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Monique Da Silva

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Executive Vice President, Head of North America Healthcare
New York
Posts: 8

A 22-year veteran of public relations and marketing, Monique works with healthcare companies to develop strategic and innovative communications programs that deliver unparalleled results.
 
With deep experience in the area of women’s health, Monique has worked on marketing programs targeted to women in the areas of maternal and infant health, reproductive health, neurological health, cardiac health and bone health. She provides strategic and creative counsel to clients and works closely with the account teams to ensure strategic alignment and superior implementation.

In addition to leading award-winning global and national programs in pharmaceutical and medical technology PR, she has deep experience leveraging traditional and non-traditional channels to reach physicians, hospital-based decision makers, policy makers, advocacy partners and patients.
 
Prior to joining Ogilvy PR, da Silva served as global healthcare director at MS&L Worldwide where she partnered with key offices in Europe and Asia to build their healthcare business and capabilities. Previously, she worked on the client side in marketing departments focused on mail order and direct marketing to women and families.
 

 

A New Way to Engage Mom

Oct 20

Category: Best Practices, Consumer, Technology, Trends & Behaviors

Moms are front and center at Ogilvy this week as we present new data about the impact of technology on families and how that changes the way we market to mothers. One surprising finding from the research conducted by Ogilvy and leading consumer insights company Communispace is that this impact is overwhelmingly positive – families who embrace technology also embrace life. But another interesting finding from the research suggests that instead of talking about how we market to mom, we should be talking about how we market to families.

The joint research study, “Tech Fast Forward: Plug in to see the brighter side of life,” takes a deep dive into the role technology plays in families’ lives today, exploring the mindset of tech-savvy moms, dads and kids, as they pave the way for what lies ahead for consumers and brands alike.

Read the rest of this entry »

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Independence at the Cost of Your Health

Jun 29

Category: Health, Research + Insights, Trends & Behaviors

Nearly half of U.S. women believe society values men’s health more than women’s health, according to a new survey commissioned by Ogilvy PR and conducted by TNS Global to understand Americans’ perspectives on women’s independence, specifically related to health.

At a time when women comprise nearly half of the workforce ( http://www.dol.gov/wb/stats/main.htm), are the majority at universities and are increasingly out earning their husbands (http://http://pewsocialtrends.org/), this new finding suggests that when it comes to personal well-being, women are still taking a back-seat to men.

My grandmother used to say that victory has little value if you don’t take the time to celebrate, and I wonder if in this case it is appropriate to say that victory has little value if you are not around or able to celebrate it.

The survey found that almost seven in 10 women (67%) say they put their family’s health needs ahead of their own. When money is tight, one in four women (26%) pay for others’ drug prescriptions instead of their own. More than one-third of employed women (35%) use most of their sick days for someone else and nearly one-quarter (24%) of all employed women feel like they are at a disadvantage because they are typically the one who uses sick days when a family member gets sick. This is especially true for moms with kids living in the household (40%).

And with the majority of women agreeing that their families rely on them to be in charge of health-related decisions (62%), it is not surprising that more than half of all women fear that if they become sick, their family will have difficulty managing everyday activities (56%).

The data suggest that a woman’s traditional role as caregiver from a health perspective has changed little despite all the progress that has been made inside and outside of the home. Many women may want to preserve this role — as a mom of three who believes strongly in the mantra that you are happier if you give more than you take in life, I am proud of my dual role as a working mother. However, I do believe that women need to use some of their newfound independence – most women feel more independent today than they did five years ago (64%) – to ensure that they carve out time and resources to take care of their own health.

Some other findings from the survey:

Women and Healthcare
· The majority of U.S. women (55%) are concerned that the most recent healthcare reform will slow the advancement of women’s health.
· Many women think that until they are better represented in government (50%), become leaders in the pharmaceutical industry (47%), or start to enter the medical field as doctors or surgeons (44%), women’s health will not be a priority.
· About three in 10 women feel that doctors don’t take their emotional health seriously

Moms* versus Dads*
· Moms are more likely than dads to take off from work to care for a sick child (62% vs. 47%)
· More moms than dads believe their families would find it difficult to manage everyday activities if they became sick (84% vs. 63%)
· More moms than dads are relied on to be in charge of their family’s healthcare related decisions (90% vs. 64%)
· More moms than dads feel like they are at a disadvantage because they are typically the ones who use sick days when a family member gets sick (40% vs. 23%)

So this Independence Day, in addition to enjoying the family barbecues, fireworks and red, white, blue, take a moment to think about your personal well-being and whether you are truly taking care of yourself optimally. Because it’s clear that a lot of people depend on us!

