DI
GIT
AL
20
15
DIGITAL
TRENDS
MARKETING
CONSUMER
DIGITAL
HEALTH

20
15
DIGITAL
TRENDS
Our fifth annual series of trends reports includes insights into the
big shifts that are changing marketing, healthcare, digital
experience, and consumer expectations. In this report, you’ll find
the top eight trends in digital, each with clues into new
possibilities and examples of brands that got there first.

20
15
Abigail Schmelzer
Alex Brock
Andrea Evans
Angela Cua
Azul Ceballos
Bruce Rooke
Campbell Hooper
Charles DiSantis
Chelsea Bailey
Duncan Arbour
Eduardo Menendez
Eric Davis
Fred Harrison
James Tomasino
Jeffrey Giermek
Jeffrey Wilks
Jessie Brown
Joe DeSalvo
John Mucha
Joy Hart
Julie Valka
Kathryn Bernish-Fisher
Kevin Nalty
Leigh Householder
Luke Hebblethwaite
Matt Groom
Mike Martins
Nick Bartlett
CORE
CONTRIBUTORS
Nicole Sordell
Pavithra Selvam
Phil Storer
Richard Martin
Rick Summa
Sam Cannizzaro
Sarah Brown
Sayeed Anwar
Scott Raidel
Stefanie Jones
Zach Gerber
20
15
DIGITAL
TRENDS

At the core of our innovation
practice is a simple idea:
Knowing how people’s expectations are changing lets us capture new
market opportunities, take smart risks, and spur innovation
We start by uncovering clues. Clues are data points, great stories,
quotes, and pictures that shift our understanding of what people want
right now. We find them in practices around the world and in the
technologies, brands, and experiences that doctors and patients
encounter in their everyday lives.
Over time, those clues combine and connect to reveal trends, a new
kind of inspiration for creating experiences in the moments before our
customers realize they need them. And months and years before our
competitors realize the same thing.
20
15
DIGITAL
TRENDS

We’re following eight trends that show how
the digital landscape will be changing in 2015.
More Distractible Than Goldfish
Tech For Everyone (Really This Time)
Virtual Reality Is Finally Reality
Disappearing Technology
Competition for the Next Big Thing
Let’s Play
The Website Is Dead
Healthcare Brings DTC to Digital
THE
TRENDS
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

1.
IN SHORT
Our always-on digital lives
have diminished our attention
spans to 8 seconds – 1 second
less than a goldfish. Which
means this is the only part of
this trend you’re likely to read.

1.
MORE DISTRACTIBLE
THAN GOLDFISH
On average, an office worker checks
their email inbox 30 times per hour.
—U.S National Library of Medicine, 2013
49% 17%
Percent of words
read on web
pages with 111
words or less
Percent of page
views that last
less than
4 seconds

FIRST PAGE OR NO PAGE
Thanks to smartphones, tablets, the expansion
of free Wi-Fi, and reliable 3D, the people
around us are constantly clicking and tapping
their way to new information. They’re Googling
for instant gratification and quick fixes. And if
they don’t find it in seconds, they’re likely to
abandon the effort entirely.
The cause of this hurry-up-and-give-up
behavior is our vanishing attention spans.
Today, digital experiences have to capture
users in just a few seconds and may not have
much more time than that to really engage
them. That sets a much higher bar for both
information design and long-tail search.
1.
MORE DISTRACTIBLE
THAN GOLDFISH

REWIRING OUR MINDS
1.
MORE DISTRACTIBLE
THAN GOLDFISH
Technology is altering human physiology. Some of the impact is positive: better visual skills or
devotion of our “cognitive surplus” time to creating and engaging. Other effects, like loss of
memory and attention span, are less favorable.
Those new memory problems could be a particular challenge for healthcare as some 80% of
people go online for information about a medical condition or drug. A rather typical session of
online browsing can create an information overload and make it harder to file away information in
your memory, according to Dr. Erik Fransén, professor of computer science at Sweden’s KTH Royal
Institute of Technology.
Our modern digitally-dependent consumer is in need of both more reminders and more creative
ways to make ideas and information stick.
—eMarketer, 2014

