28 October 2008 VIEW on ESolutions EPLATFORMS In the current promotional environment, pharmaceutical marketers are increasingly challenged to reach high prescribing physicians or potential high prescribing physicians in the top deciles. To overcome this challenge, marketers need a better way to target, identify, and engage high prescribers as well as secondary and tertiary audiences. For the most part, the top prescribers are very well known and most brand marketers maintain very targeted physician lists.The more challenging audiences to target are the physicians who on the surface might look like high prescribing doctors but aren’t, and the physicians who could be high prescribers but don’t fit the typical profile. Identifying the Audiences There are several well known databases, such as those from IMS and some managed care organizations, that enable brand marketers to identify physicians by ICD9 billing code data; they can determine which physicians are seeing patients with certain diseases. This information is important, as it allows marketers to identify doctors in all three categories — high prescribers audiences as well as secondary and tertiary audiences. While many of the databases can help identify doctors by their actual prescribing brand behaviors, the challenge is that many of these models were built before group practices, especially those practices based in hospital settings, became the norm. For example, identifying Dr. Jones as a high prescriber when he is in the same group with Dr. Smith, who is in fact the real high prescribing physician in the practice, is a mistake because the credit for all prescriptions goes to Dr. Jones, as he or she is first doctor list ed alphabetically. So there needs to be a new set of tools to effectively tar get physicians who fall into all categories of prescribing behavior. Online Portals Technology and technology platforms, such as healthcare portals and other online resources are one such tool set.These innovative online clinical decision support resources are being designed to capture how physicians behave, view content, and interact with knowledge based resources. These sophisticated tools for information dissemination can bring together a diverse range of credible media sources ranging from healthcare journals to related databases that provide information to healthcare professionals who are looking for instant answers to clinical and practice management questions. With access to data in real time, marketers can gain insights into a doc tor’s informational needs, content delivery preferences, etc. By tracking their viewing habits, marketers can gain an understanding of what content physicians want and value.This information can then be used to design communications to target other high prescribing physicians who may not be logging onto a Website or portal or to engage physicians who fall into secondary or tertiary audiences. For example, push tactics, such as email or direct mail, can include content that is relevant to the physicians in specific disease categories, to get their attention and engagement. The key to success is having a big enough sample of physicians who are tapping an online technology platform or portal. It is only through the analy sis of their content needs that further communications can be developed to effectively engage other audiences. Because marketers can track the people who come to the site they can then use the information to more precisely target those who don’t engage online. It is also possible to measure more precisely the engagement rates, which can lead to improved success rates at each level. Based on content evaluation and engagement levels, marketers can then send out video or audio details or emails to the target audience of physicians. The open rates can be measured with precision, which allows marketers to identify what works and what doesn’t. ROI and Measuring Tactics In the emarketing space, it is possible to measure engagement rates, but more importantly, when the tactic is isolated, it is possible to track new prescriptions and ROI. If a tactic is part of an integrated campaign, measuring the impact is more difficult.The only way to achieve a clear measurement in this environment is to conduct two campaigns, one with the tactic and one with out and then over time measure what the upside to the campaign was and retention rates. The espace has a framework of social values and iterative qualities, which creates longterm relationship power and to measure the impact of any program is through the use of control groups. At the end of the day, marketers want the top revenue line to grow and the profit line to get bigger.To achieve these goals, it takes a very open partner, because only about 5% of people are willing to face data in this new e-environment. It’s very easy in a tough environment to close the walls down and be nontransparent, but the Web created a world of transparency and sharing, which is very exciting, and to play in this world the entire network of companies that are involved in the supply line need to be open and be willing to partner in ways that at times might be uncomfortable. ADVANSTAR COMMUNICATIONS INC. is a worldwide media company providing integrated marketing solutions for the fashion, lifesciences, and power sports industries. For more information, visit www.advanstar.com. Reaching The Target Audience More Effectively Through an EPlatform The Web created a world of transparency and sharing, which is very exciting, and to play in this world the entire network of companies that are involved in the supply line need to be open and be willing to partner in ways that at times might be uncomfortable. R. Steve Morris, Executive VP, Advanstar Life Sciences Advanstar Communications “I’m not a doctor, but I play one on many Web sites…” Unlike other online physician resources, now you have an alternative for engaging real physicians who are authenticated against the AMA physician database when they register on ModernMedicine.com. We give doctors multifaceted, peer reviewed, branded content that is served through interactive tools to engage them on a whole new level. It’s what doctors have been searching for—the one place to go for all their clinical and practice management needs—and we’re growing fast, 45,345 prescribers as of September 30th; +429% since January 1st. To find out the number of registrants— growing daily—and how to engage them by specialty, contact M. Kerry Robinson at 201.690.5435 or [email protected]

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