An implicit objective of all DTC campaigns is to empower patients with information to speak to their HCP about a treatment or specific drug. Novartis has taken this notion a step further by actually demonstrating this in its new campaign for osteoporosis drug Reclast.
Reclast is a once-a-year infusion treatment, which creates a challenge for marketers trying to build “loyal” customers. However, the Reclast team and its agencies have introduced a proactive group of brand spokespeople to leverage information about the “Reclast experience.” On the website, we literally see a “coffee klatch” of women talking about their concerns with the drug and how they overcame them. It is not hard-hitting, but the conversation makes it very persuasive. The print ad is particularly effective because it conveys immediacy as well as an old-fashioned “down-to-earth” flavor via its use of a simple Courier typeface. In this campaign, after the testimonies of the patients, the typeface itself is the star—conveying emotion and signaling “something old/something new” to a target of 60+ year olds with whom it will resonate.
The women we see in this campaign look very much like the drug’s target audience, and with their “real” conversation and quotes in the print ad, they share genuine comments and concerns. Conveniently, the ad body copy answers these issues point-by point in easy-to-understand language.
You could say these women have been empowered to treat osteoporosis. And you would be right.
Deborah Dick-Rath is SVP, healthcare, at Symphony Advanced Media. Contact: [email protected]
From the August 01, 2011 Issue of MM+M - Medical Marketing and Media
