Vol. 4, No. 10: November 2005

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Article Summaries

DTC Pros and Cons Presented at FDA Hearing

People are polite in Washington, DC. They don’t rush and knock you down in the Metro (subway) like people do in NYC. Similarly, FDA staffers and presenters at the recent public hearing on DTC were very polite too. The nice FDA people asked nice questions and the nice presenters, for the most part, didn’t blast the FDA for not doing anything to reign in DTC or for doing too much. Presenters were more or less evenly divided as to whether they supported DTC or were against it.

This article summarizes the main points, both pro and con, made by presenters at this meeting and includes commentary from expert members of the Pharms Marketing Roundtable, which met to discuss the issues raised at this hearing.

Topics covered include:

  • Pfizer Research into Risk Communication in DTC
  • Five Key Learnings of the Research
  • Role of DTC in Motivating Consumers to Seek Medical Help
  • Pfizer’s Recommendations to FDA
  • How Much Risk Information is Enough?
  • Disease Awareness Ads
  • Use of Celebrities
  • Pre-Approval of DTCA by FDA
  • AstraZeneca’s Risky Proposition
  • Power of Images

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Predictive Physician Marketing

According to some experts, the pharmaceutical industry has only itself to blame for limited physician access and two minute sales calls (see “Marketing’s Role in Limiting Physician Access and What to Do About It,” Increase Physician Access and Detailing Effectiveness Special PMN Supplement).

Creating product detail pieces and training representatives on the use of new materials represents a considerable marketing investment. It would be extremely valuable, therefore, to be able to predict how well a campaign will be before it is launched.

Now there is a method proven to predict the success of a campaign prior to launch. The ProSigma™ Detail Model created by TargetRx, a marketing information services company located in Horsham, PA, helps pharmaceutical marketers develop the best detail and detail piece to drive prescribing behavior.

Topics covered include:

  • The ProSigma™ Detail Model
  • Case Study

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GSK Strikes Back with a Grassroots Campaign

Mike Pucci, Vice President of External Affairs at GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), is a man with a mission, which is to get the word out about the good that the pharmaceutical industry is doing (or, as Pucci expressed his goal: to “Restore the reputation of the industry by communicating the value of our products, our research and our hope for the future”). He spoke recently at an industry Forum on Customer Relationship Management (CRM) held in Princeton, New Jersey.

Topics covered include:

  • Key Messages
  • Genesis and Structure of the Grassroots Campaign
  • Role of PhRMA
  • Program Available from GSK

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Global Digital Asset Brand Management

As pharmaceutical marketers turn toward the Internet, the demand for digital “rich media”-streaming video and audio, Flash animation, Java applets, streaming video and interactivity-is growing rapidly. There is a need to leverage this rich media content across brands and marketing campaigns on a global scale, but analysts estimate as much as 30 percent of all content is lost or misplaced annually, resulting in huge cost burdens for companies to recreate lost assets.

This article is a review of ClearStory Systems’ ActiveMedia, which is an example of a next-generation digital asset management (DAM) solution for managing rich media.

Topics covered include:

  • ActiveMedia
  • Distributive Administration
  • Metadata and Digital Asset Rights
  • Role of Ad Agencies
  • ROI Achievable in the Pharma Industry

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Sales Rep Assessment: Shoot the Messenger, the Message, or Both?

Getting sales representatives in front of doctors is still the most effective way to present the “story” of a drug, according to Hank McKinnell, CEO of Pfizer. The story is the marketing messages contained in the detail aid and talking points that sales reps use when calling upon physicians. Getting the story right and delivering it effectively is more important than ever and it is crucial that sales reps get proper training.

This article is a review of Metamorph, Inc.’s methodology of using specially trained physicians to assess and validate sales strategy, marketing messages and sales aids of pharmaceutical companies based on real-time calls with reps using a standardised set of data points.

Topics covered include:

  • Benchmarking Benefits Marketers, Trainers, Reps
  • Rep Skill Trends
  • Case Study
  • Dr Certified Representative

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