Implications of headlines for DTC marketing
May/11/2007 05:34
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If
DTC marketers don't feel that the recent rash of
negative headlines (Oxy Cotin maker lied about
addiction, J&J and Amgen possibly promoting
higher dosing of medications) is going to effect
their campaigns then they are living in a fantasy
world. These stories are going to continue to chip
away at the credibility of pharmaceutical companies
to deliver relevant information to patients and cause
more consumers to research all treatment
options.
The headline in NBC News last night could not have
been more dramatic: The maker of Oxicontin lied and
has to pay a $600 million fine. The front page of
Wednesday's New York Times details how doctors are
making a lot of money by prescribing anemia drugs.
Welcome to the world of information where everything
is transparent. Unfortunately most DTC marketers will
continue to live in their own world oblivious to the
damage these headlines do to their campaigns. They
believe that consumers can be "sold" and that we see
something on TV and then go ask our doctor for that
medication. Rumor has it that they also believe in
the tooth fairy !
These headlines do have implications for DTC
marketers regardless of what the polls or research
say. With the current political climate, gas reaching
$4.00 a gallon and a impending change at the
Presidency consumers are going to be even more
skeptical of anything that corporate America has to
say. Here are some possible implications for
marketers;
-Consumers are going to do a hell of a lot more
research. They may not trust their physicians
recommendations anymore if they believe the physician
is motivated by drug industry dollars. Consumers will
seek out more health information online with
credibility of content being a key driver.
-New Products: Wait and see? Some patients may take a
wait and see attitude on new products to ensure that
they are indeed safe and effective. However patients
may ask the FDA for speedy approval of new products
that may extend life for potential fatal conditions
such as cancer.
-Separate credible information from promotional
information: Don't sell too hard let consumers make
up their minds. Present the facts and let consumer be
your jury.
-Be transparent: If their are issues surrounding your
product admit it upfront and inform the public what
YOU are doing to address these issues.
The power continues to shift from markers to
consumers and as along as the pharma industry
continues to screw up and is driven by corporate
greed consumer will become more and more skeptical of
marketers product claims.
I'm a DTC Marketer
Apr/26/2007 08:02
Permalink
I'm a DTC marketer
and proud of the job that I do. There are principles
that I live by and maybe it's time for others to
think about their own principles before making
decisions that could impact the lives of thousands of
patients. At some point in everyone's career you are
going to have a draw a line in the sand for what you
beleive. It could be a matter of getting a paycheck
or losing a job but we all have to held accountable
to the highest standard; ourselves. Here is a list of
the principles which I use everyday in my career as a
pharma and health DTC marketer.
My
Guiding Principles:
1. The customer is at the center of everything I do:
If it doesn't benefit my customer then why do it in
an age when consumers have all the power?
2. I believe my job is to educate and inform
customers about my brand in a relevant and meaningful
way.
3. I will inform my customers about the good and the
bad in language they understand. I will try to simply
the label language so that they can understand their
risks of using my product.
4. When is doubt about conveying information put
yourself in your customers shoes and ask "would I
want to know if I was using the product".
5. Everything I do I do just like a customer was
sitting in my office looking over my shoulder.
6. I will separate the promotional content from
factual content.
7. I believe that my product when used correctly can
improve the quality of my patients life.
8. I will provide my customers with fair and balanced
information and won't try to "sell" them. Customers
are too smart for sales and marketing talk.
9. If my patients/customers are concerned than I am
concerned and will do my best to let them know what
is going on.
10. I will listen to what is being said by my
customers and try and use resources at my disposal to
provide them with answers that matter.
11. Finally, if I feel that someone is risking my
customers health by manipulating or holding back data
I will speak up and create waves. I will ensure that
everyone in the organization puts themselves in our
customers place and asks "what would they want to
know". At the end of the day I will not compromise my
customers health for financial gain.
