News - DTC Perspectives

Covid-19 has raised a major societal issue on health disparities in America. In many diseases, minority populations suffer more and get less treatment. This is not a new finding, but Covid-19 along with the Black Lives Matter protests on discrimination have given rise to new possibilities of addressing health disparities.

Is this the time that health disparities will be taken on? Most drug companies have some efforts related to minorities. The reality, however, is that DTC budgets do not usually allocate significant spending towards these communities. This is interesting given that traditional DTC efforts under reach these audiences, and most minority groups over index in digital, social, and mobile. I expect that will change as big Pharma realizes they are missing an opportunity to contribute to the disparities solution. It will be good business to devote more resources to minority health. A Biden victory would add to the impetus to deal with health disparities through both disease education and special branded efforts towards minority communities.

As I searched for those doing minority efforts now, I was impressed by a campaign on Multiple Myeloma done by Amgen. This digital campaign targets African-Americans with unique creative. Amgen has a drug, Kyprolis, and decided to do a separate education effort to African-American patients leveraging both disease education and branded content. This is not just showing African-Americans as part of a general vignette ad. Instead they created, along with their agency EMCAY, a dedicated branded campaign to address key needs of this important segment. The site www.multiplemyelomaitson.com is rich in African-American focused content and a dedicated place for consumers to share their stories. They also use quotes around the photos of patients, from leading African-American historical figures and authors to inspire the fight against the disease.

The campaign, “Its On”, highlights the treatments available to fight Multiple Myeloma, which includes Kyprolis. The educational component is excellent as to risk factors, an explanation of how the disease affects blood cells, discussion guides with your doctor, and patient trackers for labs and doctor visits. The “It’s On” theme covers patient (It’s on You) and drug company/caregiver (It’s on Us). Clearly the site was well-developed with relevant language that emphasizes spirituality and community. That is not something you see on general sites.

The need for special outreach is because health discussions within communities can vary greatly by race, ethnicity, and economic status. The clinical journey is at times widely different. African-Americans frequently consume health information differently and have unique health issues, such as higher prevalence of co-morbidities like diabetes and hypertension. The site encourages African-Americans to be part of the treatment process and reduce some of the gaps.

The “It’s On” campaign tries to understand and talk to these unique needs. Amgen and EMCAY recognized that special efforts are going to get better results among African-Americans than just assuming the general effort is sufficient.

Bob Ehrlich, Chairman
DTC Perspectives, Inc.

Submit a Campaign to Ehrlich on Creative

Bob Ehrlich

Hmm, Aflac or Chantix. Duck or Turkey. What a feast! I have written about the Chantix Turkey when it launched. I liked it then and like it now. I said then that I did not see the use of the turkey as a long term campaign. Apologies to Pfizer and their agency VMLY&R. They have extended the campaign with numerous new executions.

Starting with Turkey by the pool in early 2019, Chantix has added Turkey camping, sightseeing, ice skating, snowball fighting, lounging at home, at a local carnival, and at the beach. The theme has stayed the same. The Turkey represents not having to quit smoking cold turkey.

This campaign is quite interesting and innovative for DTC. It is a far cry from patient testimonials and actor Ray Liotta, which were done earlier and also well done. I have no data on its success versus the earlier approaches. I can say with certainty that Chantix ads are memorable, likable, and unique.

“Once you land on a great strategy, you can’t shy away from it. We were certain that offering smokers a gentle alternative to cold turkey would motivate them to try quitting again. The Slow Turkey character is really just the most natural expression of that idea,” John Bollinger, Executive Creative Director at VMLY&R, told DTC Perspectives.

Use of a cute character has its limits. It really depends on the therapeutic category. It is hard to imagine using a Turkey for cancer ads. No, the cute character needs to stay within categories we do not consider immediately life threatening. Of course smoking can lead to heart disease and death, but not imminently like stage four cancer. Cute characters have worked for toe fungus, urinary incontinence, gastrointestinal ailments, and dry eye. Lamisil (Digger), Myrbetriq (walking bladder) and Xiidra (eye critter) are examples where levity was considered useful.

