Marketing of Pharmaceuticals
OBJECTIVES/RATIONALE
Pharmaceutical products, like any other products, have to compete for the customers'
attention. Pharmaceutical companies and drugstores advertise various marketing
strategies to attract health care professionals and consumers to their products.
Upon completion of this lesson the student will identify methods of marketing of
pharmaceutical products and describe their impact on society.
TEKS: 121.25 1E, 1F, 3A, 3D, 3G, 6A
TAKS
ELA 1, 3, 4, 5, 6
Science 2
KEY POINTS
I.
Pharmaceutical Industry Marketing Targets
A.
Prescriber - first link in the chain of getting medication from
manufacturer to consumer
1.
physicians and other medical professionals with prescription
authority decide on appropriate medication for patient
2.
same drug categories may have several representative products
from different manufacturers
3.
prescriber may have various reasons for choosing one product
over the other
a. personal preference based on therapeutic experience
b. patient’s preference based on therapeutic experience
c. satisfactory therapeutic results as reported in references
d. insurance requirements and limitations
e. formulary if in hospital
f. most recent exposure to certain product
4.
prescriber may choose
a. from consulting pharmaceutical references
b. after having been reminded of product in professional
publications, e.g. advertisement in professional journal
c. brochures and pamphlets sent by pharmaceutical
manufacturers
d. direct interaction with pharmaceutical representative for
specific product
B.
Dispenser - interlinking prescriber and consumer; generally this is the
pharmacist
1.
hospital pharmacy strictly based on cost – formulary developed
by committee, with exception of non-formulary products
specifically requested by physician for various justifiable
reasons
a. patient has allergy to formulary product
II.
b. specific medication proven to be the one of most therapeutic
benefit to a patient, based on previous trials
c. no formulary product available for specific medication, etc.
2.
community pharmacy has no direct choice in which company’s
product to use for prescription medication
3.
needs to comply with request of physician for brand name
medication
4.
if generic Rx, can choose from stock available, generally
selected based on cost vs. profit
5.
can influence patients by posting advertisements of products in
facility
6.
has greater influence on OTC products
7.
service and appearance of facility and employees greatly affect
business success
C.
Consumer: final marketing target
1.
more and more attention diverted to consumer
2.
consumer encouraged to be educated and become integral part
in own healthcare
3.
encouraged to “talk to your physician about … (product X)”
4.
inundated with advertisement on variety of forms about
prescription and OTC products
a. TV ads
b. magazine ads
c. news reports
d. TV shows; educational, talk shows, fictitious, weekly
documentary shows, etc.
5.
may choose OTC products based on remembering
advertisement
6.
frequently motivated by price; same for prescription
medication, depending on available insurance benefits and
consequential out- of-pocket expense
7.
Third-party reimbursement: often considerable factor for which
medication the patient, or consumer, will ultimately receive
a. third-party reimbursement by insurance plan
b. mostly limit which product can be dispensed to patient due
to restriction in reimbursement
c. in light of profit margin primary concern is product cost
Marketing tools: due to different levels of knowledge, accessibility, and control
among target groups variety of marketing tools are applied
A.
Direct approach: providing product and / or related information to
providers and pharmacists, usually via sales representatives
B.
Advertising: generally focused on relevance to target population
1.
patients as consumers
a. vanity, e.g. products for skin problem, hair loss, weight
control, etc.
2.
3.
b. personal comfort; remedies for indigestion, snoring,
hemorrhoids, flatulence, insomnia, headaches, joint
aches, etc.
c. trust in medical validity; “I’m not a doctor, but I play one on
TV”… celebrity testimonials, “I said thanks, but I’d
rather talk to a doctor about this … and he said; ‘you
just did’…”, actors / models dressed like physicians /
nurses to increase credibility, etc.
d. patient’s concern for his or her safety when taking / using the
product must be considered
e. financial concerns: why pay the difference when you can’t
tell the difference, etc
f. brand consciousness: our brand is better than brand X; our
product is the best available, etc.
g. special concerns: parents want what’s best for their children,
elderly aware of special age related needs, special
women’s concerns such as aging, menopause, etc.,
sexual concerns, .g. Viagra, etc.
pharmacy as “retailer” (link between physician and patient and
manufacturer and patient)
a. cost conscious - aware of special needs of populations at
location, e.g. age groups, ethnicity of customers,
economic make-up of customers, etc.
b. limited by insurance for reimbursement
c. Over the Counter (OTC) and Durable Medical Equipment
(DME)
• are clients aware of availability of DME
• how do clients qualify to obtain them
• how are clients going to pay for them
• is maintenance service available
• which OTCs are customers most likely going to show
interest in
• can they be ordered by physician on Rx to gain coverage
by health care plan
d. special considerations for competing with other retailers in
same area
• service
• cost
• selection of merchandise
• display of merchandise
• special offers for new customers, to encourage transfer of
service from other facility, to reward customer loyalty
prescriber
a. primary concern benefit to patient; therapeutic value of
product
b. frequently “bribed” with incentives from manufacturer, e.g.
pens, mugs, etc. with product’s name to serve as a
reminder”; often manufacturers sponsor conferences
and conventions for physicians in hopes to win
approval
c. often limited choice based on patient’s insurance coverage
d. other limitations are formularies, e.g. if in-patient in hospital
ACTIVITIES
I.
II.
Research and analyze advertisements for pharmaceutical products (magazines,
journals, pamphlets, commercials, etc.). Compile a list of factors that
determine successful product marketing. Discuss in groups.
Compose a magazine article on the effects of visual marketing and the use of
subliminal marketing strategies.
MATERIALS NEEDED
variety of magazines designed to focus on specific consumer groups: women, men,
teens, elderly, parents, etc.
video-taped commercials from TV
advertisement posters from your pharmacy, perhaps from physician
advertisement brochures from pharmacy and physician
Key: Unit Quiz: MARKETING IN PHARMACEUTICS
ASSESSMENT
Unit Quiz MARKETING IN PHARMACEUTICS
Writing Rubric
ACCOMMODATIONS
For reinforcement, the student will create a collage of various advertisements for
pharmaceuticals, collected from magazines and newspapers, identifying the main
target group and focus of the ads.
For enrichment, the student will design and create a web ad for a "newly designed"
pharmaceutical product, prescription or non-prescription. Clearly identify target
group and justify reason for design of ad.
REFLECTIONS
Unit Quiz: MARKETING OF PHARMACEUTICALS
1. A pharmaceutical manufacturer supplying a prescriber with a product and/or
related information through a sales representative would be an example of what
marketing tool?
_________________________________
2. List five (5) issues of relevance that pharmaceutical manufacturers consider when
designed advertisement for patients as a target population.
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
_______________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________
_______________________________
3. List five (5) ways retailers can utilize to reward customer loyalty.
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
_________________________________
_________________________________
_________________________________
_________________________________
_________________________________
4. Name five (5) special considerations retailers might take into account in
competition with other retailers in the same area.
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
_____________________________
_____________________________
_____________________________
_____________________________
_____________________________
Answer Key to Unit Quiz:
MARKETING OF PHARMACEUTICALS
1.
direct approach
2.
- vanity
)
- personal comfort
- trust in medical validity
- patient’s concern for his/her own safety when taking the product
- financial concerns
- brand consciousness
- special concerns
(any 5 in any order
3.
-
special discounts for transferring orders
“freeby” offers
extra service offers
lower prices
increased convenience for client
4.
-
service
cost
selection of merchandise
display or merchandise
special offers to new customers