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Medicine For
the British Medical Journal getting wired was a winning marketing
move...
THE
BRITISH MEDICAL JOURNAL is one of the most respected medical
journals in the world. It is regularly quoted by all sections
of the media and is cited in many scientific articles and books.
But the BMJ didn't always have this level of global reach and
visibility.
Before going online,
the paper-based BMJ had a core readership of doctors and medical
professionals in the United Kingdom. It only had a small readership
in other parts of the world. The Journal tried various methods
to market itself globally - press releases, advertising, and
so on - none of which had any major impact.
But then in 1995 one of the
editorial team, Tony Delamothe, suggested putting the Journal
on the web as an experiment to try out what was then a new communications
medium. The editorial team and the British Medical Association
(owners of the BMJ) readily agreed.
The result surprised them all.
"Since going online exposure
to the BMJ has doubled," says Delamothe. "And that's
interesting because the paper BMJ goes out to 80 percent of
doctors in the United Kingdom. So we're reaching people we never
reached before - and in countries we previously struggled to
get exposure in." Going online has also increased
the prestige of the BMJ. "There are five major medical
journals in the world - the Big Five," continues Delamothe.
"We think we rank four or five in the paper world. But
in the electronic realm we're probably number one."
Revenue model Despite
the success of the BMJ online, it is not profitable. The publication
currently works to one revenue model - advertising, most of
which comes from pharmaceutical companies. Revenues went up
by 60 percent last year, but still need to increase.
But, as Delamothe points out,
turning a profit is not necessarily the point.
"For one thing, the site
isn't that expensive to run. And, certainly in the first phase,
we viewed the whole exercise as marketing - and in that sense
it's been a phenomenal success for the BMJ. We now get around
140,000 people visiting the website every week," he says.
Complementary Mediums It
would be very easy to see the success of the electronic BMJ
as heralding the death of the print version, or even as a precursor
to the demise of print in general. But Delamothe and his colleagues
believe the two should go hand in hand, complementing each other,
and are presently looking at how best to exploit the characteristics
of the two different mediums.
"Paper is easy to read
and portable, while the electronic medium offers infinite storage
and allows you to conduct searches," explains Delamothe.
"So what we've come up with is ELPS, which stands for Electronic
Long Paper Short. We put full-length articles on the website
and have succinct versions in the paper journal. Most of our
readers are busy, jobbing doctors. So they can get a good overview
of an article in the paper journal, or go to the web for the
full version with extensive notes and references."
There is another way ELPS is
being played out. Before going online the Journal was only publishing
30 percent of letters received from readers - and these were
usually published six or seven months after the article to which
they referred. Now the Journal is posting all responses within
24-hours.
Future As for the
future, the BMJ plan to keep their fingers on the pulse when
it comes to new technology. They were early adopters of the
web and are now looking at the possibilities of making the BMJ
available on handheld devices.
"We see the web as part
of the strategy," he says. "It's the platform of the
moment. But in a few years mobile handheld devices may well
be the norm. So we're looking at making the BMJ available in
the new formats. One advantage of handheld devices is doctors
could collect questions when they're on the hospital wards and
hotlink to get the answers from the BMJ. But there are many
possibilities and the BMJ will strive to stay at the forefront"
DCLnews Editorial
Visit the British Medical Journal
at: http://www.bmj.com
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