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Pharma Phighting Back?

June 18, 2007 Uncategorized 2 Comments

With the release of Michael Moore’s new film attacking the American healthcare system looming, it seems that “Big Pharma” has joined the blogging fray just in time, adding a new avenue of communications to their arsenal on the eve of taking a potential PR hit.

Notably, pharmaceutical giants GlaxoSmithKline and Johnson&Johnson have each launched corporate blogs recently, with J&J focusing on a company-wide site, while GSK launched a product-specific blog.

Pharmaceutical industry blog Pharmalot commented on the developments over the weekend, noting that Big Pharma appears to want to use blogs to answer to critics and shape the conversation—but under tightly controlled circumstances. Is that really conversation at all, they wonder?

[…]And so the onslaught has begun. Big pharma is embracing the blog concept in order to shape and, if necessary, counteract the discussion about its activities and products. Of course, these are tightly controlled and so the content and comments are more than likely to restrict the scope of conversation.

Interesting take on it, especially when you give a close read to GSK’s blog, which is focused entirely on their new weight-loss drug, Alli. In one particular post, for example, there are several comments from members of the focus group that completed a trial of the drug…and they read a little like talking points to my cynical suspicious eyes.

So the question, which has some ties to the ongoing debate over ghostblogging, is whether it’s “okay” for a blog to be used simply as a PR tool (if that’s indeed what GSK or J&J are doing with their new blogging efforts—I believe it is too early to judge).

Does it have to be a true, authentic conversation or does using a blog to spread or control a message have some merit? In the Topaz Partners podcast last week, Todd Van Hoosear attempted to settle this question of ghostblogging by arguing that companies using blogs as a publicity tool rather than a true addition to the social media conversation should simply refrain from referring to such sites as “blogs.”

I will be monitoring with interest, as should the companies behind them, these new blogs—and the social media landscape’s reaction to them.

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2 Comments to "Pharma Phighting Back?"

  1. Ryan O'Rourke

    June 21, 2007

    In my opinion, Big Pharama can do whatever they like on their blogs (you know, within reason), but I just don’t see how it could be impactful if they do not engage the audience in a conversation. How can you shape the conversation if you aren’t really participating in one?
    anyway- phantasic post! (sorry, had to)

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  2. Rocky

    June 21, 2007

    For the life of me, sometimes I wonder, what I’m missing? I read a blog that a Pharma.corp. is worying about Sycko the movie? my answer don’t even think of it, are the pharma. Corp. loosign it? or are you loosing your grip? look…….., the movie Supersize came out, McDonald is making the same money if not more than before, you hear every day in one form or another that pharma. drugs, are killing more people than they claim they help, what makes you think you need to blogbullshit you way out of it THERE IS NO NEED FOR IT! you know you are dealing with a Nation of ignorance, look at what comes out of our educational system, you could not get 10 morons together and agree on anything,the IQ to organize it’s not there, so Pharma.Corp. don’t worry,you managed to get the green light on your wave of comercials where you focus on the fun and beautiful living if you take the new Drug, while you tell them of the side effect that can actualy kill you as long as they see the doctor, for a simple blood test, look in America we only like to complain,call our Radio shows so that the pressure can escape, the only thing you need to do is keep a watch on the doctors nation wide and make sure that continue to direct people’s attention on the particular defect of the organ by operation or more drugs to relieve the pain or condition without given away how did it originate or what cause it, you know that that would bring suspicion on most of the problems that people get from drugs, and that doesn’t include all the unmention ingrediats on foods and your conection to it, so don’t even bother worying about it,and when you are in need of more Billions, you know how easy it is, all you need to do is connect with the magicians of illusion in our Government and create a situation so that you can create a new drug to fight it, that is easy or even a mandatory law, hey hows that for an Idea? I should be an inventor ha ha ha I gues I let out a litle steam too ha ha ha, good day all,

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