How Johnson & Johnson Uses Twitter for Patient Support: A-plus for Effort, D-minus for Sharing

Every day, I get a synopsis of tweets and newsfeeds from selected pharma companies that I am following (see "News Direct from the Pharma Industry"). Lately, I've been noticing a number of tweets from Johnson and Johnson (@JNJComm) that are direct responses to complaints from consumers about its products. In some cases, complainants have had an extended conversation with JNJ.

However, you won't find these conversations if you look at the @JNJComm Twitter timeline here but you can find them in the PMN Forum archives here. More on this later. Right now I'd like to focus on one of these conversations.

@hiltmon (Hilton Lipschitz) complained about an Acuvue contact lens problem in a tweet posted to @JNJComm. @hiltmon said: "@JNJComm, could you please fwd this to Acuvue team: See the hole in the lens (top right), happened twice now. Thanks. pic.twitter.com/50ML8IrT" The link leads to this photo:

Whether or not this could be classified as a legitimate "adverse event," is a matter for debate, but JNJ responded as if it were: "thanks for alerting use. Please call us at 800-843-2020. It's important that we fully understand what occurred. Thanks! ^DE" Here's a screen shot of the full exchange:

I am not sure what "^DE" means. It appears that JNJComm uses it only at the end of responses to these sorts of complaints. I assume it allows some kind of tracking or followup. [Actually, it indicates the author - in this case Devon Eyer; see UPDATE at the end of this post.] In any case, the end result was one happy (I assume) customer.

I cannot find a legitimate Acuvue Twitter account, although the brand does have a Facebook page. After a quick scan through the Acuvue FB page, I can find no consumer complaints or conversations like the above. It's all good brand "conversations" over there on the Acuvue FB page :-)

The above Twitter conversation might be considered a "brand conversation," which is what brand marketers would like to see (although they would like positive rather than negative conversations about their products). So, JNJ corporate communications people are having these brand support conversations via Twitter, but the brand people -- who presumably manage the FB page -- do not. That's telling in respect to the question I asked in a previous post: "Who's Your Social Media Daddy?"

This conversation is somewhat hidden from most of the nearly 20,000 @JNJComm followers. As I mentioned above, it does not appear in @JNJComm's Twitter timeline because each tweet begins with "@". That makes it a personal conversation in Twitter. Unless you access @JNJComm's Twitter RSS feed as I do, you won't see these tweets. That's unfortunate, IMHO, because it means that the power of social media (e.g., sharing content with followers) is sidestepped. In this case, other consumers may not learn about important safety and other information about Acuvue lenses. Public health would be better served if everyone could learn from the conversation (e.g., the batch number of the faulty lenses).

Of course, it also means that these conversations may not be picked up by the media -- presumably the main audience for @JNJComm and other pharma corporate Twitter accounts -- or by regulators who may like more information about faulty medical products.

UPDATE: ^DE indicates that the @JNJComm posts were written by Devon Eyer, Director, Corporate Communications, Social Media at Johnson & Johnson (see her LinkedIn profile here).

I have included Devon in my list of contenders for the 3rd Annual Pharmaguy Social Media Award. You can learn more about this award here and/or vote for your favorite here.

JNJ Attempts YouTube Humor to Promote a DTC Advertising Goal

The goal of every direct-to-consumer (DTC) ad is to get people to visit their doctors and ask about the advertised Rx drug. But are these ads effective?

The drug industry often defends DTC ads, claiming they ARE effective in achieving this goal. Some studies, however, seem to indicate that once people visit their physicians, they do not ask for the advertised drug (read, for example, "Advertisers Don't Know How DTC Works. Say wha?").

But the ads may not even be effective in driving people to see their physicians. Maybe that's why Johnson and Johnson (JNJ) recently promoted a YouTube video it uploaded more that two years ago called "The Appointment." It's an non-branded attempt to use humor. JNJ's corporate Twitter account (@JNJComm) recently posted this tweet:

"Afraid to visit the doctor? Don't be! Watch 'The Appointment' for medicinal laughter - and important info > http://t.co/0PQanPNF @JNJVideo"

On the YouTube page, JNJ introduces the video: "Many people are wary of making a doctors visit. In The Appointment, some extreme humor works to make several important points about why you should visit your doctor and most importantly things you should not be afraid to understand and ask. Enjoy and no, there really isnt a needle that big!"

Here's the video:




A few people do not think the video is funny. One commenter (yes, JNJ accepts comments on its YouTube channel) said:

"I'm not one to start a YouTube spitting contest - I'm just saying that this seems to be a bit (not massively!) insensitive to both the clinicians and the patients who are trying to treat each other better. Your ultimate message in the vid is perfect - it just strikes me as missing the mark in its opening approach."

One commenter even said it was "misguided":

"Wow. I'm sure you meant it to be funny, but I have to say, this is the worst-conceived pitch I've ever seen for being an empowered patient. In addition to the patient looking like something of a simpleton, to me it charicatures doctors in the worst possible way too.. I'm sure y'all meant well, but wow, this is misguided."

To which JNJ replied:

"I understand and respect your point of view. It was supposed to be a lighthearted reminder to those who might not be practicing preventive care. You are already an informed, empowered patient who has dealt with, and become educated about, a life threatening disease. Although it uses caricutures of doctors and patients, the video is aimed at those who might have misconceptions or fears about visiting their doctors for annual check ups and other routine care."

What do you think?