SAB News"Learning About Life Science Products" Bonus Quote Winner AnnouncedPosted 12/20/2005 In response to numerous member inquiries about how best to find out about new technologies, The Science Advisory Board asked 2,000+ of its members to share how they learn about new reagents and techniques. While scientists may exhibit uniform product and technology preferences, how they prefer to find out about these offerings varies according to market segment, age, years of research experience, job position and gender. A summary of the report's findings is presented in the SAB "Study Snapshots" webpage. As a token of our appreciation, study participants were entered in an additional drawing for a $20 gift certificate from Amazon.com. We are excited to announce that Joe, a Principal Investigator from the United States, was the contest winner. When asked, "Do you think vendors should use new media like MP3 formats and blogs to promote their products and services to scientists? Why or why not?” Joe replied: "Vendors should avoid using new media like MP3 and blog formats to promote products and services until these vehicles for information transfer are more widely accepted in the scientific community. There certainly should not be an overwhelmingly large or disproportionate investment in this form of promotion. Currently, it is the younger population of scientists (post-docs, graduate students, maybe some assistant professors or lab managers) that download MP3 files and participate in blogs. Most folks that are older than their mid-forties probably don't even know what blogs are, and will tell you that their Sony Walkman works better than any old MP3 player can. My point is that vendors would be alienating a significant proportion of the scientific population if they tied up significant efforts and resources in this sort of promotional activity." Congratulations to everyone who made this study possible. The Science Advisory Board provides opportunities for its members to earn honoraria each and every time they participate in SAB-sponsored studies. Interested in finding out more? Please visit: http://www.scienceboard.net/about/participate.asp. |
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