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For more information on CIC and our white papers, please visit our website here http://www.cicdata.com/en/iwom_whitepaper.php
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Word of Health: China
Listening to and learning from Internet Word of Mouth discussions about the healthcare and pharmaceutical industries
Featured disease area:
Oncology (Cancer)
Word of Health: China
Word of Health: China Contents Did you know? 1 About Word of Health: China 1 Word of Health: China methodology 1
An introduction to Chinese Internet Word of Mouth (IWOM) 3 Overview of healthcare and pharmaceutical IWOM landscape 4
Where is the discussion?
Who is discussing?
What is being discussed? Word of Health: China featured disease area: oncology (cancer) 7
Cancer types
Cancer medication
Cancer treatment
Cancer prevention
Key cancer e-fluencers Other notable online healthcare and pharmaceutical discussions during Q3 10
Insights & Actionable Conclusions
Why is Internet Word of Mouth important to healthcare and 12
pharmaceutical companies?
Five things healthcare and pharmaceutical companies can do “right away” to 13
incorporate IWOM into their communications campaigns
Five DON’Ts when incorporating IWOM into communications campaigns 13
Word of Health: China
Did you know?
Did you know China’s 137 million Internet
users overwhelmingly name the Internet as
their primary source of news and informa-
tion?*
Did you know that every month hundreds
of thousands of people (patients, potential
patients, doctors, medical professionals,
mothers, and “people just like you and me”)
on the Internet in China talk about health
concerns, disease prevention, treatment
options, drug effectiveness, drug costs, pre-
ferred hospitals, and healthcare / pharma-
ceutical companies and their brands?
The Internet in China is home to a whole
new world of stakeholder dialogue that
healthcare and pharmaceutical companies
cannot afford to ignore.
Do you know what they are discussing?
Are you involved in the conversation?
Is Internet Word of Mouth (IWOM) part of
your communications strategy?
About Word of Health: China
Word of Health: China is the product of a
strategic partnership between Edelman Pub-
lic Relations China and CIC.
It represents the first coupling of Internet
Word of Mouth (IWOM) expertise and
healthcare / pharmaceutical communica-
tions experience, and is focused on helping
companies in China understand and lever-
age Internet Word of Mouth in the field.
Word of Health: China will provide a top-line
overview of healthcare and pharmaceutical-
related online discussion generated by pa-
tients, potential patients, doctors, medical
professionals, mothers, and “people just like
you and me” in Chinese social media, in-
cluding blogs and bulletin board systems
(BBS). See figure 1.0 for an example of a
typical BBS forum.
In addition to an overview of industry
IWOM, Word of Health: China will present
strategic insights and actionable intelligence
essential for healthcare and pharmaceutical
companies to successfully integrate IWOM
into their communications campaigns.
Each edition of Word of Health: China will
highlight a single disease / treatment area.
This inaugural edition focuses on oncology
(cancer).
Further specialized reports covering health-
care and pharmaceutical industry IWOM
are also available from Edelman and CIC.
For inquiries, please refer to the inside of
the back cover for contact information.
Word of Health: China methodology
This publication of Word of Health: China
draws on BBS messages processed by CIC
between July 1 and September 30, 2006
(Q3).
During this process, CIC collected
1,427,853 user-generated messages from
176,373 unique posters on 13 Chinese Web
sites and 430 health-related BBS forums.
No private or personally identifiable infor-
mation was collected during the research.
See figure 2.0 for more information.
Using CIC’s proprietary text-mining tools,
all collected messages were categorized and
mined according to a customized library of
terms (including Internet slang) focused on
companies, brands, products, and diseases.
1
*中国互联网信息中心 China Internet Network Information Center (cnnic.net.cn)
Word of Health: China
This method allows CIC and Edelman con-
sultants to understand volume, content,
discussion topics, and sentiment of online
healthcare and pharmaceutical-related con-
versations. See figure 3.0 for “data lifecy-
cle.”
