two phases — introduction and growth — and possibly into the first year or twoof the maturity phase.After that, the emphasis is onmanaging for profit maximization.This, in turn,usually means disinvesting in promotion — espe cially nonpersonal promotion. In the face of the trends that are constraining per sonal promotion — ramped up salesforces, declining returns, and reduced access to physicians — it would be logical to see an increase in nonpersonal promo tion. But, this “logical” trend is not the reality. Nonper sonal promotion is not growing and would be in sig nificant decline but for the impact of several recent new product launches. Worse, this trend is being observed even in the introduction and growth lifecycle phases. Since non personal promotion has been proven to have a syn ergistic effect on personal promotion (studies show the combined effect on message delivery is 30% to 35% greater than detailing alone), the lack of nonper sonal promotion growth means that the professional promotional side of lifecycle management is not being optimized. Exacerbating this situation is the heavy expense of DTC associated with the first two lifecycle phases of most drugs. Nonpersonal advertis ing to healthcare professionals — to induce prescrib ing interest and possibly trial use — does a number of things that DTC cannot do, such as: mimic and there by reinforce the message(s) delivered by the sales force; convey persuasive clinicalproof information to potential prescribers; and convey necessary basic pre scribing information. In fact, it may turn out that DTC has a synergistic effect upon nonpersonal promotion. The Introduction Phase In the introduction phase of the life cycle, pharma ceutical advertisers often seek to drill one message that fits a broad audience. Or, they target one or two audiences based on either the criterion of highest nearterm sales potential or on the critical influence the particular audience can have on a much wider audience. In the former broadblast approach, the opportunity is lost to target different messages to dif ferent audiences based on clinical relevance or on adoption behavior. Oftentimes, this is not done until the next lifecycle phase; but by then, the opportunity to reap the benefits are foregone. With the latter nicheconsolidation approach, the price for establish ing a firm support base usually means slower market penetration — a lack of momentum that gives the competition more time to react. Advertisers should take the best of both approach es. The introduction phase should cover the breadth THE PROMOTIONAL MIX COMMUNICATIONS MEDIA INC., King of Prussa, Pa., is an advertising media and promotions planning organization concentrating on the pharmaceutical industry, with core business offerings in healthcare media planning, consulting, and management. For more information, visit cmimedia.com or call 4843220880. and depth of a brand’s potential users.This means that, as appropriate, all primarycare prescribers (PCPs) should receive the broadbased message and special ists should get exposure to that message through cov erage in multispecialty medical journals. Specialists should get a tailored message in their respective publi cations and in targeted nonjournal media. The Growth Phase In the growth phase of the life cycle, PCPs should continue to receive the broadbased message, but this message should be altered from that presented in the introduction phase based on postimplementation ad testing.This usually means improving congruency with the message given by the salesforce and enhancing key message characteristics of uniqueness,believability, rele vance, and importance while reducing complexity.The use of targeted media should be aimed heavily at high potential, lowend PCP users and less heavily at PCP high users. In this phase, specialists only should be receiving highly tailored messages in their respective publications and in targeted nonjournal media. The Maturity Phase In the maturity phase of the life cycle, all message delivery should be as targeted as possible and the mes sage should be brief, simple, and intended to reinforce a single customer proposition, with the emphasis on customer. At this point, the likelihood of winning over prescribers who have remained either nonusers or lowusers, is unlikely. Any promotional investment aimed at these groups is likely to be insufficient to pro vide adequate return on promotional investment. Promotion should be aimed at current users and such potential new users as select portions of previ ously untargeted specialty groups and newinprac tice prescribers.Targeted nonjournal media should be used to provide frequent “reminder” ad messages. The Decline Phase In the decline phase, most advertisers issue a “ceaseanddesist” order on both personal and non personal promotion.This is a mistake, especially if the brand has been consistently and wellpromoted throughout the previous three lifecycle phases. The salesforce is better used to support other brands that are still in one of the earlier lifecycle phases. The market at this point consists only of “loyalists” — prescribers whose prescribing volume ranks them in the top four deciles or top two quintiles.This is why they should continue to receive promotional messag ing designed to reinforce their faith in the brand. Communications Media Inc. T he product lifecycle concept was first described by Theodore Levitt, a Har vard Business School professor, about 40 years ago. As he described it, mar keted products grow through a series of four life cycles: market introduction, growth, maturity, and finally decline to the point of discontinuation. In the past decade, lifecycle man agement — the idea that a degree of control can be exerted to maximize ROI throughout each phase, and possibly prolong each phase — has become a sophisticated art. Lifecycle management can, and should, be applied to nonpersonal promo tion to professional healthcare audiences to sup port, and even in lieu of, personal promotion for branded pharmaceuticals. Historically, by the time a new pharmaceutical brand reaches the market,at least half of its patent life has already expired. For most drugs, the optimum life cycle is about 8 years to 10 years. Increasingly, how ever, formidable new competition is shortening the growth phase of brands in lucrative markets, and/or elongating the maturity phase, and accelerating the decline phase. And, investors and managers at big pharma have a “blockbuster”mentality.They are inter ested in adequately promoting only brands that have peak globalsales potential — $1 billion plus — or that can dominate niche markets with high per patient sales — $20,000 plus. As a result, lifecycle management is for the most part confined to the first LifeCycle Management of Professional Healthcare Nonpersonal Promotion Frederick C. Foard Executive VP
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Life-Cycle Management of Professional Healthcare Nonpersonal Promotion
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