Valeant sales reps started doing something different in August. In addition to talking to dermatologists about prescription medications, they started dropping off samples of the drug maker’s OTC medication AcneFree, which joined the company’s portfolio with the 2012 purchase of University Medical. VP of Marketing John Reed said reps will bring the kits to the offices of around 3,600 dermatologists.
The company is supporting the professional pitch with a consumer strategy that includes circulars and in-store promotions, as well as YouTube’s TrueView ad feature, in which user habits help determine which ads will be served up. The site offers the chance to opt out of the ads.
If the viewer skips out, the advertiser pays nothing. If they watch it to the end, the advertiser pays. Reed said the AcneFree video, which uses creative from the Ogilvy Group A. Eicoff & Co., has a 15.9% watch rate.
Reed said the brand was sold on TrueView because of the pay structure and targeting, which he said “reveals the relevance of the product itself to the viewer.” He noted that viewers who watch the ad tend to click through to find places to buy the product.
Google National Industry Director of Healthcare Ryan Olohan told MM&M that visitors who watch TrueView ads are “saying, ‘I am suffering and want help.’” The potential marketing impact is part of a YouTube shift toward becoming a tool users employ as a lifestyle search engine.
His evidence: 40,000 videos featuring diabetes-friendly recipes and an unbranded atrial-fibrillation video from 2012 that has been viewed more than 3 million times. The Afib video links to the site 15everyhour.com, which is supported by Boehringer Ingelheim, the National Stroke Association and the Heart Rhythm Society, among others.
From the October 01, 2013 Issue of MM+M - Medical Marketing and Media
