Differentiation Delivered

Finding a differentiating message to drive market share.

In a pharmaceutical landscape crowded with me-too medications and generic alternatives, even well-know pharma companies find it increasingly challenging to break through the competitive clutter. Given the sea of sameness, crafting just the right messaging can play a make-or-break role in differentiating a drug and capturing more mindshare.

Facing a differentiation dilemma, a leading pharma company tasked Thinkpiece with helping find the right message to set them apart from a similar drug launched at around the same time and targeting the same audience. Adding to the challenge, our pharma client was under extraordinary pressure to increase market share of a drug that was reaching its end of life as newer medications become available.

Moving Beyond Me-Too Messaging

To date, both competing drugs had focused their marketing on similar messages of safety, efficacy, and brand-name trust. The target audience of both medications also included a very specific type of patient for which compliance was a key factor. Our pharma client, however, did have one significant and clear advantage over the competing drug: a shorter medication duration.

Clearly, the client’s current messaging strategy for the drug wasn’t working. The client knew they needed to define and articulate a message that would clearly differentiate the drug from its me-too competitor in order to pull ahead in market share.

For Thinkpiece, our challenge was not only to capture the insight needed to drive the messaging direction, but to balance the disparate priorities of multiple entities involved: the marketing department that urgently needed new marketing materials with a more effective message; the market research team who was under pressure to quickly deliver insight to steer the messaging; and the advertising agency who was eager to test creative and launch a campaign as soon as possible.

At Thinkpiece, we love a good challenge. We also love working with all different kinds of people. So we rolled up our sleeves and dug in, collaborating closely with the ad agency to create a big-picture strategy to underpin the messaging. We knew the best way to identify this strategy would be to take an iterative approach in talking with the clinicians who prescribe the medication.

 

Resonating with Respondents

In the first round of interviews with these respondents, we helped develop a new messaging strategy in a completely blinded manner. We presented side-by-side comparisons of our client’s brand “story” with the competitors’, listening for those nuances that can move a needle in terms of brand perception and prescribing behavior. We identified the umbrella idea the client had not seen before, one which will distinguish their product and resonate personally with the prescribers.

We then got specific. In a follow-up round with the same respondents (allowing us to compress the study’s timeline), we focused on identifying specific language that resonated most with the audience.

Based on findings from the interviews, we were able to provide the agency with the strategic direction and idea to shape their brand story, as well as a list of words and phrases to use in the new messaging. Our research additionally revealed that rather than focus solely on one narrow segment of patients, the messaging should emphasize how the drug can be used to treat a broad range of people.

Armed with this strategic insight, the ad agency had the direction they needed to craft compelling messaging that clearly and powerfully set the client’s drug apart from me-too competitors. The  market research team had the compelling data they needed to confidently defend and substantiate the new messaging direction. And the client’s marketing team will soon have the marketing materials and campaign they need to capture a larger market share. Win, win, win.

 

Flexible Yet Focused

Throughout the six-month study, we worked collaboratively to build consensus and keep all parties laser-focused on the ultimate client objective we identified at the start of the study: increase market share by differentiating the product from the competitor. At the same time, we remained flexible and agile in accommodating the varied needs of the marketing department, market research team, and advertising agency — making sure each party had the data, insight, and support to do their respective jobs effectively.

The report we generated also serves the needs of all who use it, providing a high-level executive summary, identifying the strategic imperative and key objectives, and sharing the definitive insight the client and agency need to move forward.

In the world of complex healthcare research, this study was particularly challenging. Because of that, it was also right up our alley. By working together, remaining focused while flexible, and ensuring that the new messaging is built on relevant insight, we’re confident that client will pull ahead in the market.

Learn more about Thinkpiece’s technology research approach here.