Matt Lowe presented at the meeting, and did exactly that. Sure he left out the financial side of things, and anything really sensitive in the strategy, but he showed us what he did, how it all fit together, and even KPIs and learnings. He told us about each different aspect of his campaign, without arming Grunenthal competitors with anything potentially damaging, demonstrating you can share your approach and success without giving anything confidential away.

The following day I was at the PM awards. 17 categories, 4 or 5 shortlisted in each – even allowing for repetitions there must have been over 70 pieces of work shown. And yet I can safely say that after two hours of award presentations, seeing image after image pass over the screen, I am none the wiser about what anyone actually did. I saw some nice pictures, and there’s clearly some creative flair coming out of lots of the agencies represented, but I find it hard to really appreciate a piece of work if I have no idea of the context around it. What was the problem it was trying to solve? What was the behaviour change it was designed to achieve? Even, what on earth was it, given how hard it is to tell from a screen shot what the digital entries actually were? (Incidentally, the PMs tweeted at me yesterday saying they will take the feedback on board for next year, so fingers-crossed we’ll see things get a little more enlightening.)

In no way is this about spying – I’m not at these events to pick up other people’s ideas and resell them as my own. But I do think that one of the ways that industries progress is by example, and as an industry that has been moaning for years about being ‘left behind’ the consumer world, shouldn’t we help each other out a bit? Let’s take an example from open source developers, whose default position is to share code. Once something has been learnt or done, they don’t leave everyone else to start from scratch, because that’s not how a group of people move on – and it’s not how an industry moves on.

So what does an Interactive Developer do? I have been asked this question many times, and have given a plethora of different answers – each greeted with puzzled looks and nods pretending to understand. During working hours we find ourselves obsessing over objects, functions, arrays, patterns and api’s – losing ourselves in our own world, which can only be assimilated to the digital worlds depicted in films such as Tron and The Matrix. Hours can seem like minutes and before you know it, you are awakened and transported back to your desk, and it’s your turn to make the next round of tea (time for tea!? eBee Gemma will be pleased). The simplest answer to what I do is: ‘computer programming’, but that is a very open-ended answer because there are many types of programmers.

It’s at this point I should introduce myself, I’m Will – Senior Interactive Developer and ‘newBee’ here at eBee. I graduated with a degree in Software Systems for the Arts and Media back in the year 2000, and have worked for numerous digital agencies – for brands covering automotive, electronics, leisure, retail and pharmaceutical. I first entered the digital Pharma/Healthcare arena back in 2005 and have since worked with more medical and healthcare brands than I can remember, spanning a similar number of therapy areas. This has consisted of developing everything from websites and online portals, to interactive kiosks, detail aids, educational games, and more recently iPhone/iPad apps and interactive immersive environments. A large part of this work has been focused on international conferences and events and I have had the privilege of travelling to most corners of the globe to install and support the applications I have produced. This has served not only as great experience, but has offered me unique insights in to the world of engaging with HCP’s both face to face and within digital media.

The word ‘engage’ is crucial to me in defining my role as an Interactive Developer. To engage a user through efficient Human-computer interaction can be a complex science. However, a key point to note is that in this day and age there are increasing numbers of competitors seeking user engagement. The key to success lies in tactical engagement with innovative solutions. This is where the Interactive Developer comes in. Our role is to develop solutions (through insight, planning and programming) to engage users with creative solutions that stand out from the crowd, but also effectively convey key messaging to the target audience.

Today we are being presented with increasing innovations in technology, especially in the form of the so-called smart devices. Mobile Phones, Tablets and more recently televisions are becoming known as ‘smart’. We can interact with them at increasingly higher levels, and users are becoming more familiar with the techniques used to engage with these devices. The way people interact with these devices can make or break the success of the product. From touchscreens, to gesture control – and even to mind control, as more new technology is released, so too the challenge for interactive developers increases and our thirst for new knowledge is partially quenched – until the next release or update. This is a never-ending spiral of constant learning, development and deployment. I can’t wait to see what the future holds for technology and in turn, my role in working with future innovations. As I started this blog post, it’s an interesting time to be an Interactive Developer…

What follows is not an eloquent blog. More the stories and lessons that stood out to me over the two conference days…..

