A Dissertation

On

Significance of Branding in Pharmaceutical Industry

SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF

REQUIREMENT FOR THE DEGREE
OF

MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

PREPARED BY:SOUMYA SEKHAR BASU

VU registration no: 01032

VU ROLL:PG/24/MBA-IV NO.-384
Year of registration: 2018-19
Major specialization: MARKETING

UNDER THE GUIDANCE

OF
SREEMOYEE MUKHERJEE
FACULTY, EIILM

SUBMITTED TO:

EIILM, Kolkata
Affiliated under Vidyasagar University

(May, 2020)

Acknowledgement
I express my sincere gratitude to Sreemoyee Mukherjee, Faculty, EIILM
who has sincerely provided me with critical suggestions and valuable
insights which enabled me to complete this project and bring out this report
in the best way possible.

I would take this opportunity to thank Dr. R. P Banerjee (Director, EIILM)

and other faculty members for their cooperation and support.

I am also thankful to my colleagues for their motivation and to all those

persons who directly or indirectly helped me during developing this
dissertation.

Signature: SOUMYA SEKHAR BASU

Name:SOUMYA SEKHAR BASU
Date:30/05/2020
 Declaration

I do hereby declare that this dissertation entitled “ Significance of

Branding in Pharmaceutical Industry”has been done by me and
all the information provided is correct and true to my knowledge.
This dissertation is submitted by me for the partial fulfillment of
the award of degree in „master of business administration‟.
The dissertation is exclusively prepared by me and has not been
submitted to any other institutions or published anywhere before.

DATE:30/5/2020
PLACE:KOLKATA SOUMYA SEKHAR BASU
MBA, 4th SEMESTER
EIILM, Kolkata
 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This paper involves research that is done by secondary data, through library and internet
searches, in order to answer some questions that were not necessarily answered
sufficiently from prior research.The information presented in this dissertation comes from
the general conclusion of the secondary research.Branding has persisted for centuries as a
way to distinguish one producer‟s goods from another manufacturer‟s products and
services.An understanding of customer-based brand equity is essential in order to fully
understand branding and its advantages.Customer-based brand equity is the differential
effect that brand knowledge has on consumer response to the marketing of that brand.In
the world of consumer goods and services,companies have used branding techniques to
achieve competitive advantage for many decades. In the fast moving consumer goods
industry(FMCG) brands are viewed as the key assets of the company, and all resources
are utilized to create and develop brands. While the core principles and strategies for
branding a medical product is the same as for any product, there are some differences in
the pharmaceutical industry.Due to differences in regulations of marketing and selling
drugs, many of the strategies used to market consumer products are unacceptable
practices in healthcare. This difference has brought in my interest in studying the
significance of Branding in Pharmaceutical industry.
Traditionally, and for several years, consumer goods companies have relied heavily on
branding to successfully market and sell products.Recently,however,the pharmaceutical
industry has recognized the importance and significance of branding even more and has
re-structured their marketing departments to now include brand managers for their
products.
Consumer goods companies have followed a particular structure in how they brand their
products. Here I will discuss the meaning of branding in general, and discusses the
advantages and disadvantages of it. Next, the need for branding in the pharmaceutical
company is discussed followed by the advantages and challenges of branding in this
industry. The paper proceeds with a discussion about specific branding strategies that are
effective for this industry,and finally, consumer perceptions of generic versus branded
drugs are examined.
 Table of contents

Introduction 5-8
Market introduction 9-12
Literature review 13-17
Research objectives 18

Methodology 19
Branding of pharmaceutical 20-31
products
International Vs Indian scenario 31-34

The future of branding 34-35

Findings 36

Conclusions & bibliography 37-39

 Introduction

What is Brand?
David A Aaker, in his book Managing Brand Equity1 states: "A brand is a distinguishing
name and/or symbol (such as logo, trademark, or package design) intended to identify the
goods or services of either one seller or a group of sellers, and to differentiate those
goods or services from those of competitors. A brand thus signals to the customer the
source of the product, and protects both the customer and the producer from competitors
who would attempt to provide products that appear to be identical."
Whereas a product simply performs a task for the user, a brand gives a value over and
beyond the product's functional purpose; in some sense it does make the product seem
better. The functional benefits of an industrial brand are easy to identify. But the non-
functional benefits of the brand are more difficult to recognise in industrial products.
Loctite is bought for a functional purpose and the strong brand may give buyers
confidence that it performs better than a brand which is unknown. The feeling of
confidence communicated by the brand can be an important additional benefit to the
buyer.

WARMTH OF RECOGNISATION TRUST

FEELING
PRODUCT
FUNCTIONAL
BENEFITS
COMFORT STATUS CONFIDENCE

Brands are omnipresent; they penetrate almost every aspect of our life: economic, social,
cultural, sporting, even religion .Due to its tendency to pervade everywhere they have
come under growing criticism. Brands are a direct consequence of the strategy of market
segmentation and product differentiation. Branding means more than just giving name
and signaling to the outside world that such a product or service has been stamped with
the mark and imprint of an organization. Branding consists in transforming the product
category; it requires a corporate long term involvement, a high level of resources and
skills .

Prior to discussion of the advantages and disadvantages of branding, it is imperative to

understand what customer based brand equity is and to comprehend the steps of brand
building. Customer based brand equity is the differential effect that brand knowledge has
on customer response to the marketing of that brand. When customers react more
favorably to a product and the way it is marketed when the brand is identified than when
it is not, that brand has positive customer based brand equity occurs when the customer
has a high level of brand awareness and strong, favorable, unique associations with the
brand.

BRAND EQUITY

BRAND PERCEIVED BRAND BRAND

AWARNESS QUALITY ASSOCIATIONS LOYALITY

ADVANTAGES OF BRANDING:

The purpose of brand building is to create brand preference. Preference, as a result, is

supposed to generate more sales and higher market share by creating desire for a brand
that is stronger than the desire created by competitors. In addition, it should protect and
enhance margins by using the brands to avoid commodity status and add value to the
selling proposition. Branding is intended to be a long term commitment of building and
nurturing a loyal customer. It is more advantageous than ever before for two reasons.
First, marketers are rediscovering the equity they have in their brand images and are
using it. Second, the general media are staring to pay more attention to marketing as an
industry.

DISADVANTAGES OF BRANDING:

However, the consumers who buy strictly on price may not be loyal to specific brands.
Price sensitivity could prevent consumers from purchasing more expensive branded
drugs, especially if they do not perceive any major differences between generic and
branded medications.

