Take two is written by Robert Love, award-winning journalist & Founding Partner of FMC
Latest Blog Posts
- » Promotional aids to die for? MRSA-killing pens and Hep C neckties…
- » When journalists get it wrong on healthcare issues
- » All bets are off on the success of this clever cancer campaign
- » Pass the (smelling) salt doctor
- » Hospital beats pharma to the punch with clever ‘app’ idea
Archives
Promotional aids to die for? MRSA-killing pens and Hep C neckties…
As a UK company launches an antibacterial biro allegedly capable of killing MRSA, we’ve wondering if we’ve now seen it all. Previously the mind has boggled at a range of cute cuddly toys based on lethal microbes including Anthrax, Hep C, and Swine Flu. It may be said that the pen is mightier than the sword. But we remain sceptical whether this latest ‘certified superbug killer’ will match the power of established methods in terms of despatching MRSA, E.Coli and other hospital nasties to the great Petri dish in the sky.
When journalists get it wrong on healthcare issues
Where possible, its good practice to avoid criticising other bloggers, columnists and commentators. I’m particularly loath to embark on David Vs Goliath bun-fights if the journalist in question is employed by the biggest paper in the State. The official readership of The Sunday Independent was recently confirmed at a staggering 1,000,000 by the Audit Bureau of Circulation. Take Two’s readership is rather more, ahem, refined. One is reminded how the editor of the now-defunct Skibbereen Eagle, a Cork newspaper with a tiny circulation, once provoked global hilarity by solemnly informing the Tsar of Russia that he was “keeping his eye on him.” That said it is impossible for this long-term healthcare watcher to let an article in the Sindo last weekend on moves to downgrade Mallow General Hospital pass without at least some comment.
All bets are off on the success of this clever cancer campaign
Clever campaigns don’t necessarily have to be complicated, particularly when it comes to videos, YouTube and other broadcast media. A sparkling scripting idea is one sure-fire way of attracting audience attention even if the subject matter is a bit unpalatable. Overcoming human nature is a challenge that’s central to the success and failure of the vast majority of disease awareness campaigns. Viewers don’t engage with key messages because the vast majority simply don’t want to be reminded about their risk of illness or ill health. Fundraisers face similar engagement obstacles. Confronted with endless appeals for worthy causes, most people simply switch off. All of which brings us to the outstanding Stand Up To Cancer initiative and a YouTube video titled Change the Odds, which offers a master class in terms of audience engagement.
Pass the (smelling) salt doctor
%20salt%20doctor/wine%20glasses.jpg)
Your correspondent almost had to check that he hadn’t been transported back to the first day of April upon reading a rather alarming recent report in the respected Financial Times newspaper. The article suggests that US Department of Justice officials may be considering bringing prosecutions against American companies who take doctors for dinner in some overseas jurisdictions, including Ireland. Apparently the Fed’s have already begun to question seven of the industry’s biggest names about potential violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, a very serious piece of US legislation indeed.
Hospital beats pharma to the punch with clever ‘app’ idea
Companies with an interest in oncology may have missed out on a valuable digital media opportunity thanks to the forward-thinking of staff at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Affectionately known as CHOP, the paediatric medical centre has developed a free app that eliminates the need for doctors to carry round a 200-page reference book on their rounds. The free iPhone or iPod Touch tool is a great example of the sort of straightforward digital initiative that could deliver significant benefits for medical marketing departments on both sides of the Atlantic. It even garnered headlines in the local Philadelphia Business Journal.