On the campaign trail- Part II

Over the weekend, Wyeth's Prevenar held its inaugural PAW walk at Bishan Park. I'd picked up the flyer at my child's music school. I'd almost decided that it may be nice to take my child for a stroll in the park, afterall there aren't many outdoor events organized for babies and toddlers (so what if i may be assaulted with messages telling me about the ills of pneumoccal infections, how vaccination is finally able to help, blah blah..), until i realised that it starts way too early in the morning.

Admittedly Prevenar has mananged to run an excellent post-launch DTC campaign, it has all the hallmarks as far as outbound marketing is concerned, the right segments were targetted effectively, well defined value proposition, great promotional mix, clear and consistent PR and communications.

As a consumer (my kid got vaccinated even before it was listed in most of the institutions), my first exposure to Prevenar was from a TVC of a poignant cartoon clip which told of a child suffering from the aftermath of a pneumoccocal infection. thereafter, i started seeing similar toned ads in the dailies, parenting magazines, and other below-the-line media.

When my doctor told me there's a new vaccine in town (besides Rotarix-which GSK didn't seem as keen on aggressive promotion), i'd already known all about Prevenar and its indications. I have no need for the glossy brochure he handed me detailing the benefits of the vaccine.

It would all have ended there, after all AIDA had been satisfied, and the company would've pocketed a neat profit. but Wyeth ploughed on, i continued to read (although by now, i merely skim through) about the various manifestations of pneumoccocal diseases, causes, treatment, prevention, etc, etc from Mind Your Body and other heavyweights in healthcare publications. Any dissonance, should i have it, would have totally sublimated by now.

Soon these messages started appearing in numerous popular local websites. nevermind that not all of them are parenting nor healthcare sites. the very wide penetration and prevalence of using internet media is for the first time being seen in a pharmaceutical product. While other brands have created internet sites for disease education, etc, Prevenar is using e-marketing as an advertising tool for a wider reach.

This is especially so when they were publicizing the PAW walk. I am sure the media vehicle had swung into action, everywhere i turn, i see a (e-) brouchure in the GP/specialist/hospital clinics, .com and even .gov sites, dailies, trades, the list goes on.

The repetition has gone to me. I soon found myself sharing Prevenar information with other parents. I have become the ideal consumer.

Sure, other pharma brands have used internet marketing, public relations and creative communications before. but what makes Prevenar stands out is that it has managed to keep its IMC tight and seamless. While most other brands tries to dip their toes into PR and retract when they have satisfied the no. of hits to justify the spend to the senior management team and then quickly change tack to run a patient program or a clinical trial which is perceived to have a more rapid and direct impact on sales, Prevenar perseveres and continue to build upon its selling story. Most marketers understands that a successful campaign needs time to develop.

i have a hunch that there are a lot more synergy between their pharma and consumer divisions who has a long standing tradition in paediatric nutrition amongst other products. However, in terms of pharma marketing of an ethical drug, i consider Wyeth to have scored a real winner with this campaign.

What's in a mascot?

There has been an interesting trend of late. There has been more pharmaceutical brands employing the use of mascots in their campaigns. While there has been an upsurge in the use of mascots and brand characters lately (these last couple of years), it is not entirely new to the market.

Several years ago, Zoloft (which has since gone off patent) had used the familiar bright yellow smiley face icon to great success. Even till this day, psychiatrists and patients still bear a warm affinity towards the brand.

Recent local pharma campaigns have seen the creation of (to name a few):

The Protectors (GSK- vaccines), a group of children cartoon characters out to save and rid the world of naughty viruses
the Seretide dinosaur (GSK- seretide), another purple dinosaur, resembling nothing like its richer cousin in showbiz
the Nicorette man (Pfizer- nicorette), see above. 'nuff said
the Thrombus man (SanofiBMS- Plavix), a giant reddish blob of lard (mainly nasty LDL deposits)
Pneumo (Wyeth- Prevenar), a cute cuddly blue teddy bear albeit with a darkened patch over its left eye (not a side effect hopefully)
and of questionable 'taste', Mr Cucumber head (Pfizer-Viagra), this one has yet to prove whether it has 'staying power'- puns intended.

many of us have grown up with watching our mothers sweeten our morning beverage with the dutch lady milk, devouring breakfast cereal with tony the tiger promising a great start to the day, taking photos with the colonel outside KFC restaurants... the list goes on. consumer brands are rift with mascots. Mascots are great for creating a brand identity, sometimes encompassing the features of the product. besides capturing consumers' attention, they also create an emotive association with the brand and when done nicely, will essentially lead to an enduring relationship with the consumer.

with its sudden increase in popularity in pharma, i am forced to ponder about the true value of a mascot in pharma marketing.

marketers in drug companies are expected to prep the local market for launch of a new product by finding an unmet need in the treatment of so-and-so disease, penetrate the segments in which the product is indicated for, increase market share year-on-year, manage the PLC, strategize and gain market share against competitors, prepare for threat of new players, and eventually entry of generic substitutes, and depending on the pipeline potential of the company, may still be expected to grow the drug past patent expiry if the organization's survival depends on it. All these have to be done within a decade. Unlike consumer brands, drug patents only run for a maximum of 10 years in most countries. Pharma marketing is like marketing fast forward. with hardly any time to optimize profits, creating a lasting brand equity through (in this context,) the mascot seem like a real fantasy to me.

which is why i find most pharma mascots to be such a sad waste of creative effort. i believe that many are done with the intention of amusing for the short-term rather than as a real brand identifier for the long-term. and looking at how many are introduced from the mid to late stage of the PLC, it serves to ask what the brand managers are hoping to achieve in their objectives.

on a last note however, mascots can be fun and have definitely injected some level of color and excitement into this (at most times ) rather dull industry. In any case, Viagra's Mr cucumber was a real 'head' turner (apologies- just can't stop the puns!) i dread to imagine what mascot Servier would serve up for Daflon! egad!