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Study Shows Merck’s Gardasil Could Benefit From Different Marketing Tactics

HealthNewsDigest reports that nearly three years after Gardasil was approved by the FDA as a vaccine for certain strains of the human papillomavirus (HPV), less than one in four women in the drug’s target market have received the vaccination. A study, conducted by Michelle Steward, Assistant Professor of Marketing at Wake Forest University, reveals that Merck’s current marketing strategy may be off the mark. Steward’s study shows that girls that were asked to complete a survey “that heightened the awareness of HPV and prevention” were more willing to be vaccinated than those that viewed advertisements for Gardasil or those that were told about government mandates requiring girls to be vaccinated.

Merck has invested a great deal into its promotion of Gardasil—the company spent over $85 million in 2008 marketing the drug, according to Nielsen Monitor-Plus.  Past Gardasil campaigns were seemingly very strong, garnering a Gold Award by DTC Perspectives for Best Branded TV Campaign of 2008 (DDB’s “One Less” campaign) and a Bronze Award in 2009 (for the "I Choose" campaign).  The brand also won Best Branded TV and Best Branded Print at the Phame Awards in 2008 for DDB’s “One Less” campaign.

However, despite these strides, sales of Gardasil have declined this year (Merck reports that sales for Gardasil reached $268 million for the second quarter of 2009, an 18 percent decline from the same quarter in 2008). Steward’s study suggests that sales of the drug may be in decline because creative campaigns for Gardasil may be lacking in providing motivation for the target market to want to get vaccinated for HPV. Main researcher Michelle Steward said, "The results would suggest that Merck's money may be best spent engaging people through a survey on relevant health topics to get the consumer to think about their own risks.”

Steward's full study, "The Influence of Different Types of Cues-to-Action on Vaccination Behavior: An Exploratory Study," will be published in the spring edition of the Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice.