News - DTC Perspectives

Announced on Diabetes Alert Day, March 26th, PatientPoint and the American Medical Association (AMA) are developing content to educate patients and their HCPs about the risks of type 2 diabetes as well as cardiovascular disease. The collaboration will utilize PatientPoint's in-office technology to encourage patients to have an informed conversation about either condition, with the goal of “reaching and activating patients … to prevent the onset of both diseases,” stated the news release.

Educational materials will include a prediabetes PSA in primary care and cardiologist waiting rooms, as well as interactive banner ads and infographics available in the exam rooms. Content will drive patients to either DoIHavePrediabetes.org (which was launched by the AMA, Ad Council, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the American Diabetes Association) or online, downloadable resources from the AMA and American Heart Association.

Click here to read the full details about this joint educational effort.

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Sharecare recently launched its first-ever Sharecare Awards, honoring standout health and wellness programming and productions. The evening was hosted by Dr. Mehmet Oz, cofounder of Sharecare, and his daughter, Daphne Oz, at the Atlanta History Center.

Winners included Pfizer's “This is Living with Cancer” for the Chronic Conditions category; “Healthy Living Video Shorts” by the American Heart Association for the Health Living category; and “Male Caregivers in Philadelphia” by AARP for the Sexual/Gender Identity category. According to the updated news release, five additional, special awards were also issued, including:

“Lifetime Achievement Award to acclaimed actress, producer, author, social activist and philanthropist Marlo Thomas for her nearly 30 years of charitable work at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital;
Humanitarian Award (Individual) to renowned neurosurgeon and CNN chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta;
Humanitarian Award (Organization) to the American Red Cross.”

A judging panel comprised of top healthcare and media professionals with relevant expertise selected the finalists. Winners were selected during a second round of judging, which was conducted “by the deans of the Academy of Judges and a committee of additional experts.” Operated through the Sharecare Foundation, the Sharecare Awards are in association with The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, New York Chapter.

Click here for more details, including the full list of finalists and winners.

Join Dr. Oz when he presents a keynote speech at this year's DTC National Conference. The DTC National will be held April 16-18 in Boston.

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HCB Health has created three internal business units to “best serve an increasingly diverse set of clients and to help manage the firm's rapid growth,” according to a recently news release. The three units – MedTech, BioPharma, and Health & Wellness – will manage their own P&Ls as well as each having its own dedicated team. All “will report to HCB Partner, Nancy Beesley, who recently became the firm's president.”

HCB MedTech was “created and staffed with a curated group of deep device expertise and technology talent.” The team will be led by Associate Partner, Managing Director Amy Dowell and Creative Director, James Hamilton. Both are veterans in the MedTech space.

Servicing small to mid-size biopharma companies, HCB BioPharma will “serve the agency's increasing foothold in the pharma space.” Francesco Lucarelli will lead the charge, serving as EVP, Managing Director. This unit will have offices in Austin and Chicago. He will be joined by Amy Hansen, Executive Creative Director to help “guide and grow” this unit.

HCB Health & Wellness will “focus on prevention and treatment”, serving clients in “large physician networks, hospital systems, health plans, behavioral health, and post-acute care centers.” Associate Partner and Managing Director, Kim Carpenter, and Creative Director, Michele Evans, will helm this team.

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Dan Chichester has re-joined Ogilvy Health, after a five-year hiatus, as Chief Experience Officer (CXO). In this newly-created role, he will be “responsible for driving forward Ogilvy Health’s innovation, digital strategy, and brand engagement,” the news release stated.

Andrew Schirmer, CEO of Ogilvy Health was quoted in the release, stating, “Today, everything in the marketing, communications, and transformation business operates through a digitally enabled ecosystem. What we are building for our clients are brand experiences that reach healthcare providers, payers, caregivers, and patients through a myriad of channels, touchpoints, and platforms. … Dan is exactly who should be leading this charge. I’m really looking forward to working with him and the rest of the leadership team as we continue our push to ensure we are innovating and optimizing on every front,” he said. Chichester will report to Schirmer.

Chichester most recently served as Chief Digital Officer with TBWA\WorldHealth. Prior to that, he was Ogilvy Health's Chief Digital Office for five years and a part of their Interactive Group as a Creative Director for nine years beforehand.

