...and implement an efficient communication strategy. CSP should treat overweight women with BMI less than 30 at the age between 25 and 65 as their optimal target customer for the Metabical pill. Based on the product advantage, Metabical should be positioned as the most effective, safe, sustainable, and leading prescribed weight-loss product on the market. Communication strategy will be the most crucial part of the marketing strategy. CSP should target at healthcare providers and end consumers to ensure the efficiency of customer communication. They should focus on addressing the different concerns that those two groups hold. Utilizing advertising, promotion and pubic effort, and sales force is the right marketing strategy for CSP. However, CSP should not ignore the effectiveness of celebrity spokespeople to market the product. The support program is an essential part of the marketing communication strategy. An organized timeline for the marketing strategy will make sure the implementation of the strategy. Argument According to the market research and study, CSP should target at over weighted women at the age from 25 to 65. More specifically, CSP should target at women with BMI less than 30 to ensure the effectiveness of the Metabical, since the product is not very effective to people with BMI higher than 30. The male customers should be treated as the minor group to target even though they are also potential to purchase weight-loss product. The extensive marketing survey...
Words: 1453 - Pages: 6
...Q1: What is the Decision-making process for Metabical? Who is involved in the process? Consumer research over the years has shown that shoppers often follow a relatively common shopping behavior for product purchase. In theory, a shopper is said to go through the following five stages as a process. In reality, sometimes the steps may be switched around or even left out, as not all consumers are by rule, always alike. The decision-making process (DMP) for Metabical, Cambridge Sciences Pharmaceuticals‘ (CSP) new weight-loss drug involves several people. The product end-user is the main subject of the decision-making process, but other external parties interject at different stages, influencing the consumer’s ultimate decision. Below is the flow Metabical’s consumers would go through as part of their shopping behaviors. Stage 1: Need Recognition & Problem Awareness A recognition occurs that consumers are unhappy with their current body image, their weight or their unhealthy lifestyle. This can come from consumers’ existing, continuous dissatisfaction in terms of their weight physical appearance. It can also be triggered by external media sources such as TV, Outdoor, Radio or Magazine advertisements whereby a variety different visuals, articles, messages can lead to consumer awareness that there is a problem, and a need, that must be satisfied. At this point, both the consumer and the respective media agents are involved in process. Stage 2: Information Search In...
Words: 3652 - Pages: 15
...4240 JULY 22, 2010 JOHN A. QUELCH HEATHER BECKHAM Metabical: Positioning and Communications Strategy for a New Weight-Loss Drug “I have tried countless diets and every new weight-loss pill that has come on the market. Nothing seems to take off those extra pounds. With diets, I am miserable because I am starving all the time, and none of the weight-loss pills seem to work. I might lose a couple pounds, but I never reach my weightloss goals and I usually end up gaining more back. I would give anything to lose this extra 20 pounds, so that I can live a longer, happier life.” — Tamara Jinkens: focus group participant, age 42 Barbara Printup, senior director of marketing for Cambridge Sciences Pharmaceuticals (CSP), listened as overweight focus group participants recounted their lifelong struggles with weight loss. Printup had just been placed in charge of the upcoming U.S. product launch of CSP’s newest prescription drug, Metabical (pronounced Meh-tuh-bye-cal). In clinical trials, Metabical proved to be safe and effective in stimulating weight loss for moderately overweight individuals. CSP was an international health care company with a focus on developing, manufacturing, and marketing products that treat metabolic disorders, gastrointestinal diseases, immune deficiencies, as well as other chronic and acute medical conditions. The company captured over $25 billion in sales in 2007. Printup had over 20 years of experience marketing prescription drugs for CSP. She had led six...