MINIMIZING MESSAGING
1.
MORE DISTRACTIBLE
THAN GOLDFISH
Brands are adapting to the change. They’re scaling
back the long lists of features and benefits to
connect in shorter forms with smaller messages.
Social channels like Vine, Instagram, and Snapchat
have created the forum to communicate in this
sound bite exchange.
Marketers have found incredibly creative ways to
play in this space.
Photo contests are a great way to increase your
brand’s visibility on Instagram. Using a hashtag
pertaining to your contest will make it easy for you
to collect photos from your followers.

1.
MORE DISTRACTIBLE
THAN GOLDFISH
Lancôme’s Project #bareselfie
dared women to post pictures of
themselves without makeup.
That instagram-action generated
50% of the sales for its newly
launched DreamTone serum
product line.
Oreo owned nearly 10,000
engagements with its 15-second
showcase of its new
MiniDelivery service.
(Where do we get one of those
cute mini forklifts?)
Ford made its smart “Park
Assist” feature look even more
speedy and sleek by showing it
off it in hyperlapse.

2.
IN SHORT
The wave of technology
adoption is finally coming to
shore with new technologies
and tools designed
specifically for late adopters.

2.
TECH FOR EVERYONE
(REALLY THIS TIME)
—UN Study
“Cell phones are one of the most
effective advancements in history to
lift people out of poverty.”

2.
TECH FOR EVERYONE
(REALLY THIS TIME)
US Smartphone Penetration
—The Next Web

THE WAVE REACHES THE SHORE
2.
TECH FOR EVERYONE
(REALLY THIS TIME)
For years, we’ve been on the crest of the wave of digital development. New
technologies and devices have been brought to market at a pace that’s kept early
adopter’s wallets open. Most of these innovations are designed with the middle
majority in mind: X, Y, Z generations with income greater than $40,000 per year.
No doubt, this group will continue to be a viable market as they move on to the
NBT (next big thing).
Facing saturation and intense competition for existing technologies in that middle
majority market, some brands are looking to new niches, bringing waves of
innovation to shore for the first time. For example, as US smartphone penetration
surpasses 70%, the tail of the trend line (laggards and skeptics) is receiving
unprecedented attention from digital innovators. People with lower incomes,
immigrants and elderly populations are a few groups that are slowly but surely
coming into focus.

SMARTPHONES AND APPS BUILT
FOR NEW NICHES
2.
TECH FOR EVERYONE
(REALLY THIS TIME)
“Forget what you may have heard about a digital divide or worries that
the world is splintering into ‘info haves’ and ‘info have-nots’,” Bill Clinton
wrote in Time Magazine. “The fact is, technology fosters equality, and it’s
often the relatively cheap and mundane devices that do the most good.”
Innovators are opening new markets by bringing that mundane
innovation to people who need it most:

2.
TECH FOR EVERYONE
(REALLY THIS TIME)
Wipit is a mobile wallet service
partnered with Boost Mobile
(prepaid cellular service). Their
latest product is designed
specifically for people who may
not have bank accounts. Users
can add cash to accounts at
retail stores and set up direct
deposits to their Wipit account
with payroll or government
assistance checks.
Quippi is a cross-border gift
card service targeted at new
immigrants. US consumers
send over $23 billion to
Mexico every year via
international money transfers
that have associated fees. By
buying gift cards, the
immigrants realize the
savings as retailers pay the
fees in exchange for the
guaranteed business.
Jitterbug phones are easy-to-use
mobile phones designed
specifically for seniors. Large
numbers and displays aid the
sight-impaired while enhanced
speakers allow for clear
conversations. A special button
allows for one-touch
emergency medical alerts, and
additional services include
unlimited direct access to
nurses and doctors.