Chantix apparently decided that a cute character would help break through the DTC clutter of testimonial, lifestyle, vignette type ads that dominate drug advertising. I think it certainly does that well. Whether the Turkey can endure much longer is up for debate. Chantix has proven me wrong that the Turkey can be extended to numerous situations. Clearly in other categories, characters have lasted for years and have not shown any viewer fatigue. The Geico Gecko and Aflac Duck have had staying power.

Chantix has the benefit of a relatively simple selling message. You can stop smoking over time with Chantix. No need to go through the withdrawal going cold turkey. With that simple message, Chantix can focus on a memorable creative device. Many drug ads have so much information to convey that they need to be more straightforward in their presentation and use real patients or doctors, or actor portrayed patients or doctors, to recite multiple points. Chantix had the luxury of being able to focus on stopping power since the message can be nicely conveyed through the voice over.

What is very interesting about the campaign is the lack of print ads. The campaign is over 90% television with the rest digital. I would think the Turkey would make a nice visual in full page ads. That said, Chantix knows what works and has their reasons to eschew print for television. Good job Pfizer and VMLY&R for trying something very unique among DTC ads that have a tendency to look the same.

Bob Ehrlich, Chairman
DTC Perspectives, Inc.

Submit a Campaign to Ehrlich on Creative

Bob Ehrlich

Sometimes an Rx Drug is also competing with many OTC alternatives. In that case, their DTC ad frequently is more OTC-like than most typical DTC ads. Xiidra is a perfect example of the near OTC ad. It treats dry eye and is the only FDA approved treatment specifically indicated for the signs and symptoms of dry eye disease. Other approved drugs are indicated to increase tear production which I assume may also have the effect of reducing dry eye signs and symptoms. Restasis is the most well known of those.

Xiidra is now part of Novartis, after its deal to buy the brand from Takeda in June 2019. Takeda acquired Shire which owned Xiidra in January 2019 but quickly divested it. Novartis decided to create a new campaign for its newly acquired brand and thus a new creative approach was born.
Their new creative uses a little devilish critter to represent the symptoms of dry eye. He sits at a console where there are controls to cause ache, grit, itch, and burn levels. He is sinister but in a humorous way. Reminiscent of the “Digger” toe fungus character which represented the disease, the Xiidra controller is meant to be memorable without overpowering the core message.

You would not ever use these characters for life saving or life altering drugs, such as cancer, as even a little humor would not be appropriate. In cases where the conditions are annoying but not life threatening however, the use of disease representative characters is fine. People with toe fungus and dry eye are not laughing about their conditions, but can still accept ads that are lighter in tone.

The Shire launch campaign for Xiidra was very different from the latest Novartis execution. It was an animation of two balls representing the eyes on a track and a play on the double “i” letter in the name. A voice over announcer described the symptoms and Xiidra treatment. The branded campaign was launched after the much publicized Jennifer Aniston eye-love disease education campaign.

I assume Xiidra under new ownership decided that to compete with all the OTCs, they needed to get a more attention getting device and the critter was born. Their web site also features the critter on the landing page. I also like the use of the critter in print where so many DTC ads are similar with headshots of patients. The critter in the print ad is an attention grabbing visual enhancement. It looks like it is being used only for physician publications to date but I am sure it will appear in consumer publications soon.

Does the use of critter diminish the efficacy message or create negative reactions from potential users? That is unlikely given the nature of the disease being annoying but not life threatening. Patients have a sense of humor, too, and creating a memorable character helps Xiidra get attention in a category that is underdeveloped in the Rx arena.

Bob Ehrlich, Chairman
DTC Perspectives, Inc.

Submit a Campaign to Ehrlich on Creative

Bob Ehrlich

The patient experience at the point of care is rapidly changing. Today, medical groups continue to implement more consumer-centric workflows and digital engagement platforms to manage operational, clinical and financial processes. While the COVID-19 outbreak accelerated the adoption of these tools among providers, it was not the initial catalyst. Prior to the pandemic, many healthcare providers had already begun to adopt digital engagement tools to manage operational, clinical and financial processes. Phreesia’s patient intake platform was designed to support these trends, which has allowed us to quickly adapt to the current industry environment and to deliver valuable applications to our provider network and the broader market. We recognized the urgent need for intake products that could support telehealth visits, screen for COVID-19 risks and minimize contact during in-person visits and shifted our efforts to helping medical groups stay safe, stay open and continue to see patients. As we navigate a new normal in a post-COVID-19 world, we believe digital engagement tools will become even more critical to ensuring that the POC stays relevant to Life Sciences manufacturers and healthcare marketers.

