Welcome. Part of Propeller’s mission and promise is to be at the forefront of digital. We consistently strive to bring innovation and creativity to our healthcare partners and their customers.

It is in this spirit that we curate a quarterly experience, strategically selecting the latest, most important digital marketing trends and tech innovations—and assess the impact each of these has in healthcare, and why it’s important for you to know, now.

Together, let’s be experts and so on the Pulse!

Q1 2020

Digital Revolutions in the Delivery of Healthcare

OVERVIEW

We’re excited to release our first-ever Propeller Pulse: The Edit. This quarter, we’re focusing on Digital Revolutions in the Delivery of Healthcare.

From 5G technologies to chatbots, health communicators are being armed with advanced, real-time digital tools to achieve deeper engagements and efficiencies in care. Fueling brand messaging to reach your customers in even more meaningful ways, we also look at social and micro-influencers as important vehicles to amplify content. At the same time, the nature of digital connectivity is driving a discussion around privacy and security that is louder than ever.

With so much constantly changing in our space, here is what healthcare marketers need to know today—and why.

T R E N D   # 1

THE 5G EFFECT

Optimizing, real-time communication

What is it

10x faster than 4G, 5G is the next generation of technology, greatly increasing the speed, coverage, and responsiveness of wireless network and access to the cloud 5G allows for applications—that are dependent on lots of data moving very quickly in a “real-time environment”—to all operate simultaneously, at close to instant data transfer speeds

What it means for healthcare

As a result of 5G, hospitals and their doctors will have optimized workflows and connective powerThe fast speeds will change the way healthcare is delivered, including quick transfer and download of large files, AR, VR, AI, and everyday accessibility to Internet of Medical Things (IoMT)

MORE ON IoMT

A fundamental shift in consumer habits is causing patients to take health and wellness into their own hands, literally. IoMT is comprised of wearable devices, remote patient monitoring, sensor- enabled hospital beds and infusion pumps, medication-tracking systems, medical supply and equipment inventory tracking, and more.

T R E N D   # 2

COMMUNICATING VIA TELEMEDICINE

Increasing healthcare accessibility
and efficiency

What is it

Made possible with 5G, telemedicine is the remote delivery of healthcare services, such as health assessments or consultations, over a video call infrastructureDigitized, remote care is valued more than ever before by doctors, in particular among younger physicians, who grew up in the age of social media and smartphonesTelemedicine is a response to patients and HCPs wanting to play a more active role throughout the entire healthcare journey

What it means for healthcare

The use of telemedicine offers new means for patients and practitioners to locate health information and communicate with each other, which is especially important and relevant with COVID-19It increases accessibility and efficiency by reducing the need to travel, providing real‑time clinical support and overcoming geographic barriers where resources are scarceThis connectivity allows HCPs to improve and expand upon their long-term management of care, as there’s more time and opportunities to follow up with patients. It also improves treatment of chronic disorders and various day-to-day health symptoms, allowing doctors to advise and prescribe medicine in real-time—and earlier on, when patients are not as sick

T R E N D   # 3

THE RISE OF LIVE VIDEO

Diversifying social platforms
and content formats

What is it

Both long-form and short-form video are the most engaged and shared content on social media channels—in particular, live video LinkedIn is rolling out a live video feature that will offer brands a way to deliver authentic video content to a more relevant audience in real-time
Stories products on Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat piece together video vignettes that vanish within 24 hoursTikTok and Twitch are new platforms gaining momentum, especially among Gen Z audiences

What it means for healthcare

Whether in long-form or short-form, real-time authentic video formats can be leveraged to amplify and scale exclusive content at major conferences, webinars, Q&A panels, and moreTikTok and other live video products on social present an opportunity to engage audiences in specialized contexts and at different points in the customer journey

THE TIKTOK PHENOMENON

TikTok was the most-installed app in 2019. Its more than 800 million monthly active users spend an average of 46 minutes per day on the app—an astonishing amount of time when you consider that the average TikTok video is 15 seconds.

Watch this first-ever pharmaceutical partnership on TikTok here

T R E N D   # 4

THE POWER OF
MICRO-INFLUENCERS

Practicing influencer authenticity

What is it

Micro-influencers are individuals that have between 1,000 and 10,000 followersEach of them have a specific area of expertise and offer a niche perspective to a particular kind of audienceThey generate 85% higher engagement than those having 100,000 followersMore cost effective and affordable than macro‑influencers.

What it means for healthcare

Healthcare’s version of the micro-influencer is a KOL; put brand products, services, and experiences in front of the right people with socially savvy KOLsScaling content on social, these thought leaders are well-respected in their circle and active in online communities, with the ability to capture the attention of and influence key stakeholders with their words

T R E N D   # 5

MESSAGING APPS
& CHATBOTS

Elevating an omnichannel strategy
and bolstering connectivity

What is it

AI software, which drives messaging apps and chatbots, provides the opportunity to communicate one-to-one with consumers via text and typeInteractions can offer convenience Available whenever and wherever the user happens to be
Help providing on-demand problem/need resolution and product inquiriesEmotional connections addressing customer concerns

What it means for healthcare

Healthcare chatbots will never substitute doctors, but they provide plenty of opportunities to facilitate HCP’s jobs or to improve their performance: Provide on-demand information on health‑related problems
Offer instant support to patients and peopleRemind people to take their medication and make a scheduleCollect basic health information and provide it to cliniciansMake appointments with doctors and save time in queues, thus enhancing operations
Aligned with an omnichannel strategy, custom chatbots allow brands to provide in‑context suggestions for useful products or services, and be instantly available to assist and resolve customer service inquiries

T R E N D   # 6

THE NEW STATE
OF COOKIES

Browsers enforcing more
privacy-preserving defaults

What is it

The online advertising ecosystem is continuing to take steps to increase transparency as users are demanding greater privacy, choice, and control over how their data is used—including cookie-less measurement and targetingApple Inc.’s Safari and Mozilla Corp’s Firefox browsers have already blocked third-party activity-tracking cookies, and recently announced, Google Chrome plans to phase out third-party cookies within 2 years

DEFINING A COOKIE

Cookie-tracking technology follows your online journey and collects all your data to create a cyber-profile.

Digital marketers will need to rethink the way they track and sell to customers To adapt to the change, rather than focusing on reaching as many HCPs and/or patients as possible, media strategies will be focused more on first‑party―building deeper relationships with a smaller set of “known” customers
Instead of programmatic network spending, there will be shift in investing in more expensive contextual/key word targeting, placing ads next to smart, endemic content in select online locations, which is especially positive for healthcare brand favorability
Lastly, there will no longer be the opportunity for websites to collect and share protected, highly sensitive health information with large technology companies

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