Problem
A top global pharmaceutical company was facing a number of challenges with one of their brands. There had been a dramatic increase in competitive activity, confusion about new products and indications in the marketplace and negative press regarding adverse events and product price. In addition to these marketplace and competitive issues, the field force call position was also changing. As a result, the client asked M2 Worldwide to recommend an approach that would accomplish the following:
- Protect and maintain prescribing levels with the most valuable physicians in each practice setting
- Combat negative press in a controlled environment
- Shore up share-of-voice within changing field force
- Support other other marketing mix components with non-personal selling
Solution
We implemented a multi-channel solution with multiple components:
- Direct mail and web-based initiatives to target high-writing physicians who demonstrate a strong affinity for the product. Quarterly communications segmented by practice setting
- Interactive elements to encourage development of a brand-based community
- Automated reporting platform to reveal insights quickly
- Sophisticated data collection plan to leverage proprietary knowledge and ongoing learnings
- Incentive options to maximize survey response while collecting statistically reliable data
- The RM Program was supported by an integrated professional marketing platform with creative designed for non-personal settings
Results
- Results far exceeded their participation and ROI targets
- The program exceeded the goal of maintaining or increasing prescribing levels among participants
- The average response rate for all communication waves was greater than 10%
- 50% of responders answered two or more times
- Online participation increased through word-of-mouth
- Participants averaged 8 NRx, resulting in a 6.6:1 ROI, greatly exceeding the 1.5 NRx break-even point for the program
Timing
12 months from start to finish and another 6 months for a new database platform