Words: 4967 - Pages: 20
...4240 JULY 22, 2010 JOHN A. QUELCH HEATHER BECKHAM Metabical: Positioning and Communications Strategy for a New Weight-Loss Drug “I have tried countless diets and every new weight-loss pill that has come on the market. Nothing seems to take off those extra pounds. With diets, I am miserable because I am starving all the time, and none of the weight-loss pills seem to work. I might lose a couple pounds, but I never reach my weightloss goals and I usually end up gaining more back. I would give anything to lose this extra 20 pounds, so that I can live a longer, happier life.” — Tamara Jinkens: focus group participant, age 42 Barbara Printup, senior director of marketing for Cambridge Sciences Pharmaceuticals (CSP), listened as overweight focus group participants recounted their lifelong struggles with weight loss. Printup had just been placed in charge of the upcoming U.S. product launch of CSP’s newest prescription drug, Metabical (pronounced Meh-tuh-bye-cal). In clinical trials, Metabical proved to be safe and effective in stimulating weight loss for moderately overweight individuals. CSP was an international health care company with a focus on developing, manufacturing, and marketing products that treat metabolic disorders, gastrointestinal diseases, immune deficiencies, as well as other chronic and acute medical conditions. The company captured over $25 billion in sales in 2007. Printup had over 20 years of experience marketing prescription drugs for CSP. She had led six...
Words: 5300 - Pages: 22
...Metabical: Pricing, Packaging &Demand Forecasting For A New Weight Loss Drug Metabical: Pricing, Packaging &Demand Forecasting For A New Weight Loss Drug Abstract Metabical will be the only weight loss drug clinically proven to be effective for moderately overweight people, also recognized by the FDA. The CSP’s (Cambridge Sciences Pharmaceuticals) drug Metabical got its final approval from the FDA. The senior marketing director for CSP-Barbara Printup must develop the marketing communication and positioning strategy for a successful launch of the new drug Metabical. The main points to be stressed on by Barbara are consumer decision making concept and understanding between the consumer who is purchasing the drug and the health care provider who prescribes the medicine. Poor positioning of the drug in a highly competitive market for weight loss solutions could prove to be disastrous despite promising medical studies and consumer research. CSP wanted to base their new product comparably to Alli, but felt Metabical could be priced at a premium due to the need of a prescription to get the drug. Pricing was the main concern with this product and several scenarios were run to try and project and forecast where the pricing would give the best returns on investment. Objective * Develop Positioning Strategy for the drug. * Build the marketing communication plan in order to create a strong level of understanding between the consumer and the prescriber of the drug...
Words: 671 - Pages: 3
...Clean Edge into the men's market where it has a strong presence. Jackson Randall, the product manager for Clean Edge, struggles with how best to position the product for the launch. One strategy is to release Clean Edge as a "niche" product, targeting the high-end market of fastidious groomers looking for superior skin care products. Another strategy is to release the product into the highly competitive mainstream razor market where the product can be positioned as the most effective razor available. Randall meets internal resistance to the mainstream strategy from the product manager for the company's current, but aging, mainstream razor products and he must consider the effects of cannibalization in his plan. Randall must recommend an optimal strategy and provide supporting economic analysis of his decision--not just for Clean Edge, but for its effect on the entire company. Learning objective: Explore issues associated with strategic product positioning. Review new product development process and understand the importance of evaluating product-company and product-market fit in assessing new product opportunities. Understand the importance and marketing implications of determining whether a new product is a big breakthrough or a simple line extension. Subjects covered: Marketing strategy; New product marketing; Product positioning; Profitability analysis;...
Words: 1285 - Pages: 6
...WEIGHT LOSS ISSUES Excessive weight has become one of the major issues in today's world. This leads to all sorts of health riskssuch as coronary heart diseases, high blood pressure, diabetes, sleep apnea and many more. Furthermore, a research has shown that death rates from cancer were 52% higher in men and 62 % higher in women with excessive weight than in people with normal weight (Eugenia E. Calle 2003). A large proportion of overweight people have been trying to lose their weight in every possible way. However, not every attempt was successful. Due to that, the pharmaceutical industry has been developing and testing a large variety of medicines that are specifically made to help people with weight issues. One of the newest drugs on the market is Metabical, a prescription drug developed by Cambridge Sciences Pharmaceuticals (CSP). Based on the results from clinical trials, Metabical has been proven effective for weight loss of overweight people. The question is how willMetabicalbe introduced to the market? PULL MARKETING The main idea was to advertise Metabical directly to consumers in order to increase the awareness of the product. This strategy was based on pull marketing where the purpose was to attract the customers and make them approach the supplier or seller first. It is not an assertive way of marketing in comparison to push marketing where a seller calls potential customers on the telephone asking whether they would like to purchase a product they might not actually...
Words: 2593 - Pages: 11
...qwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmrtyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmrtyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmrtyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwertyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmrtyuiopasdfghjklzxcvbnmqwer...
