New Integrated Software for Biologists

Posted on April 26, 2012 by Neal Moawed

Oftentimes scientists are slowed down by software that isn’t intuitive or localized. Taking the first step to solve this problem, PerkinElmer Inc. launched a new informatics suite designed to help bypass these difficulties. The Ensemble for Biology platform is “an integrated suite of informatics solutions that focuses on the complex and varied needs of biological research,” as classified by the company’s website.

The software replaces Excel as a data input software, and offers its own data processing environment by reducing the necessity of spreadsheet experts. Useful formulae and data analysis tasks specific to biological sciences are built into the software. All of the data is also stored in a collaborative manner, allowing multiple users to edit data at different stages of the workflow. Ultimately, Ensemble for Biology could prove to be crucial software for laboratories in the fast paced research environment we live in. To find out more about the software, you can download a White Paper highlighting the software here.

Recent Increase in Video at Scientific Conferences

Posted on March 23, 2012 by Matthew Kramer

JoVE attends around 30 conferences annually across life sciences and medicine. These conferences range from small, focused meetings to larger society conferences. Over the past three years, one of the most notable trends has been an increase in the use of video conference-wide. This ranges from the exhibitors to the lecturers and now even poster presenters.

Not every focus area has been as quick to adapt to the use of video content. Medical conferences, particularly in the field of cardiology, seem to be on the forefront of its use. Live cases stream via satellite into most conference lectures; every company uses an MOA (mechanism of action) with 3D animation or explanations at the booth. Some companies even build media theaters to educate physicians in 3D about the background on a disease, which include 3D glasses and bucket seats— the only thing missing is the popcorn.

While video in the medical field has been used for some time, there has been a significant increase in the use of video by companies and researchers presenting products and information at conferences as well. Even researchers themselves at conferences have been putting iPads with videos on their posters and incorporating clips into their talks.

JoVE Video being used to educate scientists at PittCon 2012

At Pittcon 2012, I asked some of the companies what results they saw form adding video to the booth. Primarily the response was that video attracts people to the booth. Rather than speak to someone scientists prefer to gather information on what is being presented and decide if they are interested in spending time learning about the technology. Video provides a means to quickly educate a passerby about complex technology, services or procedures.

Major factors that play into increased video use are the costs associated with development and display of media has fallen drastically in the past few years. The life sciences and medical fields typically lag behind other industries in innovative communication methods, but lessons from other industry’s use of media has proven its worth. We are sure to see a continued increase in its use in the future.

To learn more about applications with JoVE video or develop video with us, visit: http://industry.jove.com

To produce a “Funny” or “Technical” video?

Posted on February 20, 2012 by Matthew Kramer

When looking at the types of video that are effective we find two main categories. Funny videos which are either creative or humorous in nature and technical videos.

Luckily a survey of over 1200 scientists has been produced that can help us look at some of the key differences between the tow video types. Here are some of the key findings:

Funny videos generate more views overall. Humor and creativity were the two top factors in determining video “memorability”.
Scientists are more likely to contact a supplier after watching a technical video. Surveyed scientists were 34% likely to contact a company (phone or email) after watching a technical video vs only 22% from a funny video. Its notable that 86% of all follow up was done via email.
Source: Bioinformatics, 2009
Technical videos effect the opinions of a scientist of a company. In addition to having more influence on a scientist’s option, technical videos tend to influence that opinion more positively while funny videos have a more negative impact.
Conveying a clear message throughout the video funny or technical was the key factor that contributed to this “ effectiveness”.
Factual videos tend to be shared more often with frends or colleagues than funny videos at 42% and 36% respectively.
Scientists with over 15 years experience tend to prefer factual videos at a greater rate than those with less experience.

Taking some of these results into consideration, we can derive some actions that can help you ensure the success of your next video endeavor.

Define goals of your video; is this a branding or technical marketing activity?
Test different messaging and styles to find the most effective mix. Develop an appropriate mix of creative and technical video.
Understand your audience demographics, international markets may perceive messaging differently.