We all have to make choices at some point in our
careers and I have made the decision that I will not
compromise my beliefs or principles. I have worked
with marketers who are more interested in shining
their own stars than doing what is best for patients
but in the end their stars will burn out. DTC
marketers need to think about what they WILL and
WON'T do in the interest on their customers. At the
end of the day it's not about company slogans or
marketing positioning statements it's about being
held accountable at every level of the organization.
DTC National: The blind leading the blind
Apr/13/2007 01:25
Permalink
The DTC National
just wrapped up and although I didn't attend it seems
that once again it's the same old show with DTC
marketers. More case studies, more "we did this" and
this was the result. There were some people who tried
to make DTC marketers aware that the familiar
landscape is changing and changing dramatically but I
am sure that most of this fell on deaf ears. DTC
marketers haven't yet realized that the power has
shifted to consumers and that marketers messages are
largely being ignored. Still with TV dying a slow
death the media buyers should be thankful that there
are so many stupid people in DTC marketing who
continue to worship the almighty TV spots
.
More and more people are getting used to time
shifting thanks to Steve Jobs and Apple. You see time
is the new currency and consumer like watching things
according to THEIR schedule not the TV Guide. More
and more people are using DVR's and of those people
most skip commercials (DUH!). Of course DTC marketers
continue to pontificate the end of the 60 second spot
and wonder what they can do to break through the
clutter. Cialis commercials continue to run (yawn) as
well as Neulasta (double yawn) and the competitors in
the cholesterol category. Marketers continue to
analyze the impact of these spots and manipulate data
to show outrageous ROI's (400%?) to senior managers
who all too often don't understand consumer
marketing.
DTC Marketers Still Behind the Mainstream
As more and more premiere marketers, like P&G,
allocate more money to the web and less to TV DTC
marketers produce really bad DTC spots like Rozerem.
I once asked why this was happening but after talking
to a number of colleagues in phara marketing I think
I have a pretty good idea as to what's going on. Here
are the reasons that DTC marketers continue to ignore
the web as I see them:
1.
They don't understand the Web: The web is a pull
channel and marketers just can't get that through
their heads. They would rather expose you to TV spots
on the website or lengthy videos that take a long
time to load even with broadband. If consumers don't
like what you say they are gone with a click of the
mouse.
2.
They don't understand how to measure the impact of
online programs: Web analytics are
getting more and more sophisticated. They can tell
you how people are thinking when they come to your
website and what information drives conversion. The
key is that you have to have people who are
eMarketers not IT people set up these measurement
criteria because a basic understanding of consumer
behavior is needed.
3.
The budget drives the strategy: More and more
marketers are spending a lot more online and with the
basic laws of supply and demand premium placements on
websites is becoming more and more expensive. Media
planners don't know how to integrate the Web or
measure the impact of online ads or purchased key
words.
4.
Once the website is launched I'm
done: If anyone ever
tells you that then you know they are talking from
ignorance. As you learn more and more about your
customers needs and what information drives
conversion you need to continually optimize the
website to make it more user friendly and drive
business objectives.
5.
TV is glamorous: When programs like
American Idol are number one you know that TV
programming has gone down hill. Lots of money very
little ROI.
6.
Hire eMarketing people who are passionate about what
they do: I'll take a
passionate person over a "competent" person any day
of the week. I can't tell you the number of basic
eMarketing questions I get from people that cause me
to ask "what is going on here?".
OK, I've ranted enough but frankly how many more
times do DTC marketers need to attend these events
and listen with closed ears. Agencies continue to
present compelling reasons to move more dollars
online but marketers are either too stupid to listen
or just don't get it. Maybe there should be a
moratorium on DTC marketing so DTC marketers can have
a chance to catch up on a consumer drive world that
has passed them bye...
A world without DTC
Mar/22/2007 06:38
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A bill
currently in the house would prohibit pharma
companies from doing DTC for three years after a
drugs initial approval. But what are the implications
of this? Far reaching I'm afraid. DTC advertising
drives consumers into physicians to ask about
medications and raises awareness of disease
conditions that, left untreated, could lead to major
health issues. Has the House and Senate thought of
these issues? Of course not because it's easier to
get on the bandwagon then to approach prescription
drug advertising with reason and logic.
