Facebook Timelines for Brands The Implications for Pharma CompaniesClick Here for Additional Resources
A conversation with Michael Spitz (see bio), VP, Engagement Planning, Ignite Health, and Fabio Gratton (see bio), Chief Innovation Officer, Ignite Health, about Facebook’s Timeline for Brand Pages, which is scheduled to go live on March 30, 2012. The discussion focuses on how Timeline Brand Pages may hold amazing promise and usher in a new era where pharma can begin to tell its own narratives and engage the public in a manner “truly transparent, credible, and trustworthy.”
Aired LIVE on: Tuesday, March 13, 2012
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Background
On February 29th Facebook announced sweeping changes to the way brands market on the platform, including coupon creation, premium ad products, real-time insights, and the introduction of Timeline for Brand Pages. Set to go live March 30 with a testing grace period until then, the new Brand Page user experience enables brands to tell their stories in the same way people narrate each other’s lives, and follows a format nearly identical to personal timeline pages: highlighted by a cover photo stretching across the top, with content chronologically arranged in criss-cross fashion down the page, with tabs running along the top instead of the left side.
Like every exciting improvement in social media, Timeline for Brand Pages may send a shudder down the halls of pharma, further exposing the industry to adverse event reporting, reputation management concerns, and the promulgation of misinformation. Compounding these worries is user privacy, as the public dissemination of patient and even physician information opens up a Pandora’s Box of legal, ethical, and even clinical challenges.
Pharma marketers need to decide whether or not and how they will be able to take advantage of the new layout, and what kind of insights they need to stay compliant with FDA regulations.
Questions/Topics to be Discussed- What is Facebook’s Timelines? How does it work for brands?
- What specifically should pharma marketers be aware of when using Timelines for brands? What are the regulatory implications?
- How can Timelines for Brands (or Disease Awareness) enhance the user experience and help pharma get its message to across?
- What should pharma do before March 30, 2012 to be prepared?
Guest Bio
Michael Spitz has proven experience across the three corners of today’s healthcare communications universe: Clinical comprehension (more than a decade as a medical writer and editor), technical expertise (roles as eCommerce director and digital strategist), and engagement specialist (over five years of healthcare agency experience). Taken together, Spitz helps design and build cutting-edge connections between patients, caregivers, and healthcare professionals for some of pharmas biggest brands. Follow him on Twitter @SpitzStrategy as he tirelessly searches for and shares the latest experiential solutions for patients worldwide.
Fabio Gratton is the Chief Innovation Officer and a founding partner of Ignite Health, one of the fastest-growing healthcare agencies in the US. Gratton works closely with the agency’s creative and account teams to develop Internet strategies for all agency clients. Gratton, a graduate of UCLA’s acclaimed film program, worked as a screenwriter prior to channeling his passion for storytelling to the medical marketing industry. Ignite recently launched Incendia Health Studios, a purpose-driven media company focused on creating media properties that leverage rich media, video, and interactive technologies to engage people living with chronic illnesses and those who care for them. In addition to helping develop Internet strategies for existing Ignite clients, Gratton has assumed President and CEO responsibilities for Incendia.
Additional Resources
- See this post: Welcome to “Brand Narratives & Storytelling”
