6October2009Contact:MikeAzzaraSeanAmmirati(516)804‐2387412‐325‐2402mazzara@mspoke.comsammirati@mspoke.com

Content-CentricPersonalizationImprovestheWebBusinessOfMedicalEducationInnovator

Pittsburgh,PA–mSpoke,Inc.,theleadingproviderofcontent‐centricaudiencepersonalizationservicestotheonlinemediaindustry,hascollaboratedwithbreakingmedicalnewsandcontinuingmedicaleducationinnovatorMedPageToday

toproducethefollowingcasestudydemonstratingtheeffectofmSpoketechnologyonMedPageToday’swebbusiness.Thecasestudyquantifiestheimpactofdeliveringpersonalizedcontent(basedoneachreader’sobservedinterests)onMedPageToday’slevelsofaudienceengagement.

SITUATION

Clinicians–physicians,nursesandpharmacists–arerequiredtoearnacertainnumberofcontinuingmedicaleducation(CME)creditsorcontacthoursinordertostayup‐to‐dateintheirprofessionandtomaintaintheirlicensestopractice.MedPageToday’sCMEinnovationwastoco‐developamethodthatallowsclinicianstoearncreditorcontacthoursaspartoftheirdailynews‐readingroutine,insteadofhavingtodevotetimeseparately.“It’sCMEthat’srelevanttothebreakingmedicalnewsgoingonrightnow,”saysRobertStern,CEOandpresidentofMedPageToday.MedPageTodaydeliverstimelymedicalnewsacrossover20clinicalspecialties.Nearlytwo‐thirdsofMedPageTodaycontentprovidesCMEcreditstophysicians,nurses,andpharmacistsaspartofaprogramwithTheUniversityofPennsylvaniaSchoolofMedicine,OfficeofContinuingMedicalEducation(OCME).Clinicianswhotakeandpassa“posttest”afterreadinganarticleearnaquartercredittowardtheirrequirements;MedPageToday’ssitekeepstrackofcreditearnedbyregisteredusersandallowsuserstoprintcertificatesasappropriate.Thecompanygeneratesrevenuetwoways,throughonlineadsandpaidCMEsponsorships,andmustadheretostrictrulesgoverningthetypeofadsthatcanbedisplayedalongsideCME.InMayMedPageTodaywontheAmericanSocietyofHealthcarePublicationEditors’(ASHPE)prestigiousGoldAwardasBestOverallWebPublication(online)inASHPE's2009annualawardscompetition.

Tobefinanciallysuccessful,MedPageTodaymustkeepthecliniciansinitsaudiencecomingback,againandagain,toreadrelevantCMEcontent,taketheposttests,andearnmeaningfulcreditamounts.Onlyinthatwaycanthesitedemonstrateitsvalue.Becausethiskindofbehaviorisnottypicalofonlineaudiences,MedPageToday’sbusinessmodelfacedadifficultconundrum.

ACTION

“Ourbusinessmodelturnsontwometrics:thenumberofregisteredcliniciansandthenumberofactivitiescompletedbythem,”explainsTomGriffin,MedPageToday’sseniorwebanalyst.“WefiguredifwecouldputCMEactivitiesinfrontofthemthatarerelevanttowhattheyknowtheyneedtolearn,thentheactivitycompletionrateisgoingtobehigher.”So,MedPageTodayinstalledmSpoke’smPowercontent‐centricpersonalizationservice.mPowerbeganbyanalyzingallofMedPageToday’scontenttolearnwhateacharticlewasabout.Thecompaniesthencreatedareal‐timeRSSfeedthatallowsmPowertoanalyzenewarticlesastheyarecreated.Next,mPowerbegantrackingwhatMedPageToday’saudiencemembersread,associatingeachindividualclinicianwithhisorherreadinginterestsasobservedbymPower.Withallthisknowledgeinhand,mPowerwasreadytobeginpersonalizing.MedPageTodayfocusedmPowerfirstonitsdailyemailnewsletter,oneofthemajordriversoftraffictoitssite.“BeforemPower,thesubjectoftheemailwasalways‘MedPageTodaydailynews.’Now,mPowerinjectstheheadlineofthetoparticlethatithasmatchedagainsteachprofile–soeveryemailcangooutwithadifferent,personalizedsubject.Thatinfluencestheopenrate,whichinfluencestheclickthroughrate.”Inaddition,aMedPageTodayeditorchoosesthepoolofarticlesforeachdailynewsletter,butmPowerdecidestheorderinwhichthearticlesaredisplayed.Naturally,itchoosesadifferentorderforeachsubscriber,matchingtheordertoeachsubscriber’sindividualprofile.

RESULT

ThebignewsisthatwithinfourmonthsofdeployingmPower,MedPageToday’snumberofregularlyactiveemailusersdoubled!AllinvolvedcreditmSpoke’sserviceasamajorcontributortothisdramaticincrease,butinthewordsofmSpokeco‐founderandchieftechnologyofficerDeanThompson,“It’simpossibletoseparatetheimpactofsystemchangessuchaspersonalizationfromtheimpactofexternalfactorssuchasseasonalityandstrongversusweaknewsperiods.”Tomorerigorouslyunderstandtheimpactofpersonalization,thecompaniesconductedA/Btests.“TheA/Btestswereside‐by‐sidecomparisonsofpersonalizedversusnon‐personalizedperformanceinrandomlyselectedtestuser‐groupsatthesamepointintime,”Thompsonexplains.Theresultsofthetwotestswereasfollows:

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Aliftof18%to60%(varyingovertime)inCME‐test‐takingactivitybyuserswhoreceivedthepersonalizedemailversususerswhoreceivednon‐personalizedemail.Thiswasmeasuredduringatwo‐weekA/BtestinlateFebruaryandearlyMarchof2009.

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Athree‐timesincreaseinthenumberofpreviouslyinactiveuserswhoclickedthroughforthefirsttimeonanemail,basedsolelyonpersonalizingtheemailsubjectline.Thiswasmeasuredduringan11‐dayA/BtestinlateMay2009.ThisA/Btestwasendedearlybecausethebenefitofpersonalizingsubjectlineswassostrongthatthecompaniesdecidedthisnewfeatureshouldbeexpandedtocoverallusersasquicklyaspossible.Thefollowinggraphshowsthe“CME‐testconversionrate”–thepercentageofemail‐drivensitevisitsthatresultedincompletionofatleastoneCMEtest(associatedwiththefirstbulletabove).ThedatawascollectedusingGoogleAnalyticsforeachdayofthetwo‐weekA/Btest,andisbrokenoutintotheA(unpersonalized)andB(personalized)groups.ThescaleisomittedbecausetheexactnumbersareconfidentialtoMedPageToday,butthelowpointontheverticalaccessiszero,sothegraphshowsaccurateproportions.

CONCLUSION

“We’rereallydelightedwiththeemailresults,”saysGriffin.“Thepersonalizationismakingarealdifferenceforourfast‐growingbusiness.”“Ournextstepistofocusonthe[mPower]widgetsandusethattodrivepagedepth,”headded.GriffinexplainsthatMedPageTodayalreadyhasaddedwidgetstoitswebsitepagesthatofferreadersrelatedarticlelinkspersonalizedtoeachreader’sindividualprofile–powered,ofcourse,bymSpoke’smPowerservice.“Butwecandoamuchbetterjobofspotlightingthatcontentanddrivinghomethepoint