Through this analysis, CIC and Edelman
consultants have identified the topics of
greatest interest, as well as the most active
and most relevant online communities and
key individual e-fluencers within the online
healthcare and pharmaceutical world. This
edition takes a close look at communities
and e-fluencers specifically discussing topics
related to oncology (cancer).
figure: 1.0 (typical BBS forum)
author of most recent reply
time & date of most recent reply
author of original post
post topic / title
number of page views / readers
number of replies
figure: 2.0
669562664childM13
176,373
6260
11454
575
11948
5328
30859
3748
1770
1535
69703
25962
536
Posters
pharma
child
health
health
health
health
pharma
pharma
pharma
pharma
pharma
pharma
Category
49363L12
197888K11
65824H8
472510G7
1,427,853Total
18792J10
70746I9
21637F6
19586E5
5986D4
269528C3
168097B2
5232A1
PostsWeb site
669562664childM13
176,373
6260
11454
575
11948
5328
30859
3748
1770
1535
69703
25962
536
Posters
pharma
child
health
health
health
health
pharma
pharma
pharma
pharma
pharma
pharma
Category
49363L12
197888K11
65824H8
472510G7
1,427,853Total
18792J10
70746I9
21637F6
19586E5
5986D4
269528C3
168097B2
5232A1
PostsWeb site
source: CIC health IWOM data (July - Sept. 2006)
figure: 3.0 “data lifecycle”
Word of Health: China
data source (BBS/blogs)
data analysis
data mining
data processing & categorization
data collection
Word of Health: China
data source (BBS/blogs)
data analysis
data mining
data processing & categorization
data collection
source: CIC
2
Word of Health: China
An introduction to Chinese Internet
Word of Mouth (IWOM)
The growth of the Internet and its impact
on information and media landscapes
around the world is staggering — China is
no exception to this phenomenon.
At the end of 2006, China recorded 137
million “netizens,” up almost 25% from
2005,* and second (not for long) only to
the number of Internet users in the United
States (210 million).*
The explosion of Internet usage in China
has spawned a vibrant Internet Word of
Mouth culture, with 34.7 million Chinese
bloggers and 50.6 million “netizens” gener-
ating various content and engaging in con-
versations on the country’s online BBS mes-
sage boards.**
China’s IWOM culture is adding a new ele-
ment to the corporate communications
mix. Its emergence is driving the imperative
for companies to rethink the strategies be-
hind their communications / public relations
campaigns.
Companies have long relied on mainstream
media (MSM) to engage key stakeholders in
communications / public relations cam-
paigns. In its day, the practice of top-down,
one-way communications through MSM was
both influential and effective in reaching
stakeholders. However, times are changing
fast, especially in China.
As with other markets, China is making a
significant departure from the traditional
“vertical” model to a “horizontal” structure
based on peer-to-peer stakeholder commu-
nications. See figure 4.0.
IWOM is facilitating “horizontal” communi-
cations by providing online platforms for
user-generated content and peer-to-peer
dialogue, such as blogs and BBS message
boards (or forums).
More and more recipients of messaging in
China are joining the burgeoning IWOM
culture and participating in “horizontal con-
versations” about companies, brands, prod-
uct experiences, services, and corporate
issues / crises.
Healthcare and pharmaceutical-related
IWOM discussions on Chinese internet BBS
message boards are particularly plentiful, as
are the opportunities for companies to lis-
ten to and learn from them.
Unlike IWOM in other markets, Chinese
BBS message boards, not blogs, attract the
most “netizens” and account for most of
the “horizontal” discussion taking place
online in China.
figure: 4.0
company / experts
mass audience (stakeholders)
Old Vertical Model
New Horizontal Model
= a company’s key stakeholders
*
*
* *
* * *
*
*
3
**中国互联网信息中心 China Internet Network Information Center (cnnic.net.cn)
* Internet World Stats (www.internetworldstats.com)
Word of Health: China
BBS message boards are Web sites that
allow users to “post” discussion topics and
comments. Sometimes BBS message boards
are part of a larger Web site, and some-
times they stand alone. They differ from
blogs in that they allow any number of peo-
ple, often anonymously, to post new topics
and comments, with new postings occurring
frequently (much more frequently than on
blogs). Blogs allow anyone to comment in
reply to posts, but typically have no more
than a few, if not just one, “poster” creating
new topics. These distinctions allow BBS
message boards to host a wider variety of
d i scuss ion top ics and at t ract more
“netizens,” with greater concentration of
conversations around particular interests.