Visit http://industry.jove.com to learn more about producing and distributing your video.

Uses Beyond Publication for an Article in JoVE Medicine

Posted on January 31, 2012 by Matthew Kramer

When a JoVE article is published, its written manuscript and corresponding video content is stored by the National Library of Medicine and search site front ends such as PubMed and MEDLINE index the article. Beyond exposure through physicians’ traditional pathways for accessing content, a JoVE article’s corresponding video content can be useful for other applications.

Specifically looking at case reports and diagnostic procedures, physicians that author these articles have the rights to use both the text and video content for educational and even marketing purposes.

Case Presentations

JoVE authors can submit their published cases for presentation at medical conferences. JoVE will provide support to presenting authors to cut a version of their article amenable for presentation to your colleagues at your next conference. Video is more engaging and also more effectively and concisely conveys case information and your treatment paths.

Referral Marketing with Video

Video provides an excellent means to reach other physicians to highlight your

Jeff Hales Virginia Medical Center demonstrates his technique for Bronchial Thermoplasty, a treatment for severe asthma.

expertise in an efficient manner. Typically physician medical video is costly; authors of JoVE articles can post their videos without any additional costs.

The video procedure will credibly educate referring physicians on how the procedure is preformed, how the underlying technology works and cite center specific and clinical trial data in a manner that is peer-reviewed which other videos lack.

Institutional Promotion

While JoVE articles are not typically used for the general public due to the complexity of the data information, clips from JoVE articles can be used by the author’s institution to market the center’s expertise and accomplishments. JoVE video is filmed in HD and possesses sufficient quality for inclusion in high-quality media presentations to the public.

Clinical Trial Procedural Training

In the case of many multi-site clinical trials, there is a need for educating other physicians on the diagnostic or clinical procedure that is being performed. A JoVEarticle can reduce

Genotypic Inference of HIV-1 Tropism Using Population-based Sequencing of V3

Published article used in a global HIV clinical trials by ViiV Healthcare.

costs associated with training programs by eliminating or supplementing in-person training. An online video resource can be reviewed prior to procedures, this is helpful when preforming complex techniques long after completing training.

Medical Video Production and Publication

Posted on January 25, 2012 by Matthew Kramer

Following the same principals of providing transparency and reproducibility for experiments, JoVE created a Clinical and Translational Medicine publication that provides video documentation of clinical procedures.

JoVE Medicine publishes case reports by physicians that can include information on treatment qualifications, patent case history, diagnosis, treatment planning, discussion of complications and presentation of center-specific data or discussing of over arching multi-site clinical studies.

Duhamel, D. R., Hales, J. B. Bronchial Thermoplasty: A Novel Therapeutic Approach to Severe Asthma. J. Vis. Exp. (45), e2428, DOI: 10.3791/2428 (2010).

Medical case reports published in JoVE do not follow the traditional work flow as experimental methods are documented, the primary reason being that you cannot peer-review a case before it has been documented. Instead JoVE’s MD script writers, work to outline expected steps in the procedure to film. The outline accompanies an introduction and discussion to be modified post procedure the day of filming.

During filming physicians are encouraged to verbally discuss important steps of the procedure. The amount physicians comment varies in each procedure. In general, physician narratives are much less frequent than in most live case presentations you may be familiar with at medical conferences. Post filming, authors are able to finalize their manuscripts on the case for editorial and peer-review.

In addition to work flow changes, JoVE has modified it’s format to overlay intraoperative images into the video. This is especially useful for procedures in areas like interventional cardiology which require fluoroscopic images and MRI, CT or Ultrasound scans to visualize what is really happening during a procedure.

With over 100 articles published in JoVE Medicine, JoVE is fast becoming the world’s largest producer of medical video content, in addition to already being the largest producer of video content documenting scientific experiments.

