Some great marketing quotes

Aug/30/2008 11:42

Here are some quotes that I have received or seen over the past year that I believe are important and relevant.

"If there's an industry with more dead messengers littering up its halls than pharma, I don't know what it is. The saddest part of this is, the industry desperately needs to hear the news. The marketplace in which pharma operates today is irreversibly changed from the one that made its current senior managers rich, and without a radical change of direction, the industry is going to wind up where it's so blithely headed...which is over a cliff."

"It's not about new media...It's about new marketing"

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Unbranded DTC advertising

Aug/29/2008 06:33

Direct-to-consumer drug advertising dropped nearly 30% in the first quarter of this year but now scrutiny may turn to unbranded ads according to an article this morning in the Wall Street Journal. "One night during the Olympic Games, NBC host Bob Costas noted that the 3 a.m. rerun of the primetime broadcast was sponsored by the maker of Ambien. "No lie," he said. "There's irony there somewhere." While the Ambien Rooster ad is a great approach for out of the box DTC advertising some other unbranded ads are simply an "end run" while the brand gets negative publicity.

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Hispanics are a market that we have to acknowledge

Aug/28/2008 05:08

From Serlatino.com comes this response to Spanish translation of pharma websites. Mr Cabrera raises some excellent points. "Yes, having a Spanish language is a must; but please allow me to share a piece of advice. You should translate entirely your website, not only the most relevant pages. That approach is proven to make things worse for many reasons." Read More...

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Tribes is the new marketing paradigm

Aug/28/2008 12:24

You know about waiting in line at an Apple store, or the look on a fellow Deadhead's face. You know about the way it feels to go back to the church or school where you grew up. You know about the real power of a brand. Tribes are groups of people aligned around an idea, connected to a leader and to each other. Tribes make our world work, and always have. The new opportunity is that it's easier than ever to find, organize, and lead a tribe. The Web has enabled an explosion of all kinds of tribes -- and created shortage of people to lead them. This is the growth industry of our time yet pharma has not started to explore social media ?
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The truth about marketing and legal

Aug/28/2008 06:58

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Cialis daily dosing DTC breaks

Aug/28/2008 05:53

Cialis just went from 36 hours to respond to partner when the moment is right to 126 hours (hours in a week) with daily dosing. In todays time pressed world this is going to be a great benefit for men who may not have the clinical definition of ED but look to the little yellow pill to provide them the confidence when they and their partner do have time for intimacy. Read More...

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Hispanics are online

Aug/27/2008 12:47

"Hispanic consumers under the age of 35 are spending more time online than watching TV—and are often doing both at the same time," says Lisa E. Phillips, senior analyst at eMarketer and author of the new report, US Hispanic Media Usage. "Overall, Hispanics are heavy users of all digital media, embracing innovations more rapidly than non-Hispanic whites. "Hispanics embrace new technology more rapidly than non-Hispanic whites and share it very freely with friends and family," says Ms. Phillips. "Ownership and usage of several forms of portable media devices indicates this group of super-communicators will lead the uptake of mobile Internet and video in the US."

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Forget mobile internet optimization for now

Aug/27/2008 12:42

There has been a lot of buzz about the new iPhone and faster Internet mobile connections, but even with these faster connections only 15.6% of US mobile phone user have Internet access. What does this mean for DTC marketers? Don't have to worry about mobile marketing yet unless your target audience is online.

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Survey: Internet the fastest-growing source for health info

Aug/27/2008 11:51

A study by the Center for Studying Health System Change finds 56% of American adults got health care information in 2007 from a source other than their physician, up from 38% in 2001. The percentage of people using the Internet for health care information grew the fastest, from 16% in 2001 to 32% in 2007.

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Can DTC be effective enough to overcome environmental barriers?

Aug/27/2008 09:03

There are some great DTC campaigns running right now, Neulasta (I'm Ready), Cymbalta (depression hurts), Detrol (its time to have the Detrol discussion), Cialis (interruptions), Enbrel (you could do more) but one has to wonder if great DTC campaigns are enough to increase business when there are so many environmental factors that can delay or stall treatment?

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Science or lack of credibility hurting Byetta?

Aug/27/2008 05:50

Sensational headlines sell newspapers and a good story to run are the deaths associated with Byetta.

