MarketingMuses

Happy Birthday Golden Gate Bridge!

Today marks the 75^th anniversary of the opening of the Golden Gate Bridge. The San Francisco Bay Area is considered a hotbed of technological innovation and development. Its origin, in this regard, is usually traced to a profusion of post-WWII achievements led by companies such as Hewlett-Packard and Fairchild Semiconductor. However, a strong case can be made that the conception and creation of the Golden Gate Bridge is the true genesis of Bay Area hegemony, for the following five reasons:

It Solved a Real Problem – Before the bridge, ferries transported automobiles between San Francisco and what is now Marin County. A one-way trip took 20 to 30 minutes (depending on departure location), cost $1.00 (twice the initial 50¢ toll for the bridge), and at peak times the wait for a ferry could be several hours.

It is an Early Example of Crowd Sourcing – James Wilkins, a former engineering student, made the bridge proposal that took hold in a 1916 article in the San Francisco Bulletin. San Francisco’s City Engineer estimated the cost at $100 million, and posed an open question to bridge engineers of whether it could be built for less. Joseph Strauss, who had designed several hundred inland drawbridges, responded with initial drawings for two massive cantilevers, one on each side of the strait, connected by a central suspension segment, which he said could be built for $17 million.

It is Innovative Engineering – Joseph Strauss became chief engineer of overall design and construction, but his initial proposal was replaced by a more graceful suspension design from New York’s Manhattan Bridge designer Leon Moisseiff. The basic structural design introduced his “deflection theory,” by which a thin, flexible roadway would flex in the wind, greatly reducing stress by transmitting forces via suspension cables to the bridge towers. When completed, the suspension bridge had the longest main span in the world, at 4,200 feet, and the tallest suspension towers, at 692 feet (above water).

It is Insanely Great Aesthetic Design – Irving Morrow designed the overall shape of the bridge towers, the lighting scheme, and elements such as the streetlights, railing, and walkways. He also decided to keep the vibrant International Orange color, originally used as a sealant for the bridge, instead of the standard silver or gray used on most bridges, because, in addition to its durability, it complements the natural surroundings and enhances the bridge's visibility in fog. In 2007, the Golden Gate Bridge was ranked number five on the American Institute of Architects (AIA) sponsored list of America’s Favorite Architecture.

It is a Symbol of American Persistence – Although the project design, construction, and financing was authorized in 1928, the 1929 crash made it impossible to raise the construction funds as planned. Instead, a $30 million bond measure was passed in 1930. However, there was no buyer for the bonds until Amadeo Giannini, the founder of San Francisco–based Bank of America, agreed on behalf of his bank to buy the entire issue in 1932. Construction began in January 1933 and was completed in April 1937, at a total cost $1.3 million under budget.

Selecting a LIMS for the Next-Generation Genomics Lab

My colleague, Michael Kuzyk, and I will be giving the following presentation at the Bio-IT World Conference and Expo in Boston, MA on April 13, 2011.  

Selecting a LIMS for the Next-Generation Genomics Lab

View more presentations from Bruce Pharr

In May 1961, President John F. Kennedy declared the goal of landing a man on the moon before the end of the decade.  The Space Race fueled advances in microelectronics that, as predicted by Moore’s Law, have driven an exponential rate of improvement in data processing speed and cost for half a century.[i] 

In 1990, The Human Genome Project ignited a similar technological race in gene sequencing.  Today, high-throughput sequencing technologies are driving data generation and cost improvements at a rate even greater than Moore’s Law.[ii]  It took more than a decade and an estimated cost of $3 billion to publish the first draft of the human genome in 2000.  Just over 10 years later, businesses are competing to sequence an individual’s entire genome in a matter of weeks for about $10,000, and experts claim the thousand-dollar genome is within sight.^[iii]  

The incredible improvements in speed and cost are driving large-scale adoption of next-generation sequencing (NGS) instruments by genomics labs—from 200 in 2007 to an estimated 1,900 in 2010, with a projected growth rate of over 1,000 annually reaching an installed base of over 5,000 by 2013.[iv]  This has resulted in unprecedented genomic data production.  The 1000 Genomes Project, the first large project to capitalize on next-generation sequencing technologies, deposited twice as much raw sequencing data into the GenBank archives in its first six months of operation as had been deposited into GenBank in the 30 years since its inception.[v]

Organizations are confronting the reality that new sequencing instruments running at capacity can generate more information in a single year than the total deposited in GenBank at the beginning of 2008.[vi]  In turn, industry analysis that once focused on the costs of sequencing genome data now focus on the challenges of managing it.  In a J.P. Morgan report conducted in 2010, lab directors cited data storage, data management, and informatics as the biggest collective hurdle to expanding next-generation sequencing operations.[vii]

To meet the data management challenge, genomics labs are revamping the workflows that support sequencing.  Many of the traditional workflows are based on manual, one-at-a-time processes and information stored in disconnected silos such as spreadsheets, emails, document-based communications, and paper lab notebooks.  Others are supported by custom, home-brew software or modified open-source software that was developed to handle the low throughput of first-generation sequencing, microarray and qPCR instruments.  Both approaches are inadequate for the high-throughput, next-generation genomics lab.