See figure 2.0 for an example of a typical
BBS forum.
“Netizens” engaging in discussions on
healthcare / pharmaceutical BBS message
boards in China are among the most con-
nected, informed, and influential consumers
online. They are the ones seeking the latest
information and sharing it with others, and
are known among their online peers as
“experts” in their particular area of interest.
Overview of healthcare and pharma-
ceutical IWOM landscape
Where is the discussion?
Word of Health: China research reveals two
basic types of Web sites hosting healthcare
and pharmaceutical BBS discussions: 1)
large, general health portal sites, including
mothering / baby-care forums, and 2) sick-
ness / treatment sites.
Health portal sites focus primarily on
healthy living, disease / sickness prevention,
fitness, and personal beauty care. These
sites offer news and information, and have
expert health consultants serving as BBS
administrators. Often, both patients and
medical professionals participate in the dis-
cussions by answering posted questions,
and starting new discussions with their own
posts.
Some of the more popular health portal
sites include:
• 搜狐健康论坛 www.health.sohu.com
• 网易健康论坛 www.health.163.com
• Q baby www.qbaby.com.cn
• 91 baby www.91baby.com
Sickness / treatment sites are typically
smaller than health portal sites, and ad-
dress specific sickness and treatment con-
cerns. Some of these sites are general and
cover a variety of sicknesses; others are
specific to just one or two. Some of these
sites are sponsored by hospitals or medical
management. Those participating in discus-
sion on these sites typically include patients,
healthcare professionals, and doctors.
Some of the more popular sickness / treat-
ment sites include:
General sickness
• 爱爱医 www.iiyi.com
• 丁香园 www.dxy.cn
Hospital / medical management-sponsored
• 大夫网 www.daifumd.com
• 就医网 www.91.cn
Specific category or sickness sites
• 肝胆相照论坛 bbs.hbvhbv.com
• 战胜结核网 www.antitb.com
4
Word of Health: China
Who is discussing?
Those frequenting healthcare / pharmaceu-
tical BBS forums can be classified into three
general categories: 1) patients / potential
patients, 2) doctors / medical professionals,
and 3) mothers.
What is being discussed?
IWOM can typically be separated into three
distinct categories: 1) NEWS word of
mouth, 2) EXPERIENCE word of mouth,
and 3) CAMPAIGN word of mouth. Within
the sphere of healthcare and pharmaceutical
IWOM, the vast majority of discussion falls
into the “experience” category.
“Netizens” (whether they are patients /
potential patients, doctors / medical profes-
sionals, or mothers) are talking about their
individual opinions and sharing knowledge
based on personal and professional experi-
ence. They are also discussing sickness diag-
nosis, appropriate medicines, and medicinal
side effects, and are seeking emotional sup-
port from those with similar conditions.
Taking a look at what the three main classi-
fications of participants on healthcare /
pharmaceutical BBS forums are discussing:
Patients / potential patients — Discussion
centers on identifying illnesses and their
causes (“What do I have?” “What causes
it?”), seeking medicine and treatment
(“How can I remedy what I have?” “What
kind of medicine do you use for this?”), and
sharing sickness experiences (“Who else
has this problem?” “Let’s share!”). See fig-
ures 5.0 and 5.1 for examples of “patient /
potential patient” posts.
Doctors / medical professionals (healthcare
providers) — Discussion is mainly focused
on providing patients with accurate medical
information, reviews of pharmaceutical
equipment, sharing knowledge and informa-
tion with other doctors (case studies and
medical, clinical, and prescription experi-
ences), and debating opportunities for fur-
ther medical education and training. See
figures 6.0 and 6.1 for examples of
“doctors” posts.