1. A wake up call to us agencies from GSK’s experience working with digital specialists. Partnering with digital specialists in healthcare doesn’t work unless they are specialists in healthcare too.

2. Pfizer’s admirable experience working through their corporate Facebook hacking episode with planning and honesty. Big respect to be live again within the space of a night!

3. Boehringer Ingelheim’s charm and humanity with their handling of commenting and moderation in social media “Help us to keep this wall in interesting by actively contributing in the spirit it’s intended for but please respect the following otherwise our lawyers will be mad at us”

4. Boehringer, again, pioneering the use of cloud computing to build niche social communities. Particularly cool that this uses free technology.

5. The potential of social learning highlighted by Doctors.net. This got me really excited. Education always does. It brings out the ex-teacher in me. The concept has huge potential for advocacy, influence and public disease awareness. We look forward to trying it out.

6. Language processing of patient blogs presented by Prism Ideas. Is this the answer for pure and perfect qualitative research to develop patient insights?

Thanks all for the inspiration and discussion. See you soon.

The Digital Health Exhibit floor at CES this year. Source: http://digitalhealthsummit.com

In revealing the kind of tech that’s likely to hit the highstreets over the next few years, we get a glimpse of what our audience will be using, and by turn, the ways we can interact with them in a healthcare marketing setting. CES also features a dedicated Digital Health Summit.

This year offered proof, if you ever needed it, that Microsoft read the eBee blog. For, as I speculated in my blog last year Of Mice, Men and Motion Input – What’s Next for Healthcare Apps?, Kinect is coming to the PC. Speaking at the popular Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in LA, Microsoft CEO Steve Balmer declared: “We are just getting started, it’s going to be amazing”.

The motion tracking tech – already hugely popular on the Xbox games console – has the potential to shake up how we interact with computers and break the half century rule of the mouse as peripheral of choice.

Any change in interface creates new opportunities in healthcare. Just look at the use of touchpads with reps, or the success clinical mobile apps. While it’s hard to predict how this change will manifest with motion sensing, it seems fair to say Kinect PC – which will also involve voice commands – is likely to make PC’s more practical in clinical environments. The technology will also open the door to more innovative healthcare tools – for example measuring the size and shape of patients or, recording gait.

Kinect isn’t the only new interface announced at CES this year. Swedish firm Tobii unveiled Gaze – an eye-tracking interface for PCs. Again this has the potential break the rule of the mouse, as well as applications for disabled people. However, it looks like it will be in for some stiff competition from Microsoft, who will doubtless tailor the next version of Windows to make the most of Kinect.

There were some remarkable medical technology announcements too. The Ion Proton Genetic Sequencer – the size of a laser printer – is able to sequence an entire human genome in a few hours. Bringing genetic sequencing to “the masses” (by which I mean more hospitals and insurance companies) opens the door to a new era of medicine. Genetic typing could eventually allow for therapies tailored to an individual and – perhaps more importantly –a better understanding and emphasis on the prevention of diseases that patients are genetically at risk of.

On a more consumer-targeted note, Ford revealed its in-vehicle voice activated media and phone interface, Sync. As well as offering hands-free calls, media and navigation, by synching with your mobile, the technology has potential in health applications.

Some of the things Ford are working on include in-car voice coaching and safety questions for diabetics. Other potential health applications are plotting routes to avoid pollen or smog levels for drivers with allergy. The company also plans a stress monitoring device in car seats that works by detecting heartbeats.

The Digital Health Summit taking place at CES featured a raft of other medical devices, from brainwave monitoring headbands, to iPhone peripheries that measure blood sugar or blood pressure. And that’s not even mentioning the plethora of innovative mobile wellness apps. I’ll cover these in more detail in part 2 of the ‘CES and healthcare roundup’, coming soon.

So first things first. Hi – I’m Jonathan. I’ve been working at eBee as a Senior Interface Developer, for approximately 41 office hours now. I head up the front-end development team and will be responsible for ensuring that we continue to use not just the latest technologies, but the right technologies in innovative ways to deliver websites and applications that significantly enhance our clients communications, to the quality standards that our clients deserve and the quality that we internally demand.