2.
TECH FOR EVERYONE
(REALLY THIS TIME)
The year select countries in North America and Europe
will surpass 50% smartphone user penetration among
total population.

INVENTIVE APPROACHES TO
OLD PROBLEMS
2.
TECH FOR EVERYONE
(REALLY THIS TIME)
It’s not just the front-end interface that’s changing,
it’s the back-end, too. Developers are using tools
and data to find new ways to make everyday
technology more useful and meaningful to later
adopters.
A Chinese company recently demonstrated the
ability of 3D printing to rapidly fill a need for fast,
affordable housing. The team constructed 10
houses in less than 24 hours. Built from
predominantly recycled materials, these homes cost
less than $5,000 and could be built to ease housing
crises in developing countries or more quickly
respond to weather-related disasters.
Small home constructed from 3D-printed
building blocks
(Image: Winsun New materials)

2.
TECH FOR EVERYONE
(REALLY THIS TIME)
INVENTIVE APPROACHES TO
OLD PROBLEMS
In Africa, Vodacom is using cell phone bills to spot in-community entrepreneurs
who can potentially get more devices to more people. They’re looking for
people who have an abnormally high volume of calls, a sign that owners are
renting their phones to neighbors. Vodacom offers those heavy users the
opportunity to operate their own phone kiosks and earn 1/3 of the revenue.
In Japan, DoCoMo is seeing its growth with the elderly and their families as the
country ages faster than any other developed society, with 23% of the
population already 65 or older. They’re thinking beyond devices to information
exchange. For example, its “Tsunagari Hot Support” allows family members to
check on elderly loved ones by geotracking their phones—spotting everything
from number of steps and exercise to current location.

2.
TECH FOR EVERYONE
(REALLY THIS TIME)
APPROXIMATELY 78 PERCENT
OF THE POPULATION IS LOW
INCOME WORLDWIDE
Based on Purchasing
Power Parity (PPP)
—World Resources Institute
—World Bank
—UN and US Census
—A.T. Kearney Analysis

3.
IN SHORT
After years of talk and hype, virtual
reality has finally come of age and
the experience is even better than
early adopters promised.
(Aren’t you glad you waited?)

3.
VIRTUAL REALITY IS
FINALLY REALITY
Percent of users that like it when brands, products or entertainment
make an active attempt to capture their imagination
78%
Millennials
71%
Gen X
64%
Boomers

IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCES
3.
VIRTUAL REALITY IS
FINALLY REALITY
In 2014, the best way to connect with the
world was to unplug. People called it
JOMO (Joy of Missing Out), a celebration
of escaping the endless feed of vacation
photos, dinner destinations, and status
updates.
In 2015, the best way to connect with the
world will be to explore it – from wherever
you might physically be. This new
generation of virtual reality makes it
possible to do just that with immersive
experiences that let you touch, explore and
connect with an environment that feels like
it’s all around you.
The leading technology is Oculus Rift. It’s a
headset display that kind of looks like scuba
goggles and provides a fully immersive 3D
experience that makes you feel like you are
actually in a game or destination. By
moving your head from side to side or
walking around you can get a 360-degree
view of an entire virtual space.
Facebook spent $2 billion to buy the Oculus
Rift technology. Then Google created a DIY
version that looks more like the Viewmaster
you might have grown up playing with.
Their cutting-edge virtual reality experience
starts with a piece of corrugated cardboard
and a handy X-ACTO knife.

