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.”

This weekend, the iPad will launch with all of the excitement and more of the original iPhone. The device has many critics who point out that its lack of Adobe Flash, multi-tasking and camera will make it Apple’s next failure, similar to its now infamous Newton PDA. Other’s are more optimistic about the device and see it revolutionizing how we consume media.

As an ex-Apple employee and admitted “fan boy” – I’ve already pre-ordered mine and eagerly await its arrival. While I’m very excited about the new product and the catalyst it’s sure to be for the current “tablet” marketplace, I’m wondering how it fits into the Pharma marketing mix.

Whenever new platforms or technologies come along, we get lots of interest from our clients. The question we have to ask back is if it’s right for their target audience. We are not resistant to innovation and change, but sometimes it’s not the right fit for a demographic even if it’s the coolest thing in our minds. For now, I feel that the iPad has a lot of potential in the Healthcare Professionals (HCP) sphere of promotion. I think that in time, Direct to consumer (DTC) marketing will find its place in mobile advertising and the iPad specifically.

For HCPs, there is no doubt that they are aware and interested in using the iPad. In a recent survey by Epocrates, the medical software company found that almost 60% of doctors are considering the iPad for their work, with a third of those ready to buy.

This presents a great opportunity to reach HCP audiences who already have the device, as well as leverage their existing interest in the device. The iPad or devices like it could become the most valuable tool in a Sales Reps detailing kit.

Only a few months ago Pfizer armed their sales force with $1500 tablet PCs. For half of that, they could have purchased the cheapest 3G model at $629. In addition to the hardware costs, imagine the savings of not having to print and drop ship sales aides when a regulatory or marketing change is needed.

Available for download from the Apple iTunes App Store, AT&T WorkBench helps extend existing enterprise application services to iPhone / iPad through secure web apps hosted in a managed environment. It enables companies to deploy enterprise applications in a highly-secure manner – even on mobile devices purchased by an individual. With this tool, a technician can securely update an online interactive sales aide to all reps within just a few hours.

For the physicians that have an iPad, medical reprints might become a thing of the past. Instead, companies could offer a custom ePub version of a journal article for HCPs to load into their iBooks App.

There are plenty of other ways the iPad can help save time and money while putting a far more interactive marketing platform in an HCP or Reps hands.

A few more ways it could be applied include:

• Medical Meeting Booth Touch Points
• In-Office Patient Medical Device Training
• On-Demand Detailing / CME

For patients, there are a few obstacles ahead before the iPad or any other “smart” devices can be utilized fully. The main concern is the open “review” feature for Apps. It’s a regulatory person’s worst nightmare – an open text field. This means potential Adverse Event reports and potentially negative comments in general from consumers.

To place a patient focused “App” on the iPad, Pharma will need to go the “Web App” route. In place of “Native Apps,” more companies are turning to optimized “Web Apps.” Web Apps offer several advantages over Native Apps. Web Apps remove the open review field, as well as cut out the developer channel step of submitting to Apple. This way you gain the ability to instantly update your Web App, just like you would for a brand website.

I’m very excited to see how the iPad will be used among marketing teams across different brands, both Pharma and Consumer. Whether you think the iPad is just another flawed Apple product or the next great thing, it’s sure to spur innovation and creativity in new ways of reaching physicians and patients.