If this bill were to become law consumers would be
the losers. Rather than learn about new drugs through
innovative advertising (of course there is very
little of that in DTC today) they would have to rely
on their physicians to inform them of choices. They
would not be able to research prescription drug
choices because they would not be aware that there
were in fact choices. Click stream analysis in our
industry clearly shows that consumers are comparing
medications because they want to have choices when it
comes to their healthcare choices. Congress would
have us believe that consumer are too dumb to make
their own choices and are influenced too much by DTC
ads. What a bunch of garbage !
TV networks will also be big losers if this bill
becomes law. The only increase in TV advertising has
come from the pharma industry. The majority of the
billions of dollars spent on DTC is on TV and if a
moratorium went into place networks would lose a
valuable source of revenue.
Then of course there are the pharma companies. At a
time when costs are increasing to develop and bring
drugs to market they would essentially be handcuffed
from maximizing their ROI for 36 months. That's a big
bite out of the revenue pie and one has to wonder if
in fact less drugs would go through the pipeline
because the ROI model would change.
What will happen? That's anyone guess but like I have
said all along the environment for pharma marketing
is changing. The pharma industry needs new blood in
the DTC marketing departments and more importantly a
new leader who can lead the industry into the next
era of challenges.
Good talent is hard to find in eMarketing
Mar/14/2007 06:50
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eMarketing is fast
becoming a highly demanded position. Good eMarketers,
people who understand marketing and the strengths of
the Internet, are hard to find. Some pharma companies
are putting IT people into eMarketing roles and this
is a huge mistake but shows how little these
companies understand the Web and its ability to
connect with customers.
IT people are great for actually implementing Web
initiatives but to develop an integrated online
Internet strategy you need someone who understand
marketing, the Internet and more importantly Web
analytics. Too often I still hear that pharma
companies are building websites as an after thought
putting all their time and effort into developing DTC
strategies and testing and retesting messages. The
fact that so little effort is being allocated to the
Web tells me that most DTC marketers are still living
in the past and don't understand the Webs unique
ability to deliver targeted messaging and connect
people with each other.
This week I had a chance to go to one of the ED
boards on Yahoo! and Web MD. What I found really
surprised me..there were men talking about Levitra,
Cialis and Viagra. One person said "stay away from
Levitra it gave me a really bad back ache and my nose
was so stuffy I had to use nasal spray for 2 days".
Another talked about Cialis and said "I like the fact
that Cialis lasts 36 hours but after I have sex I
don't want the drug in my system". There were also
numerous posts from women asking how other women got
their husbands to go to the doctor and ask for ED
medications. Then there were numerous posts asking
about the comparison of the side effects between the
three medications. What a gold mine of information
yet DTC marketers have no idea how to harness the
power of consumer generated media and still are not
aware that people are talking to one another on the
Web.
Given that most pharma companies are matrix
organization that require a ton of meetings to do
ANYTHING the continued ignorance of the Internet is
nothing short of abysmal. Cialis had returned to TV
yet their website is stagnant. Levitra, after doing
some extensive testing, is also back on the air with
the same spots they used before while their website
remains as a 'push information" site. Ohhh by the way
I love the video
of the old guy on Cialis.com
under
"talk to your doctor". I am sure a LOT of 40 or 50
somethings can relate to someone who looks to be
in his mid to late 70's.
I guess I am one of the exceptions because I have a
passion for the Internet and its capabilities. I know
that the balance of power has shifted from marketers
to consumers in a wired 24/7 world. Maybe there are
just too many DTC marketers who see their jobs as
jobs rather than a chance to make a difference in
patients lives or maybe its because there is no
lifeguard on duty in the DTC marketing talent
pool.
