’ll bring you The Dosies, which will award the best examples of social media in the industry from the list on the Pharma and Healthcare Social Media Wiki. You’ll even have a chance to vote.
  • The Myths and Realities of Pharma Social Media — Ever wonder what’s real and what’s not when it comes to pharma social media? What should you worry about and what should you not? What’s working and what’s not? One presentation will pull it all together. That’ll be out in January to start the year right.
  • Results versus ROI — Do you know the difference? If you do, then you’re in the minority.
  • How Data Mining Can Save Lives — Did you know that all the data out there has the answer to a lot of the clinical questions we keep asking? You just need to know where to look. The question is: what should pharma do about it?
  • What’s Your Homepage? — Chances are that the first thing people see about your brand online isn’t your homepage and yet you spent millions on it. The first thing they see is almost certainly something you don’t even control. What are they seeing and how can you do something about it?
  • “We Hate Your Website” — I’m trying to write a full-size book this year and you’ll get to hear a bit about the process and have some chances to offer your feedback (and maybe get quoted in the final version). For some more detail, check out this page.
  • “Digital Savviness” — Not a full-sized book, but a mini-book. Along with the book comes a web-based tool that you can use to access the “savviness” of your customers when it comes to digital and get suggestions on which tactics might be the best to reach them. The draft of the mini-book is done and the website is under development. For more on this, including my presentation on the concept, check out this page. Did I mention both the book and site are free to everyone?

That’s just a taste of what’s coming out in the first quarter of 2010. Who knows what the rest of the year may hold?

In the meantime, thank you for all your support and for making this blog more popular than I would have ever imagined. It’s been a great experience for me personally and I look forward to even more discussions in 2010.

Dec 24th 2009 

Advice for Healthcare Marketers to Start 2010 Right — Free eBook

I was recently invited by my friend Ellen Hoenig Carlson (read her blog, Notes from the Back of the Book, for some great healthcare marketing insights) to contribute to a project she was hoping to put together in time for Christmas. Her vision was for it to be something of a holiday gift to all the healthcare marketers of the world. It was a pretty ambitious effort, as she was attempting to corral twelve different authors in a very short period of time. It was going to be an ebook featuring the insights from a diverse group of individuals on the topic of healthcare marketing. I didn’t think she’d be able to put it off (don’t tell her).

But, she did pull it off. She managed to get twelve industry bloggers to give their view on a deceptively simple question: “what would you recommend as the top learning strategies for Pharma and Healthcare marketers in 2010?”

Where to begin? Of course, I think all marketers have a lot to learn especially when it comes to digital (myself included), but also in many other areas. We all do. In fact, the opening quote Ellen used for the ebook was this:

“The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read or write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.” — Alvin Toffler

So, I guess we all have something to learn. Personally, I got quite a bit out of this ebook. When people ask me which blogs they should be reading when it comes to healthcare marketing, the list of people that Ellen pulled together is pretty much the list that I recommend. Here are the contributors to the ebook:

  • Phil Baumann, Phil Baumann online blog, CareVocate Interactive Media Solutions
  • Wendy Blackburn, ePharma Rx blog, Intouch Solutions
  • Adam Cohen, A Thousand Cuts blog, Rosetta Interactive
  • Dave deBronkart, The New Life of e-Patient Dave blog, Society for Participatory Medicine
  • Angela Dunn, Odom Lewis blog, Executive Search Specialists in Healthcare Marketing/Medical Education
  • Susannah Fox, Health Research for Pew Internet & American Life Project
  • Fard Johnmar, Path of the Blue Eye Project, Envision Consultancy
  • John Mack, Pharma Marketing blog, Editor-in-chief of Pharma Marketing News
  • Marsha Shenk, Thriving Enterprise blog, The Bestwork People
  • Andrew Spong, STweM blog and Consultancy, UK
  • Steve Woodruff, Impactiviti blog and Consultancy
  • Humbly…me

    • There’s a diverse group of topics included in the ebook, but there are certainly some common themes and also different perspectives on similar issues. I’d invite you to read the entire ebook and share it with others. It’s a great way to start 2010 and a fine holiday gift from Ellen. Thanks to her for pulling this together and to all the contributors for sharing their unique perspectives and insights.

    Best wishes for a great 2010. I’ll have lots more to get your year started off in a big way next week and in early January. Stay tuned.

    Download the ebook here:

    Best Learning Actions for Healthcare Marketers in 2010 (1348 downloads)

    As always, if you’d like to be alerted when I have new white papers are available, feel free to sign up just fill out the form below. Your information will only be used for this purpose and will never be shared under any circumstance.


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