Relevant Links:

JoVE Medicine: http://www.jove.com/medicine

Author Submission: http://www.jove.com/authors

Medical Sponsorship: http://industry.jove.com

Developing a Video Strategy for Life Science Marketing

Posted on January 19, 2012 by Matthew Kramer

A video strategy acomplishes two primary goals, the first is to increase ROI on your video development. The second, to plan appropriate video resources are available for customers to receive information at every stage of interaction with the company, also represented by the “Cusomer Life Cycle” or “CLC.”

The first and most important step in strategy development begins with devining each step in your CLC as it pertains to your compnay or product. Video at various stages in the CLC require different formats, lengths and information tailored to your customers’ communication needs at that stage. Varying delivery platforms and technologies are also appropriate at varying stages.

Click here to view application ideas throughout the CLC

Awareness

In the first stages of contact, video communication need to grab attention and do so quickly. Efforts typically are in branding or extremely fast and efficient value propositions. The length of videos for awareness is typicality a maximum of 30 seconds.

Video types can inclue:

Video pre-rolls
Viral marketing videos
Corporate Communications

Interest

In this phase, communications become more detailed and technical. It’s interesting that greater than 78% of high technology purchasers listen to or view a webinar before purchase. Video length increases beyond 30 seconds as viewer interest builds.

Video formats include:

Product tours
Customer testimonials
Customer Produced Demos
And Webinars or Pod casts

Trial

In this stage conveying technical information is key. Scientists rate technical information as the most important factor in their purchasing process.

Video formats include:

Application-based learning
Case studies
Training materials
Product information
Detailed Webinars

Loyalty

After your customer purchases your product the work does not end. Companies that provide effective post-sale support benefit from increased customer loyalty and therefore repeat purchases. Videos may include:

Application-based support
Video user manuals

Boosting Video Development ROI

After taking inventory and identifying needs in each of these 4 stages. You can now develop your strategy. To boost ROI on a video development project you want to focus on creating video content that can be used throughout multiple stages of your customer life-cycle. Video can be edited down and you can re-purpose video content to other applications.

Take this example, a lengthy technical video with detailed information on the product, its use and customer interviews can be cut to serve purposes in every stage of the CLC. A 30 second technology overview clip or interview can be used in the awareness and interest phases.

Conclusions

A video strategy can help identify where video can aid your communications efforts in each stage of the CLC. A strategy can help guide video development to ensure maximum ROI and utility for your video content.

Producing a technical video is typically the best option for maximizing utility. Technical videos have the most content that can be applied to other stages in the CLC.

To watch a video presentation of video strategy development visit our video learning page.

Life Science Marketing Sees Increasing Demand for Web Video

Posted on January 12, 2012 by Matthew Kramer

Video is recognized for its powerful ability to influence decisions in every stage of interaction with a company. Video is considered 2^nd only to word of mouth in its ability to influence purchasing decisions.

As of 2009 greater than 80% of internet users watched web video. Over the past 17 years we have witnessed the emergence and decline of many types of media. Mediums such as FTP, Newsgroups, and peer-to-peer communications make up declining portions of traffic as a whole. Video presently accounts for greater than 61% of total internet traffic and continues to climb. By 2014 it is projected that greater than 90% of web traffic will account for video.

To highlight the importance of webvideo consider that more than 78% of scientists currently view web video. Video drives action by scientists in the form of referrals and click-throughs. When presented with video, 88% of scienstis took action as a result.

The life sciences typically lag other industries in the use of new marketing technologies. Only 39% of scientists recall ever seeing a video about a product they use in the lab, while over 70% preferred to learn about products in video. Web video presents itself as the future marketing to scientists, and we can take lessons learned by other industries and adapt them to our needs. (Bioinformatics LLC., 2009)

There is a strong and growing demand by scientists for web video. Video can provide an effective marketing tool that is versatile and can be used in numerous applications within your customer life cycle. Video is proven to engage current and prospective customers and provide an effective means of communicating complex information.

To learn more about video comunications and development, visit our marketing video learning page to see our presentation on “The Importance of Online Video.”

Why Do Scientists Publish?