BRANDING CONSUMER PRODUCTS VERSUS PHARMACEUTICAL

PRODUCTS:
The topic of branding is important to pharmaceutical marketing departments as time and
costs are high in being able to execute effective branding strategies. If pharmaceutical
companies can better understand the need for branding, as well as the most effective
ways to brand, time and resources could be allocated accordingly. Also, successful
strategies will enable these companies to obtain the most sales for their products once the
patents have expired and generic drugs hit the market.
In the world of consumer goods and services, companies have used branding
techniques to achieve competitive advantage for many decades. These techniques
involves the development of a set of distinguishing characteristics in the product , which
are capable of leaving of good impression on the customer.
While the core discipline of branding a medical product is the same as for any
product, there are some differences in the pharmaceutical industry.As a result of profound
change experienced by pharmaceutical companies,they must embrace marketing and
branding strategies to a greater extent than they have in the past.Changes in the way
medications are marketed and sold make it significantly important for these companies to
brand their products.The early years of the prescription lifecycle will be important for
drug companies to established brands that are ready to be switched to over the
counter.Branding can represent a new competitive advantage.Pharmaceutical branding is
an important way to create awareness among potential benefits of drugs and
medicines.Brand building during the period a new drug remains under patent can help
prolong the commercial life of a product once its monopoly status lapses since once the
drug‟s patent expires,the name of the drug has to be changed.Positioning,as well as other
important element for branding including communicating the product‟s differentiation
from rivals,pricing it competitively,and emphasizing its performance to physicians,will
be instrumental in prescribing the drug.In order to brand successfully,companies can use
a combination of any of the following brand
elements:logos,slogans,packaging,names,charecters and symbols.
 Industry Introduction

The pharmaceutical industry in India ranks 3rd in the world terms of volume and 14th in
terms of value.The World Health Organization estimated that 20 percent drugs made in
India are fakes. According to Department of Pharmaceuticals, Ministry of Chemicals and
Fertilizers, the total turnover of India's pharmaceuticals industry between 2008 and
September 2009 was US$21.04
billion. Hyderabad, Mumbai, Bangalore, Visakhapatnam and Ahmedabad are the major
pharmaceutical hubs of India. The domestic market was worth US$13.8 billion in 2013.

The government started to encourage the growth of drug manufacturing by Indian

companies in the early 1960s, and with the Patents Act in 1970. However, economic
liberalization in 90s by the former Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao and the
then Finance Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh enabled the industry to become what it is
today. This patent act removed composition patents from food and drugs, and though it
kept process patents, these were shortened to a period of five to seven years.The Lack of
patent protection made the Indian market undesirable to the multinational companies that
had dominated the market. Whilst the multinationals streamed out, Indian companies
carved a niche in both the Indian and world markets with their expertise in reverse-
engineering new processes for manufacturing drugs at low costs. Although some of the
larger companies have taken baby steps towards drug innovation, the industry as a whole
has been following this business model until the
present.India's biopharmaceutical industry clocked a 17 percent growth with revenues of
Rs.137 billion ($3 billion) in the 2009-10 financial year over the previous fiscal. Bio-
pharma was the biggest contributor generating 60 percent of the industry's growth at
Rs.8,829 crore, followed by bio-services at Rs.2,639 crore and bio-agri at Rs.1,936
crore.The number of purely Indian pharma companies is fairly low. Indian pharma
industry is mainly operated as well as controlled by dominant foreign companies having
subsidiaries in India due to availability of cheap labor in India at low cost. In 2002, over
20,000 registered drug manufacturers in India sold $9 billion worth of formulations and
bulk drugs. 85% of these formulations were sold in India while over 60% of the bulk
 drugs were exported, mostly to the United States and Russia. Most of the players in the
market are small-to-medium enterprises; 250 of the largest companies control 70% of the
Indian market. Thanks to the 1970 Patent Act, multinationals represent only 35% of the
market, down from 70% thirty years ago.

Employment Trends-
With the expected growth rate of 14% per annum, Indian Pharmaceutical sector is
expected to create more jobs in India in 2014 and add 45,000 fresh openings to its current
strength. Not marred by recession or inflation, the pharma sector has a competitive
advantage of prospering steadily and thus attracts lots of young professionals looking at
pharmaceutical as their prospective career option. This sector has also been responsible in
creating a rich talent pool of researchers, scientists, doctors and project managers.The
need of skilled manpower in the pharmaceutical industry ranges widely from R&D,
Quality Assurance (QA), Intellectual Property (IP), manufacturing to even sales and
marketing. What the pharma industry needs is to have better policies to retain and nurture
the existing talent and equip them with necessary skills. However, this sector is emerging
as a popular choice amongst Gen Y, since the nature of work, primarily treating patients
and research for new drug discoveries plays an integral role in meeting their key career
aspirations.
Challenges-

 Greater customer expectations.

 Restricted discovery and developing process.
 Effective product life-cycle management.
 Increase in pricing policies.
 Traditional management culture.
 Infrastructure challenges.
 Talent retention.

Market Size-
The Indian pharma industry, which is expected to grow over 15 per cent per annum
between 2015 and 2020, will outperform the global pharma industry, which is set to grow
at an annual rate of 5 per cent between the same period!. The market is expected to grow
to US$ 55 billion by 2020, thereby emerging as the sixth largest pharmaceutical market
globally by absolute size, as stated by Mr Arun Singh, Indian Ambassador to the US.
Branded generics dominate the pharmaceuticals market, constituting nearly 80 per cent of
the market share (in terms of revenues).India has also maintained its lead over China in
pharmaceutical exports with a year-on-year growth of 11.44 per cent to US$ 12.91 billion
in FY 2015-16, according to data from the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. Imports
of pharmaceutical products rose marginally by 0.80 per cent year-on-year to US$
1,641.15 million.Overall drug approvals given by the US Food and Drug Administration
(USFDA) to Indian companies have nearly doubled to 201 in FY 2015-16 from 109 in
FY 2014-15. The country accounts for around 30 per cent (by volume) and about 10 per
cent (value) in the US$ 70-80 billion US generics market.India's biotechnology industry
comprising bio-pharmaceuticals, bio-services, bio-agriculture, bio-industry and
bioinformatics is expected grow at an average growth rate of around 30 per cent a year
and reach US$ 100 billion by 2025. Biopharma, comprising vaccines, therapeutics and
diagnostics, is the largest sub-sector contributing nearly 62 per cent of the total revenues
at Rs 12,600 crore (US$ 1.88 billion).The Indian Pharmaceutical sector is highly
fragmented with more than 20,000 registered units. It has expanded drastically in the last
two decades. The leading 250 pharmaceutical companies control 70% of the market with
market leader holding nearly 7% of the market share. It is an extremely fragmented
market with severe price competition and government price control.The pharmaceutical
industry in India meets around 70% of the country's demand for bulk drugs, drug
intermediates, pharmaceutical formulations, chemicals, tablets, capsules, orals and
injectibles. There are about 250 large units and about 8000 Small Scale Units, which
form the core of the pharmaceutical industry in India (including 5 Central Public Sector
Units). These units produce the complete range of pharmaceutical formulations, i.e.,
medicines ready for consumption by patients and about 350 bulk drugs, i.e., chemicals
having therapeutic value and used for production of pharmaceutical
formulations. Following the de-licensing of the pharmaceutical industry, industrial
licensing for most of the drugs and pharmaceutical products has been done away with.
Manufacturers are free to produce any drug duly approved by the Drug Control
Authority. Technologically strong and totally self-reliant, the pharmaceutical industry in
India has low costs of production, low R&D costs, innovative scientific manpower,
strength of national laboratories and an increasing balance of trade. The Pharmaceutical
Industry, with its rich scientific talents and research capabilities, supported by Intellectual
Property Protection regime is well set to take on the international market.
 Literature review