Customers don't get respect
Mar/11/2007 05:28
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When I first arrived
at Lilly to begin my DTC career one of the Directors
said to me that we should always act like one of our
patients/customers is sitting with us in our cube. I
have tried to carry that forward with me in
everything I do, but mostly on websites. I learned
via research with customers that they want
information they can understand and "don't want to be
sold" with product expectations that the brand may
not be able to deliver to them.
I now work with a target audience consisting mostly
of Type-1 diabetics. We uncovered some great
information such as..
-Don't try and "sell us" give us the good and bad
about your product.
-Physicians know a lot about diabetes but not about
the different treatment options.
-Don't compare us with Type-2 diabetics. We can't
control whether we get this disease through diet and
exercise.
They told us in simple terms "don't sell me", give me
the good the bad and let me decide if your product is
right for me. It all comes down to a simple concept:
respect for your customers. You see in this wired
information age people talk to each other via
consumer generated media (BLOGS, VLOGS, Chat Rooms,
Message Boards) and have a wealth of websites to get
information on health choices. Most DTC marketers
haven't learned this. They would rather use their
websites to over promise and sell rather than treat
customers with respect and acknowledge that they have
choices and a wealth of knowledge at their
fingertips.
This is a major problem with pharma product websites.
It seems that in order to do anything online
marketers have to justify their dollars via an ROI
and if they can't then they don't get the money.
That's too bad because that mentality negates
corporate slogans like "answers that matter". It
should read "answers that matter if you can cut
through our promotional messages".
I got into DTC because I believe it empowers people
to make better health care choices. I want to treat
my customers wit respect because I know they have
choices. You only get one chance to make a first
impression unfortunately too may DTC marketers are
business people first and patient advocates
second.
The times are a changin'
Mar/04/2007 08:06
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Marketers spend a
lot of money trying to get patients to ask their
physician for medications but sometimes physicians
will lead patients down another path. Those days
maybe coming to an end as patients spend more time
online researching health conditions and talking to
other patients about therapy choices. In addition
many websites now allow patients to rate their
physicians which could lead to a change in their
health care choices.
Baby-boomers, the biggest demographic segment, are
reaching that point in their lives when they are
going to start having health problems. The
psychographics of this generation is quite different
than other segments. They are quite skeptical of "the
establishment" having grown up with scandals and war.
Now it seems that nothing has changed; we are in
another war that is dividing the country and more
corporate scandals are in the headlines everyday. How
does this translate to the current state of DTC
marketing? Many ways...
First, customers are going to be skeptical about your
message. They are going to go to your competitors
site and talk to others to determine which product is
right for them. Second, if their doctor doesn't truly
engage them in their health care discussion they may
look elsewhere for treatment. Now this is a change
..we have heard before that the "doctor" is in fact
the gatekeeper of health treatment recommendations
but the landscape is changing. I heard it loud and
clear in my research last month with Type 1
diabetics: their doctor is a good choice of
information on the disease but not on treatment
options.
Why is this happening? Well let's look at from the
patients point of view. I asked my research
participants "how many actually sit down with their
doctor to talk about different treatments or review
their current overall health?". The answer was very
few. One person in fact said "I'm lucky if I get more
than 5 minutes with my doctor I seem to spend more
time than that with the nurse". Another said "I came
in with a host of questions about my medications and
my doctor told me to go to one of the health websites
for more information". I knew this was coming but the
comments from my research subjects caught me by
surprise. I expected this trend to be evolutionary
but now it seems that it maybe more revolutionary.
It's tough to be a doctor today. In addition to
overhead like staffing the costs of malpractice
insurance has skyrocketed with the increased
litigation. In order to make a practice profitable
physicians have to see as many patients as possible,
they just don't have the luxury of spending a lot of
time to hear patients concerns anymore. Let's also
remember that insurance companies limit what
physicians can charge for most medical procedures as
well.