Care to join me at the gym tonight?

*For this study, moms and dads are defined as parents with children <18 living in the household.

About TNS
TNS is the global leader in custom market research delivering actionable insights and research-based business advice to clients around the globe so they can make more effective business decisions. TNS offers comprehensive industry knowledge within the Consumer, Technology, Finance, Automotive and Political & Social sectors, supported by a unique product offering that stretches across the entire range of marketing and business issues, specializing in product development & innovation, brand & communication, stakeholder management, retail & shopper, and qualitative research. Delivering best-in-class service across more than 80 countries, TNS is dedicated to discovering growth opportunities for its clients in an ever-changing world. Through its pioneering and innovative culture, TNS understands the latest marketing challenges and research techniques, being the first to discover and solve new marketing issues for clients. TNS is part of Kantar, one of the world’s largest insight, information and consultancy networks. Please visit www.tnsglobal.com for more information.

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Building Sustainable Bonds with Women

Jun 27

Category: Health, Social Marketing, Trends & Behaviors

Ogilvy Public Relations and sister agency Ogilvyearth are about to release a new White Paper based on the findings from 10 interviews with leaders at healthcare companies and in sustainability about the relationship between healthcare and a fully integrated approach to sustainability. Our conversations reveal a world that is significantly more challenging and equally more rewarding for companies that invest in sustainability. The White Paper explores the challenges, opportunities and future direction of the healthcare industry as it relates to sustainability. (Click here for a copy of Ogilvy’s “Healthcare Marketing in the age of sustainability“)

Why mention it in a blog focused on marketing to women? Because previous research conducted by the same sister agency with 1,800 adult Americans found that fully 82% of respondents said going green is “more feminine than masculine…This feminization holds men back from visible green behavior like using reusable grocery bags or carrying around reusable water bottles, and even from driving a Prius.” [see post on these study findings from my esteemed colleague Tara May from May 3rd). And while clearly our colleagues who target men need to find ways to make going green macho, for those of us who are looking to appeal to and connect with women, this is a huge opportunity. Especially since we also know that women –especially moms with younger children — are more likely to be the CMO in the home, more likely to actually seek medical care and more likely to be searching for health information online.

82% of Americans surveyed said going green is “more feminine than masculine.”

Our research suggests that a commitment to sustainability holds great potential to drive innovation in healthcare. Many companies have made good progress in reducing their carbon footprint and water use through manufacturing and supply chain modifications and efficiencies. The next frontier for us as marketers, however, is developing healthcare products and delivery systems that help societies adapt to changing disease patterns and striking the right balance in intensity and frequency to communicate these commitments and achievements to the right stakeholders.

I would argue that making a commitment to sustainability will also strengthen your brand connection with a critical stakeholder in healthcare — women and their purses. As we head into an era where consumers (think women) will be forced to make more and more decisions about their own and their family’s health care, providers of health care, whether at point-of-care or at point-of-purchase, may want to think green.

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Women are from Venus, Men from Best Buy

Dec 22

Category: Consumer

Just in time for the holidays, research giant GfK Roper has released new data on the differences between men and women when it comes to technology.  Their most recent “Need to Know Report”, derived mostly from online interviews with Americans 18+, found that men use technology for entertainment, while women use it to make practical purchases, like paying bills, or to form connections such as  social networking sites or sharing photographs with friends and family.

