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Myriad Genetics is launching a public awareness advertising campaign in Florida to promote testing of a BRCA mutation (AKA the breast cancer gene).
As both a healthcare marketer and a woman with a BRCA mutation, I’m thrilled that they are raising awareness. But I’m equally concerned. I should preface this by saying I haven’t actually seen the advertising materials but I’ve seen some press on the campaign.
They quote an OBGYN as saying it’s a simple blood test. Sure it is. Most of these tests are simple but it’s the results that are not in the least bit simple. The article goes on to say: “Although no test is completely reliable, doctors recommend that all women know their BRCA status.”
Does that mean that all women should walk into their Primary Care Physician or OBGYN and take the test? Should women start doing this on their 18th birthday? Yikes. Are these doctor’s equipped to counsel women if they do have the BRCA mutation? Are they able to knowledgeably talk to the women prior to testing to discuss the implications of the test? BRCA is not something to take lightly.
If you have a known BRCA mutation, you have up to an 87% lifetime risk of breast cancer and up to a 44% chance of developing ovarian cancer. Genetics Counselors are the people that should be drawing your blood, counseling you and guiding you through the process. They have the knowledge, the training and the time to give you what you need. I only hope that Myriad is making this clear in their advertising. This test is anything but simple.
I didn’t think that a TV ad could save a life. But I wrote a spot that actually saved the life of my friend and business partner.
The spot starts with a woman in the shower who then finds a lump in her breast. Have a look:
Here’s how the spot saved Ellyn Davidson:
• The story replayed in Ellyn’s shower the next day—as the spot inspired her to give herself a breast exam.
• Ellyn found a very small lump, figured it was nothing, but called her doctor “just to be safe.”
• Ellyn’s doctor agreed that it was likely nothing, but did a biopsy “just to be safe.”
• The lump was cancerous.
• Ellyn elected a double mastectomy.
• She then learned she had the gene that makes it much more likely that she’d get ovarian cancer, so she had surgery to stop that from happening.
Like our commercial, Ellyn’s story had a happy ending, as she is now a breast cancer survivor.
The holiday season is almost here and I’ve been thinking about what to send my clients for a little holiday cheer and to thank them for our partnership.Companies of all sizes are doing the same.Trying to figure out what gift says I appreciate you, you inspire me, I think the world of you.
How about a digital picture frame?Maybe a tie.I’ve got it….a coffee mug, “personalized” with a big logo smack-dab in the middle.
That way they won’t ever forget where it came from.Those lucky to receive the gift will excitedly tear through the paper, anxious to see what is inside.And 2 weeks later it will end up in the trash.They expected something else; something thoughtful and inspiring. And that mug with your logo wasn’t it.Think differently and try being a socially conscious business partner. Send something that truly inspires those on the receiving end.Check out http://www.plentymag.com/ to provoke some ideas.
I got my cast off this morning and have yet another healthcare marketer patient story to share (I try to look at the bright side of how these experiences enlighten me in my job!). When the urgent care doc looked at the x-ray of my wrist and said, “It’s broken,” the tears welled up in my eyes. He said, “I’m sorry, I know it hurts.” I glared at him accusingly and declared, “I DON’T HAVE TIME FOR THIS!” Poor guy, as though it was his fault.
But the horror of a time-consuming health concern was far greater than any pain I was feeling. What with a full-time job, chauffeuring kids from ballet to football to the orthodontist, etc. etc. - you know the routine - I didn’t know how I could fit in one more thing. Of course, he looked at me like I was from Mars and wrapped my arm.
My fear of waiting was confirmed as I had to wait for every single office visit. Funny, even when I arrived with my limp arm at the “fast” and “convenient” Urgent Care Center, I was told, “There’s no doctor here at the moment. He should be back in 45 minutes or so.” Huh? I thought INSTANT HELP was the whole idea behind urgent care. Each of my 3 check-ups with the orthopedic doc was no shorter than 2 hours from start to finish. Nice guy, but only with me for about 3 minutes per visit. So why do we accept this waiting for doctors as normal?