3.
VIRTUAL REALITY IS
FINALLY REALITY
MAKE YOUR OWN
You can make your own cardboard 3D viewer. A
great little kit at Google I/O showed the way.
Ingredients:
• Cardboard
• Lens
• Magnets
• Velcro
• Rubber band
• Android phone
• Temporary use of favorite
construction items: ruler,
glue, scissors, and an X-ACTO
knife

A NEW LEVEL OF REALISM
Whether you’re racing around a battlefield in a
sophisticated war game or exploring a new
treatment facility, these virtual environments have
a next generation feel of authenticity and realism.
A big driver of that reality is the capture. Cameras
collect every inch of a 360-degree view.
Sophisticated sound algorithms trick the brain into
thinking that it’s present by moving sounds
around the ears just like in the real world.
You can explore a historic castle and hear the
birds chirping in the trees. Ride a roller coaster
and hear the whipping sound of screams. Or even
head into an operating room.
Rémi Rousseau and Dr. Thomas Gregory, Professor of
Surgery and Medicine at the Paris Descartes University and
Georges Pompidou, surgeon at the European Hospital
recently brought GoPro cameras into the operating room to
capture a total hip surgery. The resulting footage gave a 3D,
high resolution, first-person view that could then be
implemented into an Oculus Rift, giving the medical student a
never before seen look into what the experienced surgeon
actually sees.
3.
VIRTUAL REALITY IS
FINALLY REALITY

FIRST PERSON “SHOOTER”
Virtual reality is changing more than gaming.
Producers are creating movies for the Oculus
Rift that let viewers be part of every scene.
Brands are immersing consumers with first-person
perspectives—actually putting them in
a video as if they are, themselves, holding
the camera.
Some are adding addictive “choose your own
adventure” elements that let the user control
the story.
A travel agency in the UK developed this video to
promote their ability to customize your perfect holiday.
Over the course of the video, the viewer makes choices
(i.e., go to the beach or lay by the pool; intimate dinner
or cocktails and sunset). In effect, they are drawn in to
the experience in a very real way.
holidayopenday.co.uk/en/flash
3.
VIRTUAL REALITY IS
FINALLY REALITY

DISAPPEARING
TECHNOLOGY
IN SHORT
4.
When you put the right
information in the right
place, technology can
quietly change our lives
without interrupting them.

4.
DISAPPEARING
TECHNOLOGY
Apple’s iOS automatically
updates apps in the
background so you don’t have
to, keeping you up-to-date
and limiting vunerabilites in
the software.
Carbonite cloud services
back up your computer
files automatically, making
sure you never lose your
important digital
information.

4.
DISAPPEARING
TECHNOLOGY
PERVASIVE EQUALS PERSUASIVE
David Rose, instructor at the MIT Media Lab and CEO
at Ditto Labs, has been a long-time proponent of more
ambient technology that spreads information thinly
throughout our lives. To him, the glowing screen of our
ubiquitous cell phones is the enemy of creating
technology that can really change our lives.
“I think about the cellphone and all the amazing things
you can do with a cellphone and apps, but the problem
is it monopolizes your attention. Most of us are staring
into this most of the day,” Rose said. “There’s an
opportunity to become unglued from this screen and
spread the apps into everyday objects, including
desks, clothes, jewelry. It’s a much nicer way to
interact with technology.”
His product, GlowCap, was a first-mover in a
now booming category. The smart medicine
caps glow when it’s time to take a
medication. The reminders can escalate
from subtle to insistent: devices glow, then
make noise, then send a text notification or
dial your home phone.
Rose imagines a healthcare future that is
much more delightful. One that gently
nudges us instead of wagging a finger of
shame.

4.
DISAPPEARING
TECHNOLOGY
CAREGIVING TAKES THE LEAD
Companies like AT&T and DoCoMo are repurposing
the elements of digital alarm systems into remote
caregiving assistants that help people who are growing
older stay independent longer.
Contact sensors can quickly update a caregiver’s
dashboard to show when an aging relative took a
medication, got out of bed, or used the bathroom. The
technology doesn’t capture any video or interrupt the
homeowner, it simply and quietly keeps track of key
metrics of independence and mobility. The promise of
this new era of disappearing technology is keeping
people safe and keeping caregivers informed without
feeling the pressure or presence of that technology.
AT&T Digital Life Care uses sensors
placed around the home of an elderly
family member to send caregivers alerts
and information.

