Sales and Marketing Effectiveness

“Medical-ese can be very intimidating and off-putting … try to use very clear, simple language”
-Sue Miller

ngp. Brand building is very important as it drives customer loyalty. How do you start that brand building process?
SM. Given our name, The CementWorks, it’s not surprising that we use an architectural/construction model to describe our brand building process. The analogy works very nicely because we believe that great brands aren’t born, they’re built. We constantly remind our clients that when you’re building a house, you can’t put the wallpaper up before you’ve built the walls.

We start with a “site survey”. What does the competitive landscape look like? Is this a crowded category, such as hypertension, which we would liken to New York City or an undeveloped market like erectile dysfunction was 10 years ago – which we would liken to an unspoiled island perhaps. Are we building the first building? The tallest building? A modest structure that will be dwarfed in some other brands shadow?

Next we assess the “environmental impact” – here the twist is to figure out how we create the greatest impact within our environment. During this phase we identify the strategic imperative for success, we conduct a needs/gap analysis to see how we can differentiate our brand and address an unmet need in the market (hopefully). We search for the best “coupling” of the rational benefits that the brand delivers to the emotional needs of our customers (yes, even physicians have emotional needs!). We develop positioning and the message platform.

Finally, we draft the “brand blueprint”. At this stage we crystallize the “softer” side of the brand: its promise and its personality, even the color palate that we’ll use. We begin developing concepts for the logo and icon – which become the brand signature. And we develop the overall campaign to launch the brand.

Once research has helped us refine the concepts, we go into full “construction” mode. Illustration or photography is commissioned, the materials that will be disseminated to various audiences are written, designed, reviewed by medical and regulatory personnel, and finally printed.

What has been conceptual up until this point is not “real” – we have the printed materials, the premium items, the videos, the booths, the ads, etc. This we call the “brand opening”. As exciting as this stage is, it doesn’t stop there, however. Because a brand, like a building, requires upkeep and maintenance – sometimes even a new addition is added along the way. Like a landmark building, it can draw people for years to come.

NGP. A patent can often run out just a few years into the commercial life of a product. How do you make sure that a product will continue to have a monopoly on its market?
SM. Boy, that’s the multi-billion dollar question. If I had that answer I would be able to retire tomorrow!

As you know, pharmaceutical companies have armies of lawyers who do nothing but protect, defend, and develop strategies to extend the patents on big brands. The introduction of a generic competitor will erode market share by 50 percent virtually overnight. New formulations, new indications, new combination therapies, and OTC switch strategies are regularly employed. In the US, companies are granted six months additional patent life if they conduct pediatric trials. Virtually all companies now take advantage of that strategy.

Despite the lawyers’ best efforts, only a few products that I’m aware of have been able to maintain substantial market share once the patent has expired. These include Premarin, Synthroid, and Dilantin. The secret to their success seems to lie more in the manufacturing complexity than marketing genius, however. Brands that rely on delivery systems such as insulin, growth hormones, asthma inhalers, etc, have the added advantage of developing a superior device to maintain share. This has been very effective in some categories.

Recently, some manufacturers have been successful in educating physicians and patients about the wide variance in pharmacokinetics that can be seen with generics – particularly if different brands of generics are utilized in refill situations. Pancreatic enzyme replacement therapies and antiseizure medications are two examples are two examples that come to mind. They have even been successful enlisting patient advocacy groups to help lobby to prevent mandatory pharmacy switches.

If anything, I suspect this will become even a greater concern for pharmaceutical companies as legislative bodies are talking about shortening patents – not lengthening them – in the near future.

Sue Miller is one of the founding partners at The CementWorks, a full service healthcare communications company in New York City. Sue has spent her entire care in healthcare agencies and has been privileged to spearhead the launch of six megabrands: Spiriva, Lipitor, Viagra, Zithromax, Norvasc, and Di