Marketing to Women, WomenOlogy

The risks with these data are of course that all women are not created equal. Depending on whether you are trying to communicate with a younger or an older woman, her use of technology will vary. Generation Y women are more similar in their use of technology when compared to men of the same age. GfK Roper reports that young women are more passionate users of laptops and DVRs than their male peers, and are as likely as Gen Y men to enjoy music, radio and podcasts online. They also report that these young women rate innovation as the number one buying consideration when it comes to smart phones.  Boomer women, on the other hand, rate ease of use and maintenance as the number one driver behind a purchase.

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The Doctor is Online

Nov 22

Category: Consumer, Health, Research + Insights, Trends & Behaviors

As I mentioned in last week’s post, women are increasingly seeking health information online, and a third of women rate their online health sources as better at taking care of their families’ health than their regular doctors.

In an article by Rita Rubin in Friday’s USA Today (http://tinyurl.com/2u8g6uy), she talks about a growing number of online physician consultation services that cater to time-pressed consumers – one of the prime reasons women go online to get health info, according to our research.

What do you think?

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Trends and Developments that Will Affect Women’s Health Communications in 2011 (Part 2)

Nov 19

Category: Consumer, How-to, Media, Preferences, Resources, Social Media, Trends & Behaviors

The other day I talked about five of 10 trends and developments that will likely affect women’s health communications in 2011.  The insights were based on findings from a recently conducted TNS survey where we asked 512 women about a variety of health issues.  I presented these findings this week at the second annual M2W®–HC™ — Marketing Pharma & Healthcare to Women Conference.  Following are the second set of five.

1.     Online Buying Groups Will Change Healthcare Shopping Habits – Social retail sites like Groupon, Livingsocial, and scountmom are quickly growing since they combine two activities firmly routed in women’s Web activity – retail and networking. Last month, Groupon reported that approximately 15% of site deals nationwide were for healthcare services such as eye exams, teeth cleaning services and other basic healthcare services. We expect that this percentage and the types of services available will increase in 2011.

2.     Social Media Will Become Too Much for Some Women — Our survey found that while most women do not expect a change in how much time they spend online in 2011, half agree that it is difficult to keep up with the daily flow of information and that with the increasing number of ways to get information (e.g., Facebook, IM, personal email, work email, etc.), it is sometimes stressful to keep up with it all.  As communicators we have to keep it short, be where these women are looking for information, and be targeted.

3.     Women’s Smart Phones Use Will Shift – Smart phones are a huge opportunity to reach women with health information in 2011. However, access to smart phones and mobile Internet usage is not yet equally available to all women. Currently, women generate a smaller share of online activity in the mobile space, but this is because they are less likely to own a smart phone or have an unlimited data plan, both key drivers of mobile Internet usage. We believe the increase in affordable smart phones and data plans will change that over the next year.

4.     2011 May be The Year You Get on Oprah — 2011 marks the launch of OWN, The Oprah Winfrey Network, which dramatically expands programming options and visibility. While there are still questions about the audience that this network will attract, we know that some well known Oprah personalities, including Gail King, Dr. Oz, Dr. Phil and Cat Cora, will be hosting shows. Be ready with your stories!

5.     Let’s Talk About Those Other Diseases — My final prediction for 2011 is that this will be the year we talk about “other diseases.”  In September, the Institute of Medicine came out with a Women’s Health Report, which stated that “major progress has been made in reducing mortality for women from breast cancer, cardiovascular disease, and cervical cancer. More limited advances have been made in depression, HIV/AIDS, and osteoporosis. However, few advances have been made in reducing unintended pregnancy, autoimmune diseases, maternal morbidity and mortality, alcohol and drug addiction, lung cancer, gynecological cancers other than cervical cancer, non-malignant gynecological disorders, and Alzheimer’s disease.” From a communications stand point, this means that if you are planning to launch a new treatment for a condition that has seen few advances, you can craft a very strong unmet need/solution story. Also if you are looking to take on a cause, these conditions may provide an interesting place to start.

What Do You Think the Next Big Communications Trend in 2011 Will Be? We would love to hear what you think will be the major trends or developments that will affect how we communicate with women in 2011.  Please join the conversation!

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Trends and Developments that Will Affect Communications in 2011 (Part 1)

Nov 17

Category: Consumer, How-to, Media, Research + Insights, Social Media, Technology, Trends & Behaviors

I did it last night – did you?  I looked up information online about that strange pain in my side.  Was it my appendix? Gallstones? That dinner at the airport?