The basic function of any trademark or brand is to make the product unique, different
from others. „A brand is a name, term, sign, symbol, or design, or a combination of them,
intended to identify the goods or services of one seller or group of sellers and to
differentiate them from those of competitors. A product can be quickly outdated; a
successful brand is timeless.‟ Developing a successful brand yields numerous consumer
benefits, and leads to easier accomplishment of market goals as well as reduced
marketing costs due to high levels of brand recognition and express brand loyalty. Here I
will discuss about a few literatures among all those which I have studies while preparing
the dissertation:

 Traditionally, and for several years,consumers goods companies have relied

heavily on branding to successfully market and sell
products.Recently,however,the pharmaceutical industry has recognized the
importance and significance of branding even more and has re-structured their
marketing departments to now include brand managers for their products.
Consumer goods companies have followed a particular structure in how they
brand their products.It is still debatable,however, if this model can be transferred
and adapted to the pharmaceutical industry. The paper Zahra Ladha (2005) of
discusses the meaning of branding in general,and discusses the advantages and
disadvantages of it.Next,the need for branding in the pharmaceutical company is
discussed followed by the advantages and challenges of branding in this
industry.The paper proceeds with a discussion about specific branding strategies
that are effective for this industry,and finally, consumer perceptions of generic
versus branded drugs are examined.

 Steven Seget (2006) discussed thecurrent perspectives in pharmaceutical branding

presented directly from the experiences of leading experts in the field. This report
brings together the different views found from across the industry, views of ten
experts drawn from across different sectors of the branding arena, including
 industry product and marketing managers, advertising agency executives and
management consultants. In an attempt to shed light on the future direction of this
dynamic topic, Pharmaceutical Branding Strategies provides a unique window
into the perspectives and experiences of those leaders at the forefront of shaping
that future.
There are a number of reasons why pharmaceutical brands have become more
important. First of all they have got to create more value from the molecules
above and beyond the obvious benefit. Secondly they want to create an entity that
is differentiable from your competitors. In addition to that, they have the potential
to create a sustainable entity through which to leverage the value of your brand.
Pharmaceutical companies need to clearly define the value that their brands have
in the marketplace above-and-beyond that of the competition. Only by clearly
defining and managing that value can they begin to build and leverage brand
equity moving
forward.file:///C:/Users/User/Desktop/DISSERTATION/Business%20Insights%2
0-%20S%20Seget%20-
%20Pharmaceutical%20Branding%20Strategies%202006.pdf

 Zahra Ladha (2007) focused on the debate that whether or not branding plays a
role in consumer purchases. Consumer goods companies have followed a
particular structure in how they brand their products. It is still debatable, however,
if the model can be transferred and adapted to the pharmaceutical industry. The
paper discusses branding in general together with its advantages and
disadvantages. Next, the pros and cons of branding specific to the pharmaceutical
company are discussed. Journal of Medical Marketing (2007) 7, 146 – 151. doi:
10.1057/palgrave.jmm.5050072

 Branding has existed for centuries as way to distinguish the goods of one
producer from those of another. A brand is created by developing a distinctive
name, packaging and design, and arousing expectation about the offering (Kumar
and Meenakshi, 2006). According to America marketing association, a brand is a
name, term, symbol, design or combination of them, intended to identify the
goods and services of one seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them
from those of the competition. Although, firms provide the impetus for brand
creation through marketing programmes and other activities, ultimately a brand
resides in the minds of the consumer. It is a perceptual entity rooted in reality but
reflecting the perceptions and idiosyncrasies of consumers (Kotler and Keller,
2009). Branding helps to shape consumer perception about the product or service.
Today, a firm‟s real value lies outside the business itself, it resides in the minds of
potential buyers (Kapferer, 1992). Keller (2002), states that organisations have
come to the realisation that one of their most valuable assets is the brand
associated with their products or services. Brand image, identity and positioning
are very important components of branding. According to Gardner and Levy
(1995), a brand is a bundle of intrinsic and extrinsic offerings blending both
functional and psychological difference. This view was reaffirmed by Schuiling
and Moss (2004), who saw a brand as a name that will register the product in the
consumers mind as a set of tangible and intangible benefits. A product of its own
delivers tangible benefit, whereas a brand offers additional value which is both
the tangible and the intangible benefits. For example, Mercedes Benz is registered
in the mind of consumer as a brand offering a set of tangible benefit (solidity,
reliability and of German quality) and intangible benefit (success, status) (Moss,
2004). Kotler and Amstrong (2010), define a product as anything that can be
offered to a market for use or consumption that might satisfy a need or want. It
may be a physical good, service, retail store, person, organisation, place or idea
(Keller, 2003). Levitt (2005) asserted that a brand is a product, but one that adds
other dimensions that differentiate it in some way from other products designed to
satisfy the same need. It therefore stands to reason that a brand‟s prominence or
relative dominance is a vital exponent in the determination a firm‟s market
position relative to other competing brands. The pharmaceutical industry has
come late to branding. During the 1980s and 1990s, the pharmaceutical industry
enjoyed success over an extended period, achieving double digit growth
consistently. The success of the industry depended on strong R&D, use of patent,
and a powerful sales force. However, with growth in the industry slowing down,
 firms have been searching for new ways to maintain their brand positions
(Schuiling and Moss, 2004). Consequently, pharmaceutical companies have had
to embrace marketing and branding strategies to a greater extent than they have
been in the past (Blackett, 2005). For decades, pharmaceutical companies‟ brands
strategy was to discover a brand that was needed, introduce it to Doctors via a
sales representative, and watch the prescriptions get filled. With several factors
causing change in the pharmaceutical industry in the way in which medications
are marketed, it has become crucially important for these companies to brand
their products. This is critical in view of the fact that more and more drugs are
progressively sold over the counter (kapoor and Esptein, 2004). It is evident that
the competitive environment is becoming more intense in the pharmaceutical
industry. As a result, Schuiling and Moss (2004) consider that branding can
represent a new competitive lever that can project a firm in the marketplace. With
retail brands now competing with generic drugs (including private labels),
alternative and complementary treatments, pharmaceutical companies cannot
overlook or downplay the immense power branding.

