A Message From Peter Dannenfelser, ePharma Summit West Conference Chair

ePharma Summit West Conference Chair, Peter Dannenfelser, would like to share this with the ePharma Summit Blog Readers:

It’s certainly an exciting time to work in pharma marketing, with new technologies and best practices being developed almost daily. Who would have thought we’d ever be discussing Pinterest and how it relates to pharma? With all of these new channels appearing seemingly overnight, having a platform to learn about all of them, as well as what they mean for pharma, is imperative.

I love the format of this year’s ePharma West. This new approach is different from any conference I’ve been to and will inspire you, show you how to make the ideas you hear work for you, and help you plan for the upcoming year:

1. Get Inspired: Gurus will open your mind and expose you to what works in pharma, as well as less-regulated industries
2. Make It Work: Industry executives will demonstrate how it works within the industry through product stories
3. Plan for the Future: Each product story will be followed by moderated discussions, so you can discuss how to implement what you’ve learned into your marketing plan

There is plenty of opportunity for interaction and informal discussion with the speakers, and many attendees place great value on what they learn from other attendees, and the speakers. I, for one, am excited about the panel discussions after the presentations. It has been my opinion for years that the conversations are what make the ePharma events tick.

As you may already know, I co-chaired ePharma in New York, and am excited to be chairing ePharma Summit West. I think that it will be a completely different experience and I’m looking forward to adding what I learn at ePharma West to the strategies and tactics I took with me from the ePharma Summit.

For more information about this conference, click here to visit the website.

I look forward to seeing you this summer in San Francisco!

Sincerely,
Peter Dannenfelser
Chairman
ePharma Summit West
@PeteDTweets

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ePharma Summit West is taking place July 17-19, 2012 in San Francisco, California. For more information on the program, download the agenda.  Don’t forget, as a member of the reader of this blog, when you register to join us and use code XP1756BLOG, you’ll receive an additional 10% of that rate! If you have any questions about this year’s event, feel free to email Jennifer Pereira.

What can social media contribute to the sales funnel?

Marketing is critical to the success of any business, and over the last few years, social media strategy has also proven just as critical.  It also shouldn't be it's own entity and Jordan Kasteler of Search Engine Land has a few great reasons why.  The sales process is long, it doesn't start when someone arrives at a webpage.  Social media should be in place all through out the sales funnel to provide engaging conversations and provide critical influence during the sales process.  By reaching out and connecting and communicating with the customer at the beginning and throughout the the sales process, the power any company can hold over its customer is exponential.  Not only are you connected with your customer throughout the sales process, but after and year round through your continual presence in social media.

This year at ePharma Summit West, Christy Cooper of Facebook will be presenting "How Do YOU Make Social Media Work for Pharma?". She works daily with Pharma companies to help them use Facebook as a platform to openly connect with their patients.  For more information about Christy's presentation download the brochure here.  If you're interested in joining Christy this July 17-19, 2012 in San Francisco, register today and mention XP1756BLOG to save an additional 10% off the standard rate!

One of Jordan's main arguments is that the social media team should be involved throughout the marketing process.  Do you agree? What are the benefits of having social media integrated in to your marketing and sales teams?

#ePharma Guest Post: Fostering Open Innovation: 2012 Data Design Diabetes Innovation Challenge

Today's guest post comes from ePharma Summit West Speaker Michele Polz, Head of Patient Solutions, US Diabetes, Sanofi US.

 Fostering Open Innovation: 2012 Data Design Diabetes Innovation Challenge

Nearly 26 million Americans have diabetes, amounting to 10% of the total cost of US healthcare. An epidemic of such grand proportion demands innovative solutions that employ new approaches, technologies, and data to disrupt existing models and drive lasting improvements in care.

Successful innovation starts with an open approach. Now in its second year, Data Design Diabetes™ is a next-generation challenge offered by Sanofi US that drives action toward a three-part aim: innovation in the quality, delivery and cost of diabetes care. Recognizing that anyone could be the bearer of the next big idea in healthcare, we cast a wide net to innovators across the US, to find a breakthrough that may help millions of Americans living with diabetes.

Beyond simply promoting an extended reach to a broad community, open dialogue is also an important component of innovation. In order to develop solutions for the real issues people with diabetes and their caretakers face each day, it’s critical for innovators to connect with patients through open communication. Data Design Diabetes kicked off earlier this year by publicly crowd-sourcing answers to the question, “What matters most to you?” as it relates to diabetes, shaping the guidelines for the 2012 Innovation Challenge. As the semi-finalists continued to develop their prototypes, they also took part in a Design Bootcamp, using a human-centric approach that speaks directly to patient needs. 