4.
DISAPPEARING
TECHNOLOGY
TECHNOLOGY THAT ISN’T TECHNOLOGY
This kind of “glanceable” information is already part of much of our consumer lives. Many of
the devices we use every day are designed to accelerate better decision making by
spreading information thinly.
The disappearing color strip on disposable razors is an ambient reminder to buy a new
pack. Your low fuel light warns that the gas tank is almost empty. Even the receipt tape in
cash registers turns pink when it’s nearly run out.
The big move in 2015 is moving beyond consumables to spread information thinly in more
meaningful parts of our lives.

5.
IN SHORT
Remember five years ago
when you’d never heard of an
iPad? Now, smart watches,
mobile payments and a new
generation of wearables are
competing to be the next
necessity you never knew you
just had to have.

5.
COMPETITION FOR
THE NEXT BIG THING
—IMH
Predicted Smartwatch Adoption

5.
COMPETITION FOR
THE NEXT BIG THING
WATCH THE WATCHES
2015 may kick off a new era of
smartwatches, fueled by Apple’s January
launch. In fact, some are saying that the
Apple watch could be the next Swatch, a
bright plastic time piece Gen Xers will
remember as the watch that made watch
collectors out of teenagers.
Sure, the first round of smartwatches—like
Samsung’s Gear Live or LG’s G Watch—
didn’t exactly have people camping out in
front of their local electronics stores, but
ones premiering in 2015 are expected to be
notably different.
The Apple watch is an intriguing extension
of the smartphone, created at just the time
that so many of us would like to look up
and away from our glowing screens. It’s
tightly integrated with iOS and offers all
kinds of styles and features.
The Asus ZenWatch is going another way
entirely, bringing the elegance of a classic
wristwatch with the connectivity of Android
Wear. Samsung is taking another
interesting at-bat, too, with the Gear S that
works almost entirely without a
smartphone at all.

5.
COMPETITION FOR
THE NEXT BIG THING
GO AHEAD, TAP TO PAY
Many are betting that mobile payment’s time has officially come. Retailers, banks and
telecoms have been experimenting with products and pilots for years while consumers
remained on the fence. But the numbers have started growing at a compelling speed. In
the U.S., for example, values doubled between 2012 and 2013 to reach $1.59 billion.
That’s projected to nearly double again to $3.5 million through 2014.
Local attitudes toward mobile payment are a huge multiplier for uptake. For example,
analysts are predicting that mobile payments in China could be worth USD 1.4 trillion by
next year.
Integrated loyalty programs have made early winners even more successful. Starbucks,
for example, has a app that integrates mobile payments with quick-earn rewards. It
receives over four million mobile wallet payments per week – that’s 11% of its entire
business.
—eMarketer, 2014
—Monitise Insights, 2014

5.
COMPETITION FOR
THE NEXT BIG THING
—eMarketer
Predicted Mobile Payment Market

5.
COMPETITION FOR
THE NEXT BIG THING
WILL YOU FINALLY PUT ONE ON?
Wearables are stepping back up to the plate with a new generation of
sensors that go way beyond the wrist. Each is designed to make
affordable tracking addictive to a special niche of consumers.
And, it starts as soon as the crib. The Owlet Smart Sock wraps
around an infant’s ankle to do way more than a baby monitor ever
could. The companion app monitors body temperature, heart rate,
blood oxygen level, sleep quality and rollovers.
Clothes are getting smarter, too. Sports bras can track your heart
rate. Shoes can know how high you can jump. And something like a
cuff link can monitor so much more.
It’s called a Notch and it snaps on to clothing to give users access to
all the functionality of an accelerometer, gyroscope and
magnetometer in a dynamic wireless network that communicates to
its paired smartphone. Its goal: Let people track their real physical
prowess to compete against peers around the world.
Owlet Smart Sock
The Notch Wearable Device

6.
IN SHORT
Games have already changed
the way we interact with media.
Now those same dynamics are
changing the way we engage
with our people, information
and even our health.

