The Phelps Group Extols Benefits Of Integrated Marketing Communications For Consumer Healthcare Industry
Leading IMC Firm Expands Outreach to Healthcare, Pharmaceutical and Biotech Firms; Hires Senior Medical Expert to Lead Charge
SANTA MONICA, Calif. – (February 24, 2004) –
Translating the complex and often difficult-to-understand language of medicine into laymen's terms for everyday consumers is a job best suited to integrated marketing communications.
That's what The Phelps Group, one of the nation's leading integrated marketing communications firms, is saying, and it's reinforcing that claim by presenting some "hard evidence" at industry meetings and symposiums, as well as one-on-one meetings with leading firms in the healthcare, pharmaceutical and biotech arenas.
"IMC is the new language of healthcare," says Michael Lesner, newly appointed Vice President, Consumer Healthcare for The Phelps Group. "Nearly every week, we read about a new breakthrough in medical technology, or hear about a new wonder drug that has come out that promises to help cure everything from cancer to the common cold. On top of that, we regularly see reports issued by pharmaceutical companies, healthcare groups or universities either extolling or debunking the medical benefits of certain diets foods or supplements.
"What's the consumer supposed to think or believe? Who or what should he or she trust?" Lesner asks.
"Over the years, we've seen a steady but gradual evolution in the way medical and healthcare products and services have been marketed to the consumer," Lesner notes. "Some marketers have tried a very straightforward approach, emphasizing clinical results or touting the recommendations of medical experts or scholars. Others have shrouded their messages in flowery feel-good fashion, painting a portrait of good health through rose-colored glasses.
Lately, the emphasis has been on total disclosure, indicating the immediate or long-term benefits associated with the products, but taking great pains to point out the varied - and very often - numerous harmful side affects that could occur.
"Many consumer marketing experts have simply been hard-pressed to understand the nuances of translating the image of language and healing into a language for everyday consumers," Lesner notes "That's where integrated marketing communications can help."
Joe Hartnett, Vice President and Integration Coach for The Phelps Group, adds, "Integrated marketing campaigns have significant advantages over traditional advertising and public relations approaches. Professional service firms such as accounting, law and insurance have discovered that, and we're hoping that the medical, biotech and pharmaceutical industries will be the next to do so."
With consumers receiving information today from a plethora of media vehicles ranging from traditional newspaper and television reports to the "newer" vehicles like the Internet, Satellite TV and wireless devices, a marketer's messages must be disseminated in a variety of ways, through a variety of mediums, in order to be fully appreciated, Hartnett notes.
Newspaper ads, he cautions, may be effective in reaching some audiences, but could be completely lost among others who get their news online or from trade or medical journals.
"It is important to understand the marketing mix and what best serves both the company and the end user," Hartnett notes. "Our mission will be to first, inform healthcare industry marketers that the marketplace is indeed changing and, secondly, to help educate them on the best ways to 'speak with' consumers. There's not one solution per se, but rather different ways of looking at the problem and addressing it."
The Phelps Group intends to deliver its IMC message to the healthcare industry through speaking engagements at major industry conferences and meetings throughout the year, as well as one-on-one meetings with leaders in the healthcare, pharmaceutical and biotech industries. Both Lesner and Hartnett are scheduled to address the annual CBI (Center for Business Intelligence) Pharmaceutical Conference on Integrated Marketing Communications in Philadelphia next week.
The Phelps Group has organized successful IMC campaigns for City of Hope, Blue Shield of California and a number of other clients. Phelps associates also have experience working for many leading healthcare/medical/pharmaceutical concerns, including: the American Cancer Society, CareAmerica, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, USC Medical Center, Foundation for the Junior Blind, Schering Plough, Whitehall Robbins and Zanaflex.
Prior to joining the Phelps Group, Lesner enjoyed two highly successful and parallel advertising careers. He started out in advertising at Leo Burnett Company in Chicago and also held senior creative positions at Young & Rubicam, McCann & Erickson, J. Walter Thompson and CBS-TV, where he headed network on-air promotion.
Lesner also guided the marketing for Polaroid, Breck and Lifesaver in Sydney, Australia, and worked on Ford in Tokyo. His work for Levi Strauss earned him recognition from the American Association of Advertising Agencies as "Best in the West," and he was profiled in both Adweek and Advertising Age magazines.
In 1987, Lesner developed a second vertically integrated marketing career in the medical field, working first as executive vice president and creative director for the nation's second largest medical/pharmaceutical advertising agency. While there, he organized developed several successful campaigns, including one introducing Baxter Laboratory's Operating Room Division.
Following that, he served, in conjunction with former Surgeon General C. Everett Koop, as managing editor for a national home health advisory magazine. Other clients at the time included Blistex, StriDex, Delta Dental, ehealthinsurance.com, State Workman's Compensation Fund of California, and McKessonHBOC (for the launch of its ecommerce pharmacy initiative).
During the past three years, Lesner helped a "touch screen" technology firm create a software offering, "VisMedT, which is used today in hospitals across the country to enhance the relationship among physicians, hospitals and patients. Among his other accomplishments was authoring a 200-page protocol, "A Guide to Improving the Quality of Life for Kidney Dialysis Patients," co-developed by Amgen and the U.S. Healthcare Finance Administration.