The evolution of the patient experience during COVID-19 has brought POC marketing to a tipping point. Today, amid tremendous disruption to the U.S. economy and healthcare industry, marketers are questioning whether the POC is still an effective environment to engage with patients. The answer is yes, but to be effective, healthcare marketers must adopt new standards for success that consider the realities of a post-COVID-19 environment and how patients and staff are adjusting to a different kind of intake experience.

Below are five important changes that we believe the POC marketing industry must address:

The POC is no longer tied to physical locations—it’s wherever patients choose to engage with their providers and seek care
In-person visit volumes are fluctuating and have created tremendous uncertainty for advertising exposure and impression volume, making one-to-one engagement tactics more valuable
Increased provider sensitivity to shared surfaces will decrease the effectiveness of many traditional marketing tactics
Patients are more receptive to personalized content that’s tailored to their individual health needs
Disruptions in patients’ access to care has created a greater need for support programs

The POC was moving beyond the walls of the physician’s office well before 2020, but COVID-19 has led to specific workflow changes that are likely to become the norm and as a result, will impact the future of POC marketing. Medical offices have implemented contactless, or “zero-contact” workflows to help minimize exposure and reduce contact between patients and staff. Many of our clients have eliminated the waiting room by asking patients to wait in their cars when they arrive for their appointment and to check in using their mobile devices. They’re also removing shared surface spaces and assigning the majority of their non-provider staff to remote work. Telehealth has also brought significant change to POC marketing. Prior to COVID-19, the telehealth market was dominated by specialty services offered through employee benefits plans. But as healthcare organizations look for ways to provide care and limit contact between patients and staff, a growing number of them are offering virtual visits. The result of these operational changes, both contactless workflows and telehealth, is a more personalized intake experience that relies on patients using their mobile devices to engage with providers outside of the traditional office setting.

Even as medical groups rebuild their appointment schedules and patients begin to return to their providers’ offices, it’s clear that the overall the nature of in-person visits, including opportunities to engage with patients during those sessions, has changed. As more providers adopt telehealth and zero-contact workflows, we’ll need to find new ways to measure impression volumes that were traditionally based on the in-person visit. We can no longer rely on patients’ idly reviewing screens, thumbing through magazines or picking up brochures and pamphlets in the waiting room. We’ll need to deliver targeted, one-to-one engagements to patients’ mobile device, while also ensuring that the content is restricted for their personal use only.

In addition to facing a new intake experience, patents today are inundated with new information about their health. As COVID-19 guidance and recommendations continue to evolve and patients navigate through a constant stream information, medical marketing must be personalized to patients’ specific health interests and concerns. Those solutions that are tied to office operations, rather than a specific office location, will stand out. Healthcare marketers can leverage self-service digital platforms, such as patient intake software, to engage with patients about their health. At the same time, the one-on-one nature of these personalized engagements have a far greater chance of catching patients’ attention. The point-of-care offers us an opportunity to reach patients at a critical point along their healthcare journey—the moment when they are most attentive to their health concerns and just before they speak with their provider about those needs.

COVID-19 also caused a tremendous disruption to patients’ access to care. The initial outbreak forced many medical offices to close or to reduce operations, delaying care for hundreds of thousands of patients. Sadly, it also exacerbated social determinants for many patients, including employment, health insurance and education. Today’s patients need more than just information about new therapies, they need to learn about diseases and to understand the importance of resuming treatment protocols that may have been interrupted, such as vaccine schedules, infusions, preventive health screenings and diagnostic testing. We also need to ensure they’re aware of the numerous patient support programs available from life sciences manufacturers. These programs can be invaluable in helping patients gain access to and stay on therapy, yet fewer than one in five patients are aware they exist. Increasing visibility of these programs is critical for improving patient adherence, as well as to ensure that qualifying patients can access the right therapies to achieve their health goals.

