Presentation Abstract

Social media and online listening … the subject “du jour” for the pharmaceutical industry and marketing research conventions. However, few pharma companies are seriously looking at how social media can help them understand current “crowd” sentiment about their company, its products and how to better connect with their customers and start an ongoing dialogue.

A case study will be presented by one of the top vaccine manufacturers working with a market research firm to measure and understand the magnitude, content, and overall global online sentiment regarding the effectiveness and safety of vaccination.

The study analyzed 100 million mentions (more than 3,000 mentions of vaccines, vaccination or immunization a day). Search tools accessed Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, blogs, and healthcare communities in top markets, including US, Europe and China. The languages monitored were English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, German, and Chinese.

Results of the survey and unique, country-distinct findings will be discussed in an interactive session with the audience, with participants polled through Twitter. Provocative examples of “good" and ”evil” social media from YouTube will be included and pointers provided on how to develop an effective social media monitoring program to ensure that business objectives can be reasonably met. 

Attendees will walk away from this session with an understanding of: 

• What social media platforms account for most discussions and which sites post the most negative responses?
• Who are the online opinion leaders; what role do these “Influencers” play?
• What are some of the unique limitations of tapping into the Chinese blog communities?
• How do we incorporate findings into more effective marketing strategies

Speaker Biographies

Henry Gazay, founder and CEO of Medimix and VoxMed, has pioneered online market research in the pharmaceutical sector for 20+ years, developing new techniques, such as electronic patient charts, global online discussion forums, social media monitoring and online continuous trackers. Henry is a regular speaker at various conferences in the US, Europe, Asia, and Latin America, including EphMRA, PBIRG, PMRG, ESOMAR and eyeforpharma; and a frequent contributor to many healthcare and business media outlets throughout the world.

Bruno Rigole, Head of Global Market Research at Sanofi Pasteur, has worked more than twelve years in global market research. Lead of the internal market research network, supporting HQ and local teams with studies on customer understanding, NPD, pricing, and operational monitoring, he also helped design the action plan. Previous positions (LACTALIS and LOREAL) focused on consumer insights, advertising, branding and social trends. As Research Executive (Institut CSA) he oversaw management and production of international surveys in various sectors (e.g., telecoms, transportations, energy and banking).  Bruno graduated in 1993 in Marketing from EM Lyon (Ecole de Management de Lyon) and completed in 2010 the Sanofi Pasteur Marketing Excellence Program from INSEAD, in Paris.