 According to Prafulla Kumar Das (2010)

Brand extension has been a much debated topicin marketing and is shrouded in co
ntroversy. As cost of establishing a brand, especially in the international market, i
s enormous, marketers view extension as a risk minimization exercise.
The purpose of his study was to find out the opinion of doctors on pharmaceutical
extensions their pricing and effectiveness in the field of marketing.Related
extension is a useful and economical way of developing new products.
Limited extension, regular promotionalsupport, right pricing were found to be hel
pful in establishing extended brands. Life of an extended product was found to be
shorter than a new brand name and companies would not give the same promotion
al support to extensions. The use of brand extensions is lower than line extensions
in pharmaceutical marketing. file:///C:/Users/User/Desktop/DISSERTATION/EIJ
MRS1053.pdf

 Gaurav Vats (2014) says thatBrand equity is an intra-individual build parallel to

attitude strength. Brand equity, which implies a consumer-based focal point and
affects consumer decision processes in a manner related to attitude strength,
represents one of many factors that put in to brand value, which define as the
surrogate value of a brand and which implies a company-based perspective. His
study focused on to study the importance of branding in the pharmaceutical
industry and the strategies for building pharmaceutical brand and communicates it
effectively. file:///C:/Users/User/Desktop/DISSERTATION/gaurav-vats.
 Research Objective

 To understand the value of brand building in pharmaceutical industry.

 To study the positioning of brands
 To find out the challenges to branding in pharmaceutical industry
 Methodology

The entire dissertation is based on secondary data which are collected from various
sources like:

i) Published research papers

ii) Articles
iii) Books and
iv) Web resources
 BRANDING OF PHARMACEUTICAL PRODUCTS

The trend towards self-medication is likely to grow as consumers are becoming familiar
with OTC drugs, due to extensive advertising by companies. Although there are different
means of providing the consumers with drug information, advertising seems to be one of
the best way and a powerful method of broadcasting information. The customer purchase
behavior study in Pharmaceutical advertisement is based on the consumer purchase
behavior because buying the medicine lies in the hand of customer (doctor) rather than
final consumer (patient). So the customer (doctor) acts as an indirect consumer. The
advertisement of Pharmaceutical industry was found to be persuasive. Doctor agreed that
Medical Representative is a key element for providing information about medicines and
they are important promotional channel used by companies that makes their long lasting
effect on doctor.

“Branding” in Pharmaceutical Marketing:-

Branding is a key issue in the pharmaceutical industry; product managers have evolved
into brand managers and are beginning to understand the dynamics of brand equity that
lie at the heart of product development and marketing. However, with no established 'best
practices' in brand management, those tasked with steering brands around the various
hurdles and challenges presented by pharmaceutical markets must use all available
learning and experience to help in building the leading brands of the future. Branding in
pharmaceutical industry largely depends on the type of product. Branding strategies for
Over-the-Counter (OTC) drugs would differ from branding strategies for Prescription
drugs. Pharmaceutical products are no longer just drugs, they are brands. Though as a
brand, it is possible to communicate a promise, an essence, and aspiration which build
loyalty. In the past and even today, pharmaceutical industry branding is not prominent
compared with the business-to-business and in consumer segments but largely by choice.
For decades, a pharmaceutical Companies brandsuccess formula was simple: discover a
drug that was needed, introduce it to the doctor via a medical representative, and watch
the prescriptions get filled. What is more, the products themselves, secured under a
decade of patented protection, were almost guaranteed to generate large profits.
Integrated brand strategies were unheard of and unimportant. Pharmaceutical branding is
an important way of creating awareness among the public to the potential benefits of
drugs and medicines. The marketing process and branding give the public ready
knowledge of what the product is about and thereby induces them to buy that particular
product from among many other similar products in the market. Marketing teams are
spending more and more resources on getting the name of the pharmaceutical product
right. However naming a drug or medicine is not the same as naming an electronic
consumer product or FMCG product careful thought and consideration to all important
factors is required for a pharmaceutical product. If the product is going to be sold
internationally then the name should not be wrong when translated into the local
languages.

The need for branding in the pharmaceutical industry:-

The pharmaceutical industry has come late to branding.During the 1980‟s and 1990‟s,the
pharmaceutical industry enjoyed success over an extendedperiod,achieving double-digit
growth consistently.The success of the industry depended on strong R&D,use of
patents,and a powerful sales force.However,now with growth in the industry slowing
down,firms have been searching for waysto maintain it.The global pharmaceutical
industry is experience profound change.As a result,pharmaceutical companies must
embrace marketing and branding strategies to a greater extent then they have in the
past.Pharmaceutical companies currently have their doctors act as brand ambassadors.For
decades,a pharmaceutical company‟s brand strategy was to discover a drug that was
needed,introduce it to the doctor via a sales representative,and watch the prescriptions get
filled.With several factors causing change in the pharmaceutical industry in the way in
which medications are marketed and sold,it will be significantly important for these
companies to brand their products.This will be important if more drugs are switched to
over –the-counter(OTC),open expiration by the FDA,since many choices will be
available on the shelf to choose from.As more drugs are switched to OTC in both
pharmacies and supermarkets,healthcare is increasingly in the consumer‟s hands.The
early years of the prescription lifecycle will be important for drug companies to establish
brands that are ready to be switched.