Mothers — Discussion is focused on shar-
ing experiences and exchanging with kin-
dred spirits (“How should I manage my
health during pregnancy — health supple-
ments, exercise, diet, etc.?” “How can I
remedy my baby’s ailments?” “At 6 months
old, should my baby be doing this?”). See
figure 7.0 for an example of a “mothers”
post.
Discussion about specific manufacturers
(corporate names) and products (brands of
medicine) were observed within patient,
doctor / medical professional, and mother
conversations. However, they accounted
for only a small volume of the overall gen-
eral “experience” talk. Taking a closer look:
Manufacturer — Discussion came mostly
from doctors / medical professionals, and
focused on individual companies’ business
operations (China and global) and related
industry development trends. See figure 9.0
for a listing of “mentions” of healthcare /
pharmaceutical companies on BBS forums
during Q3.
Products / Medicine — Discussion in this
area was limited. Relatively few people di-
rectly mentioned product / medicine names.
Hepatitis medicines Pegasys and Heptodin
came up in discussions more than other
drugs. See figure 9.1 for a listing of prod-
uct / medicine mentions on BBS forums
during Q3.
5
Word of Health: China
figure 8.0
Post: “I once had kidney disease. Can I use Pegasys? What should I be aware of, if any-thing?” Response: “If your kidney test results are ok, you should have no problem using inter-feron.”
source: www.healthbbs.net
figure 6.0
Post: “Female patient, 26 years old. Symptoms: swollen stomach, constipation, exhaus-tion. Is that just ileus?” Response: “My initial thoughts, just for reference: (1) rapid ascites (need to know the cause); (2) paralytic ileus; (3) acid-alkali imbalance.”
source: www.dxy.cn/bbs
figure 7.0
Post: “Help! I’m a mother and breast feeding. I have a cold and a fever. What should I do? My baby is only 3 months old.”
Response: “Check with your doctor. Some cold medication can be taken without side effects for the baby, such as some liquid cold medicines.”
source: babyclub.women.sohu.com
figure 5.0
Post: “I often have headaches. I feel like my head is going to explode...my eyes hurt with every headache. Doctors: please help me! What is the problem? Is there any common treatment?”
source: my.91.cn
figure 5.1
Post: “Are there any experts out there that can help me understand my symptoms? I have red pimples covering my body and many are on the bottom of my foot...they itch like crazy...please tell me what this is! What medicine should I take?”
source: bbs.91.cn
figure 6.1
Post: “Regarding the lithiasus case; first upload the patient’s old x-ray so I can see it, then take another x-ray of the intestinal and stomach area...also, have a look at the state of the duodenum.”
source: www.dxy.cn/bbs
Roche (790)
Abbott Labs (630)
Novartis (459)
AstraZeneca (388)
Merck (337)
Xian-Janssen
GSK (258)
Serono
Johnson & Johnson (192)
Pfizer (176)
(193)
(316)
figure 9.0 Q3 BBS posts mentioning healthcare / pharmaceutical companies
source: CIC health IWOM data (July - Sept. 2006)
figure 10.0 Q3 BBS postings mentioning products / medicines
Pegasys (265)
Heptodin (218)
Tylenol (119)
Gleevec (116)
Sporanox (106)
Crestor (99)
Iressa (97)
Diovan (90)
Tylenol Cold (73)
Seretide (66)
Rebif (60)
Plavix (60)
Ketosteril (60)
Hyzaar (49)
source: CIC health IWOM data (July - Sept. 2006)
6
Word of Health: China
In many cases, “netizens” were not sure
how to correctly use medicine, and were
looking to consult with medical profession-
als online. See figure 8.0 for an example of
such a post. Discussion also hit on the topic
of medicine pricing, and where and how to
get medicine inexpensively. See figure 11.0
for examples of such posts.