Turns out I am not alone. In fact, an estimated 85% of women use the Internet to obtain health information, and two out of three go to the Internet to find information about a health issue.

These are some of the findings from a recently conducted TNS survey where we asked  512 women about a variety of health issues.  I presented these findings today at the second annual M2W®–HC™ — Marketing Pharma & Healthcare to Women Conference, as well as 10 trends and developments that will likely affect communications activities in 2011.  Here are the first five.  You can find the full data results from the 10-question survey here (link).

1.     Facebook is Changing the Game…Again — Social networking is central to women’s Internet experiences. Facebook is evolving and focusing more on “how” people communicate – from the recent introduction of the groups feature allows people to engage in more closed off communities to this week’s announcement of a range of new messaging features that will compete with email and let people communicate directly with one another.  These features will impact how women share and speak with one another within Facebook about more private issues, specifically health issues.

2.      Dr. Google Is Always “In” – Dr. Google is becoming a first-line of defense for health for today’s American families, with  one in three women (36%) agreeing that, at times, online health information does a better job at keeping their families healthy than visiting a doctor. The survey also found that women rely on the Internet to obtain health information because it is quick (67%), available any time of day (64%), and less expensive than going to the doctor (29%). For communicators, this means that we must provide clear, responsible and accurate educational information online.

3.     Managing Healthcare Costs Is A Continued Concern – Healthcare costs (overall and insurance) rank high on women’s’ lists of health concerns for 2011, with 31% of those surveyed believing that their ability to manage their family’s healthcare costs is worse compared to last year. This reinforces the need to communicate the value proposition of a new service, device or treatment.

4.     Blogs Will Become Even More Influential – More than half of women are reading blogs. As my colleague, Kevin Silverman, pointed out in his posting (link), when you see that 43% of women read blogs to “seek advice and recommendations,” it becomes clear that they are seeking information presented with a point of view. This means that if women are searching a blog for information about a product or condition, they want to know about that person’s experience with the product to help guide their purchase.

5.     Moms Take Shortcuts With Their Health Due to the Economic Downturn – More than a third of women (36%) with children under the age of 18 were unable to go to a physician, and a third of them were unable to fill prescriptions for themselves during the financial downturn. For care providers, providing mom-friendly hours, facilities and resources may help bring them back.  Others should consider discounts and loyalty cards, and I am sure a bit of mom pampering could go a long way.

Tomorrow I’ll be sharing five additional trends and developments that will likely affect communications activities in 2011.  Stay tuned!

If you would like to hear what’s being discussed at M2W, follow #m2whc on Twitter.

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Join the Conversation!

Nov 16

Category: Consumer, Health, How-to, Media, Preferences, Research + Insights, Social Marketing, Social Media, Trends & Behaviors

Welcome to Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide’s new group blog, WomenOlogy: The Anatomy of Marketing to Women!

Through WomenOlogy, we hope to foster a dialogue around how to reach the world’s most influential customer – the woman. American women are currently the decision makers for 80% of U.S. household spending, making them a powerful force to reckon with.

Our diverse perspectives reflect our work across multiple locations and practice areas including Healthcare, Consumer, Social Marketing, Digital and Corporate Affairs. However, there is one common denominator among our work – the woman is a key customer and determining the best way to reach her is paramount to our work.

Our collective experience spans the gamut in terms of targeting women. We’ve created movements around vital health issues, such as the Heart Truth campaign for heart disease and celebrated women’s empowerment through a year-long 50th Anniversary of the Pill campaign. And we’ve elevated the profile of iconic brands through creative campaigns, such as hosting a live wedding at TJ Maxx and launching the first Marshall’s store in NYC. These are just a few of the examples that we hope to share our insights around.

Our hope is that this blog will serve as a forum for discussion and provide a platform for sharing insights and diverse points of view on how to reach different groups of women with compelling communication strategies.

We invite you to join the conversation and share your insights, feedback and questions as we explore the anatomy of marketing to women.

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