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Summer 2006

This section contains all the issues of BMJ Briefings that have been sent out to the pharmaceutical marketing industry by the BMJ Publishing Group. We hope you enjoy the articles and learn a little bit more about the Group, our sales team and our products.

Football and Medicine? Wherever you look at the moment you are surrounded by news and images to do with the World Cup. I even turned the television on the other evening to be greeted by a scientist trying to explain how Wayne Rooney's physique has turned out the way it has and why this makes him an exceptional footballer. Curiously he didn't say anything about metatarsals!

Even the BMJ Publishing Group can't escape the grips of this footballing jamboree as the July issue of the British Journal of Sports Medicine, one of our specialist journals, contains a supplement on 'Doping in Football' sponsored by FIFA (Federation Internationale de Football Association), the organisation that runs the World Cup. The BMJ has also entered into the spirit of things with several medically related football stories to get doctors into a suitably celebratory mood.

Welcome to the second edition of BMJ Briefings, our email newsletter where we aim to inform you of any news we have in an informal way. This time around, we feature articles about our BMJ journals (Gut, Thorax and other titles with rather silly names), the BMJ Online Network (featuring all our excellent websites) and a profile of Gavin Egan, our Medical Education Sales Manager (who, in keeping with the theme, is also a rather good footballer. Or at least that's what he tells me...).

Richard Purdy
Head of Sales
rpurdy@bmj.com

Also in this issue

Win £150 worth of Amazon Vouchers in our prize draw!
They do exactly what they say on the cover
Ten steps to winning with the BMJ Online Network
Staff Spotlight - Gavin Egan

Useful Information

Win £150 worth of Amazon vouchers!This issue, we are giving away £150 worth of Amazon vouchers in our prize draw. So if you want some extra dosh to buy films, music and books, click here and fill in the relevant details on our online entry form. By entering the prize draw, you’ll also be signed up to receive BMJ Briefings every quarter.

They do exactly what they say on the cover!

Even in the world of publishing, some our journals have curious titles. Gut, in particular, is a journal title that always brings a smile! But despite this, they form an extremely important part of the BMJ Publishing Group’s portfolio.

The journals focus on original research to keep their readers up to date with the latest evidence-based advances in the diagnosis and treatment of diseases. More importantly, they are read by senior opinion leaders who are normally as difficult to reach as a David Beckham free kick.

Here are a few interesting facts about BMJ Journals:

Five of the journals are published in association with other societies. For example: Heart with the British Cardiovascular Society and Thorax with the British Thoracic Society. This significantly widens those journals' readership.
The majority of readers receive the journals through personal subscriptions, not via the controlled circulation route. And, as we all know, if you’ve paid for something you’re going to read it!
All of the BMJ journals are available online as well as in print. The free content on these sites attracts thousands of non subscribers.
Many of the journals dominate the world stage for their specialty, for example Gut and Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases are the equivalent of the Brazilian football team in their fields.
The journals provide a great promotional opportunity, either through advertising or with reprints. The cost is significantly less than being an official sponsor of the World Cup and probably more effective...

Please take a look at bmjjournals.com where you can access all BMJ Journals and find out more about why they are essential reading for senior medical specialists.

Euan Currer
Senior Sales Manager
BMJ Journals
ecurrer@bmj.com

Ten steps to winning with the BMJ Online Network

The BMJ Online Network comprises bmj.com (the BMJ’s website) and BMJ Journals’ websites including Gut, Thorax, Heart and Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases. We offer banner and skyscraper advertising across the entire BMJ Online Network, enabling you to communicate with the thousands of doctors who choose to visit our websites.

Your online advertising can be broadcast across all grades and specialties in both primary and secondary care with bmj.com or they can be targeted to key specialists through the relevant BMJ journal website.

Here are just ten of the reasons why the BMJ Online Network can ensure you’re on the winning team this summer:

bmj.com is Europe’s most visited medical journal website, delivering over 6,000,000 page impressions to 900,000 unique users each month.
27% of GPs in the UK use bmj.com every month – the highest usage of any medical journal website in the UK.
Each BMJ journals website delivers over 500,000 page impressions every month, giving your campaigns unrivalled reach amongst key specialists.
Banner advertisements and now skyscrapers can be booked across all our journals.
Your advertisements can be targeted to any territory, including the UK, across our entire range of online journals, so your message will be seen in the right country.
It only takes five working days to place your advert online so you can quickly exploit good news about your products.
Starting costs are only £1,000 for 25,000 page impressions – much less than the cost of a traditional mailing!
We can send you campaign performance reports on a regular basis enabling you to keep your campaign on track.
We can optimise your campaign while it is live to generate more traffic to your own websites or portals.
Campaigns can be tailored to your needs, enabling you to choose the sections of the BMJ Online Network in which your advert will be seen. This means your message will always be displayed in the right environment.