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Stacey Singer, an agency growth specialist of 30 years, recently announced the launch of her own independent agency consultancy. Having left her post with WPP, where she most recently built and managed their global Client Satisfaction Center of Excellence, Singer told DTC Perspectives that she identified a growing need to help better serve agency accounts and thus led to her new venture. Her eponymous consultancy will help agency clients develop the skills and behaviors required to retain and grow their businesses, as well as provide advisement on areas of vulnerability and how integrating proven techniques will lead to immediate improvements and long-term gains.

According to the press release, Singer said, “Agencies dedicate tremendous resources to winning new business. They have pitch teams, consultants, dashboards and best practices, but few agencies commit the same resources or rigor to retain and grow that business. This practice is particularly unfortunate, as nothing hurts an agency’s morale and bottom line more than the constant cycle of pitching, winning, losing and re-pitching business.”

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The pharmaceutical industry is one of the most powerful sectors in the United States. The United States government has long realized how much of an influence the industry has had since its origin over a century ago and has regulated the industry as such.

Pharmaceutical companies' largest expenses are research and development costs, which typically range from tens of millions of dollars to several hundred million dollars. With such substantial costs, companies have dedicated more time and energy into developing creative marketing strategies to attract additional consumers.

Here are some of the best marketing strategies that the pharmaceutical industry has seen thus far.

Lobbying and TV Advertisements

Did you know that the United States and New Zealand are the only two countries to allow pharmaceutical companies to advertise their drugs directly to consumers? In the United States alone, pharmaceutical companies have spent countless billions of dollars in order to maintain the ability to advertise directly to consumers over the years. Although lobbying costs are not technically considered marketing expenses, they have a significant effect on direct-to-consumer advertising and, therefore, correspond with advertising expenses.

Although direct-to-consumer advertising in the pharmaceutical industry has several benefits for consumers, it is important that these ads instruct consumers to see physicians prior to deciding on their own that they need to take drugs that are advertised directly to the public. In order to prevent any complications with the medication and to build reliability between consumers and the company, direct-to-consumer advertisements should always encourage consumers to check with their doctor before taking a new medication as well as accurately describe the drug and its purpose.

In 2017 alone, the pharmaceutical industry spent over $6 billion on advertising in direct-to-consumer fashion in the United States. Without lobbying, the government would likely have shut down this form of advertising in the pharmaceutical industry. The industry’s unique ability to keep the direct-to-consumer channel open, along with persistent and coordinated lobbying efforts, make DTC advertising one of the most powerful marketing strategies in the industry.

Drug Discount Cards

Few places outside of the pharmaceutical industry offer coupons that reduce the cost of goods purchased by up to ninety percent. One of the most popular marketing strategies in the industry is the use of drug discount cards. Drug manufacturers work with pharmacies to provide consumers substantial discounts. In return, manufacturers give pharmacies a portion of the original purchase price in exchange for accepting less money directly from consumers.

Pharmacies support discount cards because they encourage people to spend more money on non-drug items inside their stores. In addition, pharmacies that do not accept discount cards have been known to consistently miss out on business in their local markets because the cards have been so widely adopted. Discount cards are both useful and convenient and have therefore been a largely successful marketing tool for the pharmaceutical industry.

Content Marketing

Content marketing is a relatively new form of marketing that has taken the world of business, not just the pharmaceutical industry, by storm over the past few years.

Rather than paying for advertisements that blatantly push messages such as “Buy me now,” content marketing involves authoring helpful guides and blog posts that help consumers learn new information or otherwise offer them something that is completely free of charge.

Content marketing is especially important in pharmaceuticals because it helps build customer loyalty. Most people look up information related to pharmaceuticals when they are concerned about themselves or loved ones due to an illness or medical condition. Accurate and informative guides help build a sense of trustworthiness between the consumer and the company. Connecting with consumers at such significant and emotional times is a solid way of building loyalty to the pharmaceutical company.

Caryl Anne Crowne

I have been in the DTC business a long time. After seeing the excellent Ray Liotta ad I might have predicted the next version would use Joe Pesci or Robert De Niro. Chantix instead cast a wild turkey as its star. Who says DTC can’t be creative?

