Gary Hendler, associate VP of global oncology marketing at sanofi-aventis, is trying to unpick the question of what, if anything, is special or different about marketing in oncology as compared to other pharma marketing. At an eyeforpharma conference in January of this year, he tackled the question and looked at changes ahead for oncology marketing.
Oncology marketing today
According to Hendler, brand communication being done today can be divided into five categories. The first, what Hendler calls functional communication, is typified by a very functional style. It gives customers the information they need to know in a snapshot. The information is entirely factual, and the ads are completely devoid of emotional content. The most basic form of communication in marketing, this style is frequently employed by generics and branded generics.
The second style of brand communication is data-driven communication. Still focused on just the facts, this is the most traditional form of communication in the oncology market, and is based on the assumption that prescribers are influenced primarily by data. Whether this assumption is correct or incorrect is debatable, says Hendler. The ads depend on survival messages and are heavily branded. In some cases, the branding is so pervasive that just the color associated with the brand may be enough to bring the product to mind.
This style of communication, says Hendler, is still very factual and unemotional, and focus tends to be on the survival curves. In fact, Hendler wonders if the ads themselves are truly necessary, as they are often just a retelling of information already available in the New England Journal of Medicine. The problem with this kind of marketing, according to Hendler, is that the products are not well differentiated one from another.
Brand-driven communication moves away from a total reliance on data and toward greater differentiation. This style retains the brand look and feel, but it operates as a kind of hybrid between data and image, with an image that is not necessarily the product or the survival curve. However, says Hendler, the ads remain very factual and informative, and despite including visuals, they evoke little or no emotional response in the viewer. The text is still heavily functional, but there is movement away from a strictly factual message. An effort is made to differentiate the product and to assert a position in the marketplace.
Patient-positioning driven communication is quite a bit different from its predecessors, Hendler says. This type of ad includes very little hard data and moves away from survival curves entirely. There is obvious positioning here, even to the level of showing doctors what types of patients they should be considering for this treatment. The ads include emotional appeals and are similar in style to other kinds of non-pharma advertising. As Hendler points out, research shows that prescribers make purchasing decisions about therapies in much the same way they decide on which cell phone to buy.
Physician-driven communication is the most uncommon type of marketing, and the most risky, according to Hendler. These ads attempt to make the physicians feel powerful and in control by not dictating prescribing decisions to them. This is potentially dangerous, Hendler warns, because it opens the drug up to experimentation by the physicians—always a risky proposition.
How, then, can marketers adopt a leadership position with their brand?
The oncology landscape now
Which marketing strategy will prove most effective as we move forward? To answer that, says Hendler, we have to look at where we are today. In the 1990s in oncology, there were some real breakthroughs in cancer treatments. In the last three to four years, there has been a plethora of new drugs introduced to the market. Theoretically, we could see as many as 55 new therapies in the future. Right now, however, there are an increasing number of high-cost, highly targeted therapies being launched. It is, Hendler says, virtually impossible to deliver a new, innovative drug to the oncology market.
The standard of care is very high, so the chances of developing a drug that can beat the existing competition are low. In fact, Hendler says, treatments will probably move the other way, becoming increasingly more tailored and targeted and increasingly more expensive. Given the large field of choices, getting a brand to market and even more, creating space for it in the minds of the physicians is going to be an even greater challenge in the future.
The oncology market is currently enjoying “unparalleled success,” Hendler says, and with an upcoming presidential election in the US and the rapid increase in healthcare access for people in emerging countries, the market is subject to considerable change in the near future. There are major paradigm shifts on the horizon, and only the flexible, says Hendler, will survive. Different countries move at their own paces. There is no longer room for a “one size fits all” global marketing paradigm; each country will require its own messaging.
The role of marketing in the marketplace
Hendler lists four ways in which marketers can increase their products’ impact in the marketplace. First, marketers must be willing to be the drivers in this new business environment. As the “bridge between developers and users,” it’s up to marketers to position the products, do the research and push their therapies into leadership positions.