So if you want your online campaigns to win, call Simon Walker today on 020 7383 6350 or via email at swalker@bmjgroup.com.

Staff spotlight

Gavin Egan – Medical Education SaleManager

Starting this issue, we’ll be profiling and interviewing a member of the sales team each quarter so that you can get to know your account manager a little better. This issue, Gavin Egan drew the short straw…

Before moving into healthcare publishing, Gavin's career in sales and marketing covered a number of industries including IT software and the Arts. However, his main focus has always been in publishing and event management: skills which have proved essential in his most recent role as Medical Education Sales Manager with the BMJ Publishing Group.

Prior to that, Gavin was Publishing and Events Manager at Pharmaceutical Marketing Ltd, where one of his key responsibilities was the development of the highly successful Pharmaceutical Marketing Effectiveness Awards.

BMJ Briefings: What were the Pharmaceutical Marketing Effectiveness Awards like to manage?

Gavin Egan: The PMEAs were great events to manage. During my tenure we trebled the number of entries and established very rigorous judging criteria. It provided a unique perspective on the breadth of marketing acumen and talent that exists within the pharmaceutical industry. They also gave me the opportunity to fully understand the demands and restrictions placed on marketing departments in the pharmaceutical industry.

BB: What were the main things that you learnt?

GE: Understanding the pressures your client is working under is key to, not only establishing a good working relationship, but also to providing products that can really make a difference to their brand objectives.

BB: Since joining the BMJ Publishing Group in December 2005, you have been responsible for developing leading projects such as BMJ Learning and BMJ Masterclasses in line with client needs. How have you found it so far?

GE: It’s been very good so far. It is an exciting time to be with the Publishing Group. We have developed an unrivalled reputation for producing high quality, independent, evidence-based content for doctors around the world. And our highly respected range of journals such as ‘Heart’, ‘Thorax’ and of course the BMJ, provide a natural base when progressing into both online and face to face projects.

BB: Outside work, what tends to take up your time?

GE: My time is mostly taken up by my young family. I have a daughter, Beth, who is six and a son, Jamie, who is three. But there is still time to go to the football, play the odd round of golf and annoy the neighbours by playing my guitar very badly!

BB: What three things would you take with you to a desert island?

GE: A copy of ‘Lord of the Rings’. (Laughing) Sun tan lotion! (A long pause) The Daily Mail book of slang crosswords. You’ll have to ask my colleague, Simon Walker, about that one…

BB: OK… Anything else to add before we go?

GE: I was commissioned by the Haymarket Theatre in Basingstoke and the Yvonne Arnaud in Guildford to write plays for them during my time in the theatre…I’m very proud of that.

BB: Wow, a salesman and a thespian. An unusual mix to be sure. Thanks Gavin!

Meet the sales team who can help you meet your targets!

	Richard Purdy Head of Sales T: +44 (0)20 7383 6192 E: rpurdy@bmj.com
	Euan Currer Senior Sales Manager BMJ Journals and BMA News T: +44 (0)20 7383 6181 E: ecurrer@bmj.com
	Simon Walker Senior Sales Manager BMJ General Practice, BMJ International and bmj.com and BMJ Journals online T: +44 (0)20 7383 6350 E: swalker@bmj.com
	Nick Gray Sales Manager BMJ Clinical Research, BMJ Compact and Student BMJ T: +44 (0)20 7383 6386 E: nickgray@bmj.com
	Gavin Egan Medical Education Sales Manager (BMJ Learning and BMJ Masterclasses) T: +44 (0)20 7383 6120 E: gegan@bmj.com
	Nadia Gurney-Randall International Reprints Sales Manager T: +44 (0)20 8445 5825 E: ngurneyrandall@bmjgroup.com
	Marsha Fogler USA Reprints Manager Tel: 1(856) 489 4446; Toll Free 1(800) 482 1450 Fax: 1(856) 489 4449 E: mfogler@medicalreprints.com

To order a copy of our media pack email Sophie Ronayne: sronayne@bmj.com or telephone: +44 (0)20 7383 6783.