Disease / sickness — Discussion in this area
was extensive. Of all disease areas men-
tioned, respiratory ailments received the
most postings (47,135), with cancer
(44,667) and hepatitis (36,764) following
closely behind. Within these disease areas,
“netizens” asked detailed questions about
treatment, medicine, prevention, and per-
sonal experience.
In some cases, entire Web sites have been
established as repositories of doctor and
user-generated disease information. These
sites have BBS forums for “netizens” to
exchange experiences, and include separate
sections where medical professionals field
questions. See figure 12.0 for Q3 BBS posts
mentioning disease / sickness areas.
Word of Health: China featured disease
area: oncology (cancer)
Each edition of Word of Health: China will
highlight a single disease / treatment area.
The focus of this edition is on oncology
(cancer).
Cancer types
Among types of cancers discussed, leukemia
and breast, lung, stomach, and pancreatic
cancers received the most posts during Q3.
See figure 13.0 for more information.
The Pink Ribbon Breast Cancer Prevention
Promotion, launched in Q3, helped drive
figure 11.0
Post: “Where can I buy cheap Pegasys in Hubei province? How much does it cost now?” source: www.healthbbs.net Post: “I often buy Heptodin together with other drugs. I found a Web site selling at wholesale prices. Please have a look if you’re interested in buying...prices are the low-est in China.” source: www.healthbbs.net
figure 12.0 Q3 BBS postings mentioning disease / sickness areas
Respiratory (47,135)
Cancer (44,667)
Hepatitis (36,764)
Central Nervous (18,053)
Gastrointestinal (11,276)
Cardiovascular (9,898)
Diabetes (9,884)
Skin (9,705)
Arthritis (8,188)
Kidney & Urology (6,596)
Osteoporosis (3,984)
Bacterial Infection (2,664)
source: CIC health IWOM data (July - Sept. 2006)
figure 13.0 Q3 BBS posts mentioning cancer types
Breast (3,600)
Lung (2,832)
Stomach (2,288)
Leukemia (1,882)
Pancreatic (563)
source: CIC health IWOM data (July—Sept. 2006)
7
Word of Health: China
online breast cancer discussion. The Pink
Ribbon Group now has a dedicated Web
site (www.fsdbl.cn) for breast cancer,
which hosts a BBS forum and user blogs
(475 bloggers, dozens of new posts daily).
Additionally, PRB has its own QQ number,
which allows “netizens” to chat via instant
messenging software with PRB breast can-
cer experts. See figure 14.0 for examples of
cancer posts.
Cancer medication
A variety of companies and medicines were
discussed on cancer BBS forums. Astra-
Zeneca, Novartis, and Roche were the
company names most mentioned on these
forums, with Iressa, Gleevec, and Tarceva
being the most mentioned cancer medica-
tions. See figures 15.0 and 16.0 for com-
plete listings of mentions, and figure 17.0
for an example of a related post.
figure 17.0
Post: “...Novartis has six cancer drugs on the China market; Swiss Roche has five cancer drugs. Bristol Myers Squibb has more than ten new cancer drugs...”
source: www.iiyi.com
figure 14.0
Post: “I am experiencing breast pain again, accompa-nied by transparent discharges. After the discharges, the pain stops. To all the experts out there, what’s going on? How should this be treated?”
source: club.health.sohu.com
Post: “With a bone marrow transplant in 2003, can leukemia be cured completely? If it can’t be cured, should it still be treated with medicine? How many kinds of leukemia are incurable? Should it be consid-ered cured after several years of remission?” source: club.health.sohu.com
figure 15.0 Q3 BBS posts mentioning company name and cancer
AstraZeneca (73)
Novartis (55)
Roche (45)
Sanofi-Aventis (15)
Bristol Myers Squibb (12)
Merck (12)
Pfizer (10)
Astellas Pharma (7)
Johnson & Johnson (3)
source: CIC health IWOM data (July - Sept. 2006)
figure 16.0 Q3 BBS posts mentioning drug name and cancer
Iressa (50)
Gleevec (26)
Tarceva (19)
Herceptin (18)
Taxotere (15)
Diovan (14)
Crestor (13)
TAXOL (8)
Mabthera (6)
source: CIC health IWOM data (July - Sept. 2006)
8
Word of Health: China
Cancer treatment
Surgery is overwhelmingly discussed as the
most common cancer treatment. Tradi-
tional Chinese medicine (TCM) and West-
ern medicine were also heavily discussed as
treatment options. See figure 18.0 for BBS
mentions of different treatments.