Second, marketing must push to integrate with R&D much sooner in the process. This is difficult to do, Hendler admits, since most companies are organized by function, and the R&D people and the marketing people are different and separate and never the two shall meet. Nonetheless, it’s important, Hendler stresses; for the R&D people, the focus is on regulations, and the customer is the FDA or its equivalent. It’s up to the marketer to understand and explain the realities of the marketplace and advocate for the patient.
In addition to increasing impact with R&D, marketing must also play a key role in business development decisions. Most companies must buy or license in products now, and typically marketers aren’t part of those negotiations. Again, those in charge of the process may have very different priorities. They’re looking at the milestone payments, they’re looking at terms and forecasts, says Hendler, but they may not be looking at the quality of the product. Business development is another area where marketers should be prepared to take up key roles.
Third, Hendler predicts that pharma will move from a global perspective to more local perspectives. Instead of products that are marketed to the world, therapies will target smaller audiences. As Hendler points out, there are already three different packaging inserts for the US, Europe and Japan, and the trend looks likely to continue. How can we “think globally,” he asks, when the regulators are tightening their hold on local markets?
Finally, marketers are going to have to be willing to reinvent themselves, Hendler says. Finding new and innovative ways to market products going forward is not going to be easy.
Where is marketing in the mix?
Marketing, says Hendler, should be squarely in the middle of the operational organization, between R&D, business development and commercial operations. He gives a list of must-do’s for operational successes:
• “Develop and leverage strong strategic leadership in brand decisions.” In other words, do the market research and know your stuff. Marketers must be jacks of all trades, so choose carefully the people who will fill those positions.
• “Develop patient-positioning communication strategies.” Customers want clear direction and recommendations, Hendler says, especially as oncology becomes a chronic disease area.
• “Never underestimate the importance of market research.” Never forget, says Hendler, that the customer is king. Research will drive the business by telling you what the customer wants and needs and is willing to pay.
• “Accelerate sales growth in defining a set of good practices for brand strategic drivers.” For example, have three to five key performance indicators to use as benchmarks.
• Engage in “proactive monitoring and support for ‘brand teams,’ regions and countries.” Frequent, two-way communication is crucial.
Marketers are also key in business transformation, according to Hendler. Maximizing innovative approaches to bring added value to the customers’ market access is one way of increasing impact. Developing communication platforms for payers, including private health insurance companies, is another. It’s necessary to “tailor and personalize” KOL management, focusing on providing long-term relationships with seniors in the pharma company, not on reps that change every two years. And “prioritize stakeholder and patient organization interfaces.” Who the “customer” is is changing, says Hendler, and smart marketers know where their audience is and what they need.
Taking care of your customers
Those strategies that were formerly used on doctors must now be reworked and refocused for the new target audience: payors. To be effective, Hendler suggests taking the following steps.
• “Know your customers’ expectations.” Payors have insights, says Hendler. Don’t disregard them.
• “Segment to better address their specific needs.” Know the key challenges your customers face and move to intercept those challenges.
• “Build your offering.” Have something of value to offer. Know its worth so that you can convince others. Innovation is more and more critical, Hendler says; there are no more “me too” propositions.
• “Communicate efficiently.” Be responsible for stakeholder management. Take a part in the corporate and public affairs of the company—reputation is an important and often-overlooked factor in decision making.
• “Implement and check progress.” Insist on operational excellence.
At the end of the day, says Hendler, it is the marketer’s job to add value. If that doesn’t happen, the marketing department might as well not exist. The marketer’s responsibility is threefold: the individual patients’ health should be improved, the total healthcare system should see a benefit, and the companies we work for should sell therapies and make profits.
Research has shown that doctors generally prescribe a pool of about 350 drugs because that’s the maximum number that they can remember. Finding room for a product among that 350 is the marketer’s greatest challenge. To carve out that space for their therapies, marketers must position their drugs successfully.
One mistake marketers often make is assuming that the driver behind a purchasing decision is logic. The driver isn’t rational decision-making, says Hendler; it isn’t survival curves or data. We buy because we have an emotional response to a product. We may later rationalize that decision logically, but the decision to buy is based on emotion. By focusing on patient-centered marketing, by replacing advertising that knocks a competitor’s therapy with advertising that clearly positions our own, Hendler says we’ll serve our product and our patients far better.
Author: Shannon Perry, journalist, eyeforpharma