6.
LET’S
PLAY
“The beauty of a game is
that it gives you a goal.“
- Debra Lieberman, publisher of the new Games for Health journal

6.
LET’S
PLAY
Not Just For Boys
—Entertainment Software Association
45% 31%
45% of all game
players, and 46% of
the most frequent
purchasers of games,
are female.
Adult women
make up 31% of
the game-playing
population.

6.
LET’S
PLAY
GAMING HAS BECOME MUCH MORE SOCIAL
Did you know that almost 60% of Americans play games?
Erase that image of a masked Grand Theft Auto hooligan
from your mind. More people are playing puzzle, trivia and
casual social games. The numbers are pretty amazing –
they tell us that more adult women than teenage boys play,
that the average age of a gamer is 30, and that 62% of
gamers play with someone else, either online or in person.
Casual social games have exploded the number of people
playing, but the big, more immersive games have exploded
the way people are playing. Console games connect
players from around the living room or across the world.
They can compete, team up on challenges or even foil
another user’s best efforts when they are offline.
60%
Almost 60% of
Americans play
games.

6.
LET’S
PLAY
GAMING COULD CHANGE YOUR JOB
Sure, it’s had some pretty awful names (“gamification,” “gamify”, . . .eeeesh) but the idea that
using the principles that make games so addictive to make other kinds of learning and
engagement better, too, is becoming more and more popular.
Employers and HR teams are looking to gaming to help employees navigate complex
corporate systems and trainings. They’re adding elements of entertainment, play and
multimedia to pump up engagement. They’re also using it to promote more desired behaviors
in everything from goal setting (e.g., income) to personal wellness (e.g., savings).
There’s a big watch out, though. Design matters more than ever when you’re playing games.
Brian Burke, a Gartner analyst specializing in enterprise architecture and gamification,
estimated that “80% of gamification initiatives will fail by 2014 due to bad design.” Last
asked, he didn’t expect any improvement in the numbers in the years ahead.

6.
LET’S
PLAY
AND EVEN CHANGE YOUR LIFE
Ben Sawyer, one of the original advocates for
using games to improve competency and
outcomes in health, described the problem we’re
up against in six simple words: “The interface of
healthcare is broken.” Said another way: We’re
just not engaging people. We give them
complicated brochures and an entirely new
language of acronyms and science. We charge
them with requirements, but offer them few
rewards.
Games are a way to break through all of that and
create simple experiences people want to use.
Experiences we’d actually take with us into real life
(no offense to the brochures).
Remission has been showing its impact for almost 10
years. At its core, it’s a simulation game that lets players
virtually fight cancer with chemotherapy, antibiotics and
the body’s own defenses. Players were more engaged in
their care, knowledgeable about their treatment plans,
and even 16% more adherent.

6.
LET’S
PLAY
NEURORACER
Neuroscientists at the University of California,
San Francisco worked with developers to
create NeuroRacer, an app-like game in which
players swerve around other cars and try to
identify specific road signs that pop up on the
screen, while ignoring other signs deemed
irrelevant. After older adults trained at the
game, they became more successful than
untrained people in their 20s. The performance
levels were sustained for six months, even
without additional training.

6.
LET’S
PLAY
ARCHES SAVES YOUR BACON
In Utah, Arches Health Plan recently
developed a gamified app for millennials to
educate users about the costs of being
uninsured. The app, called “Arches Saves
Your Bacon” aims to give users an idea of
how different behaviors affect their health
risks and how much they can cost them.
Arches Health Plan developed an app for millennials to educate
users about the costs of being uninsured. It shows users how
different behaviors affect their health risks and how much those
risks might cost them.

7.
IN SHORT
Every trend report has to declare
the death of something. We’re
picking the brand dot-com
because digital behavior has
shifted to be more mobile, more
grazing, and more peer-connected
than ever.

