Roche Social Media Summit - Part 1
Friday, July 2, 2010 at 10:16AM When I finally got to the hotel where the Roche Media Summit was being held I was greeted by a bunch of familiar faces all cheering for my arrival. It was very cool and yet embarrassing since I was looking pretty bad having slept in my clothes all night in an airport with little or no sleep. I said hello to those at the door, checked in to the hotel, and promptly went up to my room to shave, shower, change, and get downstairs for the Summit.
Just like last year, Roche had an agenda laid out for the day. It started with introductions and discussion about what they have done with the info they gathered last year. This by far was the one thing I wanted to know about more than anything and I must say, I was pleased at what they reported.
Out if all the things I heard, the one that hit me the most was what Roche has done with their ad campaigns. First, they only have actual people with diabetes in their ads. Sure, they may be camera savvy but they are real. They know what they have and what they are doing. THAT means a lot to me. The other side of that is that Roche has commercials with blood glucose meters showing real readings. Like in the 200’s! Not just the elusive 100 or perfect range you see on every meter.
Some people might not think it is a big deal but think about it this way. How often do you hear about fashion magazines portraying beauty as these ridiculously skinny and tall women that most people do not look like? How often do you hear about the damage that does to a girls self esteem when she feels like she is not good enough, or pretty enough, because she couldn’t see herself on the cover of Elle or Vogue?
I think the same is true in a way about those of us with Diabetes. Seeing those perfect numbers on every ad and commercial makes me say, “Yeah right. I wish my bg looked like that after pizza and riding my motorcycle by the beach!” I think this is so awesome. Not only does this show those of us PWD’s that reality is that we cannot be in range all the time and that we are not perfect. The number is not what matters as much as check of the BG does. Knowledge is power and that is what should be advertised. Not some unrealistic always perfect number.
There are several fantastic posts about the event from people who write much more eloquently than I do. I suggest you read them all. Together you get a real taste of what the event was like.
I have a lot more to think about and put together so over the next few posts I will get out more of what is on my mind. There are so many angles I want to explore and yet, I don’t want to bore the heck out of you so I will try to put it all down and get some more posts up soon. The ADA session and the AADE sessions sparked some things in my brain that need exploring and I could use your feedback so please stay tuned.
I will tell you that the best part about the whole event was seeing my friends. Relationships always come first! Enjoy these pics and have a great weekend!
This pic was swiped from Sara's blog. ;)
Reader Comments (6)
awesome-ness!
GREAT explanation on why the advertising of "real numbers" is so important. GREAT comparison to fashion magazines.
I agree with Rachel, Great explanation!
So glad you made it.
No photo credit on the last picture?! :P
I agree the fashion magazine comparison is great!
The arrival reception was fun - I know you felt a little awkward, but dude, wasn't it cool to have a cheering section?
Relationships are first, you are right. What I love is that these in-person meeting stregthen the relationships we already have with each other, but even if we never met in real life, the love is still there, that is one of the coolest things of the DOC.
Im still on information overload from everything.
I too appreciate your description of why real people and real numbers are important. Very good way to put it.
Awesome post, awesome event, awesome-er photos!! Thanks for this, George. I love you guys.
(I am so slammed that I haven't done a 'real' post on the Summit yet myself - my bad! But I have a reaction piece coming from the ADA this week :)