Words: 1338 - Pages: 6
...Marketing the Weight Loss Industry Carrie Ridner Instructor: Vicki Long BUS 330: Principles of Marketing August 27, 2012 Abstract America is getting fatter with each passing year and the weight loss industry is cashing in on the desire to be skinny. Have you ever dieted, exercised your heart out only to feel like there were not enough results for your effort? Many companies marketing weight loss products love to have famous people endorsing their products. People can relate to Tommy Lasorda and very much want to "lose the weight and feel great." The marketing process involves the following steps: understanding consumers; creating customer values; building strong customer relationships; creating marketing strategy; and capturing the value from customers (Kotler & Armstrong, 2011). Marketing and advertising professionals have tapped in to the ever expanding market of people searching for something to aid in their weight loss efforts. Actors and actresses are abundant in the marketing of weight loss, with their thin, toned bodies. Images of healthy, beautiful people fill television screens bragging to the viewers how they shed the pounds on this product or that diet program. As people continue to struggle with obesity, an ever growing epidemic, they will look for the “quick fix” and marketing of weight loss programs and diet aids will grow at a rapid pace. There are some ethical, legal, and social issues that advertisers should recognize when marketing...
Words: 2398 - Pages: 10
...rP os t 4183 APRIL 14, 2010 JOHN A. QUELCH HEATHER BECKHAM op yo Metabical: Pricing, Packaging, and Demand Forecasting for a New Weight-Loss Drug In April 2008, after 10 years of testing and $400 million in research and development costs, Cambridge Sciences Pharmaceuticals’ (CSP) newest prescription drug, Metabical (pronounced Mehtuh-bye-cal), was about to receive its coveted Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval. CSP was an international healthcare company with over $25 billion in sales in 2007. The company, based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, focused on developing, manufacturing, and marketing products that treated metabolic disorders, gastrointestinal diseases, and immune deficiencies, as well as other chronic and acute medical conditions. Metabical was part of a strategic initiative that would allow CSP to enter the $3.74 billion market for weight-control products in the United States.1 tC CSP’s chief marketing officer, Bernard Long, said of the new product: No Metabical is revolutionary. It will be the first and only prescription drug to receive FDA approval to meet the needs of the millions of individuals struggling with moderate weight-loss goals. Previous prescription weight-loss drugs had negative side effects that, in the agency’s judgment, outweighed the benefits provided to individuals who were not considered obese. Metabical will be approved for use by those looking to shed between 10 to 30 pounds. Initial reviews...
Words: 4511 - Pages: 19
...$25 billion in sales in 2007. CSP created Metabical, what would be the first prescription drug approved by the FDA specifically for overweight individuals (those with a BMI of 25 to 30). Its compounds produce dramatic weight loss for overweight individuals. It works on a low-dose formulation, therefore reducing damages to heart and liver functions. Negative effects of the drug occurred when taken while consuming high levels of calories and fat. Metabical is intended to be taken during a 12-week treatment. The estimated retail price for the drug would be approximately $3 to $5 per day, so that would sum up to $1,800. Many health care insurance companies don’t cover weight-loss drugs in their plans. Direct competition includes over-the-counter (OTC) drug Alli (a reduced-strength version of the prescription drug Xenical), approved by the FDA for weight-loss use. There are a number of liver damage reports of people who have been taking Alli and Xenical being currently investigated by the FDA. Because of its recommended intake treatment, Metabical helps with behavior modification and healthier eating habits. In order to take maximum advantage of this, its planned to create a comprehensive support program for patients. This would enable them not only to lose weight, but to learn and achieve a new lifestyle based on habits changes. This program wasn’t included in the trial testing. It...
Words: 2159 - Pages: 9
...The Magic of Weight Loss The truth is there is no magic, yet this a $20 billion a year industry. 20/20 did a news story called, “The Big Fat Trap”. The article suggests that when celebrities endorse these weight loss systems they aren’t telling the whole story. Along with the program that these celebrities endorse they also have personal trainers, chefs and dieticians to also aid their weight loss. The story goes on to suggest that Kirsti Alley lost weight with Jenny Craig then put all the weight back on to promote her own weight loss program. It was a strategic business move on her part. We watch these ads and consider utilizing the products because these celebrities endorse even though most people are aware that there is more to the story. Providing a person does not have any underlying health problems, weight loss is about lifestyle change and not a magic solution or quick fix like fad diets and surgical interventions. Surgical Intervention There are many types of surgical intervention for weight loss with the most popular being gastric lap-band, gastric sleeve, and gastric bypass. How successful are they? In the documentary series, “My 600 pound Life,” one patient who was coming out of anesthesia reached down to feel if her stomach was gone. The disappointment was visible on her features and she talked about not understanding why the stomach was still there. There is a lack of education where these invasive procedures are concerned. In the same series, people...
