As previously discussed on this blog and others, there has been quite a bit of discussion about the Johnson and Johnson meeting with bloggers earlier this month. However, nearly all of that discussion has focused on whether it was ethical for the bloggers to participate (I think it was).
Nobody has discussed J&J perspective. Stepping back and looking at this, it was either a waste of time or sheer brilliance. And since it was only one night (how much of time waste could it really be?), I’m leaning to brilliance.
J&J is the only one of the top drug companies to cut back on DTC advertising in the last year. Meanwhile, they launched a patient education movie called Innerstate. Then the blogger meeting. It’s no coincidence that J&J cuts back on major ad campaigns and is looking for other options.
The bloggers can discuss their own involvement (or lack thereof) all they want, but this was a shrewd move for J&J.
