Archive for October 14th, 2009

Mayo Clinic’s "perfect model": turn away Medicare & Medicaid patients … oops.

October 14, 2009

TakeAway: Critics Say Move Shows That Facility Is Not a Model for Health-Care Reform

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Excerpted from Washington Post, Mayo Clinic Faulted for Limiting Medicare Patients, October 13, 2009 

The renowned Mayo Clinic is no longer accepting some Medicare and Medicaid patients, raising new questions about whether it is too selective to serve as a model for health-care reform.

The White House has repeatedly held up for praise Mayo and other medical centers, many of which are in the Upper Midwest, that perform well in Dartmouth College rankings showing wide disparities in how much hospitals spend on Medicare patients.

Mayo announced late last week that its flagship facility in Rochester, Minn., will no longer accept Medicaid patients from Nebraska and Montana. The clinic draws patients from across the Midwest and West, but it will now accept Medicaid recipients only from Minnesota and the four states that border it. As it is, 5 percent of Mayo’s patients in Rochester are on Medicaid, well below the average for other big teaching hospitals, and below the 29 percent rate at the other hospital in town.

Separately, the Mayo branch in Arizona — the third leg of the Mayo stool, with the Rochester clinic and one in Florida — put out word a few days ago that under a two-year pilot program, it would no longer accept Medicare for patients seeking primary care at its Glendale facility. That facility, with 3,000 regular Medicare patients, will continue to see them for advanced care — Mayo’s specialty — but those seeking primary care will need to pay an annual $250 fee, plus fees of $175 to $400 per visit.

Mayo officials said Monday that the two moves were “business decisions” that had grown out of longstanding concerns about what it sees as underpayment by Medicare and Medicaid.

The officials said they were not meant to influence the national reform debate, in which Mayo has also been advocating against the creation of a government-run insurance option. But they said the moves were indicative of the need for the Medicare payment reforms it has been pushing in Washington.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/12/AR2009101202803_pf.html

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Posted in Health Care / Medical Insurance | 1 Comment »

Are you "authentic" … or just a "poser"?

October 14, 2009

TakeAway: “When we say a thing or an event is real, we honor it. But when a thing is made up – regardless of how true it seems – we turn up our noses.”

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Excerpted from HBSP : Authenticity – What Consumers Really Want by James H. Gilmore and B. Joseph Pine II

Human beings have always been obsessed with the real and abjured the fake, the phony and the contrived.

In the mid-20th century, Jean-Paul Sartre extended this idea to personality, describing people so confused about their real selves that they lived “inauthentic” lives in self-deceived “bad faith.”

Consumers crave authenticity. If you don’t render authenticity, they will find someone who will, since this need for authenticity is intricately tied to self-image. No one wants to associate with a  “poser.”

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Authenticity evolves from experiences and transformations.

Experiences are memorable “inherently personal” events, like when the barista at Starbucks remembers how you like your cappuccino and makes it to order for you.

Transformations help customers change some aspect of themselves. Such offerings – for example, fitness centers or Weight Watchers – let consumers be the sort of people they want to be and feel good about themselves. With each purchase, customers close the gap between reality and aspiration.

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The are five “genres” of authenticity:

1. Natural authenticity – An authentic offering must feel natural, raw, of-the-earth, rustic, stripped-down and if possible sustainable, like organic food. For example, coffee beans and natural soaps are commodities, yet Starbucks and the Rocky Mountain Soap Company both render naturally authentic offerings.

2. Original authenticity – An original offering can be new (such as Apple’s iPod), but it can also be old (Coca-Cola) if it stresses its heritage as the first of its kind (“the real thing”).

3. Exceptional authenticity – Any offering can be exceptional, if it is done well, and with feeling. For example, consider the extraordinary services provided by Ritz-Carlton and Southwest Airlines. This doesn’t mean obsequiousness: The salespeople at Apartment Number 9, a Chicago clothing store, will tell you if the puce blazer you’re trying on makes you look fat. They sell not just clothes but also brutal honesty. Make your offering exceptional by stressing uniqueness, adopting a “craft” aesthetic (“good things take time to make”) or being “foreign” relative to the target market.

4. Referential authenticity – A referential offering evokes an “iconic” time, person, group or place. Imagine a Chinese tea ceremony or a visit to a sauna in Finland. If your referential offering is fake, make sure it is a good fake, like the art-filled Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas, which evokes Bellagio, Italy.

5. Influential authenticity – To have influence, an offering must surpass utility to imply or provoke change. Think of green services, such as “eco-tourism,” or “three-word offerings,” such as “dolphin-safe tuna” or “free-range chickens.”

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In Hamlet, Laertes is leaving Elsinore for France when Polonius accosts him. The old man, worried how his son will conduct himself abroad, recites a litany of admonishments that culminates in wisdom both trite and strikingly wise: “This above all,” says Polonius, “to thine own self be true.” In doing that, he continues, “Thou canst not then be false to any man.”

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Posted in Mktg - Brands | 1 Comment »

How to seduce women … advice from Pepsi. Huh?

October 14, 2009

Takeaway: PepsiCo’s Amp Energy drink has come out with an iPhone application that gives men tips on how to seduce women.  Huh ?

It’s no surprise that PepsiCos’ brands are moving into the digital space, as most brands nowadays have some sort of Facebook page or iPhone app. But by doing something so gratuitously over-the-top, could Amp’s message harm the image of PepsiCo’s other products? Probably not, since many of their brands have an “edgy, young and fun” positioning.

However, with the information available to consumers, it’s only a matter of time before someone realizes Amp is brought to them by the same company that sells Life cereal. And while Mikey may like the app, we’re not so sure mom will.

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Excerpted from BrandWeek, “Pepsi Brand App Comes With NC-17 Rating” by Brian Morrissey, October 9, 2009

PepsiCo’s Amp Energy drink is looking to connect with young men by providing what might be the ultimate utility for the target audience: ways to score with women.

The “Amp Up Before You Score” iPhone application gives dudes various pickup lines and background info through digital flip cards for 24 different types of women, ranging from “rebound girl” to “treehugger” to the now ubiquitous “cougar.”

The app description page on iTunes warns of (promises?) profanity, crude humor and suggestive themes. Amp Energy targets men 18-24.

The Amp app suggests nearby motels, displayed on a Google Map, for rendezvous with married women. For “indie girls,” the app pulls in content from Under the Radar magazine and plots out nearby thrift stores.

Edit by JMZ

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Full Article:
http://www.brandweek.com/bw/content_display/news-and-features/digital/e3id3d058ba458918f0aee67a2b41453db2?imw=Y

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Follow-up article from WSJ:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703790404574471522737925470.html?mod=WSJ_hps_MIDDLEForthNews

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Posted in Internet - Soc Networking, Mktg - Brands, Mktg - Promotion | 2 Comments »