Medical Marketing Jobs Are On The Rise
Medical marketing, sales and business development job openings became more plentiful during the past three to six months, the publisher of "Medical Industry Employment Opportunities" reported last week.
David Anast, MIEO publisher and noted medical industry authority, reports that job advertisements for these positions have risen dramatically in the bi-monthly newsletter.
"We project that trend continuing throughout 1997, due in part to the FDA having eliminated the backlog of new product approval applications in fall 1995 and maintaining a faster approval rate ever since," he notes.
To mark this news, a Special Introductory Subscription Offer deadline for MIEO has been extended to July 1. The minimum subscription period of six issues (three months) is $45 (reg. $65). (714/434-9500, 800/875-8181)
Advertising In The Doc's Office
While that hour-long wait in the doctor's office might be a pain for patients, some savvy advertisers think it might be a gold mine for them.
Companies are designing television programs to target people eating in shopping malls or waiting for medical appointments, car repairs, airline flights and college courses.
Turner Private, a division of Time Warner, recently announced an expanded agreement with Tampa-based Better Health Network to provide programming and sell advertisements in up to 23,000 medical offices across the country in the next few years. It currently reaches 1,000 sites. It will provide new programming and sell advertisements for the medical office network, which plans to expand from 1,000 sites to 23,000 within the next few years.
The appeal of the programs is an ability to reach specific audiences that cable networks might not reach, said John McMenamin, president of Turner Private Network Inc., which operates or has a stake in several place-based media ventures. (Turner Private 800/798-9001)
Abbott Settles Ad Suit
Abbott Laboratories has settled federal charges that it made false advertising claims when promoting its Ensure protein supplement to healthy, active adults.
In announcing the settlement, the Federal Trade Commission said last week that it should serve as a warning to other companies pitching similar fortified drinks. The product is among the many foods and cosmetics aimed at baby boomers hoping to preserve their youthful energy and looks.
The FTC said Abbott could not substantiate oft-repeated claims that doctors recommend Ensure for healthy adults in their 30s and 40s. The agency said Abbott falsely claimed that one serving of Ensure provides nutrients comparable to a multivitamin. In a statement, Abbott denied wrongdoing and said it agreed to the settlement to avoid costly litigation. Ensure's ads have previously come under fire from consumer groups. The Center for Science in the Public Interest skewered Abbott for the ads in 1995. Last week, Bruce Silverglade an attorney for the center, declared Ensure "nothing more than infant formula for adults."
The Bus Stop - A New Boon For Marketers?
Don't think of it as a senior center van. Think of it as a rolling advertisement filled with potential customers.
That's the message Helen Rice, director of the Mae Volen Senior Center in Boca Raton, Fla., plans to take next year to medical centers, retail stores, insurance companies - any place that has a promotions budget. "Seniors are serious consumers, so we thought department stores would love to have their names on our vehicles," Rice said. "And it's a moving billboard. When I speak at events, I tell people, "`You may not have seen our center, but I bet you've seen our vans on the road.'"
"Bus transportation is one of the few forms of mass media left, and we're a very mobile society," said Jan Moore, president of Advent Out-of-Home Medical in Tampa, which handles Palm Beach County's public bus system advertising. "If it works, promotes commerce in your community and brings money to your organization, it's pretty hard to say no."
Women's Heart Disease Is Growth Market
A sub-specialty has developed in the heart care market: prevention of women's heart disease --St. Luke's Medical Center and Sinai Samaritan Medical Center in Milwaukee are among the first centers to tout that heart disease is not just a man's disease and African-American women in particular are at risk. The two women's heart care programs - both at hospitals affiliated with Aurora Health Care, Milwaukee - fit into the local health system's overall focus on illness care, said Linda Dirksmeyer, manager of Sinai's Total Health program, the umbrella under which the Women's Advantage Heart Care Program exists.
Mayo Clinic Begins New Newsletter For Women
Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., has launched a monthly newsletter that focuses on women's health and medical concerns. The first issue will be mailed to 23,000 charter subscribers this week. A year subscription $58.
Mayo Clinic Women's HealthSource emphasizes "need-to-know" information covering mainstay, groundbreaking and controversial issues in women's health. It is written primarily for women ages 35-64. Before launching the newsletter, Mayo conducted two surveys which confirmed women in this age group would welcome a reputable source of current, credible and pertinent information they could use to improve their lives and lifestyles. The surveys revealed that women desired in-depth articles as well as "quick reads" on disease prevention, medical conditions and new medical findings. (Mayo, 507-284-1114).