Mid Year Report
Jul/21/2007 08:24 Filed in: Current
DTC
The pharmaceutical industry is stuck between a rock and hard place. On one side you have Wall Street whose philosophy is "instant gratification takes too long", on the other you have an increasing knowledgeable consumer who is empowered like never before and demands transparency at every level of the marketing channel. It's impossible to do any DTC programs without hearing those dreaded words "return on investment". It seems that the old days of helping patients by providing a wealth of resources have been replaced with "we'll help you but please register so we can market to you first" syndrome.
DTC marketers have not embraced Consumer Generated Media because they are afraid of it and afraid of what the FDA might do to companies who embrace CGM. While marketers are transitioning to Web 2.0 and have learned that TV provides a poor return DTC marketers continue to "push" information to consumers. On the HCP area, HCP's are confused by the data wars going on with Avandia and other prescription drugs. All the pharma companies continue to do is publish data until it becomes a "he said, she said" finger pointing battle. Meanwhile physicians are embracing social media like never before while pharma continues to flood waiting rooms with programmed sales people who more often than not drop off samples and tissue boxes and leave.
Let's take a look at some DTC that is currently airing:
Lipitor: Lipitor is taking it on the chin because of generic competition yet the same messages continue to air with Dr Jarvik. High cholesterol is a silent killer and rather than address the people who have not taken action their spot seems to be centered on "LIPITOR reduces the risk of heart attack and stroke in patients with multiple risk factors". It has become apparent that consumers mistrust physician spokespeople because they feel that the doctor is "in the pockets of the drug companies". I have received a letter from my insurance company asking me to switch to generic statins but have received nothing from Pfizer that tells me why I should stay with Lipitor. B-
Cialis: With 36 hour Cialis....The brand has done nothing to address to issues that men with ED face and continues to focus on the 36 hour message. They obviously feel that they can't influence these men through TV and have remained with the same message time and time again. In looking at some ED message boards patients are becoming concerned about the 36 hour half-life and men who take Viagra are saying "I don't want a drug in my system for 3 hours". Cialis continues to make small gains in market share but it will never overtake Viagra and when Viagra goes generic Cialis sales will also plummet. D+
Celebrex: The DTC spots are so bad that I stopped taking Celebrex because they scared the shit out of me ! With what the FDA asked Pfizer to say on Celebrex DTC someone at Pfizer should have said "this isn't what we want to communicate". F
Exubra: Just saw my first DTC spot yesterday on the Nightly News. Again Pfizer is ignoring the consumer buzz around Exubra that paints a negative picture of the brand. The fair balance is enough to make anyone say "the side effects are not worth the effort". C-
Cymbalta: Depression hurts is a great campaign and the interactive website truly engages consumers. I would like to see a comparison of Cymbalta to generic SSRI's however. A+
Neulasta: "I'm ready" campaign is very good but tired. Amgen has never been known as a DTC powerhouse and it's easy to see why with campaigns like this that have outlived the message D-
Rozerem: F , enough said it is an awful waste of $100 million
Ambien CR: Great message "two products in one one to help you get to sleep one to keep you asleep. A+
Vytorin: Differentiate or die: Vytorin treats the 2 sources of cholesterol. A+
Astra Zenca: Get BC Facts.com A very good site with very good information but I would have like to seen more money to continue the message. A
Detrol: Excellent website with enough tools to engage customers. A
Now there are some good grades here but pharma continues to ignore consumer media. Most website are updated infrequently and pharma just doesn't understand the Internet yet while premiere marketers are making huge strides. The "we're a regulated industry" argument is a cop out and shows the continues "in the box" thinking. Transparency is also a foreign word to pharma companies because they are afraid of its potential impact on slogans that insinuate that "we care".
Pharma has a long way to go in a very turbulent and changing environment.
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