Blogs Bob Ehrlich Reads

Who is Bob Ehrlich and why do I care what blogs he reads?

Ehrlich is Chairman of DTC Perspectives, which publishes the trade publication, DTC Perspectives Magazine, and is host to several DTC industry conferences. Ehrlich also writes a weekly OpEd email piece called DTC in Perspective.

Back in May, Bob was a guest on my Pharma Marketing Talk podcast where the subject was "Blogs vs. DTC: What's Best for Consumers?" You can listen to the audio archive of that podcast here.

Of course, Bob and I have had our differences (see, for example, "Mack and Meyer Clash with Publisher Over "Journalistic Integrity""), but we've agreed to disagree and remain cordial and frequently exchange opinions by private email.

Whatever our differences are, we are avid readers of each others' work and this week Bob reveals that my blog, Pharma Marketing Blog, is one of the three pharmaceutical blogs that he reads on a regular basis. The three are:

1. Pharma Marketing Blog
2. Pharmalot
3. Peter Rost (not sure if he reads Question Authority or NRx)

I note with interest that Ed Silverman (Pharmalot) and Peter Rost (NRx) will be the star blogger panelists at the DTC in the Age of Innovation Conference (October 24-25, 2007) hosted by Ehrlich's company.

Ehrlich had this to say of me and my blog:

"I am always interested to know what John Mack has to say. His Pharma Marketing blog is usually fun to read even when it annoys me. John always likes to ruffle feathers but I usually appreciate his humor, even when the feathers he ruffles are mine, which he does frequently. He will review controversial DTC ads or new tactics used by marketers. Few will get a good review but he is worth listening to because he could just right sometimes."

Thanks for the kind comments, Bob!

One thing regarding my review of DTC ads; ie, "Few will get a good review ..."

As I have said before (eg, "I'm Non-Objective and Proud of It" and "Trade Publications Must Be More than Drug Industry Cheerleaders!"), the field is crowded with publishers and pharma marketing experts that never have a NEGATIVE thing to say about DTC or other types of pharmaceutical marketing. Their reviews are ALWAYS good!

I believe that there is a great unmet need out there for constructive criticism, which is what I strive for over at Pharma Marketing Blog.

You can read Bob's weekly e-Column OpEd piece here.

While I enjoy Bob's weekly commentary, I find it difficult to cite. The commentary is sent via opt-in e-mail, but the Web site that I linked to above is not updated for several days afterward. I wish that Bob would start a blog instead. That way, he can join the conversation here in the Pharma Blogosphere!