Brand and deliver: standing out in the healthcare climate

The ongoing drive towards increased self care is placing healthcare consumers even more firmly behind the steering wheel. But how do pharma marketers make their brands stand out on the highway?

UK consumers are now being given access to a wider range of OTC medicines than any other country. Meanwhile, the PAGB’s recent campaign calling for more consumer and patient-led healthcare emphasises the issue’s massive financial and political importance - a fifth of all GP consultations relate to minor, self-treatable ailments - costing the NHS approximately £2 billion a year.

Key communication paths

There are five key areas in which brand teams can communicate self care advice and support direct to the public: how to stay fit and healthy, preventing illness, using medicines better, managing minor ailments and improving long term conditions.

Making an impact with consumers

In terms of direct to consumer tactics, communicating emotive, lifestyle benefits rather than rational, clinical features is key.

As ever, pharma marketers would do well to examine what their counterparts are up to in the consumer comms arena when talking to healthcare audiences - whether that’s via celebrity ambassadors, experiential campaigns, social media calls to action or traditional media relations.

For example, many baby nappy and food brands have cleverly positioned themselves as ‘mum’s friend’, with advice booklets on sleep or play, recipe books or weaning wall charts. GSK’s Oilatum Junior children’s eczema treatment adopted a similar strategy, positioning itself as an ally who understood the emotional and lifestyle impact on looking after a child with eczema before empowering mums with the confidence to treat. Lifestyle advice booklets, parenting magazine features and a parenting award went hand in hand with a more rational pharmacy and HCP engagement programme.

Engaging with pharmacists

Brand managers need to ensure their direct to consumer campaign is part of an integrated pharmacist approach which includes a communication, engagement and training programme. A 2009 PAGB survey found that the main drivers for pharmacists recommending certain products were a therapeutic advance (90%), a belief in the product (70%) and their own experience of using it (55%). For example, pharmacy training guides ensured counter assistants provided the correct advice during GSK’s ‘Ask About Medicines Week’ media relations campaign for Panadol.

Self care communications checklist

• Dr Steve Mann, co-editor of SelfCare, a new online journal for healthcare professionals, underlines the importance of a communications campaign which enters into a dialogue with consumers: “There is an assumption that ‘the science bit’ for consumer pharmaceutical brands is a part of their past rather than their future. However, conversion of a medicine into a brand poses new questions: How long does it last? How fast does it work? Is it better than...?

• Ensure consumer comms are part of an integrated pharmacy and HCP engagement programme

• Choose a PR agency who understands how to engage with consumers in a more emotive, lifestyle way, but who is also able to navigate the regulatory environment

• Be brave - it takes a strong, consistent, strategic and creative campaign to cut through to consumers and pharmacists in such a crowded marketplace.

Maria Greaves works for Spink PR who can be reached at: www.spinkpr.com.