7.
THE WEBSITE
IS DEAD
—Comscore, 2014
—Inmobi, 2014
MOBILE IS PRIME SCREEN
2014 was a big year for the small screen and 2015 is expected to be even bigger.
Mobile platforms – smartphones and tablets – now account for 60% of total digital media
time spent. That’s up from 50% just the year before.
Outside of the US and UK, mobile media time spent now exceeds TV.
Apps play a big role in that shift. 51% of our digital media time is spent in apps. Radio,
photo and map apps top the list, but social, gaming and directories also dominate.
Social media is the #1 category in terms of overall digital engagement, accounting for
20% of total digital time spent. Social networking now generates more than 70% of its
activity on mobile.

7.
THE WEBSITE
IS DEAD
DESTINATION.COM ISN’T REALLY A DESTINATION
That massive shift to mobile has really only taken hold in the last two years. It’s created a
second wave of internet user behavior that calls for rethinking the same old approach to
the dot-com.
Mobile users ask Google shorter questions, often phrased in a word or two. They’re
looking for much more actionable data, less “about the product” and more about where to
buy it, how to get a coupon, and what their peers think about it. Unless they’re waiting for
something IRL (In Real Life), then mobile behavior looks a lot more like digital grazing than
directed search.
Very few brand dot-coms are created to serve any of those new needs and behaviors. The
result is that as mobile use grows, website use declines. In fact, Webtrends found that 70%
of Fortune 100 corporate websites experienced declines in traffic, with an average drop of
23%.

7.
THE WEBSITE
IS DEAD
Coca-Cola was ahead of the game. They declared the website dead, too, and replaced it with a dispersed
publishing strategy that is way more about their customers than the brand. Their new content is driven by
their Unbottled blog and delivers on their promise “Refreshing The World, One Story At A Time.”
http://www.coca-colacompany.com/coca-cola-unbottled/

7.
THE WEBSITE
IS DEAD
CAN DATA TELL A BETTER STORY?
It’s fitting that as brands move to a more sophisticated version of themselves online, that
our analytics would evolve as well. We expect to see more holistic metrics centered around
shifts in perception, relationship valuation, and brand equity. Subjective measurements from
surveys and consumer feedback will win over statistics. It will be about quality over quantity.
Also, the way we interact with mobile creates different metrics. Mobile content is more
scroll-y, less click-y. In essence, with less clicks, measures like the click-through rate
become much less relevant. We expect to see a new standardization of metrics evolve that
is driven by the way we consume mobile content.
For example, mobile applications measure engagement by creating an index of several
criteria. This methodology will replace the traditional dot-com dashboard, yielding key
performance indicators such as “engagement score.”

7.
THE WEBSITE
IS DEAD
Calculating the App Engagement Index
Popularity
Share of smartphone
owners using the app
Commitment
Share of app users
who access the
app weekly
Frequency
Average number
of days app users
access the app
Time Spent
Time spent using
the app

8.
IN SHORT
Healthcare advertising is bringing
the offline experience of getting
healthcare online. Today, a doctor,
a prescription or a dose of digital
health are just a click away.

8.
HEALTHCARE
BRINGS DTC TO
DIGITAL
Redirection of
online research
1/3
One third of the annual 20
million online searches for
the Pfizer brand took
potential customers to
sites selling counterfeit
versions of the drug.
REAL RX, REAL EASY
Pharmaceutical leaders are starting to respond to a trend you
might call Consumer Prime. Or the Amazonification of the
Consumer. The ubiquity of online shopping options from big
brand names have created a new level of trust in internet retail.
Many consumers who previously feared typing their credit card
information into a dot-com are suddenly a lot more concerned
about finding the best deal the internet has to offer. Why stop at
the store you know when an even better price (maybe with a
free shipping offer!) could be just a few clicks away? We are
quickly becoming used to having nearly anything we want
delivered to our doorstep in 48 hours flat.
Pfizer started to see this trend change its customers. Of course,
pharmaceuticals can’t be bought online the same way shoes
can, but increasingly sophisticated illegal online pharmacies
made it look like they could be. In fact, one third of the annual
20 million online searches for the brand took potential
customers to sites selling counterfeit versions of the drug.

