State of the Brand

Author: Jason Voiovich Ecra Creative Group

Key Points: 1. The US Justice Department fined Pfizer $2.3 billion for illegal marketing practices; taking doctors on golf trips, paying for massages, and the like to encourage off-label prescriptions of popular drugs. 2. With such a hefty penalty, conventional wisdom would say Pfizer’s market perception should suffer. By objective measures, that is not happening. 3. Pfizer has insulated its corporate brand by positioning its blockbuster drugs as the stars, and not marketing itself. That seems to be working. For now.

Remember the dad in “My Big Fat Greek Wedding”?

He used Windex® for everything. He went so far as to carry around a bottle at all times, spraying things (and people) at comically inopportune times. Clearly, neither the FDA nor our friends at S.C. Johnson and Company in Racine, Wisconsin endorse Windex for the treatment of cold, flu, arthritis, and acne. The depiction was so ridiculous, most (reasonable consumers) wouldn’t take it seriously.

Now, let’s change the scenario.

Imagine you are recovering from a surgical procedure. Let’s pick appendix removal, but it could be anything. Clearly, you’re in pain, and your attending physician prescribes a medication - in this case, Bextra®. She tells you to take the prescribed dosage as needed and come back in three weeks.

Let me ask you something: In that scenario, do you look up the drug name in the formulary? Did you learn your doctor just prescribed well beyond the recommended dosage? Did you also learn Bextra; was not approved to treat post operative pain? That is was really an arthritis drug? And a Cox-2 inhibitor? The same Cox-2 inhibitor class of drugs you’ve heard about?

But your doctor knows best, right? (more…)

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Author: Jason Voiovich Ecra Creative Group

Key Points: 1. Fibromyalgia is an example of drug company marketing at its best: Convincing the medical establishment to pay attention to real suffering. 2. Fibromyalgia is also an example of drug company marketing at its worst: Using emotional tactics to boost prescriptions. 3. Regardless of the final judgment, we cannot ignore the power of giving a vague set of symptoms a legitimate name.

Eli Lilly and Pfizer are sure trying hard to make sure you have.

Fibromyalgia is a medical condition characterized by widespread and persistent pain with a particular painful sensitivity to touch. Other symptoms include debilitating fatigue, trouble sleeping, stiff joints, difficulty swallowing, bowel and bladder trouble, numbness, abnormal motor activity, and even cognitive dysfunction.

As you could guess, making a definitive diagnosis is a bit tricky. Without that certainty, not everyone in the medical community agrees fibromyalgia actually exists. Its symptoms are often confused and muddled with other common ailments.

Why is it, then, that Eli Lilly and Pfizer have dolled out more in grants for fibromyalgia research ($6 million in the last 9 months of 2008) than to either diabetes or Alzheimer’s? And why is it that fibromyalgia ranks third on that recipient list behind only AIDS and cancer? (more…)

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Author: Jason Voiovich Ecra Creative Group

Key Points: 1. Even smart promotional alignments can’t substitute for frustratingly complex fine print. 2. The department store model as a whole is in trouble, but Macy’s management (may be) showing signs of coming around. 3. However, in order to survive, Macy’s needs a complete realignment of its relationship with premium designer brands.

It sounded good.

As a proud sponsor of the “Go Red for Women” campaign to bring awareness and resources for womens’ heart health, the Macy’s chain is offering a 20 percent discount. All I needed to do is wear red to the store. That sounded simple enough. Heart disease in women, from what I have read, is frighteningly under-diagnosed and misunderstood. The more awareness, the better. From just a purely marketing perspective, Macy’s seems to be aligning itself with a cause near and dear to the hearts of its core audience.

I felt good. Until I read the fine print.

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