Laboratory Information Management Systems (LIMS), commercially introduced in the early 1980s, are a mature class of software for managing data in the analytical laboratory and organizing it into meaningful information.  LIMS have proven their effectiveness across multiple industries including pharmaceuticals, utilities, chemicals, food and beverage, oil and gas, and agriculture.  The total LIMS market is presently about $400 million,[viii] and about 17% of LIMS applications are in life sciences.[ix]

A full-featured LIMS will manage laboratory data from sample log-in to reporting the results.  However, the unprecedented throughput, experimental complexity, and rapid change associated with next-generation sequencing create unique challenges for a LIMS.  The rapid timescales and expanded workflows associated with next-generation sequencing require LIMS that can be configured quickly and easily to accommodate the specific NGS instrumentation chosen by a lab.  Scientific programmers and bioinformaticians in genomics labs must be able to easily adapt the system themselves to support changing technologies and protocols.  And next-generation sequencing research requires iterative, collaborative work that is performed by different types of scientists.

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[i] Moore's law describes a long-term trend in the history of computing hardware. The quantity of transistors that can be placed inexpensively on an integrated circuit has doubled approximately every two years.  The trend has continued for more than half a century and is not expected to stop until 2015 or 2020 or later.  The capabilities of many digital electronic devices are strongly linked to Moore's law, including processing speed and memory capacity, and are improving at (roughly) exponential rates.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moore's_law

[ii] Stein, L. D. The case for cloud computing in genome informatics. Genome Biology 2010, 11, 207. 

[iii] Batley, J.; Edwards, D. Genome sequences data: Management, storage, and visualization. BioTechniques 2009, 46, 333-336.

[iv] Third Quarter 2010 Earnings Conference Call, Caliper Life Sciences, October 2010, 16.

[v] Stein, L. D. The case for cloud computing in genome informatics. Genome Biology 2010, 11, 207.

[vi] Holt, R. and Jones, S. The new paradigm of flow cell sequencing. Genome Research 2010, 18 (6).

[vii] J.P Morgan Equity Research. Next-generation Sequencing Survey 2010.

[viii] ARC Advisory Group.  Laboratory Information Management Systems Outlook: Five Year Market Analysis and Technology Forecast through 2013, (2009).

[ix] 2009 Worldwide Survey of LIMS Users: Understanding Market Trends and End-User Attitudes. Published by Strategic Directions International, Los Angeles (2009).

 

A Recipe for a Winning Webinar

Here are the essential elements of a webinar that outperforms the norm, with case study results from a recent one that followed the recipe.

 

1. Address a Hot Topic - The more relevant and timely the topic, the higher the attendance and level of interest will be for the webinar.
2. Partner with a Respected Third Party - Partnering with an analyst group, professional organization, or respected publication can improve the quantity and quality of attendees in a couple of ways.  First, co-sponsorship with an independent, respected third party implies that the webinar is more balanced and less biased than one sponsored by your company alone.  Second, the third-party will usually publicize the webinar to their membership or readership, which can significantly increase your reach, registration and attendance.
3. Use a Third Party Moderator - A third-party partner can usually provide an analyst, editor or other unbiased expert to moderate the webinar.  This adds greater credibility than you or someone from your company moderating the webinar.
4. Have a Customer Present a Case Study - Similar to partnering with a respected third party, a real customer reviewing a real process, decision and result is much more credible and interesting than you doing it yourself. 
5. Try and Limit Your Involvement to Answering Questions - Answering a question is much more powerful and effective than making a statement.  First, you know the audience, especially the person asking the question, is interested in what you have to say.  Second, people listen more closely to answers than statements.  Have the person most knowledgeable about the webinar subject answer the questions, and stay on topic.  This is not the time to try and broadcast your marketing message.  Just answer the questions clearly and concisely.
6. Follow Up with Next Step Options - A few days after the webinar, contact attendees with options for them to learn more and take the next step.  Make sure that there are options for each phase of the buyer education and decision process: awareness, discovery and validation.

 

A Webinar Case Study and the Results

Symyx Technologies recently conducted the most successful webinar in its history: one that significantly exceeded average webinar metrics and produced an exceptional return-on-investment.

Symyx partnered with the American Chemical Society to present a webinar on the electronic laboratory notebook (ELN), a fast-growing software technology that is moving from early adoption to mainstream acceptance.  The webinar was promoted by Symyx through direct marketing, its website, and its social media channels, and by ACS to its 160,000 members.  Rick Mullin, a senior editor at Chemical & Engineering News (an ACS publication) moderated the case study presentation by Gabriel Weatherhead, Ph.D., Lead Systems Engineer at Millennium: The Takeda Oncology Company.  Gabriel described the process Millennium used to select an enterprise ELN for chemistry and biology disciplines.  A Symyx Vice President of Product Management and Strategy was available to answer questions after the presentation by Gabriel.

