Google Health and other Medical Information Portability Products: Beware of Data Tracking, Interactive Marketing & Privacy Concerns

Consumers should have immediate access to their health records, a mouseclick and password away. But should the price we pay be tied to allowing health data storage providers collect information about our medical concerns and interests, so they can sell ads to pharmaceutical and health-related companies? We think there are some areas, such as health, where online advertising should not tread. Storage and access should not be linked to targeted personalized digital marketing. Google is in the process of building its health advertising business. In the U.K. and the U.S., for example, they are hiring executives to operate what it calls its “Consumer Products and Health Care marketplace.” Here’s an excerpt from the employment announcement:

The role: Industry Manager, Consumer Products and Health Care – London

As a Google Consumer Products and Health Care Industry Manager, you’ll be working with those who provide advertising solutions for companies that produce and sell consumables and health care products/services. This job is a mix of finding and managing new and existing business customer relationships. Working closely with the Industry Head to develop Google’s Consumer Products and Health Care marketplace, you’ll combine a passion for the industry with strong presentation and communication skills. You’ll own the relationships with clients and agencies, targeting, educating and developing new clients to grow the business in unpenetrated territory. This means you have excellent client-servicing and relationship skills along with the entrepreneurial drive to approach and persuade new and existing customers with large, multi-faceted propositions.

Responsibilities:

  • Target new customers and develop strong relationships with clients and marketing services agencies.
  • Analyse data, trends and client performance, develop solid strategic sales plans, and prepare and conduct strategic pitches and sales presentations.
  • Collaborate and consult with major customers with the goal of extending relationships, increasing your client and agency base and optimising their advertising expenditures.
  • Develop case studies of successful campaigns in order to share insights with customers and to serve as an evangelist at targeted events and conferences.
  • Champion new product releases, internally and externally…”

There are serious questions which must be addressed about the implications not only to our health privacy, but the impact on our behaviors from medical-related interactive marketing. It’s an area we will return to soon.

Author: jeff

Jeff Chester is executive director of the Center for Digital Democracy. A former journalist and filmmaker, Jeff's book on U.S. electronic media politics, entitled "Digital Destiny: New Media and the Future of Democracy" was published by The New Press in January 2007. He is now working on a new book about interactive advertising and the public interest.

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