The industry is facing many changes such as doctors being overwhelmed with continuous
sales force expansion,pharmaceutical companies have implemented tiered co-pay
structures in the last few years,giving patients choices of branded drugs versus generics.
Many employers are pushing the costs of healthcare on their employees through defined-
contribution health plans.So,employers are giving consumers more choice on how they
want to spend their healthcare dollars.Finally,new international pharmaceutical
companies are emerging from countries such as India,who are aggressively working
around patents to launch branded generics before the expiration dates,giving consumers
the option of buying something between a premium branded and generic drug.It is
evident that the competitive environment is become more intense in the pharmaceutical
industry.Now the result is showing that branding can represent a new competitive
advantage. With retail,brands are now competing with generic drugs,alternative and
complementary treatments,and FMCG healthcare.Beverly law,head of pharmaceutical
and healthcare branding at consultancy enterprise IG explains,”A medicated skin
treatment now sits next to Nivea and L‟Oreal,big brands well-versed in FMCG design”.In
order to remain competitive in the industry,given the changes and
challenges,pharmaceutical companies will need to identify new competitive advantages
to succeed.Pharmaceutical companies will not be able to rely exclusively on the three
traditional success factors.These include strong R&D, aggressive defence of patents,and
use of a powerful sales force.These factors have been conducive to annual sales growth
rates of 10 percent since the 1980‟s.Although these growth rates were sufficient in the
past,with constant changes occurring in the pharmaceutical industry,one can no longer be
sure if these traditional factors alone will continue to work well in the future.

Value of brand building inPharmaceutical products:-

Pharmaceutical products must be grounded and driven by science and supported by a
strong platform of evidence. These elements are vital for a successful pharmaceutical
business, however, customerfocused innovation will enable scientists to focus on the
areas of opportunity, and clinical teams to build the evidence base that will meet
customer needs and provide the opportunities to deliver market access and
differentiation.It is clear that the competitive environment is becoming harsher in
healthcare and the necessity for health systems to adopt cheaper product options,
primarily generics, will only accelerate the decline of branded sales post patent
expiration, unless the industry manages itself differently. This is why we consider that
real brand value can represent a new competitive advantage. The creation of brands built
on customer innovation would enable companies to differentiate their products versus its
competition using both tangible and intangible benefits. In view of the increased number
of competitors and the relatively lower number of really distinctive products, it is even
more important to provide brands that can inform the behaviour and attitudes of patients
and doctors. Again looking outside of our own industry for inspiration, few companies
have gained such customer devotion as Apple. In the world of technology where product
features and capabilities are so important, it is easy to see that it is the products that
sustain Apple‟s competitive advantage.

How can companies build emotional connections to their brands?

In a healthcare world where both healthcare professionals (HCPs) and patients are often
overwhelmed with information and data, the role a brand plays will become all the more
important to ensuring success. Surely healthcare is a much more rational decision-making
process. People believe that the rational mind is always immersed in the emotional
unconscious mind. The size of the rational element may vary and it is always within the
emotional sphere, even though we may not be conscious of it. Successful healthcare
brands need to be built from a foundation of both rational and emotional elements. To
explore this point let us look at two key customer groups: patients and HCPs. The
emotional response they experience will vary depending on therapy area and patient
group. These emotions may range from empathy,sympathy, frustration or confusion to
professional pride, peace of mind and ease of working. Usually, emotional reflex
responds faster than our rational mind. As we mature, our rational mind gets better at
catching up and we learn to stop outwardly responding to the emotional response. Good
market research must aim to uncover both rational and emotional drivers of payer and
prescriber decision-making. It is as important to explore the emotional elements such as
their hopes (and fears) for a patient, their personal aspirations and what they wish a
treatment to achieve, as it is to explore the rational elements, such as the role protocols
and guidelines play in driving prescription choice and their interpretation of evidence.
Projective and creative techniques are used to elicit the often less obvious but more
emotional drivers, in potentially quite rational groups of physicians. We also know a lot
about visual codes and even the colour of a pill or its packaging has an impact on
perceived performance. In an age of increasing requirements for real world evidence and
where compliance rates are still a major issue, this is just one area where developing a
deeper understanding of the patient mind-set, and using this to drive brand development
can have a positive impact. After all, if you have an effective active agent linked with a
strong brand connection this is likely to have a stronger influence on the behaviour,
attitudes and efficacy perception of both patients and doctors. This is an absolutely
critical foundation that R&D, marketing and sales teams need to have to give a prescriber
the confidence to write that first script, build ongoing brand confidence and change long-
term prescribing behaviours. As with the FMCG approach described earlier, this can only
be uncovered by a deep understanding of the market and customers: how they live, feel,
think and „buy‟. After reading this article you may still believe that pharma is a customer
centric industry. If so, I hope this article has stimulated your thinking none the less, but I
will leave you with a worrying trend we have observed. In the current round of pharma
company restructuring, we are aware of a number of organizations at global, regional and
country levels which have slashed their market research teams and budgets to the bare
minimum.

Positioning with special reference to pharmaceuticals

Establishing the pharmaceutical brand position the advantageous location that a product
owns in the mind of physician is the challenging component of marketing campaign
development. At present the traditional approach to pharmaceutical brand, positioning
involves customers essentially reacting to statements developed by the marketing
organizations. Vander veer and Pines (2007) have explained the concept of customer
driven positioning. The methodology followed includes problem statement i.e.
articulating a specific unmet need in the market place that is being met by the brand in
question, functional benefits i.e. the essential clinical property of the medication that
intrinsically differentiate from other medications. The next step is providing to believe
i.e. reference to some scientific or mechanistic aspect of the brand that substantiates its
main clinical benefits. Further, emotional benefits may strengthen the positioning
statement robustly. Once the positioning statement has been established author
recommends a similar process called as information architecture. The pharmaceutical
industry has been very successful since the late 1980s, achieving impressive annual sales
growth rates in excess of 10 per cent per annum and enjoying the resultant growth in
profits. The success has relied mainly on strong research and development (R&D). There
is great number of different definitions of positioning in scientific literature of marketing.
The concept of positioning seeks to place a certain position in the minds of perspective
buyers. Ries and Trout (1986) distinguish from all other marketing theoretic, stating that
positioning is not what is done to product, positioning is what you do to the mind of the
prospect, a piece of merchandise, service, a company, an institution and even a person.
However, Kotler in 2006 defines positioning as the act of designing the companies offer
so, of at it occupies distinct and valued position in the consumers relative to competition
products. The purpose of positioning is to create a unique and favorable image in the
minds of target customers. Positioning therefore is a natural conclusion to the sequence of
activities that constitute a core part of the marketing strategy. Product positioning refers
to the decision and activities intended to create and maintain a certain concept of the
firm‟s products in the customers mind. Positioning isdeveloping a specific marketing
makes to influence potential customers overall perception of a brand, product line, or
organization in general. To sum up the position of a product is customer‟s perception of
the product‟s attribute relative to the attributes the competitive products. In addition,
competition in the same demand level is possible. According to Pranulis (1998) survey
techniques like scales of graphic evaluation, Likert‟s scale, and semantic differential
scale can be proposed to identify the current position of product and other competing
products. A positioning map provides a valuable means to position product by
graphically illustrating consumer‟s perception of competing products and the product
their positioning. Positioning map develops understanding of how the relative strength
and weaknesses of different product are perceived by buyers. It builds knowledge about
the similarities and dissimilarities between competing products. It assists the process of
re-positioning of existing products and the positioning of new products. Positioning map
is an important tool in development and tracking of promotional strategy. It enables
manager to identify gaps and opportunities in the market and allows monitoring of effects
of past marketing communications. Product positioning strategies are product features,
price/quality, product class dissociation, user, competition, benefit, heritage or cultural
symbols. On the other hand qualities, competitors, product users, product class,
applications forms positioning strategies. Some researchers have defined risky
positioning as under positioning, over positioning, confused positioning, and doubtful
positioning. Similarly, many studies have been undertaken on positioning statements.
Positioning statements is highly interactive process often involving many cut and try
attempts before satisfactory results are achieved. According to Kalafatis, Tsogs, Blankson
(2000) positioning statements play a vital role in helping to guide and co-ordinate the
firms efforts in the market place. They are crucial internally and externally.