I predict that the changing of the guard, the power
shift from marketers and physicians, to patients is
going to continue and grow faster than we
anticipated. Here are some things that DTC marketers
can do to meet these challenges:
1.
The good and the bad- Patients want to
know the good and bad about taking your medication.
Be upfront clearly explain the side effects and more
importantly what percentage of patients get these
side effects. The higher the value equation the more
mistrustful your audience is going to be.
2.
Connect your patients to each
other-
People want to talk to other to see what their
experiences are like. Experience marketing is about
connecting patients to each other so that they get a
feel for what it's like to chose your therapy and
answer questions that marketers may not have thought
of.
3.
Move away from mass marketing to mass
customization- TV is great for
increasing awareness of your brand but once that
awareness is at a certain level target specific
patient segments with specific messages via the Web
using behavioral targeting.
4.
Refine the message- As your product
moves through the life-cycle refine your message as
you identify triggers for treatment. Learn all you
can about people who are your customers; "why did
they chose your product?", "what advice would they
give to others who were searching for treatment
choices?"
5. Finally, take off your marketers hat and think
like your customers. Understand that there is way too
much clutter out there and it's going to be hard to
get your message to your audience. Do more with less
!
Yes the times are a changing but the problem is that
DTC marketing is still relatively in it's infancy.
DTC marketers are still learning but the lessons
maybe outdated before they are taught.
Listening to my customers
Feb/01/2007 06:44
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This week we
conducted two days of qualitative market research to
listen to our customers. Although I believe that a
lot of marketers spend way too much time and money on
market research it's great to get out and listen to
our customers to see what's on their minds. What I
found was that they are more than willing to share
their opinions and insights about diabetes, today's
health care environment and the Internet.
Nearly all of the people participating in the focus
groups turn to the Internet for health information
but they also seem to be frustrated with the
"clarity" of that information. All too often they
find the information confusing and hard to understand
even on sites like Web MD. We also heard that they
tend not to trust manufacturers sites because "they
will only tell you the good things not the bad". We
heard this both days from all our groups. They want
to be able to compare products against each other and
are very frustrated that they usually have to go to a
number of different sites to get that information.
Content is king on websites and we heard from a
number of people that a lot of the content on
product.com websites is hard to understand.
We then did an interesting exercise, we let them
design our new website home-page and then they
presented the home pages to the other people in the
groups. This was enlightening because the Web is
about what users want not what marketers want them to
see. What was funny was that they quickly switched
hats from consumers to marketers saying things like
"we want our visitors to go here". One thing became
apparent though..I want what I want and if I can't
find it on your site I am going to leave and go
elsewhere.
Not
Happy With Their Doctors
One would think that their physicians would offer
advice on medications and or medical devices but we
found the opposite. All too often HCP's just gave
patients brochures or told them to go to the Web to
answer their questions. In fact on woman was as bold
to say that "all doctors are whores" when asked about
getting health information from their HCP's.
Obviously she has had a bad experience with her
doctor but people want to talk about their health
issues and more importantly talk to each other. This
is where the Web can play a big part in bringing
people together to share their experiences. Our
subjects continually expressed the desire for patient
testimonials but only if they were real and not
"edited". "I want to know what happens the good and
the bad experience" said one person, and the others
were quick to agree. The Internet can be that channel
to bring these people together but I am sure that the
legal and regulatory people are going to have
something to say about that. Still I am going to move
forward with this goal..I went as far as to invite a
person from my legal team to the research and she
said that it was "highly enlightening" and that I was
right we have to find a way to make it happen for the
benefit of our patients. For the benefits of our
patients....that to me is what it's all about.
Building Trust with a skeptical Congress and Public
Jan/22/2007 07:16
Permalink
Well obviously the
New York Times is trying its best to persuade public
opinion against pharmaceutical companies. Today on
the first page of the Business section the Times has
a story titled "Showdown in Congress over DTC".
