The Messenger is the Medium

The Messenger is the Medium The do’s and don’ts of using celebrities as pharma spokespeople in ads and promotional campaigns.Click Here for Additional Resources

A conversation with Rich Benci, president, RealAge

Aired LIVE on:

Monday, January 21, 2008 Listen to internet radio with Pharmaguy on Blog Talk Radio

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A skilled spokesperson engages consumers and increases sales. Rich Benci, RealAge president, will explore emerging and traditional modes of using talking heads. He will discuss how to choose a stellar celebrity, athlete, physician or expert to lead your pharmaceutical promotions, as well as how to avoid pitfalls.Click Here for Additional Resources

Guest Bio

Rich Benci
Rich Benci joined RealAge in February 1999. He helped develop RealAge’s business plan, which includes motivating behavioral change among consumers through a personalized messaging platform. Mr. Benci oversees corporate operations and business relationships with major pharmaceutical and CPG companies, as well as their respective agencies. He is very proud of the RealAge team’s ability to develop engaging content, present a complex interactive Web site in an easy-to-use interface, deliver permission-based programs in an elegant manner and provide outstanding member services.

Rich has more than 15 years of management and sales experience. Prior to RealAge, Mr. Benci held senior management positions at MyPoints.com, an email-based direct marketing company, and PersonaLogic, an online personalized content company that was acquired by AOL. Rich also held marketing and sales management positions for Lotus Development and Hitachi’s document management division.

Some Questions/Topics Discussed

• Who can best deliver your messages to your target audience?
• Who is an up-and-comer, or have they already “arrived”?
• What are the current and past perceptions of this V.I.P.?
• How engaging is the spokesperson?
• What halo effects does this spokesperson offer to your brand?
• Can this spokesperson be trained?

Additional Resources

• ‘Round the Sphere: Christiane Truelove and the Jarvik Fop Flap
• DISCUSSION THREAD: What are the “dos & don’ts” and “pros & cons” of using Celebrities?
• Congress Investigates Use of Dr. Jarvik in Lipitor Ads
• Jarvik — Lipitor spokesperson — “outed” as an unlicensed physician!
• Relevant PMN Survey (summary)
• Montel Williams: Zero Tolerance for a Pharma Celebrity Spokesperson Gone Bad