However if one reads beyond the headlines and digs into the story we find the following quote "In the four cases brought forward by the companies today, it’s not clear whether the patients were taking Byetta at the time of deaths. And the deaths are “not directly attributable to pancreatitis in any way”, Orville Kolterman, Amylin’s senior vice president of R&D said. For instance, one patient appeared to die from a relapse of leukemia two months after having pancreatitis. Also, patients with Type II diabetes have a greater risk of pancreatitis than healthy people to begin with, said Kolterman. So are consumers and physicians to believe the worst because of recent problems involving transparency or are they taking a "wait and see" precautionary attitude?

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Cymbalta hits emotions...

Aug/26/2008 07:42

I continue to applaud the Cymbalta DTC spots that are currently running. A lot of creative people forget that emotion is a powerful motivator and the Cymbalta spots, with the music in the background, clearly show how depression can effect the patient and those around her/him. In my opinion this is THE best DTC spot on the air right now but then I would not expected anything less from a great Cymbalta DTC team led by an outstanding consumer marketing Director.
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New search engines giving consumers more options

Aug/25/2008 03:29

Google is so far ahead of other search engines that it has become a verb for people searching the Web. The problem however for people searching the Web for health information is that it's very easy to quickly get overwhelmed with information. Where do you start and which sites are the best for my needs? Well two new search engines are betting that there is room for improvement and while they are still in the early stages of development they look very promising. Read More...

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Pharma not serving its customers well

Aug/25/2008 08:15

Three industries have seen truly massive declines in their reputations since Harris first asked industry reputation questions eleven years ago in 1997: Oil companies have fallen 56 points from 24 point positive to 32 negative; Airlines have fallen 48 points from 66 positive to 18 positive since 1998 (they were not included in the 1997 survey);
Pharmaceutical companies have fallen 45 points from 60 positive to 15 positive this year. That does not put pharma in good company right now as these are all industries consumers love to hate. Read More...

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Enbrel.com provides answers and tools

Aug/25/2008 08:13

Amgen is starting a new wave of DTC for Enbrel and the new spots are only the beginning of a great DTC campaign that includes a redone and greatly improved website. This is a great pharma product website and a new campaign that should ensure that Enbrel’s sales remain strong and provide a health solution to patients suffering from a variety of conditions. Slowly Amgen is becoming a very good DTC marketer and the big DTC pharma powerhouses could learn a lesson from Enbrel campaign and website. Read More...

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Only rules for social media is that there are no rules

Aug/25/2008 08:11

"What we've seen with research with consumers is that once they've seen it, they tell everybody," a P&G marketing person said, another reason for the emphasis on buzz marketing vs. conventional media. "The feeling you get is so unique, and women especially love it” . People talk about toothpaste? Yes, John in fact people do talk about toothpaste, underwear, cars, and prescription drugs. Read More...

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Going Online for a second opinion

Aug/25/2008 08:10

A new survey reveals that 85.6 million U.S. adults have doubted the opinion of their doctors or other medical professionals when it conflicts with information found online. That number represents about 38 percent of the population. This could be a real problem for physicians who are not used to having their recommendations questioned but HCP’s had better get used to patient empowerment. Read More...

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Why can't pharma move beyond Web 1.0?

Aug/25/2008 05:52

During a conference call to discuss Internet strategy recently one of the agency people asked "why can't pharma website move beyond Web 1.0 and do something that is more inline with what is happening on the Web today?" This of course led to a long discussion about Web 2.0 but when you get down to the net results the bottom line is that there are a number of barriers that can be addressed to get to Web 2.0 but do DTC and eMarketing people want to address them? Read More...

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Get ready for more cost containment

Aug/22/2008 10:55

The conclusion of Hyde Park Communications is with increasing cost containment pressures, in 2009 government and private payers will be pushing down spending in all health care sectors, so that next year’s healthcare buzzword will be “cost containment.” And this will be especially true for life science and biotech companies. One way for life sciences companies to meet this new challenge head on will be to change the way the industry communicates with patients, doctors, shareholders and their customers. Because a greater premium will be placed on value – and quantitatively demonstrating that value – communicating this to the right audiences at the right time will be critical for the success of life sciences companies, no matter who occupies the White House and controls Congress next year. Cost containment imperatives, in fact, will probably trump some of the policy aspirations of both the Democrats and Republicans. The question then is “is pharma ready to respond to these changes”? Read More...