“Chantix breaks out with the creative…”
-Bob Ehrlich

In what will be a very memorable spot Chantix takes the “cold turkey” expression literally by casting a turkey to represent a person who quits smoking with Chantix. The story line is that Chantix allows you to gradually quit smoking by decreasing the urge and thus you don’t need to go cold turkey but go slow turkey as the spot is named. In a world where much of the DTC Ads have become boilerplate style, Chantix breaks out with the creative device here. Sometimes using a character to represent a brand is risky. It works well when we get an Aflac Duck. The question a brand and agency must wrestle with is will using a character diminish the serious nature of an Rx drug.

For DTC we have had a number of such character representations. Digger for Lamisil, the walking bladder for Myrbetriq, a dancing stomach for Prevacid are some DTC examples. The risk is that patients who suffer from disease may not like seeing their problem in character terms. Some diseases are clearly inappropriate for creating such treatments. I doubt cancer ads would contain a singing Lung.

For Chantix I love the use of the turkey. After seeing so many testimonial ads in DTC, it was certainly attention getting to see a turkey sitting by the pool dumping its ashtray. The ad was so different from Ray Liotta that I had to go back and make sure I was seeing correctly. Yes, that was Chantix.

Sometimes an attention getting character might have stopping power but dwarf the message. In this case the Chantix story still came through well and the creative just replaced a human with the turkey in situations like lounging by the pool or mowing the lawn. I give Pfizer a lot of credit for approving a story board so different from the traditional user testimonial. Ray Liotta was very effective but so is the turkey. The agency should be applauded for recommending it as it is not always easy to bring something so different like this to the client.

My concern is that Ray may want to whack the turkey for taking over as spokesperson. A Goodfella hates rivals. I do not know how long this turkey creative can last. After all there is no saying like cold squirrel or cold cow. I am afraid the pool out potential may be limited but that depends on the acting range of the turkey. That said if the turkey is meant to get potential Chantix users to get engaged this ad will do that very effectively.

Bob Ehrlich

DTC Perspectives, the leading forum for direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising thought leaders names its 18th Annual list of the “Top 25 DTC Marketers of the Year.”

This year’s class will be honored during a joint ceremony dinner recognizing the 2019 Top 25 DTC Marketers and Hall of Fame class on the evening of April 16 sponsored by PatientPoint, at the 2019 DTC National taking place in Boston. It includes representatives from more than 15 different manufacturing companies, with each marketer championing both the interests of the patient and brand.

“PatientPoint and I congratulate the 2019 Top 25 DTC Marketers of the Year. These industry leaders have positioned their brand as true partners to patients throughout the care journey with innovative solutions that enrich the entire healthcare experience. We look forward to honoring their impressive achievements at the DTC National Conference and partnering with them on continued success,” says Linda Ruschau, Chief Client Officer of PatientPoint.

The Top 25 DTC Marketers of the Year for 2019 are…

Janice Adewuyi, Director of Product Management, Aptensio XR®, Rhodes Pharmaceuticals L.P.
Christa Albeck, Patient Marketing Director, XELJANZ®, Pfizer, Inc.
Matthew Arm, Associate Director, Multi-Channel Promotions, Merck & Co.
Anthony Atanasio, Senior Marketing Manager, Lytics Marketing, Genentech
Gail Boyden, Associate Director, IO Consumer Marketing, AstraZeneca
Becky Chow, Director, Consumer Marketing, NUPLAZID® (pimavanserin), ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc.
Tara D'Andrea, Senior Director, HCV DTC/P Marketing, Gilead Sciences, Inc.
Sarah Dooley Durant, Associate Director, Vivitrol Consumer Marketing, Alkermes, Inc.
Raymond Foust, III, PhD, MBA, Director, Diabetes Marketing, Boehringer Ingelheim
Antoine Grand-Clément, Consumer Marketing Manager, GSK
Gisell Guzman, XELJANZ Patient Marketing Team, Pfizer, Inc.
Debra Hagan, Director, Psychiatry Marketing, Allergan
Tejal Jhonsa, Product Manager, Opdivo Patient Marketing, Bristol-Myers Squibb
Jenna Kelly, Director, I&I Consumer/Patient Marketing, Celgene Corporation
Fleur Lee, Director, Banzel, Eisai Pharmaceuticals
Christy Lopé, CHANTIX Consumer Marketing Lead, Pfizer, Inc.
Eric Nelson, Marketing Director, Women’s Health, AbbVie
Tom Nowlin, Director, U.S. Oncology Consumer Marketing, Eli Lilly & Company
Rhonda Peebles, Executive Director, Head of Marketing, COSENTYX Dermatology, Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation
Dan Pinto, Product Director, Consumer Marketing, Cardiovascular & Metabolism, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Betty Rhiew, Senior Director, Marketing, Biogen
Elizabeth Rosato, Consumer Marketing – Repatha, Amgen, Inc.
Delta Schonhoft, Rexulti Consumer Marketing Lead, Lundbeck
James Smith, Associate Director, Marketing, AstraZeneca
Betty Webb, Manager, Patient Marketing & Digital Health Innovation, Novo Nordisk Inc.