8.
HEALTHCARE BRINGS
DTC TO DIGITAL
What are you really taking?
25% 75%
25% of men who think
they’re taking Viagra
are really taking a
counterfeit drug. That’s
a lot of lost customers.
75% of the men who buy
counterfeit Viagra have
actually talked to their
doctor about the drug.

8.
HEALTHCARE
BRINGS DTC TO
DIGITAL
CASE STUDY
Viagra customers weren’t going online out of embarrassment about ED
or even to avoid the doctor. They were going on to get a better deal or
to avoid going to the in-person pharmacy.
So Viagra went with them by launching an online store at Viagra.com.
Targeted search and banner ads were designed to intercept men with
ED and help introduce them to these trusted resources. Using CVS’s
fulfillment engine, patients are able to fill or renew a prescription by
having it ePrescribed to CVS, mailing in a paper Rx, or – even easier –
having CVS call their doctors directly.
The site also checks their insurance and helps ensure the best price
possible for each customer. The new numbers have reportedly been
very compelling. Some that Pfizer is sharing publicly include the first
week impact: over 1000 orders; 14% from former Viagra users – likely
those people who were already trying to reinvent how they buy
prescription drugs.

8.
HEALTHCARE
BRINGS DTC TO
DIGITAL
SUPPORT IN A SHORTCUT
Around the world, healthcare leaders and some
very unexpected sources are selling support +
digital health direct to consumers. The new
services range from adding value to replacing
value once provided by traditional healthcare.
Online pharmacy PillPack charges users
$20/month to organize all their medications in
convenient tear-off packs that are clearly dated.
The packs are delivered every two weeks and a
service called “Proactive Refill Management”
takes care of any refills and prescription
renewals ahead of time.
PillPack medication organizer

8.
HEALTHCARE
BRINGS DTC TO
DIGITAL
DTC SERVICES
Telecoms like TurkCell and DoCoMo are using digital
media to promote services directly to consumers. These
mobile phone providers have unique access to both their
customers’ devices and their data. That gives them the
unique opportunity to quickly create native health
experiences and track which are really changing lives.
One of our favorites is TurkCell’s paid service for
expectant moms. It’s a fully supportive SMS program
that doesn’t require any involvement from physicians. Its
next move: home monitoring service for diabetes and
hypertension sufferers.
Specialty drugs are making big plays in digital to
connect potential customers to advocates and nurses
who can help them with anything from learning about the
product to working with their insurance company to get
the Rx covered.
Turkcell SMS Program

8.
HEALTHCARE
BRINGS DTC TO
DIGITAL
DOCTOR GOOGLE? NO, DOCTOR
VIA GOOGLE
It’s not just pharmaceuticals that are getting in the digital DTC game. Doctors are, too. Psychology was the
specialty to go first. Online counseling sessions have continued to grow in popularity and have earned their
own platforms and specific professional guidelines.
But other specialties—including Google—weren’t far behind. Today, telehealth providers actively market to
consumers through email, search advertisements, and even social posts. Their goal: Use digital to convert
people at home before they head out to anything from a clinic to an emergency room or even primary care.
Google is helping doctors sell direct to worried searchers. Their Healthcare Helpouts serve up immediate
access to a flat-price interaction with a physician online. They even carry their own HIPAA requirements.
And, we’re guessing that advice is a lot more helpful than the symptom checkers that let you know your
cough could be a cold, allergies, cancer, or heart failure. Right?

20
15
DIGITAL
TRENDS
To discuss this report live, request another module, or schedule a
presentation of trends, please contact Leigh Householder at
614-543-6496 or leigh.householder@gsw-w.com