Forget for a moment that the story is one sided and
takes a very myopic view of DTC advertising, you
would think that because of DTC people are taking
medications they don't need and that patients could
save real money if only DTC could be reigned in. How
many punches does it take before the pharmaceutical
industry gets up and starts fighting back?
The pharmaceutical industry is known for doing a
wealth of market research and development of
messaging before launching branded ads. Why the
industry doesn't band together and take this same
approach to inform and educate consumers is beyond
me. Instead we have the CEO of Merck talking about
breakthrough products and Pfizer spots highlighting
their R&D at the same time we read about Vioxx
litigation and record profits for pharma
manufacturers. This approach is about as credible as
the oil companies charging us $3.50 for a gallon of
gas.
The key question is "does DTC serve a public
purpose?". The answer to that according to research
is YES. Most of us want to have choices in our
healthcare, including prescription drugs we put into
our bodies. We want to be able to maximize the
limited time we spend with our doctors asking
educated and informed questions. DTC advertising can
help make more people aware that certain conditions,
if left untreated, can lead to a decreased quality of
life not to mention adding a financial burden to our
healthcare system. How many people have statins saved
from coronary heart disease? How many people have
beat cancer thanks to early detection influenced by
advertising? These are all questions that need to be
addressed when the government looks to reign in DTC.
ACTION
PLAN
Here is what I believe needs to be done to address
the skeptics in Congress and take a proactive
approach to DTC enforcement;
1.
Moratorium- Have a 120 day
moratorium on DTC advertising for newly approved
prescription medications. This would give
pharmaceutical companies a chance to educate and
inform HCP's about the new drug in preparation for a
"hard launch". However, if a product is truly a
breakthrough and could save lives than pharma should
be allowed to ask for an "exception" and start DTC
when the drug is approved and the spots have been
approved by the FDA.
2.
FDA Adds Staff- The FDA needs to add
people to review all DTC advertising, especially
people who are familiar with the Internet and message
development.
3.
Continued Research- The FDA needs to
continue to sponsor ongoing market research to
determine the effects of DTC on the public, including
pharma-economics. This research plan needs to have
buy in from skeptics in Congress so that they can
quantify the effect of DTC on our healthcare costs.
4.
Pharma Needs to Build Trust- Start from square
one and build trust with a skeptical public and
media. Invite reporters in to observe the DTC process
and compliance training. Educate the public on how
much it costs to develop a new drug and how many
actually make it to market. Show the numbers of how
many people are living a higher quality of life due
to prescription mediations.
5.
Allocate more money to disease
awareness- The more people we
can educate on early signs and dangers of certain
conditions the more the industry can benefit.
6.
Work closer with physicians on DTC
-Yes,
that's right ask for physicians input when developing
DTC spots. Share research with them on what consumers
and patients are saying about branded ads. Believe it
or not physicians want to know more about their
patients behavior and attitudes when it comes to
healthcare choices.
Only when the industry bands together for the good of
its patients will they be able to take that first
step towards building trust with a skeptical public
and media. We have a long way to go but sometimes the
first step is the hardest.
If Monet worked in pharma
Jan/19/2007 06:32
Permalink
The DTC Marketing
environment is quite unique in today's matrix
pharmaceutical organization. So what would Claude
Monet have had to do in order to paint one of his
masterpieces if he worked in pharma? Well read on
it's not pretty but it's what a lot of DTC marketing
people go through when they launch campaigns.
Well let's see before he could start painting he
would have to spend time with market research to
determine if the scene he planned to paint resonates
with his target audience. Then they would take a
picture of the scene and do some qualitative research
to determine which one communicates the feeling
behind the image more clearly. Now that Claude has
gone through that he is ready to paint right? Not so
fast...what size canvas should he use? Ooooops gotta
go back and do some more market research to determine
which size canvas has the right look and feel with
our audience.