“These elite pharmaceutical marketing professionals are this year’s top contributors to the advancement of patient outcomes via direct-to-consumer pharmaceutical education and marketing,” adds DTC Perspectives Chairman and CEO Robert Ehrlich. “We would like to recognize the faces behind prominent DTC campaigns, because their hard work and dedication to fostering the industry is often not recognized. The awardees were selected from many worthy candidates.”

Click here to register for the DTC National Conference or contact the DTC Perspectives office at 770-302-6273.

Celebrate with the Industry's Best

Congratulate the Top 25 DTC Marketers in-person and in our publications! DTC Perspectives offers reserved tables with seating for 10 at the Top 25/Hall of Fame and Advertising Awards ceremonies as well as congrats ads opportunities in our DTC Perspectives Magazine/DTC National Conference Guide, on our website, and in Email announcements. Click here to view awards packages and congratulate a Top Marketer/DTC Hall of Fame inductee today.

Print congrats ad deadline: Friday, March 8, 2018

Purchase Tables & Congrats Ads

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Drug companies are under renewed attack. There is yet another new bill in the Senate to end the tax deductibility of DTC ads. The latest is from Elizabeth Warren, who will use drug companies as a campaign talking point about corporate greed. The bill would end all forms of tax benefits for any media type.

We also see the House scheduling hearings on how drug companies price their drugs. We can expect harsh treatment of drug CEOs who will be called to Washington to be attacked by Congress in public televised hearings. Another idea floating in Congress and HHS is to peg US drug prices to Europe. Congress will say that this is a fair way to set US prices as Americans should pay no more than the Germans.

According to a study by Deloitte, all this vitriol is happening as R&D return on investment is down to a paltry 1.9% last year. So critics want drug companies to develop drugs to fight disease with price controls and crappy returns on their R&D investments. Drug companies are in a no-win situation. The critics say drug makers make too much money and are raising prices too fast based on inflation. Yet the data shows they are having trouble recovering R&D investment. Critics want drug companies to improve health outcomes but want to prevent drug companies from free market pricing.

Drug makers are an appealing political target for both parties. Some of the criticism is valid. Drug makers have taken prices up too far too fast. A little prudence is called for if drug makers want to prevent the political hammer from dropping. On the other hand, their dilemma is how to fund that R&D while still providing decent returns to investors. Europe and Canada are getting a free ride off of American consumers. No one expects the average Parisian to volunteer to pay more. Riots in Paris over fuel costs show no chance Europe will help out on drug price support.

So here we are. What is the solution to this mismatch in drug prices? Clearly drug companies are risking draconian measures from Congress. As Dems turn left you can bet they will attack drug companies more vigorously and might even get Republicans and Trump to agree. Nothing will happen quickly but this time may be different. I am afraid it is entirely possible that DTC could be a sacrificial offering to the critics who vastly overestimate the power of DTC ads to create demand. DTC works but is not the driving force in building brands. That advertising, however, is the public face of the drug companies and critics blame DTC for raising demand for premium priced drugs. They think that keeping the information from consumers will keep prices down.

Congress and HHS will try to cajole drug makers to slow down increases. They have already decided to mandate list price be part of consumer ads. Next may be ending the tax deduction for advertising. After that price controls are a real possibility. The Democratic candidates for the 2020 Presidential election will all have a plan to nationalize health care and they will all include price controls in that platform. With Trump as anti-industry as they are we can expect violent agreement that drug makers will be targeted.

So to my colleagues in DTC advertising, buckle up and expect new regulations geared at making DTC harder to execute. I do not expect a ban, but FDA and Congress will be looking for ways to make all our professional lives more difficult.

Bob Ehrlich

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