As we enter a new media planning season, healthcare marketers and life sciences manufacturers need more detail and strategic insight into how the POC can become an integral part of their digital and mobile strategy. Patient utilization data demonstrates the value of mobile and how it enables provider to deliver safe care via zero-contact workflows and telehealth services. We must also personalize content and create directed, one-to-one engagements to cut through the noise and influx of health information aimed at patients to address their specific needs and priorities. Finally, we should incorporate disease education and patient support programs into digital engagement campaigns when they can improve health outcomes for target patient populations. As the patient experience becomes increasingly mediated by the converging forces of digital adaptation, patient centricity and pandemic response, we must find a way to align our digital engagement strategies at the point of care to every patient’s needs.

Click here to learn more about Phreesia’s digital engagement solutions.

David Linetsky

In a follow up conversation with DTC Perspectives this summer, Sherry Novembre and Amy Graham shared how Ogilvy Health’s #EverydayMatters cancer awareness campaign continues to expand and reach audiences, as well as how COVID-19 has impacted the agency’s efforts.

The #EverydayMatters campaign was launched by Ogilvy Health in February of this year, kicking off a year-long campaign to “make an impact on cancer.” Their spring and summer efforts have continued, centering on colorectal cancer in March. They developed and released videos targeting all ages, not just older adults, to educate and encourage screenings. “Colorectal cancer is on the rise in those under age 50”, with 1 in 10 being diagnosed before the age of 50, stated one of their videos. An additional video included an experience view of a colonoscopy as Group Copy Supervisor, Bryan Minogue, “documented his cancer screening journey to show the ease and importance of getting checked early.” Novembre shared that the social media promotion of the #EverydayMatters campaign has made more than 50,000 impressions since its launch on World Cancer Day 2020. The team is also continuing to pursue partnerships where appropriate, such as teaming up with advocates for National Cancer Survivors Day on June 7^th. Efforts honored survivors, including a tribute video for survivors and loved ones who serve as beacons of hope, as well as providing continual support and needed information to maintain their healthy journeys.

Amid #EverydayMatters campaign endeavors, the global COVID-19 pandemic arose. As “stay at home” and other safety orders were issued by governments, the agency team also began looking into the impacts coronavirus was having on cancer patients. Graham, citing research from the IQVIA Institute for Human Data Science shared via Medscape, stated that an estimated “80,000-plus diagnoses of five common cancers in the United States are projected to be missed or delayed during the 3-month period of early March to early June because of COVID-19 disruptions to healthcare.” Additionally, normal treatment routines may have been interrupted for patients. Already a vulnerable population group, patients now were finding themselves challenged in new ways with regards to managing their healthcare. The Ogilvy Health team knew that their mission was more important than ever and has remained steadfast in their commitment to continue creating awareness, sharing knowledge and education, and providing support to the oncology community wherever it has been needed.

To comply with government safety orders during the pandemic, the team, as with all those now working remotely, has had to make some adjustments across their practices and procedures. However, even without a studio and despite the fact that all collaborations must be done virtually, they still came together to develop content and videos to support the #EverydayMatters cause. Members of the Ogilvy Health team that were not necessarily a part of the agency’s oncology projects volunteered to participate in the efforts as so many have “a personal stake in it,” noted Sherry. Team members came together in a truly collective effort to address several serious and timely issues:

A COVID-19 Impacts on Cancer video was created to educate and support patients.
A unique impact survey on HCP and cancer patients as related to COVID-19 was conducted to better understand and address the challenges the groups are currently facing.
A tribute video to acknowledge and thank those working in the oncology community during the pandemic was also produced.

According to Graham, when looking to the future of this program, based on their research and learnings they will continue to explore timely topics that enable better conversations and care for people living with cancer. Future topics may include ways to improve patient use of their Electronic Health Records, and cancer care inequality awareness.

While some projects may launch in 2021 instead of 2020 now due to COVID-19 delays, long-term and global plans are still very much in play. One such venture is through content sharing: Ogilvy Health’s global offices are picking up content that this US-based team has created so that they may share locally how and where appropriate.

