• by April 30, 2009

Swine flu may not yet be a pandemic, but can the same be said of marketer and media reaction to it? 

Indeed, the avalanche of news stories and Web chatter referencing "swine flu" has rankled the image-conscious National Pork Board. Several days after assuring consumers that they could not contract "swine influenza" from eating pork, the industry group -- perhaps best known for its "other white meat" image campaign -- declared that the outbreak should now be called by its scientific name, "Flu H1N1."

The American Meat Institute and World Organization for Animal Health, meanwhile, said the virus should be called "North American Flu." The American Veterinary Medical Association and the American Association of Swine Veterinarians also rushed to defend swine reputation. "This disease is transmitted from human to human and, as far as we know right now, it does not involve pigs, livestock or pets," stated Dr. Ron DeHaven, CEO of the AVMA.

Smithfield Foods, the $12 billion hog farmer and pork processor/ marketer giant, echoed that sentiment. "I can assure you that consuming pork products is safe, and that Smithfield's brands, in particular, still stand for the highest quality," Smithfield president and CEO C. Larry Pope reassured his employees in a letter.

Outside the pork, meat and veterinary fields, of course, "swine flu" held sway. Nielsen reported early in the week that 2% of all tweets were referencing the term. A Google News search Thursday morning by MediaPost found 119,000 new entries for "swine flu" over the past day, while a Google Blog search returned 944,000 results. Similar searches for H1N1 turned up 15,000 news entries and 27,000 blog entries. "North American Flu" returned just 194 news results and 113 blog mentions.

The Google search for swine flu also returned sponsored search results from http://www.fluarmour.com/ ("medical grade infection control"), CanadaDrugPharmacy.com/Tamiflu, http://www.thechemstore.com/ ("proven cleaning chemicals"), http://www.qhealth.com/ ("non-insurance health care") and many others.

In a blog posting titled "One Man's Pandemic is Another Man's Marketing Opportunity," BusinessWeek Marketing Editor Burt Helm noted that "Mexico has warned against swine flu-related advertising, but here in the U.S. companies big and small are tapping into swine flu fear to sell products."

The fear also spurred a rash of press releases this week as retail players ranging from online pharmacies to brick-and-mortar behemoths seemed to have a compelling need to assure the public that they are well-stocked with everything from Tamiflu (77 Canada Pharmacy and AccessRX.com, for example ) to face masks (99¢ Only Stores) to patient education (Walgreens and its Take Care Health Systems subsidiary).

Some firms used swine flu as the impetus for speeded-up product launches:

 

• Nuvilex, Inc. said it will provide free samples and technical assistance as part of an early release of a new surface cleaner, Citroxin, to domestic and international health agencies including hospitals, clinics, and medical offices, and to schools and airlines. The company said it has proof of Citroxin's effectiveness in eliminating the swine flu virus from surface areas, but has not yet submitted it for EPA approval as an antiviral agent.

 

• SpongeTech Delivery Systems said it launched a medical division "to meet the demand in the market" for its "new Medical Cleaning Sponge product line that includes a sponge for hand washing, a sponge for home, office and school cleaning, and chamois." The medical division is currently selling the product line via the Spongetech Web site.

   

In other swine flu-related marketing news:

 

• AdPulp dug up PSAs from the U.S. Public Health Service that ran during the 1976 swine flu scare. (see them here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=9iJLpe1tZl8)

 

• The spread of information via such social media as Twitter, Facebook and MySpace prompted a new service called Nixie to boast of its more trustworthy "platform for rapid response broadcasting of public safety messages." Municipalities already using the free service include Baltimore, MD; Scottsdale, AZ; Chula Vista, CA; Escondido, CA; and Vorhees, NJ, which on Wednesday alerted users where to turn for swine flu information. Nixie said it is now being "tested or rolled out" by 600 additional locales-- including Los Angeles, Chicago, Minneapolis, Miami, Boston and Austin.

 

• Intelligent Healthcare Displays touted 25 posters featuring such themes as "Cover your Cough" protocol and "Hand Hygiene." "All hygiene etiquette posters are available in three popular sizes," the company said, "and can be ordered fully framed from a wide selection of clinical grade frames for wall or counter."

 

• Travel Guard, the provider of travel insurance plans, said it will provide free emergency travel and medical assistance services and health information to U.S. and Canadian travelers -- including worldwide medical referrals; up-to-the-minute updates on outbreak status and travel areas affected; information on symptoms, prevention and treatment; coordination of travel arrangements for those in transit; and medical referrals for travelers in transit who believe they may be experiencing swine flu symptoms.

 

• MMR Information Systems launched a promotion offering consumers a free Personal Health Record and surgical mask through its subsidiary, mymedicalrecords.com. The Personal Health Record can hold info for up to 10 family members and contains an electronic safe deposit box for emergency disaster planning.