Well now after 3 or months of research Claude is
ready to settle down and finally paint. He begins to
paint the beautiful scene before him but as he is
painting the manager who is funding the painting
tells him that there is too much green and can we get
some new talent to replace some of the colors. Well
Claude is getting upset now and tells the manager
that this is art but the manage says that research
has consistently shown that people like pink in
paintings so we need more pink.
The painting is completed and Claude finally shows it
to the team upon which the market research person
says "OK lets do some more qual to see if it talks to
our audience". So the painting is shown to focus
groups around the country and they give some
input.."Hmmm one person says..I really like blue and
there is no blue in the picture". A week later the
DTC manager communicates to management that the
research went well although there was a consensus
that more blue is needed (she likes blue as well). So
they send Claude back to the studio and tell him to
add more blue.
Finally after months of touching up the painting they
are finally ready to show to millions of people. The
picture is aired on TV to huge crowds and everyone
likes it but after showing the beautiful painting for
a while IMS has shown that the orders have not
increased for Monet paintings?
"Oh our objective was awareness of colored Monet
paintings not to sell any" the DTC manager states .
"If we want to sell them than I need more money for a
bigger painting on another TV special".
So Claude is informed that he has to go through the
whole process again and develop some more paintings.
Claude is naturally upset, "this is art not science"
upon which the DTC manager responds.."hmmm
interesting let's research that in our next qual
group" !
Why I love working in DTC marketing
Dec/23/2006 11:27
Permalink
Another
year is about to enter the books as history and I
believe that that that the future of DTC advertising
is needed more now than ever. I believe that there is
value in DTC advertising. It allows me to make better
and more informed choices when it comes to my
healthcare so that I don't always have to rely on my
physician. I can work with her to chose the
medication that I believe will be best for me.
I love the challenge of DTC marketing in an era when
more and more boomers are reaching ages when they are
going to require more Rx's to help them maintain a
better quality of life. Even when I was marketing
Cialis I believe, as I still do, that it's the best
treatment for ED on the market. Although lifestyle
drugs have gotten somewhat a bad rap in the press
they play a role in bringing people closer together.
I remember ,during some qualitative research with
women (partners of ED suffers), how one person in
particular made me realize the importance of what we
do. Her husband had ED due to diabetes and they had
not had intimate relations for over a year. After
dealing with some internal issues (i.e. "it's my
fault") she finally talked him into going to see
their doctor and ask for Viagra. She planned a
special weekend away and rented a cabin in the woods
and had arranged for relatives to take care of their
children. When her husband came back from the doctor
he came back empty handed because he was too
embarrassed to ask their physician for an Rx for
Viagra. When she told this story there was pain in
her voice and you could clearly see that the lack of
intimacy was having an effect on her and their
marriage. That is when I learned that ED is not just
a mans condition but a couples condition and I wanted
to do as much as possible to reach these people to
try and communicate this along with steps they could
take to address this issue together.
DTC marketing at its best can provide answers to both
the physical and emotional aspects of health
problems. At its worst it can be intrusive and overly
promotional but I believe that most DTC marketers can
find that balance. DTC marketers have to believe in
what they do and what they are selling. You can't
take someone who used to work for Coke and put them
in a DTC marketing position and expect them to excel,
at least that is what I believe. When you ask
yourself "what am I selling?" the answer should
always be "hope and health". We're not selling purple
pills or blue tablets..we're selling a better quality
of life and that is what America's pharmaceutical
companies need to communicate to the public.
There will be no doubt that changes are in store for
DTC as we approach another year. We have a new head
of the FDA who must take an agency under siege and
prioritize issues facing the public with a newly
elected skeptical Congress and House. Vioxx
litigation continues in the news and the recent
series of story on Lilly's Zyprexa are all sure to
keep the media spotlight on the pharmaceutical
industry. Maybe I am an idealist but I will continue
to believe that DTC marketing is an essential
strategy for reaching consumers. I will continue to
develop DTC programs that provides answers and as I
develop and implement these program I will do so just
as if my patients were looking over my shoulder
because in the end it's all about them not
us..