DTC Ads Create Unwanted Side Effects
The $1.35 billion dollars pharmaceutical companies are spending on direct-to-consumer ad campaigns is creating some undesirable side effects - like driving business to rival manufacturers. No matter how persuasive an ad is, ultimately physicians have to prescribe the drug being promoted, which is where the purchasing breakdown occurs.
Results of an IMS Market Research study commissioned by Time and Health magazines and released last month highlight how DTC advertising campaigns can backfire.
Heavy ad spending doesn't necessarily translate into strong market share. That's due, in part, to doctors who write prescriptions for competitive drugs. Merck, for example, spent $41 million on consumer advertising to support its cholesterol-lowering drug Zocor last year, six times the amount competitor Warner Lambert spent to promote its drug Lipitor, according to Competitive Media Reporting.
Merck may inadvertently have helped Lipitor sales because its aggressive advertising campaign drove consumers to doctors who have increasingly prescribed Lipitor instead of Zocor. Lipitor now dominates the cholesterol-lowering market by an almost 2-to-1 margin over Zocor.
This case reinforces how important it is for pharmaceutical companies to generate physician buy-in first before launching a full-speed-ahead consumer effort.
(IMS Market Research, http://www.ims-global.com)
Fewer Americans Seek Anonymous HIV Tests
The stigma associated with HIV testing is showing signs of abating, according to new Centers for Disease Control findings. Fewer Americans are seeking anonymous HIV testing - where no names are given - and more are showing signs of being comfortable with confidential tests - where patients give their name under a guarantee of confidentiality.
The number of anonymous HIV tests declined nearly 27 percent between 1995 and 1997 at 11,000 federally funded testing sites nationwide. During the same period, the number of confidential tests rose almost 3 percent at the same sites, according to the study.
The factors that may influence this trend include:
- The perception of HIV as a more treatable condition instead of a death sentence.
- New regulations that corrected breaches in the confidentiality of HIV test results.
There still is a demand for anonymous HIV testing, particularly among homosexual men. And people who opt for anonymous testing are more likely to receive care earlier in than those who choose confidential testing.
(CDC, 404/693-3311, http://www.cdc.gov)
Women Have Lax Attitude About Mammograms
Although breast cancer public awareness initiatives are considered the most comprehensive and widespread, United Healthcare's recent survey of 2,742 female members provided a big wakeup call as to why its members still are not getting mammograms. The survey showed that basic messages aren't getting through.
For instance, even though mam-mograms are a covered benefit, the most common response among the women ages 52 to 69 in Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi and Tennessee, was "I don't think I need one."
Other reasons for avoiding mam-mograms include:
- "It can't happen to me."
- The belief that if women avoid regular mammograms, they won't get cancer.
- Failure of physicians to recommend a mammogram (even though many physician offices arrange the appointments.)
- The discomfort of the procedure and the lack of time to have the procedure done.
(United Healthcare, Trisha Hoover, 205/977-6563)