Factors influencing prescribing habits and behaviour

Demand for pharmaceuticals is driven be both physicians and patients. Albeit recent
developments in the marketplace, medical practitioners still play in many ways
simultaneously roles of users, influencers, gatekeepers and deciders while patients
perform the role of buyers and users (Abratt & Lanteigne, 2000). The role of patients in
the treatment decision has been and in spite of recent patients‟ emancipation in many
ways remains (with the exception of the USA) secondary. Physicians seem to be
influenced by two general areas of endeavour– marketing factors (sales representatives,
advertising, price of the product to the patient, trade shows & symposia) and professional
factors (journals, prior experience and education, opinion leaders‟ influence,
recommendations by colleagues, demands by patients). One of the main sources of
influence is the medical practitioners‟ own training and clinical experience. Conducted
studies suggest that physicians are more focused on functional product benefits and
emphasized efficacy and safety as the most influential ones .

Drug Promotion and Drug Advertising in India

Drug promotion in Indiaor elsewhere has always attracted controversies as it is

inherently unethical. Unlike other commodities where consumers are choosers,
prescriptionpractices in the drugs category is driven by drug promotion.Drug promotion
also includes the activities of medical representatives,drug advertisements to physicians,
provision of gifts and samples, drug packageinserts, direct-to-consumer advertisements,
periodicals, telemarketing, holding ofconferences, symposiums and scientific meetings,
sponsoring of medical educationand conduct of promotional trials. It is well understood
that the pharmaceuticalcompanies do have trade interests in promoting their products for
disseminatinginformation about the drug it produces, but it should do so in a fair,
accurate, andethical manner. The blurring boundaries of what constitutes fair practices
are ofintense debate in issues involving drugs promotion. Many studies have noted
thatdrug companies are involved extensively in promoting their brands by paying
hugekickbacks and the relationship between actors in the distribution network is
almostalways based on perverse set of incentives (Angell M. 2005). There are
voluntaryresolutions of various industry associations providing necessary guidance on
drugpromotion, but they have not been effective. In fact, there seems to be no
logicalreason that the voluntary codes which aim at restricting or regulating drug
promotionis in direct conflict with the interests of drug industry. In totality, all
measurescurrently available under law have largely remained ineffective to deal with
thecollusion crises in the prescription drug markets. While delivering information to the
doctors about new drugs, including its usefulness and efficacy may have precompetitive
effects, marketing strategies adopted by firms may downplay the demand side and hence
raise prices for consumers. How doctor decides which drug is to be prescribed to his
patients is at the heart of controversy. Popular news reports and mapping of recent
incidence of collusion between the profit-oriented pharmaceuticalcompanies, pharmacists
and doctors, it is noted that these actors are routinely wooed with gifts ranging from
mobile phones to sponsored weddings and sometimes postpaid mobile connections are
also provided. Interviews conducted during the course of this study reveal that it extends
from sponsored conferences in five-stars to high-value gifts like motorcycles and. There
are even cases where pharma companies helped doctors to set up small nursing homes.
However, there is no concrete evidence to point specific people, institutions or
companies, since these interviews were held in confidence. A list of three collected news
items published in the Times of India on drug promotion does portray various facets of
drug promotion in India. Such incidences have long been noted in the medical fraternity,
but have rarely been thoroughly investigated. In this study, based on earlier studies and
reports, investigate such practices from a horizontal and vertical agreement point of view.
This is despite the fact that inappropriate prescriptions could lead to dangerous side
effects, medical complications and needless expenses for patients. It has also been noted
that medical associations have allegedly warned pharmaceutical companies, that they you
don‟t sponsor our conference they will boycott your drugs. Some experts and
commentators are also of the view that breakthrough drugs that enter the market early are
promoted through scientific information.Some interviews also reveal that drug companies
sponsor weddings and birthdays of doctor‟s kith and kin. Medical representatives are
under constant pressure to push for higher sales they reason why they resort to providing
perverse set of incentives to the doctors. The sales driven motivations for MRs warrant
that MRs resort to activities that can call ethics of promotion into question. Studies have
indicated that promotional materials provided by pharmaceutical companies through their
representative cannot be entirely relied upon. Source of primary literature on drug
promotion are articles published in peer reviewedjournals, secondary literature includes
abstracts of various types of published literature, reference from text books and other
standard literature. Commentators point that few physicians are equipped with skills to
critically evaluate and appraise it. It is noted that lack of proper methodological
understanding among physicians to evaluate these drugs is the prime reason for them
being swayed away with arguments presented in promotional literature. It is suggested
that physicians must see if a new drug is relevant to their practice in terms of population
studied, the disease and the need for new treatment.