I come from a creative agency background, and have worked on campaign sites and global dotComs for some of the worlds leading brands including the likes of Sony Ericsson, Yamaha, L’Oreal and MTV.

As an interface development specialist, my core focus is to ensure apps and websites behave and function in a slick, cohesive way, with performance, accessibility, user interaction and experience at the heart of everything I do. I achieve this with by using a multitude of different technologies, but most prominently (X)HTML(5), JavaScript and CSS3.

I love solving problems and applying smart solutions to both simple and more challenging conundrums.

When not working I split my time between running around hockey and football pitches, making ridiculous poses for photos like the above, heading to the gym, working on my own personal web projects, checking out the latest films, playing Minecraft / Starcraft2 and catching up on sleep.

Should you wish to say ‘Hello’, you can contact me directly at: jonathan.andrew[at]ebeehealth.com

I was ever so excited to join the lot – haven’t seen them for over two months, too busy nursing my baby boy. Gosh I missed them all.

This year they were facing a mysterious adventure up in the mountains of Scotland. A mighty storm, airport almost shut and closed roads will not stop the bees from getting into a charming party house, somewhere where no mobile network has gone before and all around are snowed mountains peaks, ancient trees and one lock too. Roaring fire and plenty of local whisky will warm the hearts of the tired bees who somewhat got lost trying to make it to the house after a long journey and a couple of wrong turns.

The morning brought snow with it and off we went on a treasure hunt mission. The Russian team didn’t play it fair but since that didn’t help them winning its OK. The local amateur dramatics trio asked our help to solve a mysterious murder. All the bees felt Wyndham had something to do with it…

Short break and now to some creative flare. The bees prepared wonderful entries to a birthday greeting competition for Hive, celebrating its 4th birthday this Christmas. All entries captured a moment that reflected Hive somehow, using a mobile device only. The results are nothing short of a great mix of funny, charming, witty greetings. The winner was voted and the hungry bees carried on celebrating their Christmas with a wonderful meal and dancing till morning.

Tim’s speech summed it all nicely. It’s the team work and the individual talents that makes Hive and eBee to what they are and what a treat that was to celebrate yet another productive year together.

Merry Xmas and a happy new year. May 2012 bring good fortune to all the bees.

If you love digital, get healthcare, and have the skills and drive it takes to be an Account Manager, we’d love to hear from you. As an Account Manager at eBee, you will be responsible for driving a range of different projects (reporting to a Director or Account Director) and producing progressive, insight-based, highly creative digital assets. You will be expected to work hard, contribute to a fun and friendly environment, and always ask if there’s a better way.

If you think eBee is for you and you’re for eBee, give me a bell or drop me a email on the contact details below.

Contact Emma

Looking forward to meeting you.

Appsworld Europe

The term app seems to have taken on a new meaning since the advent of the iTunes App store. When I first started fiddling around with computing everything was a desktop app. Remember the painful wait of a small .exe taking forever to load install off a floppy disc? Then along came the Internet in the mid 90′s and applications moved from the desktop to web-based sitting on someone’s bandwidth limited server, then into the ethereal cloud on virtualised servers in some mysterious location. Then suddenly the Apple App Store reintroduced the term app and it’s the hot new buzzword. So what have we all been developing before the term “app” became hip? Anyway, enough of my rant…

So as users, what are we used to from our mobile web experience? Browsing sites that were built for web but render poorly on our small hand-held screen; web sites that render with specific mobile CSS to give us better usability; and now native apps built to take advantage of our particular hand set’s functionality like Windows Home Screen notifications, or Blackberry’s Back key. And here-in lies the first challenge of the app developer. How do we provide an engaging and pleasant user experience to our audience members? Well, we could develop a bespoke application for each platform, as well as a mobile web site, and a standard web application. If we have endless time and budget! In reality we need to do this quickly, cheaply and with the widest reach.

Web developers (or is that app developer? Or just developer?) have always faced the problem of cross browser and cross platform compatibility, but that was generally only limited to Mac, PC and Unix/Linux, and their array of web browsers. But now we have iOS, Android, bada, Symbian, and a plethora of others to contend with.

In search of some advice, I went to listen to a presentation from Enough on this topic entitled the Cross Platform Lie. It addressed the common problem of trying to develop something that will work across multiple devices. There are multiple suggestion of how to do this, each with their requisite pros and cons.

