April 27, 2010 » Branding: What is Brand?

NIKE. Coke. Budweiser. What do these powerful brands have in common? Each is a single entity that lives in the minds of its target audience(s). Each captures qualities both rational and emotive.

At Compass, we believe that a brand is not a benefit, a formula, a name, or a logo. A brand is a contract with your targets.

April 22, 2010 » Next Under the Knife… Pharma SEO

The FDA finally took notice, this past April, of Paid Search when they decided to send out 40 letters to some of the most high profile pharma brands around. One letter that stood out among the bunch was received by Plavix, which in fact was a Paid Inclusion listing (which no longer exists) and not a Paid Search ad. This, in my mind, raises larger concern as to whether or not the FDA realizes what it stumbled upon, and if they will ever take an axe to the fine SERPs (Search Engine Results Page) that we pharma SEOs have crafted over the years?!

April 2, 2010 » The iPad Cometh, Should Pharma Care?

The iPad has been one of the most anticipated gadgets to come about since the iPhone in June, 2007. To quote the Wall Street Journal, “Last time there was this much excitement over a tablet, it had some commandments written on it.”

March 22, 2010 » Project Delivery: 3 Ways to Avoid Costly Overruns

Top of mind for each of our clients is achieving a high-value result that is both timely and delivered within ever-tightening budget constraints. At Compass, we are constantly evaluating our delivery process to uncover ways to increase our efficiency and timeliness. We also do our best to educate our clients on how they can help. The following are three quick tips I can offer from experience in managing the delivery of interactive programs for nearly 15 years.

March 12, 2010 » Behavioral Targeting: What’s Next?

Behavioral and demographic targeted ads in the world of online advertising are nothing new to marketers, but for the average consumer and internet user, the reasons why they are seeing a particular ad is somewhat of an enigma. It all comes down to your internet history, or at least your history since the last time you cleared your cache. The sites you visit, the pages you view and in Gmail’s case the words you type in an email are all captured, and that information is used to display ads that are more relevant to your personal interests.

March 5, 2010 » Power to the People

It may seem like an uphill battle. How could a patient change the way a physician prescribes? Believe me, I’ve heard it many times before. “We don’t focus on patients,” and “Our only real target is physicians – patients don’t matter.” Really? That sounds like a great strategy – for 1997. Let’s keep up with the times, people. Consumers are hungry for information.

February 5, 2010 » YouTube Killed the Television Star

The audience for online video is proving itself insatiable, offering opportunities for sharing and connection on a global level previously unimaginable.

With viewers “tuning in” to watch video online, the consumption of broadcast content will continue to morph dramatically. Pepsi opted to skip advertising in the the most widely-viewed sports events to focus on social media efforts.