HBG Health - Brand Innovations for Health

Pharmaceutical companies: are they antisocial?

In an increasingly digital age, most companies are inviting public comments on social media sites, and using this as a way to gauge engagement with the brand. But pharmaceutical companies are not. 

In August 2011, when Facebook stopped giving the option to turn off public comments, many pharmaceutical companies shut down their Facebook pages. These companies cited a lack of guidance from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on how they should handle the comments.

The FDA has a prescription. On Wednesday, the FDA released draft social media guidelines for how pharmaceutical companies respond to consumer comments online. The guidelines urge companies not to respond to unsolicited requests for information in a public forum. Instead, companies should respond by guiding the requestor to the appropriate department for private help. 

For most, these guidelines aren’t enough for them to get back on Facebook. They are concerned and unclear if they could be liable for information posted by third parties, specifically information related to adverse drug events.

Kudos to these pharma companies for thinking beyond the present moment, and considering the long-term effect missteps due to unclear guidance could have on their brand equity. 

The FDA is accepting public comments on the guidance through March 26.

What are your thoughts?

Image Credit

Walgreens Creates a Breakthrough in Retail Health.

We’ve been talking about emerging retail health for the last two years, spotlighting brands you know, and brands you don’t, that are making a significant difference in health and well being.

Kudos to Walgreens for the birth of its next-generation retail face. With this new model, Walgreens moves from a traditional pharmacy delivering thousands of medications everyday, to a major destination for consumers who will appreciate a portfolio of health and wellness offerings like never before under one roof.

What does it take to change the game in your industry? Walgreens knows. It’s a customer-centric approach. It’s about knowing your customers better than they know themselves and delivering a product that will leave them wondering how they ever lived without it. To change the game, you need to think about how your brand can make a difference in your customers’ lives.

Walgreens opened it’s new flagship store, located in downtown Chicago at State and Randolph, that embodies the evolution of what it means to be a health brand.

The new two-story store, which opened on Tuesday, focuses on being well and living a healthy lifestyle. Innovative food and convenience products like the juice bar and made to order smoothies, hand-rolled sushi prepared fresh daily, on-the-go meals including fresh made sandwiches, wraps and salads, and the debut of Walgreens’ healthy snack and drink brand, Good & Delish, and its Nice! brand of groceries and household items sold up to 30 percent less than national brands, are only the beginning.

On the second floor is the pharmacy, and a miniature salon where patrons can get manicures. Customers are greeted by a “health guide,” a pharmacy technician or nurse practitioner who can answer questions about medications. The pharmacist is no longer shielded by the glass wall, and is instead seated at a desk behind the “health guide.” Why? To increase patient-pharmacist interaction, and ultimately to improve patient outcomes. There are two small kiosks where patients can check in, pick up and pay, by credit card, for recurring or pre-filled prescriptions. In another area is the Take Care Clinic, staffed by a nurse practitioner who can administer vaccinations, perform physical examinations, and treat minor wounds.

Walgreens has created a one-stop shop for customers, evolving from a healthcare provider to a health and wellness destination.

Image credit

Holiday/New Year Reading

In case you missed these, here a few great reads as you revitalize and reinvent your brands, and yourself, for the New Year. 

The China Study

 Have you ever questioned the practices of current dietary programs, like the Atkins diet, that are popular in the West? If so, The China Study is a must read. Examining more than 350 variables of health and nutrition with surveys from 6,500 adults in more than 2,500 counties across China and Taiwan, this study conclusively demonstrates the link between nutrition and heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. The study reveals that proper nutrition can have a dramatic effect on reducing and reversing these ailments, as well as curbing obesity.

 

Presentation Zen: Simple Ideas on Presentation Design and Delivery

Change the way you think about making presentations with PowerPoint and Keynote. In this insightful book, Garr Reynolds, designer and internationally acclaimed communications expert, shares his perspective, drawing upon practical advice from business and communications fields, helping you to create simpler, more effective presentations.

 

The Life-Transforming Diet: Based on Health and Psychological Principles of Maimonides and other Classical Sources

Finally, not just a diet, but a lifestyle you can live with. David Zulberg will empower you to choose what to eat and when to eat it, leading you to experience an inner and outer transformation. Based on the wisdom of Maimonides (Rambam), one of the great Jewish sages, this book will give you the tools you need to achieve optimal emotional and physical health, a spiritual outlook, and sustainable weight loss. The Life-Transforming Diet helps you change your approach to eating through a step-by-step process. After reading this book you will have insights into how we form bad habits, and tips for forming new, better ones, a simple exercise program that doesn’t require a financial commitment, a do-it yourself support system, and a realistic maintenance program.

 

Redirect: The Surprising New Science of Psychological Change

Redirect is a fascinating look at the power small changes can have on how we view the world around us. This book examines the new, scientifically based approach, called story editing, that can change our thought process and help address problems. Story editing works by redirecting the stories we tell about ourselves and the world. World-renowned psychologist Timothy Wilson reveals what self-help practices really work, the ones that don’t, and how we can use story editing and other practices in everyday life.

Check back soon for more must-reads in 2012. To your health!

Image credit 1

Image credit 2

Image credit 3

Image credit 4