Firstly, you need to define a strategy taking into account the differences between platforms. These boil down to…

• Programming language – what is the native programming language for each device.
• Multi-tasking different across platforms – some mobile processors handle multi-tasking and some do not.
• Battery Consumption – We don’t want to drain user’s batteries.
• In app purchase – how do you buy an item directly from the application (probably not that relevant for eBee).
• In app advertising – different platforms use different advertising serving engines. (Again, hopefully not relevant for eBee).
• Push notifications – how do you notify users with Push Notifications? Do you want to allow or deny this?
• UI and UX – different platforms have different interfaces for looking up data and have different navigation keys.

 
Then, once you’ve defined a strategy, how are you going to develop?

• Native development – build a dedicated application for each platform. Obviously the best user experience, and also the most labour intensive.
• Asset Sharing – Still involves Native development, but data structures, algorithms, UI and design can be shared across platforms.
• Player and virtual machine wrappers – A more generic build that wraps the standard application for deployment to different platforms. This is not going to take advantage of any features specific to that handset.
• Cross language compilation – The application is coded in one language and then transformed into platform specific code. This provides a simple way of deploying to many devices, but it not going to be as good as native development in terms of UI, performance or functionality.
• Pure Web apps in HTML5 – provide a web experience that is inferior to native applications and they won’t work off-line
• Hybrid web apps combine web and native applications in a web view – still a generic solution to what is a multifaceted problem.

The presentation raised lots of great points to consider, but there is no easy answer. Each project will require its own specific solution. But in my mind, if you have limited time, it’s going to be most appropriate to build in one language and deploy across as many platforms as possible. Or limit native development to one or two devices. Which led me on to the next presentation of HTML5.

I didn't realise that the cover for Oasis's Morning Glory was shot around the corner from our office!

HTML5 is being bandied around as the future, but the strength of this approach is the convergence of HTML, JavaScript and CSS, which gives it rich functionality. HTML5 extends the HTML4 language, with a few extra features that make it immensely more powerful, like the <canvas> tag that allows rendering of images and videos, and the introduction of coded semantic web. Basically this means that instead of just writing code with the only purpose of being purely functional, you define areas of code for their purpose or meaning, e.g. defining which areas are the navigation, or header and footer.

So the idea would be to build an application in HTML5 which would the run in a more modern browser, and then deploy it through a cross language compilation. It depends on the specifics of the projects, and the most obvious problem is that the HTML5 approach is generally a blanket approach, that doesn’t take advantage of the particular device’s features and keys. And since older browsers don’t support HTML5, backwards compatibility will be a problem.

But HTML5 is definitely the future for web development, why not mobile as well? I’d like to see it take advantage of CSS4 and WebGL. If you’re unsure, check out html5rocks.com.

There were some interesting stall and plenty of suppliers, a few other presentations that I caught on a similar vein, and a funky presentation from Layar on Augmented Reality.

I love AR, and it’s a nifty little tool. I even downloaded an app that shows your were classic album covers were photographed including Oasis’s Morning Glory in Berwick Street, right near our offices! Hopefully we can use AR on a project again soon!

The PMEAs this year had a level of gravitas that was a cut above some of the other awards nights we have attended this year. Perhaps it’s because of the importance put on these awards, with the evaluation criteria so stringently assessed against Marketing Effectiveness.

So we were honoured to win two awards at the PMEAs last week. Firstly, with GSK for our work on Paper to Patient to win Best Digital and secondly with Boehringer Ingelheim for our work on the Flomax Relief launch to win Best Customer Focus for Pharmacists. For us at eBee, apart from feeling ridiculously proud of everyone involved, we’re really excited to see the digital categories seeing such momentum.  Some of these campaigns are really moving the boundaries forward – we particularly love Janssen’s Psoriasis 360 campaign and were glad to see that awesome campaign pick up some well-deserved recognition too. 

All in all, it was a great night, and fantastic to be able to celebrate with the teams that make this happen. A

big thank you to Tom at Teva, Jill at Servier, Shaz and Jake at Baxter and Lauren, James, Stephanie and Jemima at GSK for all your support.

See you next year!