This Is MS Multiple Sclerosis Community: Knowledge & Support

CCSVI-mania is a marketing project excellently done - it must be admitted.

Here you can see all elements of marketing mix combined with an excellent name (Liberation) and the use of innovative media. We have it all - the Product (CCSVI treatment), the Price (3-5 thousand euros), the Place (limited to a few private and rare state clinics) and Promotion (web) – so: 4P's.

We have an ideal target group: "those who have nothing to lose" and a marketing strategy based on a limited offer - so called Limited edition. This provides exclusive and increased demand because everyone wants something that is difficult to obtain. Someone can come out tomorrow with a claim that MS is treatable with water, but there are plenty of water around and would not cause any special interest.

We also have a USP (unique selling proposition) - health, healing.

Therefore, these three (the target group, USP and marketing strategy) combined, and a strong need/demand for the product (Liberation) has an impact on the standard curve of innovation adoption. In this curve, it is common to have a 2.5% Innovators, 13.5% Early Adopters, 34% Early and 34% Late Majority, and 16% of those who dropped late - Leggards. In this case, with respect to specific target groups and the need to try everything, it is likely that the curve has changed significantly in favor of this innovation, that is, if we are to believe everything that is written - the Innovators and Early Adopters is much more.

The medical profession behind the project ensures the credibility of the project, a simple surgical procedure makes things easy to understand (you have a problem - ballooning/stenting - the problem disappeared), in all this has some magic of simplicity.

Communication channels, given that advertising is prohibited, the path is found through alternative media - Facebook, Virals, e-mails. The media budget is minimal, the users are recommended to one another. What will better?

Regarding advertising archetypes, hesitate between three rolls to be held in CCSVI: Magician, Hero or Sage.

The existence of experimental volunteers who will participate in the experiment and even to pay by yourself and take a risk for the possible consequences of failure, actually is suitable for a group of "late majority" and "those who fell late - Leggards", because until they decide, the experiment will have be implemented, and much faster than would otherwise have been. Only a pity is that most of those who go to the interventions yourself are not guided by specific protocols, so it will not be included in the study, but their results will certainly contribute to knowledge.

Now, AIDA is done: we have attracted Attention, we provoked Interest, we have created a Desire and there was an Action - many MS patients are done the procedure, or at least a diagnosis, or at least lobby for it.

What is interesting now is the post-purchase satisfaction - not only the results of intervention, but a personal sense of (dis)satisfaction of people who have undergone the procedure and their satisfaction or dissatisfaction with the decision.

Since they paid for expensive surgery, it is expected that even if the result of weaker than expected, they will not admit themselves nor others the dissatisfaction, but will try to convince ourselves and others the justification of the procedure and their satisfaction with the same. It already can be seen in people who have undergone intervention, with little or no progress, or even deterioration, but still passionate advocate validity of the procedure.

Psychology of consumer behavior tells us that people are reluctant to express dissatisfaction if it had to admit they made a wrong decision, and this is even more pronounced as the stakes were higher.

This was the speedy view of the CCSVI phenomenon with non-medical point of view....

femmelatin

http://www.forum.hr/showpost.php?p=29953324&postcount=494

These types of posts are classic trolls. They are irrelevant, off-topic and aim to deride a genuine discussion of CCSVI and destroy any hope of an intelligent and vibrant community communicating about this certain topic.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troll_(Internet)

This is a Serbian forum (hosted in an Hungarian's site) and you can follow the 'discussion' (?) here:

http://www.forum.hr/showthread.php?t=566063&page=26

It's a pity that the forum rules do not allow an adequate reply to this.

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"There is only one good, knowledge, and one evil, ignorance." Socrates

I note that Colin Rose (posting as Malden) is a medical doctor. He now claims to be an advisor on marketing. Please ignore the troll.

MarkW

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Mark Walker - Oxfordshire, England. Registered Pharmacist (UK). 10 years of study around MS.
Mark's CCSVI Report 7-Mar-11:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/8359854/MS-experts-in-Britain-have-to-open-their-minds.html

Troll Alert!!! Warning!!!

Just keep on taking your autoimmune meds $$$$ which have worked so well for you in the past. [sarcasm off] Forget about the venograms & MRV's showing messed up veins....that's just ol' placebo at work.

Donnchadh

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Kitty says, "Take that, you stenosis!"

Got MS?.....Get Liberated!

I think you and your brothers Jake and Elwood should take your Mission from God on the road. For a start, you could go to the devil!

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"Try - Just A Little Bit Harder" - Janis Joplin
CCSVI procedure Albany Aug 2010
'_MS' is over - if you want it
Patients sans/without patience

I think he was reposting something from another forum.

Well, Malden is Yugoslavian I think...

I think we owe Malden / Colin / Troll a big Thank You. Now we know how big pharma and other corporations market their products we'll be better able to say "no thanks".

Of course as far as CCSVI is concerned, well most of us know that it can bring relief, it can improve quality of life, and because we're all mature people with minds of our own, well we have fully considered the options open to us.

But like I said, thanks Malden, next time a pharma ad comes on tv, I'll be looking at it through your eyes

I don't think Colin Rose is a friend of Big Pharma, check out his blog.

Leave it go concerned. Trying to demean people who post anything remotley critical of CCSVI has been the tactic by a few from the beginning and unfrotunatly it continues. I think Malden raises some good points and I hope people are aware that there are going to be "doctors" promising to "open veins" who are cutting corners to make a buck off of us. I hope people can over look the ridiculous name calling and take something from his post.

It's a good post, Malden. Thanks for sharing. Sadly, medical tourism exists. Not the way this began---as patients and advocates looking to find researchers and doctors interested in studying and treating venous insufficiency (and insurance covered it.)

But, the real work continues--without media spotlight (or much money
Go to www.ccsvi.org for research based information. We volunteers carry on--because we believe there is something of merit to be studied in CCSVI and MS.
cheer

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Husband dx RRMS 3/07
dx dual jugular vein stenosis (CCSVI) 4/09
dual stents placed 5/09
CCSVI in MS

The sage roll sounds tasty. I might take a hero (gyro?) too.

On full reflection, we are still in the innovators stage, we haven't made it to the early adopters.

If gyros didn't exist, I'd be a whole lot healthier.