Cancer prevention
Within cancer prevention BBS posts,
“netizens” mostly discussed dietary habits
and specific foods, such as tea and bean
products, as most effective in warding off
cancer. See figure 19.0 for examples of such
posts.
Key cancer e-fluencers
Using CIC’s proprietary software and proc-
esses, Word of Health: China is able to sys-
tematically identify the user names of indi-
vidual e-fluencers participating in cancer-
related online discussions. No private or
personally identifiable information was col-
lected during the research. These people
are patients, medical professionals, and eve-
ryday people motivated by their passion for
the topic. They are the most informed,
most connected, and most influential par-
ticipants in the world of cancer IWOM.
“Samar” (online screen name) is a top can-
cer e-fluencer on www.DXY.cn, and an
ultrasonic expert. He has a history of post-
ing interesting cancer cases for discussion
among doctors in the DXY.cn online cancer
community. 507 of his posts in Q3 men-
tioned cancer, the most of any poster in the
forum. See figure 20.0 for examples of his
posts.
figure 19.0
Post: “Research has proven that teas, such as green tea, red tea, black tea, flower tea, jasmine tea, etc. help in keeping people cancer free.”
source: bbs.health.163.com
Post: “Bean products can be effective in preventing breast cancer…” source: bbs.91.cn
figure 20.0
Post: “This case is an example of bile duct cell cancer...I think particular attention needs to be paid to the struc-ture of the tumor.”
source: club.health.sohu.com
Post: “This seems like typical fibroadenoma, but the medical history and CDFI both indicate breast cancer. You should consider breast cancer, but no matter what it is, surgery is probably the only option.” source: club.health.sohu.com
Radiation (11)
Immunotherapy (63)
Gene (65)
Hormone (88)
Chemotherapy (157)
Medicinal (505)
Alternative* (841)
Surgery (1906)
figure 18.0 Q3 posts mentioning treatment options
* includes traditional Chinese medicine, vitamins, diet management, etc.
source: CIC health IWOM data (July - Sept. 2006)
9
Word of Health: China
“道可道非常道” (Dao Ke Dao Fei Chang
Dao — online screen name) is another e-
fluencer on www.DXY.cn. As a young doc-
tor passionate about sharing difficult cancer
cases and information with others, his post-
ings have become destinations for many
“netizens” seeking objective discussion and
accurate, trustworthy medical counsel. See
figure 21.0 for an example of his posts.
“肿瘤博士”(Tumor Doctor — online
screen name) is a well-established tradi-
tional Chinese medicine doctor specializing
in oncology. He is also a top cancer e-
fluencer on Soho’s healthcare forum
(www.club.health.sohu.com), answering
“netizens’” tumor-related questions. 481 of
his posts mentioned cancer in Q3. See fig-
ure 22.0 for examples of his posts.
Complete listings of cancer e-fluencers and
the BBS forums in which they participate
are available in specialized reports.
Other notable online healthcare and
pharmaceutical discussions during Q3
General medicine safety, traditional Chinese
medicine, and online diagnosis generated a
significant amount of online discussion dur-
ing the July to September (Q3) period. In
brief:
Chinese “netizens” are raising questions
about the integrity and authenticity of the
drugs / medicine produced by local Chinese
pharmaceutical companies. See figure 23.0
for an example post.
Recently published articles about the abol-
ishment of traditional Chinese medicine and
methods have been met with sharp criti-
cism online from academics and the general
“netizen” public. See figure 24.0 for an ex-
ample post.
“Netizens” have seized on the convenient,
time-saving nature of online diagnosis, and
are driving its increasing implementation.