Words: 1242 - Pages: 5
...Metabical: Positioning and Communications Strategy for a new Weight-Loss Drug Q & A 1. Who is involved in the decision making process? What is the decision making process for Metabical? Since Metabical is a prescription drug for weight loss which can only be bought via a prescription, the overweight patients are not the only decision makers involved. The health care providers are also decision makers in this process for they are the ones who prescribe the drug. The consumer decision making process (J.Paul Peter & Donnelly, Ch3, p.49) for Metabical goes through five stages: a) Perceiving or recognizing a need. According to the case, 65 % of Americans are overweight. Many perceive themselves as social outcasts. Here Metabical ties in with a variety of needs in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs: the need for belongingness and love for companionship. After all no one likes being excluded. Exclusion can also negatively impact one’s self esteem. So it also ties in with the need for self esteem and self actualization since excess weight negatively impacts hiring, wages, and job promotion. b) Alternative Search: Once the need for love and belonging, and self esteem is recognized the overweight individual collects information from marketing sources like ads, or public sources like newspapers and magazines. The consumer might even ask his health care provider about it. He/she might even ask their overweight friends i.e. group sources who tried many diet drugs...
Words: 3225 - Pages: 13
...Positioning and Communication Strategy for a new Weight-Loss Drug ZOOM Syndicate Gari Nurahman Wahyu Kumoro Santo Rizal Background Time February 2008 Cambridge Sciences Pharmaceuticals (CSP) International health care company Focus on Developing, manufacturing, and marketing product (metabolic disorder, gastrointestinal disease, immune deficiencies, etc.) Barbara Printup, Senior Director of marketing Want to launch Metabical (Meh-tuh-bye-cal) Objective Develop Positioning Strategy Build the Marketing Communication plan Positioning IMC Launch February 2008 January 2009 Analysis United State Issue In 2005, 65% from adult Population is Overweight, Obese and severely obese. The Second cause of preventable death Social Stigma (affect to professional life) Weight loss Drugs characteristic No Prescription drugs for (BMI of 25 30) are available Negative side effects ( gastrointestinal effect, and liver damage) Herbal/ dietary supplement Required an FDA approval except herbal Metabical Approved by FDA Specifically for Overweight (BMI 25 30) Reducing stress on heart and liver Single dose per day (controlled release feature) The side effect (gastrointestinal discomfort) less severe then other (if the patient consumed high level of fat and calories) Not recommended for BMI >30 Support Program Reference material Online weight Control Personal Support Meal Plans Weight loss tracker Food diary Nutritional...
Words: 1774 - Pages: 8
...Segment Typical demographic profile I want to look like a movie star Age 18 to 30, high school education, household income under $40,000 I want to be healthier Age 35 to 65, college education plus, household income $80,000+ I want to wear my skinny jeans Age 25 to 40, college education , household income $50,000-$80,000 I want to lose weight, but only if it is easy Age 45 to 65, some college education, household income $40,000-$60,000 I am fine the way I am Age 40 to 65, some college education, household income $30,000-$50,000 • BMI scale classification The customers can also be segmented based on the relationship between their weight and height associated with body fat and health risk and appropriate both for men and women. Three categories of excess weights for adults: overweight (25 to 30); obese (30 to 40); and severely, or morbidly, obese (over 40). • Gender segmentation Both men and women who are overweight can be the segment for Metabical. Targeting a particular gender would narrow down the market. Target segment As has been evident for clinical trials, Metabical proved to be effective in achieving significant weight loss for overweight individuals. Thus, it is suitable for customers with BMI between 25 and 30. Also, the high incidence of overweight men is in the age group of 65 to 74, while it is 55 to 64 for women. Also,...
Words: 912 - Pages: 4
