Sep/30/2007 09:52 Filed in:
DTC
Environment
Push
messages, repurpose brochures, one message for
all segments, add video to our website but above
all don't engage customers. This seems to be the
current model for pharma DTC advertising and
marketing. "After all we're a regulated
industry". That is nothing short of a cop out by
people who are more interested in appeasing the
internal powers than really talking with patients
and consumers in a relevant way.
Read
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Sep/28/2007 11:37 Filed in:
DUH !
Byetta
has been quietly increasing in sales with little
or no DTC advertising but it seems that Lilly
could not leave well enough alone. Someone had to
push to for Byetta DTC and the result is an awful
spot whose fair balance is downright scary.
Byetta is one of the few pharma product that has
been benefitting from consumer generated media,
namely buzz on message boards and in chat rooms
about weight loss. Rather than embrace that
channel Lilly has to do DTC because they saw an
opportunity with Avandias problems to gain some
share. Good decision...wrong channel.
Read
More...
Over
the past few years I have written many posts on
this BLOG about a variety of issue ranging from
DTC marketing, or lack thereof, to the pharma
industry in general. One of the great strengths
of the Internet is that it gives a voice to a lot
of people to express concerns or praise for
things that concern them. This BLOG was developed
by me because I am passionate about DTC
advertising and marketing as well as the
Internet. Never before in American history has a
communication channel been embraced by so many
people so rapidly. However, I also believe that
helping patients make educated healthcare
decisions should be the ultimate goal of all DTC
marketers...not winning awards that only
translate to another line in ones resume.
Read
More...
Sep/26/2007 06:52 Filed in:
DTC
Environment
I
am still in shock ! Rozerem nominated for "most
innovative DTC Campaign"? Surely this is a
misprint, but no it's just another absurdity from
DTC Perspectives the industry publication that
serves the egos of DTC marketers and agencies
more than the industry. But wait it gets better,
worse actually, Rozerem is also nominated for
"brand of the year" (over $90 spending). I have
to say that when I read the nominations and
talked to several colleagues in the industry we
all had a great laugh. It seems that the Rozerem
campaign is the "butt of jokes" within the
industry and to even suggest that they should be
nominated for an award is further indication of
just how bad DTC advertising has gone
downhill. Read
More...
Sep/25/2007 06:15 Filed in:
DTC
Environment
Slowly
but surely there is a revolution taking place in
healthcare...patient empowerment. More and more
patients are now going into physicians offices
armed with information from the Web and asking
for particular brands and about different
treatment options. While some physicians feel
threatened others are embracing this new trend
and will write what the patient asks for unless
the physician feel strongly otherwise.
Read
More...
Sep/22/2007 08:11 Filed in:
Current
DTC
According
to an article in the Indy Star Lilly is getting
ready to kick off a DTC campaign for Byetta, it's
injectable treatment for type 2 diabetics. It's
the perfect time to launch a DTC campaign as
there are a lot of diabetics who are looking for
alternative treatments for Avandia and Actos.
However, one of the most innovative campaigns
might be Byetta's
"Let's Talk"
program, a series of events in cities throughout
the USA hosted by Delta Burke.
Read
More...
Sep/21/2007 10:36 Filed in:
Pharma
Business
Pharma
marketers still have a lot to learn when it comes
to understanding that patients have more power
than ever over their healthcare choices and
decisions. Pharmaceutical companies still rank
near the bottom in customer service and favorable
industries according to eMarketer. Yet pharma
marketers continue to "push" messages to consumer
via websites and don't want to listen to what
their customers have to say. The pharma model is
not only broken it has disintegrated in the era
of newly empowered patients and consumers.
Read
More...
Sep/17/2007 05:45 Filed in:
Pharma
Business
Well
the people at Pfizer should not have to worry
much. Even with Cialis and Levitra spending money
on TV and a new refurbished Cialis website Viagra
is still way ahead in monthly unique visitors
with over 613,000 every month. Levitra.com is in
2nd place and Cialis is bringing up the rear.
Although I felt that the new Viva Viagra campaign
was a bit over the top it seems to be working and
driving more traffic to Viagra.com
Read
More...
Sep/15/2007 05:23 Filed in:
Internet
& DTC Marketing
The
web leads other sources – including healthcare
professionals – by a wide margin as the primary
source for household healthcare information. And
women search more frequently than men for
healthcare information online – and turn to a
greater variety of online resources. Yet pharma
continue to snub their nose at interactive
strategic resources. The public turns to the
Internet for not only specific medical
information, but also general information to keep
their family healthy and fit. Read
More...