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P&G launching new product with social media

Aug/21/2008 01:41

Crest, long one of P&G's biggest-spending media brands, with $236.8 million in measured media spending last year, according to TNS Media Intelligence, is also taking a fairly nontraditional marketing approach for the unconventional product, relying heavily on word-of-mouth and buzz marketing and relatively little on mass media. DTC marketers should pay close attention because if successful this could be the first major product launch without conventional ad channels to raise awareness. Read More...

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It's OK to prescribe ED drugs online

Aug/19/2008 04:55

Oh..oh..here it comes! Viagra, Cialis and Levitra now readily available online via an online consolitation? Well according to an article in the Mayo Clinic Preceedings there is “safety in prescribing PDE-5 inhibitors for erectile dysfunction that was similar between a US-based, state-regulated Internet prescribing system and a multispecialty primary care system. Does this mean that you soon might see an online consilation form on Cialis or Viagra.com websites? Don’t count on it. . Read More...

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When DTC is not a good idea

Aug/19/2008 09:17

Look at any Web analytic log for a pharma product and you’re sure to see that one of the most viewed pages are the side effects and safety warnings. People want to know the risk/benefit of taking pharmaceutical products and can judge for themselves if they want to ask for new drug. One therefore, has to wonder why in the world Shire would launch DTC print ads for Vyvanse targeting the adult ADHD market. The warnings are enough to scare anyone away and is certainly not worth the risks in this authors opinion. Read More...

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Science or marketing?

Aug/18/2008 04:47

It is belived that clinical trials are supposed to provide answers for medical people as products go through their life cycle but a new report in the Annals of Internal Medicine questions that and summarizes;

Documentary evidence shows that ADVANTAGE is an example of marketing framed as science. The documents indicate that ADVANTAGE was a seeding trial developed by Merck's marketing division to promote prescription of Vioxx (rofecoxib) when it became available on the market in 1999.

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More troubles for Byetta?

Aug/18/2008 12:10

The news could not have come at a worse time for Lilly; “ New Byetta-Related Deaths Reported” is the headline in todays Wall Street Journal. However from one drugs woes comes opportunities and this could spell a major opportunity for Januvia. Not only is it an oral medication but now some patients may prefer Januvia or Byetta because of potential stronger warnings that may have to be included in the products label. Read More...

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Reaching for the golden rings

Aug/17/2008 07:48

While many believe the pharma industry is in a recession it’s interesting to note that some pharma companies appear to be doing very well while others are still struggling. For example investors seem to be excited about the new Amgen osteoporosis drug on the horizon, even though they have not filed for FDA approval yet. Amgen stock has been climbing despite the news that the FDA has asked them to add stronger warnings on one of their key drugs, Aranesp. Of course Amgen is warning the Street that the sales decline from additional warnings on Aranesp will continue into next quarter but the possibility of a new blockbuster is enough to move the stock upwards.

Meanwhile on the other coast Pfizer has not really recovered from the failure of their replacement for Lipitor and Lilly’s Cymbalta still has not come close to sales of its past blockbuster Prozac. Where are the gold rings and can pharma acquire enough gold rings to sustain current business models or are radical changes needed? Read More...

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Evaluating DTC spend levels

Aug/16/2008 01:14

There are so many variables to evaulate when launching a new pharmaceutical product but where do marketers start? Well in today’s environment all marketers have to be prepared to justify every dollar they request. Awareness alone does not necessarily translate into sales especially in the complex environment of pharma marketing. A great place to start it with a BASES simulated test market and DTC message evaluation. With BASES it’s easy to input some variables to determine the potential impact on sales, and the brand. However, remember that the market is changing rapidly today and a simulated test market and DTC message evaluation don’t mean much without perfect execution. Read More...

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Some of the best of DTC ads

Aug/15/2008 09:03

While I believe that a lot of DTC ads could be improved there are some DTC ads that I feel are very good. Here is a list of some the DTC ads that I believe are some of the best on air right now and are sure to continue to drive new Rx’s as well as educate and inform customers which, at it’s best, is what DTC ads should be all about. Read More...

