Over the past few months, I have had the pleasure of meeting many interesting and innovative health marketers from around the world.  One of them is Ángel González, Founder & CEO of Ideagoras, a boutique marketing agency focusing on social technologies based in Madrid Spain.

González has been building a vibrant community of European health marketers.  He recently held a one-day conference focusing on social media in Spain.  He has also launched MyIdeagoras, an online community that has attracted nearly 150 members to date.

I asked González to tell us more about MyIdeagoras, his conference and the state of social media adoption in Europe.  His comments appear below.

In late October, you held a one-day conference focusing on how social technologies are being used for health and wellness in Europe. Why did you decide to produce this event?

In Spain, social media is a relatively unknown communications medium — especially in healthcare.

As a boutique agency focusing on social media marketing for health brands (which launched in January 09), part of our initial efforts have been focused on evangelizing about the great potential of social technologies for branding via real consumer and physician engagement.

The conference was designed to inform the European pharmaceutical community about the power of social technologies for health marketing and spread the word about our company.

What were the major topics/conclusions of the conference?

The conference focused on how the technology revolution and the collaborative Web are ushering in radical changes in how we have traditionally communicated about health issues.  In commercial (or brand-focused) communications we are moving from interruption to invitation.

Given this, companies have to be to open to allowing a (no longer passive) audience to “shape” the stories of their brands.  Wanted or not, this shift in power from companies to individuals is a growing reality in the healthcare arena.   Discussions involving brands and therapeutic options are taking place on the net.  And, these conversations are influencing brand equity – either adding value or destroying it.

Conference attendees benefited from compelling presentations by prominent research firms and companies.  Highlights of the conference included:

• Data from Comscore: In Spain, the consumption of healthcare information online has increased +230% during the last 15 months, far beyond the average rate of the European Union.  Despite this, none of the top 100 sites Spaniards visited to find healthcare info belong to pharmaceutical companies.
• Analysis from Forrester: Forrester discussed the ramifications of the Motrin Moms crisis and outlined its Social Technographics engagement platform
• Commentary from 23andMe: Chia Hwu, community manager at 23andMe, (speaking via remote video) talked about social media and community building

What are the major differences/similarities in how marketers are employing social technologies in Europe versus the United States?

As Thomas Friedman has observed: “The world is flat.”  Because of the Internet, we know that what is mainstream in the United States will be adopted in Europe sooner or later.

However, it’s worth saying that, when it comes to advertising and marketing trends, the US is at least two steps ahead of the EU.  Citizens of the EU and healthcare providers are increasingly using social media tools to gather and share information.  Pharmaceutical and other health companies operating in this part of the world must join in the conversation, despite their fears.

With direct to consumer advertising (DTC) banned in the EU, what lessons can pharmaceutical marketers in the U.S. draw from their European counterparts in terms of using digital technologies for educational and aspirational marketing initiatives?

Over the last decade we – marketers and agencies – have found ways to engage in unbranded DTC marketing activities while adhering to regulatory and legal requirements.  Marketers in the EU have developed and implemented many great campaigns in a number of therapeutic categories, including glaucoma, hepatitis, osteoporosis, allergies, multiple sclerosis and HIV.

In all of these campaigns, our aim was to simply generate greater awareness among the general public about specific diseases.  In every appeal, we would ask people to “see their doctor” for more information.  Then, patients would engage in conversations with physicians about appropriate treatments.

Up to now, we have relied on traditional mass media channels to communicate with consumers.  So, we don’t have a lot of case studies on the use of digital technologies for health education.  Currently, some of us are looking at how we can take advantage of social media technologies to get true engagement with our audiences and a much better return-on-investment.

Tell us about the growing IdeaGoras community. Why did you launch it and what are you seeking to achieve?

At IdeaGoras, we believe in the principle of “collective intelligence.”  The MyIdeagoras community is one way we are showcasing our commitment to building an open and participatory company.

The many are smarter than the few.  With MyIdeaGoras, we are building an open community where all those interested in social media and health care can share their thoughts, experiences and wisdom.

We launched MyIdeagoras in August and we currently have 132 members from all over the world – and counting!

Read More from Walking the Path:

1. Community and Conversation via Social Media in Europe: A Dialogue with #hcsmeu’s Founders (Part I)
2. Community and Conversation via Social Media in Europe: A Dialogue with #hcsmeu’s Founders (Part II)
3. Digital Technologies, Collaboration, Knowledge Exchange and Health: Why Impact Should Be the Ultimate ROI