Sep/15/2007 09:48 Filed in:
Internet
& DTC Marketing
Now
that I have a chance to read, and reread, the
Pharma Marketing report from eMarketer a number
of disturbing things pop out at me. Perhaps the
most disturbing is that pharma marketers believe
that the biggest potential for the Internet is a
"medium for providing information and services on
demand". This clearly shows that pharma marketers
do not understand the Web and the potential to
impact sales but more scary is that it shows that
pharma marketers are in denial about the power
that consumers now have when it comes to
marketers messages and their healthcare
choices. Read
More...
Sep/14/2007 06:18 Filed in:
Internet
& DTC Marketing
The
summary of the recent report from
eMarketer
should be a wake up call to all DTC marketers.
"Consumers are using the Internet to interact
with one another and with brands. Their online
experiences help to build or break trust in
brands and companies. Regulatory oversight of DTC
ads has not yet reached the Internet,but
marketers are playing it safer online than they
are in their own TVcommercials. Use of the
Internet as a marketing vehicle will only grow in
importance,a point pharmaceutical marketers
acknowledged in one survey." Why are marketers
playing it safe? Because they don't understand
the Internet and they see it as a "push" channel
to repurpose the same messages they provide in
offline brochures. Read
More...
Sep/14/2007 05:29 Filed in:
HCP
Marketing
Perception
is reality and no matter how much money you spend
it's hard to change perceptions, especially with
physicians. Physicians from Wake Forest
University School of Medicine analyzed four
clinical trials of Avandia lasting at least one
year each. They found that patients taking
Avandia had a 42% greater chance of having a
heart attack than those in the control group. Now
GSK can fight this data with more data but the
fact is that in all likelihood Avandia sales will
decline to a point that it will not be considered
a first line treatment for diabetes.
Read
More...
Sep/11/2007 03:16 Filed in:
DTC
Environment
At
fist glance of the new report from eMarketer on
pharmaceutical marketing online one would think
that pharma has embraced the Web. After all
online spending by pharma is expected $975
million in 2007 but a quick look behind these
numbers and we see that pharma is still in love
with other channels and doesn't understand that
patients hold a lot more power over their
healthcare choices than ever before.
Read
More...
Sep/11/2007 06:31 Filed in:
Pharma
Business
The force behind a great company has to be more
than the pride of one person; it has to be the
pride of thousands. You can't make people work
for money alone--you starve their souls when you
try it, and you can starve a company to death the
same way. This is a quote from the movie
"Executive Suite" which was made in 1953. Pride?
Are people in DTC really proud to be working in
the pharma industry? What must they think of a
management that is willing to stoop to selling
"me too" products in order to add a dime a year
to the dividend ? Read
More...
Sep/09/2007 04:37 Filed in:
Pharma
Business
In
this authors opinion the FDA has now adapted a
policy of being risk adverse. By doing so they
are doing a disservice to the very public that
they are supposed to protect and adding a burden
on the already strained health care system. This
is not how a government agency should respond to
questions from the congressional lawmakers and
the media. Unless changes are made all the agency
will successfully do is delay new drugs to market
and make them more expensive. Read
More...
Sep/08/2007 08:39 Filed in:
Pharma
Business
Daniel
L. Vasella, chief executive of Novartis, the $39
billion pharmaceutical giant based in
Switzerland, says that even though Americans have
made progress in curing some diseases, they face
a major increase in obesity- and aging-related
diseases. More importanly, in an interview with
the NY Times, he talks about drug prices and the
pharmaceutical industry. This is a message that
needs to be hear by those in Congress and
Amercian consumers. Read
More...
Tags: Novartis
Sep/03/2007 09:48 Filed in:
Pharma
Business
Well
here we are at Labor day 2007 and the pharma
industry continues it's uphill climb against a
hostile environment. When they are caught with
manipulated or withheld data they lose brands
that could have been or are blockbusters and then
soon afterwards the layoffs start. There is
nothing more stressful than going to work and not
knowing if you are going to be called into an
office and told that you now have two weeks
salary for every year you worked with the company
and we don't need you anymore. CEO's continue to
pull down millions in packages but middle
managers are the ones that all too often are left
holding the bag. Read
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Sep/02/2007 07:33 Filed in:
DTC
Environment
By
now readers of this authors BLOG know that I tend
to be very passionate about the Web. In an era
when consumers have all the power and in a wealth
of information the Web offers marketers a chance
to learn from their audience and interact with
consumers like never before. But what is the Web?
Is it DTC or patient education? In a perfect
world it is a little of both providing consumers
with answers to their health choices and
informing and educating them on disease states
and medications.
Read
More...
