WAVELENGTH: August 2023

We’re back for another edition of the Green Room Digital Newsletter – WAVELENGTH. In this monthly newsletter, we aim to keep you up-to-date on the most vital forces shaping how we communicate and market across our industry.

In recent weeks, we have witnessed the continued shakeup of social platforms vying for the number one spot in our communications and marketing plans. With that, we’ve also seen a trend toward updated, and potentially stricter, regulations by the FDA and FTC, aimed at better regulating biopharma communications in our digital world.

Threads, X, and Twitter... Oh My!

It’s easy to get lost in today’s landscape of constantly shifting social platforms and monikers. While Threads design was based on Twitter, or X as it has recently been renamed, the platforms offer different strengths and weaknesses for engagement in healthcare. Twitter/X’s strengths lie in its ability to facilitate rapid information dissemination, allowing users to share updates, research and educational content with a wide audience. It’s also a direct line to top-tier media who use Twitter/X as a “wire service” to source information and stories. Twitter/X fosters community engagement, networking and exposure. However, the platform’s character limit can restrict the depth of medical discussions and privacy concerns might arise when sharing sensitive health information. More than that, since Elon Musk took over the platform in October, engagement on the platform has dropped month over month, depleting ROI for all who invest.

Threads on the other hand is a private messaging app that excels at promoting in-depth, secure, and confidential healthcare information. It’s ideal for collaborative discussions and sharing detailed healthcare education in a controlled environment. On the negative side, Threads more intimate setting might limit the reach of the information shared, making it less suitable for broad based awareness. Keep in mind, Threads is still in its infancy and much is left to be determined. Up to half of its 100 million users have dropped off since its launch earlier this summer. Stay tuned for our Threads Special Edition Newsletter later in the year to further breakdown the opportunity that lies ahead.

Our take? These platforms are more distinct than their creators would lead us to believe and they serve very different purposes in our healthcare communications and marketing strategies. While Threads is on track to have a promising future, its youth is still apparent, and most healthcare companies are still in the ‘watch and wait’ mode. Twitter/X was a powerhouse, but all signs point to its demise in coming years.

It's Starting With Influencers, But We Expect More Regulation to Come

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently released a revised Endorsement Guide that incorporates six changes that impact influencer engagement. Most changes are small but will certainly impact future influencer campaigns. The changes primarily surround product endorsements, ensuring that an individual or influencer has actually used a product personally and can speak truthfully to their experience. In healthcare, this means that any influencer you engage must be currently on-product or a former product user. The changes also outline an increase in liabilities for violating these updated guidelines, new requirements for partnership disclosures, requirements for virtual influencers and finally, considerations on marketing to children.

Our Take? The FDA and FTC have been more active than usual in updating regulations that govern biopharmaceutical advertising. While these updates are generally minimal, it’s critical to stay on top of the changes to ensure forthcoming campaigns are compliant with the latest rules. If you’re considering engaging an influencer in the coming months, be sure to reach out to Green Room for our cheat sheet on the new regulations and how they will impact your programming.

TikTok: The Social Network to Rule Them All

TikTok’s emergence as the predominant social network in healthcare took time, but we’ve finally arrived. Its rise can be attributed to its unique ability to merge education and entertainment in a succinct and engaging format. As healthcare often involves complex and sensitive information, TikTok is the ideal platform to communicate effectively to a wide audience. In particular, TikTok has attracted HCPs who currently comprise the #1 profession on TikTok. These HCPs utilize the platform to share their expertise, along with their personality, humanizing the medical field while providing high-quality scientific education. With 1 billion global active users and the most time spent on site of any social network, it’s clear TikTok is here to stay and presents tremendous opportunities for us to dive in.

Our Take? It’s time to wade into the waters of TikTok if you haven’t already. If internal regulations don’t permit you to open an account of your own, consider engaging influencers on the platform to share your messaging. Even better? Consider engaging HCP influencers who can share your message with scientific credibility in tow.

A Creative Closer

Each month we feature creative campaigns that catch our eye. This month’s campaigns are fueled by artificial intelligence, from AI-shaped images to campaigns fully designed and run by this new age-y tool. Coke asks consumers to generate art with new AI platform that was designed specifically for digital creatives around the word to democratize the Coke brand iconography and advertising assets. We love how Coke is leaning into AI, while also engaging a wide, global community, in levelling up their brand for a new age. Beauty giant, Maybelline, lashed out with a now viral CGI generated mascara campaign on the London tube, showcasing the power of a marketing stunt to fuel product opinions and generate significant coverage on social platforms like TikTok. This campaign was met with wide applause but also criticism for their use of AI that begs the question, where is the AI line in advertising?

Until next month!

The Green Room Digital Team

p.s. Learn more about Green Room here.