Finally, access to the right resources during the key phases of the innovation process plays a valuable role in cultivating success. Data Design Diabetes connects innovators with the right people and tools in several ways. First, semi-finalists learn from a team of experienced mentors with valuable cross-functional expertise spanning, human-centered design, healthcare, business modeling and technology architecture. An expert panel of judges with diverse experience in business and healthcare then reviews the finalists’ concepts to determine a winner. During each phase, advancing teams are awarded cash prizes ranging from $10,000 to a grand prize of $100,000 to help further their concepts.

When the conditions that foster innovation converge, the results are remarkable. Last year’s Data Design Diabetes Innovation Challenge winner, Ginger.io, transforms a mobile phone into an automatic self-monitoring tool for tracking real-time movement patterns and social interactions passively, without user input. The team has raised $1.7M in venture funding, has grown to a team of nine, and recently acquired Rock Health startup, Pipette.

Please join us at www.datadesigndiabetes.com to view this year’s semi-finalists present their concepts live online at Demo Day on May 16, 2012. As we await the winner of the 2012 Data Design Diabetes Innovation Challenge, we’re thrilled to see other organizations following suit, bridging the private and public sectors to drive innovation.


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Michele Polz will be presenting about this initiative at ePharma Summit West on Thursday, July 19 with Guru Christy Cooper, Global Marketing Solutions, Facebook. If you'd like to join us for this presentation, register today and mention code XP1756BLOG and save 10% off the standard rate!

Sit Down with an #ePharma West Guru: Scott Oppliger, SocialVolt

Leading up to ePharma Summit West, we're going to spotlight our ePharma Summit West Gurus.  Each has been presented with four questions that capture the essence of the ePharma West Conference.  In this series, many will take the opportunity to share these with you.

These visionary experts are joining us in San Francisco to open your mind, challenge conventions and set the stage for the development of solutions and actions that immediately drive results.  Today we feature Scott Oppliger, Founder & CEO, SocialVolt.  For more information on Scott's presentation and the rest of the program, download the brochure here. If you'd like to join us July 17-19, 2012, in San Francisco, register today and mention code XP1756BLOG to save 10% off the current rate! 

Today's Guru:  Scott Oppliger, Founder & CEO, SocialVolt
His Presentation: What is the Real Risk of Losing Control of Your Brand Message Online? on Wednesday, July 18

Scott Oppliger's Four Questions:
Q: What makes you best suited to answer this question?
As founder and CEO of SocialVolt, I work with our clients in heavily regulated industries to help them manage their social media and brand messaging online. My background in regulated industries and expertise in social media have allowed me to help our clients successfully engage in social media. By drawing from my experiences and real world examples, I will be able to help the audience understand the real risks of losing control of brand messaging online.

Q: What is your favorite digital marketing campaign and why?
One of my favorite digital marketing campaigns from the pharma industry is from Sanofi US . Using a combination of Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and blogs, Sanofi US is a prime example of a company does an excellent job interacting with and listening to its customers on social channels. Its interactive blogs provide insight and guidance to consumers and the company excels at creating conversations on Twitter and Facebook. In a heavily regulated industry like pharma, where other companies are hesitant to engage in social media because of the potential risks, Sanofi US is demonstrating that social media engagement can be highly successful, as long as the campaign is a well-planned and carefully managed.

Q: If attendees could walk away having learned just one thing from your presentation, what do you hope it would be?
Despite the inherent risks that come with the openness of the medium, if you can understand and manage these risks, you can empower your employees to help you harness the value of social media and generate revenue and brand visibility.

Q: What do you hope to learn from attending the ePharma Summit West?
I hope to learn more about industry innovations in digital marketing from my fellow presenters and conference attendees, in particular where pharmaceutical marketing departments have been seeing success lately in terms of their campaigns. I am excited for the opportunity to share my knowledge and at the same time learn from other experts in the industry.

What's the outlook for the mobile health market?

The mobile health market is rapidly expanding, and it's easy to see why.  There were more SmartPhones and tablets shipped last year than laptops and desktops.  This year alone, it is predicted that there will be 44 million downloads of health related apps, with this number growing to 142 million apps by 2016.  It is also believed that in 2014, mobile phones will be the most common way to access the Internet.

Here's a more in-depth rundown on the growing mobile market from HealthX.

What does this mean for the Pharma industry?  More people are looking to manage their health through their phone. At ePharma Summit West 2012, Phil McKinney, Innovation Guru, Author, Beyond The Obvious—Killer Questions That Spark Game-Changing Innovation will be on hand to present "How Can You be the First to the Next Best Thing and Avoid Making the Next Big Mistake?" which will address this exact topic - how Pharma and Healthcare can venture into the mobile health market and navigate the waters successfully to connect with their market.  For more information on McKinney's presentation and the rest of the program, download the brochure.  If you'd like to join McKinney this July in San Francisco, register to join us and mention code XP1756BLOG to save 15% off the current rate.

How do you think mobile health apps will affect the overall population?  Do you see this as a way for the worlds population to be more aware of their health?