These are the following method of pharmaceutical advertising-

 Advertising to the General Public:- The Drug & Magic Remedies (Objectionable
Advertisement) Act & Rules mentions a list of ailments for which no advertising is
permitted. It also prohibits false or misleading advertisements which, directly or indirectly,
give false impressions regarding the true character of the drug, make false claims, or are
otherwise false or misleading in any particular respect. There is an OPPI Code of
Pharmaceutical Marketing Practices, 20101, based on the IFPMA code. Currently, there is
no specific law which prohibits the advertising of prescription drugs.
 Advertising the Products in Medical Journal: - Journal advertisements attract attention
because they are visually appealing also see them as a way of keeping medical practicenor
up-to-date. The Ethical Criteria for Medicinal Drug Promotion developed by the World
Health Organization (WHO) suggest the types of information that, as a minimum should
be contained in a journal advertisement (WHO 1988).The aim is to ensure that basic
information needed for prescribing decisions is present.
 The medicine‟s International Nonproprietary Name (INN), usually the generic name, is a
key piece of information that should always be included. Generic names help doctors and
pharmacists to identify which class a medicine belongs to and can prevent doctors from
unknowingly prescribing two medicines from the same class to a patient.Direct mailing of
publicity material to doctors:- It is the sending of publicity material like Textual and
Audio-Visual Promotional Material to Doctor. There has been a massive growth in direct
mail campaigns over the last 5 years. Direct mail allows an organization to use their
resources more effectively by allowing them to send publicity material to a named person
within their target segment. By personalizing advertising, response rates increase thus
increasing the chance of improving sales.
 Medical conferences, especially for a new product: - Companies organize medical
conference to promote new products in order to provide the information like uses, dose
regimen, contradiction & adverse effect etc. to the medical practitioner.
  Electronic or Broadcast Media Advertising :- Electronic or broadcast media consists of (i)
radio, (ii) television, (iii) motion pictures, (iv) video and (v) the internet. The radio is
audio in nature, appealing only to the sense of sound (ears). Radio advertising is more
effective in rural areas, as compared to urban regions. Television, as an advertising
medium, is more attractive and effective because it is an audio-visual medium appealing
to both the senses of sight sound (eyes and ears). Different methods, such as spot
announcements, sponsored programmes etc. are used for broadcasting advertising
messages. However, broadcasting media are very expensive form of advertising and
sometimes it also undertaken through movies, video, and the internet.
The following OTC medicines advertising can be seen: -

Digestives,Antacids, Cold rubs and analgesic

balms/creams,Vitamins/tonics/health supplements (especially herbals and ayurvedic
registered),Medicated skin treatment,Analgesic/cold tablets,Antiseptic
creams/liquid,Glucose powders,Cough syrups,Throat lozenges,Medicated dressings
(Band-Aids),Baby gripe water,Ayurvedic medicines and preparations.

Pharmaceutical Companies Business Strategies for Prescription Drugs: -

One of the constants of pharmaceutical company strategy over the past decade has been
increasing scale. Only by growing larger are companies able to afford the considerable
costs of drug development and distribution. Within this broad approach at least two
business models are discernable:

(i) Super Core Model involving the search for, and distribution of a small number of
drugs from Chronic Therapy Area that achieve substantial global sales. The success of
this model depends on achieving large returns from asmall number of drugs in order to
pay for the high cost of the drug discoveryprescribe drugs and thus increase sales. In this
model medical representatives are the key actors. For Example: in a small oncology11
unit almost 40 sales representatives interacting with doctors, and most of them are
coming for a visit on a regular once a month basis as this is the restriction put by doctors
of meeting only once in a month that to on a fix time only, in order to stress the
usefulness of their products and push clinicians towards the use of their drugs. This
means that basically there are at least two representatives every day in busy clinic asking
for a short meeting to support their product. The pharmaceutical distribution channel is
indirect with usually three channel members i.e. depot/C&FA, stockiest and chemistand
development process for a large number of patients. Total revenues are highly dependent
on sales from a small number of drugs.

(ii) Core Model in which a larger number of drugs from Acute Therapy Area are
marketed to big diversified markets. The advantage of this model is that its success is not
Dependant on sales of a small number of drugs. Marketing approaches of Super Core
Model: - In pharmaceutical market there has been a significant shift from Acute towards
Chronic Therapy area. Chronic segments are driving the growth of the market as leading
prescribers in these segments are specialists as opposed to general practioners. This is
evident from high growth rates achieved by firms like Sun Pharma, Dr. Reddy
Laboratories and Dabur Pharma Ltd. who have focused on these segments.10 Medical
representatives are rearranged throughout the new companies and more or less some of
the sales representatives are afraid of losing their job, due to the changing scenario and
the possible lay offs. On the other hand, the new, bigger, pharmaceutical companies are
competing more and more with one another and in order to stress their products might
adopt a more aggressive sales strategy. For Example: sometimes in the same
geographical area there are five representatives for just one company, or different
representatives for the same drug in different settings. As a result of the new aggressive
strategy, the aggressiveness of representatives has also been increasing, since the larger
stress exerted by their companies might affect their stay in the company. Therefore, they
tend to have more frequent visits to encourage doctors to Pharmaceutical marketing is a
specialized field where medical representatives form the backbone of entire marketing
effort. Moreover field force should have good product knowledge of their products over
other so as to convince doctors and PULL the demand for their products i.e. from Doctor
to Retailer to Stockiest to C&FA to company.
 INTERNATIONAL VS INDIAN SCENARIO

