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Wed, June 23, 2010
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Tue, June 22, 2010

HealthEd Taps Alterian for Online Conversation Mining


Published on 2010-06-22 08:51:41 - Market Wire
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CLARK, NJ--(Marketwire - June 22, 2010) - HealthEd, a [ health care marketing agency ] that uses education to achieve better health outcomes, has partnered with [ Alterian ] to expand the agency's patient insights practice. Specifically, HealthEd will empower its health educators and strategists with rich patient data through the Alterian SM2 social media monitoring and analytics solution.

"Our clients have always relied on HealthEd to champion the patient perspective," said Jill Balderson, executive vice president and chief strategic officer, HealthEd. "With [ Alterian SM2 ], our teams now have instant access to thousands of conversations across the patient journey in any disease category, and the ability to organize, filter, and report on findings. The objective is to blend conversation data with our own methodology to unlock opportunities for both patients and brands."

Balderson said HealthEd approaches social media not only as a cost-effective source of deep patient insights, but as a venue for brand monitoring: "Social media sites such as public message boards and blogs are ideal for understanding qualitative insights from patients and care partners, who discuss issues that have direct impact on how brands need to communicate with them. Because most online conversations are anonymous, they can often be more insightful than traditional focus groups or one-on-one interviews."

Alterian (LSE: ALN), the leader in customer engagement technology and solutions, continues to grow its US presence and suite of social media engagement offerings.

"We are constantly scanning and indexing online conversations and related comments from virtually every available source," said Michael Fisher, Alterian's SVP sales & marketing, the Americas. "In a single day, we can collect more than 10 million new results. The unbiased and candid nature of a large majority of these comments makes it beneficial for any company looking to further expand its consumer insights and enhance its brand relationship with patients."

HealthEd has delivered patient insights consulting services to 5 of the 10 largest global pharmaceutical companies, as well as mid-tier manufacturers, biotechnology firms, nonprofit advocacy groups, and other leading healthcare organizations.

About HealthEd -- [ www.HealthEd.com ]
HealthEd is a specialized agency that uses education to help people develop the knowledge, skills, motivation and confidence to manage important health decisions and activities and ultimately achieve better health outcomes. We combine unrivaled knowledge and insights about patient needs and behavior with the critical skills to pull those insights through, delivering educational content and design across aligned programs and media. Our focus on addressing patient needs helps drive the change necessary to improve the patient experience of your brand and of health care. For more information about HealthEd and the services we have to offer, please visit [ http://www.HealthEd.com ] or contact Anita St. Clair, Chief Client Development Officer at (908) 389-2133.

About Alterian
Alterian enables organizations to create relevant, effective, and engaging experiences with their customers and prospects through social, digital, and traditional marketing channels. Alterian's customer engagement solutions are focused in four main areas: social media, Web content management, e-mail, and campaign management and analytics. Alterian technology is utilized either to address a specific marketing challenge or as part of an integrated marketing platform, with analytics and individual customer engagement. Working alongside a rich ecosystem of partners, Alterian delivers its software as a service or on premise. For more information about Alterian visit [ www.alterian.com ] or our blog at [ www.engagingtimes.com ].