Check back with us in the fall for another update on Ogilvy Health’s #EverydayMatters cancer awareness campaign.

admin

Eight healthcare marketing and media leaders turned over their social media channels to “eight organizations and influencers focused on health issues and disparities facing the Black community,” according to the news release about the social media effort. On July 22, #ShareTheScope allowed “new voices and perspectives from those who are tirelessly advocating for equity and justice in healthcare” to reach more than one million followers collectively. The initiative, spearheaded by Outcome Health, was “based on the highly successful #ShareTheMicNow … with the aim of amplifying Black voices working toward change in America’s embedded racist healthcare system and reaching an audience they previously hadn’t,” continued the news release about “sharing the stethoscope”.

With the African American population disproportionately affected by several health issues, including heart disease, diabetes, asthma, among others, Outcome Health “recognizes that economic instability, physical environment, inadequate education and lack of access to healthcare systems can perpetuate” such health issues. Matt McNally was quoted in the press release, saying: “#ShareTheScope is Outcome Health’s call to action to the industry to educate and advocate on the deeply embedded gaps in healthcare for Black families. Knowledge is power, so we decided to connect prominent Black organizations with our peers in healthcare who have a shared desire for justice to act together to collectively walk the walk, not just talk the talk.”

The #ShareTheScope social media turnover partnerships were:

“Outcome Health & Suzet McKinney, DrPH, MPH, CEO/Executive Director of the Illinois Medical District, the second-largest urban medical district in the United States and home to four major hospitals.
“Ad Council & Black Mental Wellness, which provides access to evidence-based information and resources about mental health and behavioral health to decrease mental health stigma in the Black community.
“PatientPoint gives its platform to GEN-H, developers of a regional health plan as a community-wide response to the critical and growing health challenges facing Greater Cincinnati and North Kentucky.
“Verywell Health & Black Women's Health Imperative, the only national organization dedicated solely to improving the health and wellness of our nation’s 21 million Black women and girls – physically, emotionally and financially.
“HealthiNation & Sean Peters, Ph.D., the founder of My Body, My Kitchen, an online resource to help with the development of the physical and mental health of persons of color.
“Real Talk with Dr. Offutt & Urban Health Media Project, which is teaching diverse high school from under-resourced communities how to report multimedia stories about the health and social issues affecting their communities.
“Shatterproof & Texas Harm Reduction Alliance, which develops and promotes practices and programs to create positive change and reduce the harmful consequences of substance use and misuse in Texas.
“MM&M partners with BLKHLTH, which challenges racism and its impact on Black health via its platform that educates, engages and empowers the Black community.”

“Despite the fact that healthcare in America has been a topic of debate for decades, the needs of people of color have not been given equitable consideration. The opportunity to ‘Share the ‘Scope’ with Outcome Health for education and advocacy should be a catalyst to a growing recognition of the existing health disparities suffered by Black Americans, and we trust it will encourage more people to use their voices loudly to enact meaningful, lasting change,” stated Dr. McKinney in the news release.

“#ShareTheScope fits well with our mission to mobilize and engage women and organizations to pursue greater opportunities for gender and racial justice. This is a great opportunity to educate and shift public perception about the needs of Black women’s health,” noted Linda Goler Blount, MPH, President and CEO of the Black Women’s Health Imperative in the news release.

admin

This past Friday, July 24th, President Trump signed multiple Executive Orders to lower medication prices for patients and, as he commented during the signing, to restructure the prescription drug market in terms of pricing. The three Orders, as well as a potential fourth:

“Enable Americans without access to affordable insulin and injectable epinephrine through commercial insurance or Federal programs, such as Medicare and Medicaid, to purchase these pharmaceuticals from an FQHC at a price that aligns with the cost at which the FQHC acquired the medication.”
Allow for: importation of certain, safe prescription drugs from other countries; re-importation of insulin products; facilitate use of individual importation waivers at authorized pharmacies in the US.
Pass along drug rebates to patients so they may save at the pharmacy counter.
Reduces prescription drug costs for Americans to the “lowest price available in economically comparable countries for Medicare Part B drugs.”

The fourth Order was not signed and issued; full details are still unknown. As stated in the White House's briefings statement: “Absent successful negotiations with drug company executives this Order will be implemented on August 24.” The heads of major drug companies requested a meeting with the President, which was scheduled for Tuesday, July 28th, as noted by Trump during his Executive Order signing. That meeting was reportedly canceled.