Certain hospitals have joined the conversa-
tion and openly offer this kind of service.
See figure 25.0 for an example post.
figure 22.0
Post: “The patient is advanced in age and has late-stage cancer...it may be caused by weak gastroenteritic function. If there is no abdominal fluid, the patient should eat soft or liquid food and avoid “cold” medi-cine if taking traditional Chinese medicine.”
source: club.health.sohu.com
Post: “From the information you supplied, it seems there is only a small chance it’s a sarcoma. You can use Chinese traditional medicine to treat it.” source: club.health.sohu.com
figure 23.0
Post: “What’s wrong with Chinese pharmaceutical manufacturers? Have they all banded together to manufacture fake drugs? The bigger question is who dares to use medicine manufactured by these local companies?”
source: blog.sina.com.cn
figure 24.0
Post: “It’s a good idea to combine Western medicine with Chinese medicine. But the thought of wiping out traditional Chinese medicine is awful.”
source: bbs.news.tom.com
figure 25.0
Post: “Our hospital offers online diagnosis and consul-tation. Hope we can be of help to everyone. Please add our screen name: Velvet.”
source: forum.taobao.com
figure 21.0
Post: “The patient is advanced in age. The initial test results should be reconsidered...for older patients, tests need to be scrutinized.” source: www.dxy.cn
10
Word of Health: China
Insights & Actionable Conclusions
Why is Internet Word of Mouth important to healthcare and pharmaceutical companies?
Five things healthcare and pharmaceutical companies can do “right away”
to incorporate IWOM into their communications campaigns
Five DON’Ts when incorporating IWOM into communications campaigns
11
Word of Health: China
• In line with the shift from “vertical” to “horizontal” conversations, the world of corpo-
rate communications is now populated with a multitude of stakeholders, all of whom are
making their online presence in China increasingly known through IWOM platforms such
as BBS forums and blogs. Simply put, companies need to pay attention to IWOM to bet-
ter understand the concerns and needs of stakeholders newly empowered by online so-
cial media.
• Companies need to recognize that corporate image and product reputation can be im-
pacted by anyone at any time on the Internet through IWOM platforms such as BBS fo-
rums and blogs.
• Companies need to reach stakeholders “where they live” (in this case, the blogging / BBS
community). Strategic public relations / communications campaigns must incorporate
IWOM engagement to ensure they are comprehensive and successful.
• Companies need to recognize the emergence of a new issues / crises model in China.
Issues / Crises were previously born in mainstream media — in a top-down, vertical fash-
ion. The opposite is now true. Issues / Crises routinely first garner the attention of mil-
lions of “netizens” on IWOM platforms before ever making their way onto television
screens or newspaper front pages. With Internet usage on the rise and the popularity of
IWOM platforms growing, companies will be increasingly challenged in their management
of real and bogus issues / crises online in China.
• Edelman research* shows that key Chinese stakeholders rate corporate senior leadership
as the “most trustworthy and believable source” for information about a company.
IWOM provides new platforms for senior leadership to position companies and drive
corporate reputations among an increasingly influential and active audience of stake-
holders.
• While companies are not yet extensively discussed in IWOM, there is an incredible thirst
for accurate, objective, and trustworthy information within healthcare / pharmaceutical
IWOM. This thirst is not being quenched by traditional media channels. There is a signifi-
cant opportunity for healthcare / pharmaceutical companies to leverage IWOM in their
strategic communications campaigns to better engage, educate, and inform patients, po-
tential patients, and the general public.
Why is Internet Word of Mouth important to
healthcare and pharmaceutical companies?
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* 2006 Edelman Asia Pacific Stakeholder Research
Word of Health: China
Five things healthcare and pharmaceutical companies can do “right away”
to incorporate IWOM into their communications campaigns
Five DON’Ts when incorporating IWOM into communications campaigns
• Don’t spam. Contacting e-fluencers with
anonymous emails or private messages
containing greetings such as “Dear blog-
ger,” goes against the grain of authentic-
ity and dialogue that underpins online
social media. Instead, personalize com-
munications using e-fluencers’ names,
and referencing specific content they
have written.
