Pharmaceutical Marketing Unit 7

Introduction to Promotions Mix

• Promotions Mix is a subset of the Marketing Mix.
• It refers to a variety of promotional tools and strategies used to communicate with the target market.
• It includes advertising, personal selling, sales promotions, public relations, and digital marketing.

Elements of Promotions Mix

• Advertising: TV, radio, print, slogans, jingles, and eye-catching visuals.
• Personal Selling: Direct interaction with potential buyers, personalized communication.
• Sales Promotions: Incentives, discounts, coupons, contests, and loyalty programs.
• Public Relations: PR activities, media coverage, events, and sponsorships.
• Digital Marketing: Online channels, email marketing, social media, and e-commerce.

Decisions in Promotions Mix

• Product Lifecycle Decisions: Focus on creating awareness, differentiation, and customer loyalty.
• Target Audience Decisions: Understand demographics, psychographics, and behavior.
• Budget Allocation Decisions: Allocate resources based on available budget.
• Competitive Environment Decisions: Analyze competitors' strategies for differentiation and benchmarking.

Methods of Promotions Mix

• Direct-to-Customer Advertising: Create awareness through television, radio, and print media.
• Online Presence and Social Media: Leverage social media to engage with patients and share product information.
• Informative Blogging: Enhance credibility and educate patients.
• Video Marketing: Explain complex medical concepts, showcase testimonials, and highlight product benefits.
• Public Relations: Build trust and credibility, highlighting research breakthroughs, patient success stories, and community involvement.

Determinants of Promotions Mix

• Nature of the Product: Complexity of the product influences the choice of promotional mix.
• Nature of the Market: Demographics of the audience, industrial market, or consumer market.
• Competitive Environment: Number and strength of competitors impact the promotional mix.
• Marketing Budget: Available funds determine the type and extent of promotional activities.
• Regulatory Environment: Regulations around advertising and promotion of pharmaceutical products affect the choice of promotional mix.
• Media Availability: Availability of media channels influences the promotional mix.
• Sales Force Effectiveness: A strong sales force enables more focus on personal selling.

Promotion Mix for Ethical and OTC Drugs

• Ethical Drugs: Promote to physicians, dentists, and allied professionals using professional service representatives, medical representatives, and company emissaries.
• OTC Drugs: Use mass-based consumer advertising, constant bombardment of communications through tri-media advertisements.

Promotion Mix for Wholesalers and Big Drugstore Chains

• Use billboards, modernized store fronts, creative merchandising, sales promotions, localized advertisements, and free medical consultations.

Promotional Budget

• Definition: Known as "Marketing Communication" blueprint for spending money to promote a product.
• Objectives: Communicate, coordinate, plan, control, and evaluate.
• Factors: Objectives, funds available, coverage, class of product, product lifecycle, competitive activities, approach to advertising, company size, age, and economic conditions.
• Methods: Percentage of Sales, Competitive Parity, Fix Amount Allocation, Economy of Scale, Strategic Objective, and Push-Led Strategy.

Displays and Merchandising

• Displays:silent salesmen, built by the drugstore owner or the company's representative.
• Types of Displays: Dealer Displays, Company-Built Displays, and Posters/Streamers/Billboards.
• Position of Displays: Point-of-purchase, on the store floor, preferential shelf space, and in the store window.
• Key Display Guidelines: Make displays big, attractive, and at eye level; relate to the size of the drugstore; and control the whole window space.