As a healthcare marketing agency, we pride ourselves on keeping up with the latest news in the industry. Here are the stories that caught our attention over the past few months. We’ve summarised the key points you need to know and even given our unique take on the topic – you’re welcome!
What does the OTC hearing aid ruling by the FDA mean for medtech manufacturers?
Early this year, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a final rule to improve access to hearing aids for all Americans. This ruling establishes a new category of over-the-counter (OTC) hearing aids, meaning consumers with perceived mild to moderate hearing loss can purchase hearing aids directly from pharmacies and retailers without the need for a prescription or fitting by an audiologist.
This is huge news for medical device manufacturers because traditionally, they’ve directed their marketing and sales efforts towards healthcare professionals. What will the implications of this ruling mean for medical device manufacturers and other players in the market, who have traditionally focused marketing efforts around B2B? We’ll be watching carefully to see how organisations pivot their messaging from HCP to DTC.
Read more about the OTC hearing aid ruling here.
Eli Lilly pulls Twitter ads after blue check fallout
What will happen next with Twitter is anyone’s guess. Acquired by the world’s richest man, there certainly hasn’t been a day gone by without controversy. When Musk took the helm, he introduced the controversial paid monthly subscription to obtain the Twitter blue checkmark verification. Cue a slew of bogus and fake accounts, one of which pretended to be Eli Lilly’s corporate account, tweeting that insulin is now available for free.
We don’t blame Eli Lilly for pulling their ad spend with the social giant. And we envisage more and more brands will paise ad spend until things calm down. With almost 90% of its revenue coming from advertising, this is clearly bad news for Twitter.
The Era Of Consumer-Driven Digital Discovery: What Is Replacing Search?
Where and how we search online is changing. Consider some of these stats for a second:
- TikTok is the fastest-growing news source for adults according to a recent Ofcom study in the UK
- Almost 40% of Gen Z users turn to TikTok or Instagram over traditional search engines
- Over 60% of shoppers in the US start a product search on Amazon
Change in consumer search behaviour is certainly something to be aware of. But with Google receiving more than 70,000 health-related searches per minute, we doubt very much these platforms will replace traditional search any time soon. Content is key to the success of every digital marketing channel. If your content isn’t up to scratch, your campaigns simply won’t get the results you need. Talk to us today to find out how to get found and seen online.