Posted on January 11, 2012 by Matthew Kramer

Scientific marketing has been trending away from traditional marketing activities employed by other industries in the past 15 years. This has been driven either by regulations or the nature of researchers/physicians as an audience to demand evidence on marketing claims. To utilize and develop marketing using more credible resources, it is necessary to understand the role of peer-reviewed publishing.

History

Robert Hooke was the first curator of experiments for the Royal Society which published the first academic journal, “Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society” in 1665. Accompanying the emergence of scientific publishing was the radical acceleration of scientific progress, contributing to “The Renaissance.”

Particularly in the past 30 years, the number of journals and articles has increased rapidly,

Figure 1: R&D workforce and STM publishing companion industries.

responding the growing number of research scientists.

Magazine vs. Journal

The process of publishing an article begins with a key opinion leader author that writes an article. This article is sent to other key opinion leaders in the field for review. Reviewers typically ask questions, and for revisions from the author. After comments have been addressed the article can be accepted for publication by the journal.

A magazine is written and edited by journalists about science or scientists. Articles are commissioned by an editor. Its content is based on previously established knowledge or work. The audience for a magazine is a mix between scientists and the general public.

A journal is written by scientists typically about their own work. Articles are written on original research and new results or methods. The work is reviewed by peers in the scientific community with established records of publication and research. Peer-reviewed content is considered more trustworthy. Journal articles are archived in the National Library of Medicine (NLM) which is indexed and searchable online by PubMed. The audience drawn by a journal is typically only researchers and physicians.

What’s in it for the author?

Journal authors contribute to the overall body of knowledge available to the scientific community. Colleagues can then produce and expand on the knowledge the result is advancement of the overall field. Publication provides recognition within the field for the author and builds their reputation as a key opinion leader.

Authors are typically affiliated with a research institution, university or hospital. It is common for an institution to require journal publication for tenure, advancement or fund allocation. Government and private institutions that issue grants also base their awards on journal publications.

Conclusions

You should better understand the world of academic publishing. For a visual presentation of how peer-reviewed publications are developed this video is informative: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twogpmM-SfY.

Hopefully this clarifies why researchers are excited about utilizing peer-reviewed information and authoring publications.

To learn more visit us at: http://industry.jove.com

1990 vs. 2012— Changes in the STM publishing industry and their effects on scientific and medical marketing

Posted on January 10, 2012 by Matthew Kramer

In the past 22 years we have witnessed a major shift in scientific publishing. Changes in the way scientist’s access articles have a significant impact on the effectiveness of page advertisements and other forms of advertising in journals.

In 1990 researchers accessed information physically through their institutional library. Readers subscribed to journals which they physically read. In present day the majority of scientific articles are accessed online in PDF format. This development reduced the effectiveness of the traditional page advertisement in print.

Revenue breakdown of STM publishers 1990 vs. 2012

Online banner advertisements were adopted with the advent of the online article. The disadvantage to marketers; smaller presentation area, banner Ads are easily ignored. The drop in costs and effectiveness is reflected in the changing revenue breakdown of STM publishers, decreasing from 38% in 1990 to 12% in 2012, with continued decreasing trends.

Increase marketing effectiveness

As a result of fundamental changes in the way published information is being accessed, we need to make changes in marketing to avoid losing the attention of researchers. Journal articles are read and trusted by researchers. Journal articles are permanently available to scientists.

Companies which contribute content to the scientific community through article publication create “pull” resources with useful content, in contrast to the “push” advertisement. Scientists being intelligent people are quite good at evaluating marketing clams. Marketing messages and unsupported claims are quickly blocked out by scientists.

Creating published content

There are several routes that can be taken to produce published content. Content can be contributed by either authoring or co-authoring articles with an academic instruction. If your organization doesn’t have the expertise to author articles, preform applications with your product you can support the development of publications with educational or “sponsorship” grants. These grants can cover the costs of publication for academic authors. In some cases these grants cover travel fees and other costs associated with education.

JoVE Blog

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