Healthcare

MCAworks Opinion: More “Me To” Medicines Requires Greater Branding Focus

Facing an unprecedented wave of patent expirations on their crown jewel products, Pharmaceutical and Biotech companies are struggling to maintain historical levels of sales and profit growth. Replacing dying blockbusters with new ones has proven difficult, leading many companies to develop modified versions of in-market products to pump up sales. In fact, a recent study indicated that some two-thirds of prescription drugs approved by the FDA in the last decade were slightly altered or identical version of existing compounds.

This lack of R&D innovation places a much greater burden on branding to create the differentiation needed to drive sales growth. With little, if any, functional advantage to speak of, marketers must work harder at identifying meaningful emotional benefits that are meaningful to both professional and consumer target audiences.

In today’s highly competitive environment, pharmaceutical marketers must work harder to differentiate their brands along emotional, experiential lines—touching us on a more basic level, stirring up emotions and feelings that define the core values of the brand experience. How? By first digging deeper to understand the target audience—going beyond the therapeutic need state in exploring underlying needs, beliefs, and values to identify a compelling insight or set of insights about this target audience that can be used to gain competitive advantage. Once the core brand essence is understood, it should be consistently delivered and reinforced through all aspects of the brand’s marketing program, providing appropriate cues and clues related to end-benefit delivery.

Contact Sean Folan for more information.