My revelation from this healthcare journey: with all the time guarantees hospitals offer for ER visits, new patient visits and diagnostic tests, why aren’t there 30 minute time guarantees for doctor visits? Whether it’s with the help of a P.A., a very efficient office staff, or technology, I think it would be an interesting competitive differentiator. I know I need to work on my patience and try to relax during unexpected delays, but I’d rather be practicing my deep breathing skills in yoga class instead of the waiting room of a doctor’s office. Ohhmmm…
Or is just me who is befuddled by the marketing strategy behind the M&M advertising that been running for
the past year or two? Where the candies are anthropomorphized with legs and eyeballs and hair… And often do shticks between some not-so-bright boy M’s & a very vampy girl M.
As a TV viewer I stick to my demographics, so I presume one audience for this campaign must be female adults. Has research really shown that we want to think of our candy as having hair and a sex life? That we want to sit in the dark at the movies with it? That we don’t mind it interacting with small children?
As a chocolate lover, as a long time M&Mer, I ask the company and the agency to please consider this. But if I am an anomaly and if this approach is fattening your bottom line, ignore me. Just try to resist putting body parts on my Peanut M&Ms.
That’s what happened when a guy decided to complain about a malfunction on his Tiger Wood’s video game where it appeared that Tiger was walking on water. Rather than take it back to EA Games in exchange for a new one, this brilliant person uploaded the video and presented the glitch to the whole wide world on YouTube. EA’s agency (Wieden + Kennedy) discovered the video and with permission created a response to the YouTuber sparking a TV spot as well as a full blown viral campaign. Where will your next big idea come from? Probably from someone complaining about you to the rest of world. We’ll keep our eyes and ears out.
Clearly, Obama’s campaign strategy to inundate the Internet to win the youth vote was successful with 66% of the 18-29 year-old votes in his favor. His campaign capitalized on a nation filled with so many distinctly different segments by tailoring communication to each segment - a process we’ve been touting for years called lifestyle-based marketing. But this is no time to develop political campaign “Best Practices” for the 2012 election (are you listening Palin and Hillary?). The market landscape and lifestyles are going to change again - the 2010 Census should provide key evidence of this - and marketers need to be ready for a new landscape and therefore new practices. There is no rest for the weary.
As a marketer, I obviously like advertising. But with the election FINALLY coming to an end today, there may not be anyone happier than me for campaign ads to be done for a little while. The economy’s downward spiral is bad enough, but pile on the negative campaign ads one after another, and I’m more than a little stressed out!
Campaign ads are an important part of our American democratic process. And I know we’ll see some local stuff again soon (especially as the mayoral campaign heats up here in Detroit), but I for one can’t wait to see a barrage of Budweiser spots, Visa spots, even the local home improvement spots.
So even as I went to vote this morning, thinking about this historic election, another part of me was excited to see the Geico Gecko a little more in coming days.
I have a friend in Canada who wanted to remind me to vote on November 4th.She sent a personalized viral marketing video, which I think is one of the most brilliant pieces of advertising/ creative I have ever seen. It was designed specifically just for me. If you aren’t one of the millions who have already recieved this personalized video, it’s basically a newscast about you, the loser who didn’t vote and changed the outcome of the election for the worse. When I heard my name I was shocked. When I saw my name I was mortified. The video made me blush, laugh and feel proud and fortunate to be so important to something so big. I sent it to everyone. My friend is Canadian and she would give up her citizenship to vote in this election. Clearly, there are a lot of people around the world who are feeling the power of this election. There are over 13,598,890 people and counting who have received this personalized viral marketing video made just for them supporting Barack Obama. By the time I finish writing this blog another 100,000 people will receive their very own personalized newscast virus and feel really, really special.
