Frequently, prospective new clients send us RFPs with requests for Brand Assessments, Brand Equity Studies, Brand Platform Development, Attitude & Usage Studies, Segmentation, Message Testing, Ad Concept Testing and a variety of other strategic initiatives.
Because we may have no established relationship with these companies, their RFPs often use terminology that avoids or minimizes association with Brand Positioning.
But, that’s OK.
At the completion of our review with the brand team, we often find that the heart of the issue is, in fact, a desire to optimize brand positioning to break through the clutter, crystallize the brand and influence prescribing behavior. Optimizing brand performance via positioning ensures the right patient gets the right therapy at the right time.
It is not unusual for clients to consider their brand positioning to be sacrosanct and untouchable. In IMS/IQUVIA studies the common denominator for over 99% of over 10,000 Rx brands which failed to achieve launch excellence was undifferentiated brand positioning. This poor showing attests to the fact that many pharmaceutical marketers do not possess an understanding of how to look beyond functional benefits (ex. 1st oral dosage form, 1st in class, etc.) and science (unique MOA) to develop strategic brand positioning that connects with prescribers and patients on a deeper level.
As a result, many brand teams fail to mitigate risk and settle for top-line brand revenues which are below what their brand should optimally deliver. It is true even for brands which are currently market leaders. In fact, we would argue the stakes are even higher for these brands as they have more to lose if a competitor exploits a strategic weakness.
Although we may not be familiar with your company, we do understand your situation and what it takes to help your brand become or continue to be successful!
If your brand’s positioning doesn’t differentiate intuitively if it is not communicated in a way to influence prescribing, if it cannot be implemented or carried forward to additional indications or markets, brand positioning may need to be reassessed and optimized.
We have the deep healthcare experience, rigorous methodology, and cross-category expertise to analyze brand positioning to determine whether or not a minor tweak will suffice or major surgery is necessary to meet and exceed brand performance expectations.
In the end, we deliver a clear and actionable path – backed by data – to optimal brand performance which can be expanded to encompass additional indications as new brand horizons come into view.
The payoff for our clients is a data-driven brand story and the confidence and peace of mind that comes from ensuring all that can be done has been done to ensure commercial brand success while mitigating the risk of under-delivering commercial performance.
