Over the weekend our Group Account Director donned her wellies to head down to the music festival Glastonbury. Whilst there she was impressed by the official app (sponsored by EE) of Glastonbury; a user centric app which delivers the latest in festival information direct to the user’s Smartphone. Glastonbury festival goers could access line-up information, as well as create their own gig guide in a personal planner, enabling them to ensure they didn’t miss their favourite artist perform. One of the really useful tools was the map feature too, especially when trying to find the EE charging tent (and your friends, of course!)
So how can this be used for pharma? Our team has been to huge conferences such as SXSW in Texas, and so they understand firsthand how important getting around is, and finding your way to the next conference in plenty of time.
Could this be the start of a user-centric approach to app building by pharma companies? At events and conferences where new clinical trial data is being announced or a talk on targeted therapies is being held, each company would love to have a full house at each of their seminars. However, pushing your own agenda isn’t going to cut it anymore; providing a practical solution for the user is the way forward.
What would a user want/need from an app at a large pharma conference? Helpful and unbiased information from an app that matters; user experience should be at the heart of any strategy and design.
In 2011 Orange (as EE used to be known previously) developed an app for Glastonbury which saw over 100,000 users download and data usage soared by 377%. Of the people in attendance, 74% had the app installed and praised it on social networks.
By sponsoring/supplying the app pharma companies can promote brand awareness, as well as including useful information about the user’s speciality. Like EE, pharma companies can have information (and maybe battery charging) booths dotted around the events, which increases their presence; both at the event and online.