• Don’t pay for coverage or offer under-
the-table incentives. Instead, offer what
e-fluencers desire most: unique informa-
tion and recognition.
• Don’t shill. Posting obviously commer-
cial or biased messages is contrary to
the non-commercial nature of social
media, and will be opposed with passion.
Instead, contribute to the conversation
with content that will be of genuine inter-
est to the community.
• Don’t pretend to be a consumer. Instead,
listen to the conversation so that you can
learn more about your consumers and
their concerns. After careful consideration,
you may choose to participate in the com-
munity with thoughtful contributions.
• Don’t feel like you have to talk in order to
participate. Instead, consider engaging
communities in other ways, including spon-
sorship, advertising, or support for events
that allow the community to meet offline.
• Systematically track top blogs and BBS
forums to listen to and learn about key
issues of interest surrounding disease
areas relevant to the company or its
brand / products.
• Identify e-fluencers on blogs and BBS
forums and seek to establish a transpar-
ent relationship with them. Provide
them with disease and treatment infor-
mation, and engage them in brand and
communications activities as appropri-
ate.
• Encourage brand physicians (M.D. cre-
dentials) to blog or host BBS forums
about disease, drugs, and / or treatment.
The goal is to “have a voice” in the
healthcare / pharmaceutical IWOM
space. Make sure brand physicians are
transparent about their identity and have
a deep knowledge of their audience — the
online healthcare / pharmaceutical commu-
nity. Companies can also look to partici-
pate in the community by sponsoring cus-
tomized BBS forums or Web sites dedi-
cated to providing credible information to
“netizens” about a particular disease or
treatment area.
• Encourage doctors and KOLs in related
therapeutic areas to blog or host a BBS
forum, helping to ensure patient and con-
sumer populations are well informed
about diseases and treatments. With such
communications, being aware of related
legal, liability, and corporate policies is
essential.
• Evaluate online marketing strategy to en-
sure marketing dollars are spent where
most online conversations occur.
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Word of Health: China
About Edelman China Edelman China, which became one of the first multinational public relations firms to enter China in 1994, is a subsidiary of Edelman Worldwide. The world's largest independent public relations con-sultancy, Edelman has more than 46 offices and 2,500 employees in 39 countries. Headquartered in Shanghai, Edelman China is one of the leading international public relations firms in the China mar-ket. The firm has additional offices in Beijing, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, and Taipei, and an affiliate network of agencies located in key second- and third-tier cities. With a staff of more than 160 Chi-nese and expatriate professional consultants, Edelman China provides local and international com-munications solutions to a diverse portfolio of domestic and foreign multinational clients. Edelman China's main areas of expertise include corporate, financial / transactional, crisis / issues manage-ment, government relations / public affairs, healthcare / pharmaceutical, consumer / marketing, busi-ness-to-business (B2B) marketing, and information technology communications. Visit www.edelman.com or www.edelmanapac.com for more information.
About CIC CIC is the leading Internet Word of Mouth (IWOM) research and consulting firm in China. CIC helps its clients make sense of the buzz found on Chinese blogs, BBS forums, and other social media channels using proprietary text mining technology developed specifically for the Chinese language. With sensitivity toward marketing, market research, media planning, public relations, and product development, CIC’s team of social media analysts provide actionable insights for a stable of Fortune 500 retainer clients in China and around the world. CIC was founded in 2003 by a team of local and international professionals with experience in the Chinese public relations, market research, and brand consulting industries. Visit www.cicdata.com or www.seeisee.com for more information.
For more details about Word of Health: China, or to inquire about in-depth or specialized health-care / pharmaceutical IWOM reports, please contact: Mr. Adam J. Schokora - 石灵杰 Edelman [email protected] (86) (021) 6289 2929 ext. 890
Ms. Daisy Zhang - 张伟 CIC [email protected] (86) (021) 5237 3860/61/62/63 ext. 866
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