ACS co-sponsors and conducts webinars with companies every couple of weeks.  Based on its metrics for these events, the Symyx webinar generated 3 times more registrations and attendees than the average, and it generated 145 questions.  Also, the co-sponsored webinar generated 10 times more registrations and attendees than webinars publicized and conducted by Symyx alone.  The average cost of attendee acquisition was about $20, well below the average cost per inquiry from other demand generation activities. 

Attendees were contacted after the presentation and directed to an ELN microsite where they can access a pdf copy of the Millennium case study, as well as other ELN marketing assets that allow respondents to learn more and take the next step in the buyer education and decision process.  
Symyx, in turn, can nurture and track prospects going forward, and eventually provide sales with a well-developed profile of a well-qualified prospective buyer: the definition of a sales opportunity. 

Come and See the Show! (Postscript)

An Unofficial Soundtrack for Events

The title of this series and the lead quotes at the beginning of each post in this series are lyrics from Karn Evil 9, First Impression, Part 2 by Emerson, Lake and Palmer.  This has served as an unofficial soundtrack for the events I’ve developed, designed and executed since the 1980s.  I used it as the intro music for a series of annual meetings in the 1980s and 1990s, and I listen to it whenever I need a little energy or inspiration.  

It’s a dynamo!  It’s rock and roll!

Come and See the Show! (Part 6)

We would like it to be known the exhibits that were shown were exclusively our own—all our own, all our own. - Emerson, Lake & Palmer

 

Share the Experience Globally Through Social Media

Tweets and blog posts allow those you cannot attend the conference to follow it remotely.  Guest bloggers and video interviews with speakers expand the point of view and enhance coverage.

Come and See the Show! (Part 5)

Soon the Gypsy Queen in a glaze of Vaseline will perform on guillotine. What a scene! What a scene! - Emerson, Lake & Palmer

 

Do Something Special and Memorable…

Barcelona is a beautiful, historic city, and we took advantage of that.  Attendees were taken on a 45-minute tour of the city highlighting architectural gems, including the famed Sagrada Familia cathedral and other Gaudi masterworks.  They were delivered to Casa Fuster, a historic 5-star hotel, for an evening of Catalan food, Spanish wine, and Flamenco performance.  Each place setting also included a note of thanks with a Gaudi Dragon replica gift as a remembrance.

…and Expect the Best, but Prepare for the Worst

The plan for the evening was to start with cocktails on El Mirador (The Lookout), with beautiful views of the mountains and city, but it was too windy.  However, we had planned for this possibility, and had a beautiful alternative in the Café Vienes.  We also had a couple of surprises with facilities at the hotel and with a speaker, but we had backup plans for each, so there was no noticeable disruption.

   

Casa Fuster facade

Flamenco dancers

  

El Mirador (The Lookout)

 

Cafe Vienes

 
 

  

Come and See the Show! (Part 4)

You’ve got to see the show; it’s a dynamo. You’ve got to see the show; it’s rock and roll. - Emerson, Lake & Palmer

 

Deliver a Few, High-Quality Presentations…

Let’s face it, it’s hard to find 30 to 40 customers who can deliver informative, interesting and entertaining case studies.  On the other hand, it’s relatively easy to recruit 8 or 10 who can.  Limiting the number of presentations allows you to deliver uniformly high-quality presentations of longer length and plenty of time for Q&A.

…and Allow More Time to Network

Each year we conduct a post-event satisfaction study, and each year participants agree on one thing: there was not enough time to network, and they want more next year.  Having fewer presentations allows more time for longer networking breaks.

 

Come and See the Show! (Part 3)

Come inside, the show’s about to start. Guaranteed to blow your head apart. - Emerson, Lake & Palmer

 

Establish Immediate Rapport with Attendees

The evening before the conference began, we held a cocktail party for everyone who arrived the afternoon before the conference (about 80% of the total attendees).  But we didn’t stop there.  We arranged for parties of 15 to 20 with a mix of Symyx personnel and attendees to have dinner at fine restaurants around Barcelona.  This allowed everyone to socialize and establish rapport before the conference began.

 

Come and See the Show! (Part 1)

Welcome back my friends to the show that never ends. We’re so glad you could attend. Come inside! Come inside! - Emerson, Lake & Palmer

Last month Symyx Technologies held, by all accounts, the best Symposium (annual user conference) in its history.  According to some attendees, it was the finest user group meeting by any company that they had ever attended.  This is the first of a series of tips for planning and executing a successful and memorable conference. 

Hold It at a Destination Location

The 2010 Symposium was held at the Arts Hotel, a Ritz Carlton property in Barcelona.  If you have the latitude to schedule your meeting during a resorts off-season, you can get phenomenal pricing at luxury resorts.  I recently did a site visit at the Four Seasons Biltmore in Santa Barbara, and the room rate offered for a 3-weekday 100+ room guarantee next spring is just a bit more than you would pay during the week at a downtown Marriott.