Shortly after these Orders were issued on July 24th, PhRMA CEO Stephen J. Ubl released a statement. “The research-based biopharmaceutical industry has been working around the clock to develop therapeutics and vaccines to treat and prevent COVID-19. The administration’s proposal today is a reckless distraction that impedes our ability to respond to the current pandemic – and those we could face in the future. It jeopardizes American leadership that rewards risk-taking and innovation and threatens the hope of patients who need better treatments and cures,” said Ubl as part of his response.

According to a New York Times report: “Wall Street analysts were skeptical that the orders would have much effect on drugmakers and said they could prove difficult to implement in practice. ‘We believe they are likely geared more towards deriving campaign talking points rather than producing tangible, material effects,' Brian Abrahams, a biotech analyst at RBC Capital Markets, said in a note.”

admin

One of the most timely and fascinating areas of DTC will be for flu this year. Usually flu advertising is limited in timing and spending. This upcoming season, when America will be dealing with Covid-19 and the flu concurrently, flu advertising has some new opportunities and challenges.

As we hear regularly from Dr. Fauci, the combination of flu and Covid-19 poses diagnostic confusion for doctors. Therefore the CDC and other health care agencies will be pushing widespread flu vaccination this year to reduce the number of cases of seasonal flu so our hospitals and testing centers are not overwhelmed.

There are only a few flu vaccine and treatment makers in the United States. Sanofi Pasteur (Fluzone) vaccine and Genentech (Xofluza) for treatment are the companies who advertised in 2019. The flu market is large with 45% of adults getting vaccinated. We can suspect this percentage will rise in 2020 as receptivity should grow as no one wants to risk both the flu and Covid-19. Therefore we should expect significant DTC for both flu vaccines and treatment this season, perhaps at higher spending levels.

Unfortunately, the percent of population vaccinated has been only between 40-45% for the past decade. CDC estimates that a 5-percentage point increase would reduce hospitalizations by up to 11,000. This year, when ICU bed utilization may be at or over capacity with Covid-19 patients, any reduction would be critical. We also see clear evidence of health disparities as 49% whites are vaccinated, while only 39% of African-Americans and 37% of Hispanics get the flu shot. This may be the year for a special DTC effort to narrow the gap.

Fluzone will need to add to their normal messaging given the Covid-19 situation. They will have to motivate people to get the flu vaccine at a time patients may still be reluctant to see a health care provider out of Covid-19 contagion fear. It will be interesting to see if masks are added to the actor patients.

Vaccines are going to be a major area of ongoing government focus as the world needs to prevent another pandemic. We will always be at risk for the unknown pathogen but given the massive cost in lives and destruction of national economies, it is reasonable to see increased investment. Pharma companies will also ramp up R&D recognizing the enormous potential of new vaccines. All the basic work being done on Covid-19 will lead to possible vaccines for other similar viruses.

What will Covid-19 vaccine makers do with DTC if they get approval this fall? That depends how many vaccines are available. Clearly if we have only one approved vaccine, then government and the media will give that drug massive free publicity. On the other hand, the first approved vaccine will benefit from building up brand identification to prepare for multiple competitors. A non-branded campaign would make sense to sell the public on safety and efficacy as that will be a strong concern given the speed of approval.

An approved Covid-19 vaccine will be seen as the biggest medical news in years. I will be thrilled to review that DTC campaign.

Bob Ehrlich, Chairman
DTC Perspectives, Inc.

Submit a Campaign to Ehrlich on Creative

Bob Ehrlich

Those of us who remember the emergence of HIV in the early 1980s are awed by the progress in fighting the disease. There have been many drugs to treat HIV, but recently the category introduced prophylactic drugs to be taken if there is risk of exposure. Gilead has been a leader in HIV treatments and added to their mix with Descovy.

The category of drug is called PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) and Descovy got this indication late 2019. There are about 40,000 new HIV cases annually. Descovy is the second drug in the category after Truvada. The FDA says Descovy was similar to Truvada in effectiveness. Both are from Gilead and Descovy uses the same combination but at lower concentrations which could improve its side effects profile.

