Technology is changing. The healthcare industry is changing. How can you differentiate your practice from all the others?

A PricewaterhouseCoopers survey from 2010 revealed that 41% of patients would prefer to have more of their care delivered via a mobile device, and 31% would be interested in using an app to track and monitor their personal health information.

According to a recent Pew study, 37% of US mobile phone users between the ages of 18 and 49 have used their mobile device to look up health or medical information. Fifteen percent of those age 18 to 29 use a mobile app to track and monitor their health.

eMarketer Research Analyst Victoria Petrock explained, “more consumers are taking charge of their personal health and wellness. This presents an opportunity for marketers to encourage healthier behaviors and personalize the delivery of healthcare information and services.”

The latest campaign from Got Milk? goes beyond just milk. After previously increasing its audience by adding flavored milk (like chocolate milk) to its campaigns, it’s now added lattes to the menu.

The campaign’s target audience is mothers, so this was a wise extension. Not everyone wants to sit down to a glass of plain milk, but a morning latte? C’est magnifique, indeed! The ad features actress Maggie Gyllenhaal, mother to a 4-year-old daughter.

British Airways is launching a significant new campaign with BBH London – it’s the airline’s biggest campaign in 11 years. Keith Williams, Chief Executive of British Airways, said this is the “opening of a new chapter” for the airline after a difficult decade.

The tagline “To fly. To serve.” comes from British Airway’s coat of arms, reinforcing the rebrand’s focus on customer satisfaction – the airline is investing $8 billion in an overhaul to improve its customer experience.

Marketer Philip Sheldrake and illustrator Nic Hinton joined forces to create this great infographic, “Content: An Illustrated History of Creation, Curation, Circulation and Consumption.”

Mascots are used to personify the brands that employ them. Time Magazine recently released its list of the Top 10 Creepiest Product Mascots to “celebrate the retirement” of what it considers one of the creepiest of all – Burger King’s “The King.”

The King has been haunting Burger King’s commercials since 2004, having become a bit of a cultural icon in his own right. During his tenure, The King was known for stalking and causing feelings of uneasiness. Burger King has just recently retired The King in favor of a healthy food focused campaign. As Christine Turnier explained, “The King, originally developed to target teenage boys, is far too creepy for [Burger King's] new target market [families]. So out with the old positioning, and in with the new.”

Budweiser, one of the best-selling beers in the United States, has introduced a new can design (the 12th since the brand first started using cans in 1936).

Interestingly, the focus of the redesign is Budweiser’s allegedly “iconic” bowtie. According to Budweiser, “there is no written documentation on the origins of the Budweiser bowtie,” but its integration within the new design is part of an effort to encourage people to order the beer by its full name, rather than just “Bud.” What do you think of the Budweiser bowtie?

Social media is powerful, no doubt. But, as all good things do, it has its limitations. Brands shouldn’t dive headfirst into a social media plan without considering the things that social media will not be able to do for them.

Creating a social media presence is not, in itself, the key to community engagement. Econsultancy points out 5 main things that brands are responsible for that social media can not do:

Make You Cool
As Econsultancy explains, “Long gone are the days when being on Facebook or Twitter meant you were ahead of the curve. Today… your social media presence is only as cool as you are.” It’s how you use it that makes you “cool.”

Create Great Products & Services
Social media may help your brand, but it can’t make up for poor quality products and services.

Quash Criticism
With a social media presence, you can respond to criticism more effectively, but criticism will not cease to exist.

Provide Free Marketing
As Econsultancy explains, “Building, growing and maintaining a social media presence always requires an investment in time, and for every business, time is money.”

Improve Your Customer Service
Social media has become a helpful tool for providing customer service, but the quality of your customer service is still as good as you make it.

And on that note, your social media campaign is only as good as you make it.

Leo Burnett (London) produced this whimsical brand video for McDonald’s in the UK, The A-Z of McDonald’s.