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DTC "defunkafied"

Aug/14/2008 10:13

I don’t think there was ever an industry that is going through such a funk as the pharma and health industries. This week we learned that in fact exercise does not help people who are depressed and that there actually maybe something to the Atkins diet after all. Is it any wonder that consumers are confused about what they should do to take better care of themselves and what medications are actually safe with the least amount of side effects? Read More...

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US broadband growth is slowing but opportunities are coming

Aug/13/2008 06:17

The growth of broadband Internet connections is starting to level off in the US but what is even more troubling is that the US is far behind other countries in broadband speeds. The average broadband connection in the US is 2-3 Mps per second while countries Japan have speeds as high as 63 Mps per second. What does this mean for marketers? Well broadband is going to go through explosive growth again after some changes are made and marketers had better be ready to reach consumers on every device imaginable. Read More...

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Prescription ED market growing

Aug/11/2008 10:06

The prescription market for prescription ED drugs is still growing. For the month ending June 2008 US sales were $165.9 million with Viagra the market leader with $89.6 million followed by Cialis with $52.8 million and Levitra in third place with $23.6 million. Since January 2008 the US ED market has increased +33.3% and since January 2007 the ED market in the US has increased 47.2%. Read More...

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Gardasil causing adverse events or is it just the patient population

Aug/11/2008 08:03

According to a video report on CNN.com, there have been 9,749 adverse events and 21 deaths from Gardasil since 2006. Rather than reassure the patient population Merck issues the following statement “Merck has analyzed the adverse events reported for GARDASIL relating to the recent reports of death and paralysis, and based on the data available to Merck, believes that no safety issue related to the vaccine has been identified. These types of events are events that could also be seen in the general population, even in the absence of vaccination. An adverse experience report describes an event that occurred after vaccination and does not necessarily mean that the vaccine caused or contributed to the event. The vast majority of adverse events that have been reported to Merck are non-serious and the most common include dizziness and syncope (fainting). Read More...

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iPhone integrates online practice needs

Aug/07/2008 07:33

MacPractice is dedicated to providing the best software for doctors on a platform of choice, Macs. They have listened to physican ideas about how to improve their software and have taken the best ideas and created an all-new product that takes advantage of the powerful new features of Mac OS X. One of the best features is that this software integrates fully with the iPhone and can make physicians more produtive doing busy days with patients. Read More...

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The use of the Web for health information

Aug/06/2008 06:27

Harris Interactive, which has tracked online health information research for years, reported a slight dip in the number of Internet users who said they had made such searches this year. The polling company said that 150 million US adults (81% of Internet users) looked online for health info in 2008, down from 160 million who did so in 2007. Read More...

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Menactra DTC: Get the word out?

Aug/05/2008 09:02

TV is great for building awareness of new treatment options and the new DTC for Menactra does a great job in communicating meningitis risks to parents. Meningococcal meningitis strikes just 1,400 to 2,800 Americans a year -- but with terrifying speed and consequences. Roughly 10% of victims die, often hours after symptoms set in. About 15% of those who survive are left with brain damage, hearing loss or amputations; gangrene sets in rapidly if the disease disrupts blood flow to the limbs. Many victims are adolescents and college kids living away from home for the first time. The use of this product is going to come down to risks vs. possible outcomes but some may say this product is worth the risk. Read More...

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Can Byetta extend life of Type 2 diabetics?

Aug/05/2008 08:16

Can Byetta, an injectable drug that lowers blood sugar, really help people with diabetes to live longer? Possibly, according to the results of a major clinical trial presented at the American Diabetes Association annual conference. In the trial, called Accord, patients with Type 2 diabetes were prescribed Byetta or any of several other diabetes medicines. Patients who took Byetta had a much lower chance of dying, about 75 percent lower, than those who took any other drug. This article from today’s New York Times is sure to get people talking again about Byetta but will it be enough to increase sales? Read More...

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eMarketers still struggling

Aug/03/2008 08:38

According to a report from Forrester 60% of eMarketing people strongly agreed or somewhat agreed that they “struggle to build a case for interactive marketing within their companies”. 60% !? This, to me, is a clear indication that a lot of marketing people don’t understand the Web and instead are relying on outdated business models that are irrelevant in todays consumer empowered economy. Read More...

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