The Descovy campaign is basically using television with limited consumer print. The ad is lively and upbeat using the theme “Step Up, Prep Up.” We are exposed to vignettes of singles and couples telling viewers to step up and prevent HIV. The selling copy runs about 35 seconds of the 90-second ad. Fair balance is then run for about 40 seconds, with a return to the reminder of “Step Up, Prep Up” lines in the remaining 15 seconds.

The background music is a drum mix, with one of the vignettes showing five drummers. It has a nice contemporary feel and the beat adds to the positive outlook of using a drug to prevent HIV. Gilead has switched advertising from Truvada to Descovy for a solid business reason. Truvada will go generic as early as late 2020.

The limited print campaign ties well to the television using the headline “Step Up, Prep Up” and shows scenes of the actors featured in the television ad. The digital also integrates well using these themes.We have come a long way from the heartbreaking days of HIV/AIDS of the early 80s. It is gratifying to see HIV presented first as treatable and lately preventable with drug treatment.

Earlier HIV ads were largely print. Like many other limited incidence categories, television seems to be accepted as a worthwhile investment. Clearly the emotional element can be best used on television. The DTC payback comes from the fact that Descovy is priced at about $2,000 a month. Getting a few thousand new patients means potentially tens of millions in sales. These sales are also recurring since this is used to prevent the disease and will be taken indefinitely.

It has been a remarkable 40-year journey from almost certain death to a manageable or preventable condition.

Bob Ehrlich, Chairman
DTC Perspectives, Inc.

Submit a Campaign to Ehrlich on Creative

Bob Ehrlich

It is rare to find a big budget DTC campaign that does not use TV as a part of the total plan. Saxenda, a weight loss drug from Novo Nordisk is one brand that excludes TV. There are several interesting things about this campaign.

First is the amount spent on print with no TV. According to MediaRadar, Saxenda spent an estimated $89 million on print in the latest 12 months. Given typical discounts big companies get, this might be a high estimate. That budget, even if less, is certainly large enough to do TV. The obesity category has high incidence and that is where TV is largely used. Yet Saxenda sticks with print. They have been advertising to consumers since April 2017 so after three years they must be satisfied print is effective. They clearly target women given the magazine title selection led by Better Homes and Gardens, Good Housekeeping, Women’s Day, and People, among other popular female-targeted books.

The second thing that is notable is the creative consistency. Most Saxenda ads are headline oriented and have been that way throughout. Currently they use “Losing Weight and Keeping it Off” as the headline in a 2-page spread. The earlier ads have the words “Will” and “Way” boldly featured and also have small type to fill out the expression: where there is a will there’s a way. I like creative consistency and Saxenda has been very patient running basically the same style of ad.

Thirdly, we see creative that equally pictures both sexes. This is interesting given the majority of titles are women’s publications, although there is Men’s Health and Golf magazine among the media titles used. That said, women are the primary target. I assume Saxenda believes that women who show interest will tell husbands and other males who are overweight about Saxenda.

I do not know why Saxenda avoided television. Obviously, they probably concluded that print alone got them the awareness they wanted at the budget they had. Their choice of print could have to do with the fair balance. There is a fairly lengthy list of risks and side effects in the print ad. This is not unusual for DTC, but it may have required a 75 second television ad, and that length may have convinced Saxenda that print more efficiently communicated benefits and risks.

There are currently very few big spending campaigns that avoid television completely. There are some that spend in the $10-30 million range that only use print / digital; Aubagio (MS), Imvexxy (Menopause), Imfinzi (Lung Cancer), and Steglatro (Diabetes) are among the few.

Of 28 DTC campaigns that spent over $10 million on print in the past year, only five did exclusively print. The trend has been to use television as part of the media plan even for highly targeted drug categories. What matters most, however, is achieving the brand media objectives. Most DTC studies show combined print and broadcast optimize a plan, but each brand is unique. Saxenda has chosen what it believes works best. In a DTC world where television reigns, it is interesting to see some brands go a different direction.

Bob Ehrlich, Chairman
DTC Perspectives, Inc.

Submit a Campaign to Ehrlich on Creative

Bob Ehrlich

Newer Posts

Older Posts