Dudnyk blog
Don’t throw the creative baby out with the metrics bathwater!
Learning to trust your instincts when you come upon a good idea may allow you to establish industry metrics instead of waiting to be guided by them.
When the wagon trains left for the west, there were no roads to lead the way. The pioneers of old were risk-takers, explorers, adventurers. I feel the same about great creative. Sometimes there is just not a precedent–creatively or financially—for a truly great idea.
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Celebrating Loud, Proud Working Women
Sheryl Sandberg’s Lean In can be read by women as a call to action, convincing them they are capable, competent—and needed as corporate leaders.
A few months ago, the social stratosphere was blowing up with a little love—and surprisingly, even more hate—toward Lean In, Sheryl Sandberg’s new book about women in the workplace. Supporters hailed her honest portrayal of a stalled feminist movement and her disappointment about operating at an executive level and still seeing so few women around her.
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A play borrowed from Silver Linings book
As marketers, it is necessary to keep in mind that every drug, device, and program we promote can benefit people who need our help.
The marketing of drugs, medical devices, and other healthcare-related items can become technical. And though the technicalities are important, it can become easy to forget that the whole industry exists for one reason—to help people.
You’ve probably heard about or may have seen Silver Linings Playbook. The critically acclaimed film is packed with A-list stars and boasts multiple Academy Awards, including Jennifer Lawrence’s win for Best Actress.
But this film is more than a Hollywood blockbuster. The film aspires to educate the uneducated and convert ways of thinking—something that should hit close to home for the marketing industry.
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So many screens, so little time
Optimizing your email for the usual assortment of desktop clients and factoring in the explosive growth in mobile email opens requires extra care.
Email programs are among the best ways for brand managers to keep a brand in front of customers. Although email programs may not be as “cool” as the latest social media outlets are, studies in recent years have shown that every dollar spent on email generated $30 to $40 in return. That is more than search advertising can claim, and more than the trendiest social media platform can hope to provide.
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What are people saying about your brand?
Here are 5 free, easy-to-use social listening tools to enhance brand engagement.
How many articles or blog posts have you read that advocate social listening, but then fail to tell you how to begin? Have you ever attended a social media conference where you were reminded of the importance of attentiveness when engaging with customers, but never shown how to do some basic listening?
Social listening can be an enlightening experience since marketers and brand managers (along with their agency partner, of course) believe they define their brands. After all, much time, energy, and money are devoted to crafting and testing concepts and key messages.
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Marketing like Mad Men
Product promotion today may be different from product promotion during the 1960s, but some things have stayed the same—and will remain forever unchanged.
How much has marketing changed since the days of Mad Men? Could Don Draper successfully launch a complex biotech brand in the challenging and sometimes restrictive environment that marketers work in today?
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Persuade versus convince
Combining the powerful effects of convincing and persuading can give marketers a winning approach when communicating with healthcare professionals.
In a recent blog post, Seth Godin writes, “Marketers don’t convince. Engineers convince. Marketers persuade. Persuasion appeals to the emotions and to fear and to the imagination. Convincing requires a spreadsheet or some other rational device.” Interesting thinking. Works great if you’re selling cars or soft drinks. Not sure it applies to the world of pharmaceutical marketing—particularly that of healthcare professionals (HCPs).
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Shark tank branding—advertising surprises of the past year
In our stimulating, unpredictable environment we’ve learned we can count on one thing: the world of pharma is forever changing—and it never grows old.
When the shark tank broke in a Shanghai shopping mall, I realized that one thing is true—you can never really predict what’s going to happen. One minute you’re watching the lemon sharks and the next minute they’re flying past you.
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The Tango Lesson
Instead of pushing through when your imagination is blocked—let go and let Tango!
“The Tango Lesson,” a 1997 drama film by British director Sally Potter, is the autobiographical story of a woman sitting in front of a blank piece of paper, suffering from writers block while struggling to write a new screenplay. Dissatisfied with what she is creating, she abandons the pen and paper and surrenders herself to the sensual world of the tango.
In her story, Potter poses the question, “How do you follow when your instinct is to lead?” For me, this question leads to other questions: How can you lead if you’ve never really surrendered? Where do ideas come from?
The answer? Try following Sally’s lead: Let go. Play like a child. Remain curious.
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The biggest mistake you want to avoid when launching an orphan drug
When promoting an orphan drug, don’t overlook the power that patients and caregivers can have on your brand.
Launching an orphan drug can be vastly different from launching a big blockbuster brand. Any brand manager operating in the rare disease space could probably rattle off some unique challenges he or she faces—limited budgets, small patient populations, lack of disease awareness—to name just a few.
But the single most important factor to consider, and one you don’t want to overlook, is the powerful influence of the patient (or caregiver) on the success of your brand and how it will be perceived in the market.
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