Kotler, Adam, Brown and Armstrong (2001) defined brand as a “name, term, sign,
symbol or design, or a combination of these, intended to identify the goods or a
combination of these, intended to identify the goods or services of one seller or group of
sellers and to differentiate them from those of competitors”. AMA redefined “brand” in
2009 as “name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that identifies one seller‟s
goods or services as distinct from those of the other sellers. The legal term for brand is
trademark. A brand may identify one item, a family of items or all items if that sellers. If
used for the firm as a whole, the preferred term is trade name” (AMA 2009). Ambler
(1992) takes a consumer-oriented approach in defining a brand as: the promise of the
bundles of attributes that someone buys and provides satisfaction. The attributes that
make up a brand may be real or illusory, rational or emotional, tangible or invisible. The
brand helps customers to make choices by delineating the unique qualities and value that
the product or services provided to the customer. Brand are argued to assist customers to
make purchase decisions in increasingly cluttered retail environments, providing useful
clue as to product quality, attributes and “personality”. Pharmaceutical industry has often
modeled itself on the fast moving consumer goods industry (FMCG), where brands are
viewed as the key assets of a company and all resources are utilized to create and develop
brands. While the core principles and strategies for branding medical products are the
same as for any other product, the differences in regulations of marketing and selling
drugs have challenged the pharmaceutical industry to find new strategies that are
acceptable practices in healthcare. Pharmaceutical companies have not worked
proactively in identifying a brand and identity for their products and in communicating
this identity to consumers. They have not done market research to determine their brand
identity and to verify if this is how consumers view them. Pharmaceutical companies
must embrace marketing and branding strategies to a great extent than they have in the
past. Even the most effective strategies implemented by a company could fail if
consumers are very price conscious towards d reduces. . Therefore, it is important to
discuss the presence of generic drugs on the market, and the effect they have on
consumers‟ decisions. In particular, generic drugs in the competition, it is extremely
important for pharmaceutical companies to understand the difference in consumer‟s
perceptions and purchase intentions between branded and generic drugs, as this
understanding can help the pharmaceutical companies to better estimate the financial
impact of drug when launching a more likelihood of consumers purchasing a branded
drug, the more confident a pharmaceutical company will be in making an investment in
the branding process. Zara Ladha in 2007 studied perceived difference between generic
and branded drugs in terms of efficacy, willingness of people to pay for branded drugs
and trust of people in doctor prescribed drugs. Important factors studied were attributes
like price, name, and doctor‟s prescription, past experience, advertisement and
promotion. The conclusions were like the only influencing factor given more importance
for prescription versus non-prescription medicines was that ofphysician‟s. Other factors
like in store promotion, price, family/friend‟s, brand name and advertising play a
significant role in purchase making. Current strategies in the pharmaceuticals industry
have shown significant differences compared with the FMCG sector. In the choice of
brand names, the basic naming strategies are the same, but the focus on them is
different.Branding theory and practice in pharmaceuticals is still ten years behind the
FMCG area. The authors expect that pressure towards globalization will continue, and
this will effect changes in the pharmaceutical industry in time. Pharmaceutical industry is
the most regulated industry and that it is constantly under an attack from numerous
interested parties trying to reduce the size of drug bill. It is true that, in other product
categories, brands can exist forever if they are well managed, e.g. Coke. It is
recommended that brand names be linked to corporate brand names and not exclusively
to product names. There is strong need to create strong brand names with clear brand
names with clear brand identity.Some of the authors considerd that doctors would be
viewed as consumers. They also look for quality, efficacy, reliability, and need to be
reassured. They operate on the basis of limited information and are influenced by the
image of the company, their attitude towards the disease and their patients. They also
make decisions for emotional reasons, not for rational one secondly deciding how to
communicate this in a coherent way to target customers. Further, companies need to
adopt a three-step process when developing brands: first, identifying the brand identity
via in-depth research (how it will be differentiated); and thirdly to regularly monitor the
brand image and manage it. On the basis of exploratory research of literature, Elements
of Ethical Brand Positioning, Sagar Mahim, Singh Deepali, Agrawal D.P. (2006)
identified five fundamental elements of brand positioning, namely Brand awareness,
Brand Identity, Brand Image, Brand Personality, Brand Communication All these
elements of brand positioning can be then blended with the ethical elements.

Brand
Awareness

Brand identity Ethical brand positioning

Brand personality

Brand
communication

Brand image

FIG:

Corporate versus product branding

It is usually the case that pharmaceutical product managers do not have a lot of say in the
development of corporate brands, which is usually controlled by corporate
communications. However, from a therapeutic level standpoint, there should be more
interaction between both parties, as the marketers have background in building brands. In
working together, a company can ensure that there is a similarity in message across the
products, franchises and corporate communications. At Serono, the third largest biotech
company in the world, the corporate branding sits outside of the realm of product
branding. The corporate branding is Wall Street focused, where Serono is focusing more
on trying to get the company more recognized and well known to consumers. In most
cases it is more worthwhile to develop a brand in a therapeutic area. For example Serono
has been able to develop a very strong corporate brand in reproductive health (the global
market leader), because it has been in the field for 40 years.

The contrast between developments in corporate and product brands comes down to
when and how the respective budgets are being created. If product budgets are tied to the
bottom-line result then that is where the promotional budget is allocated. A product
manager/director on a “mega-brand” has multiple millions of dollars of promotional
spend to allocate and must concentrate on spending it on the product to attain a return on
investment, rather than on the corporate image.

THE FUTURE OF BRANDING

In the future, pharmaceutical companies will not necessarily limit themselves to the
product branding approach, though a lot of that will continue to occur as the pressure on
revenues and returns continues. The pharmaceutical industry must begin to look at
channeling their promotional investments in particular therapeutic areas. However, if a
company just has one product in one area, any sort of corporate branding is harder to
achieve and there is less drive to do so. The uptake of corporate franchise branding will
be driven by what is coming out of the pipeline. A move to franchise brands will require
a deliberate corporate strategy within different therapeutic areas, with companies
establishing a beachhead in an area, and developing follow-up products into those
therapy areas. It is like anything else, if someone has success doing one thing then other
people will follow. However, right now all the excitement and energy is currently with
the product branding and direct-to-consumer advertising.

A new model of information sharing

A new model of information sharing means approaching patients and caregivers in a

more respectful way, as well as forging a new type of relationship between
pharmaceutical companies and the people who rely on their discoveries. We need a more
holistic relationship, more than one of seller and buyer. The current model, which
primarily focuses on building brand and product equity, is no longer sustainable.
Lifecycle challenges, reimbursement issues, patent expirations and competitive entries
threaten a model built on short-term outlooks and sales alone. It is also important to
remember that physicians treat patients first and diseases second. By simply
communicating a message of disease and product without taking the humanity and
uniqueness of the patient into consideration is troubling to the industry‟s partners in
healthcare. It is time to stop trying to build quarterly brand equity. It is time to start
building trust.
 FINDINGS

 The trend towards self-medication is likely to grow as consumers are becoming

familiar with OTC drugs, due to extensive advertising by companies
 There are various medium which provide information about medicine but doctor do
not rely on the information provided through all different medium. The reliability of
information provided through medical journal is important.
 This study also find that according to doctors effectiveness of information provided
through clinical paper and medical journal are more effective.
 Medical Representativesare important source to support the pharmaceutical sales
activity. Doctor says that the MRs visiting per day in their clinic act as the key
element for providing information about medicines and the doctors agree that MRs
are key element for providing information about medicines.
 The sales representatives provided useful and accurate information about newly and
already established drugs, but Medical representatives provide incomplete medical
information to influence prescribing practices;
 There are various promotional items like free samples, Trip to Seminars, lunch/
Dinner for physician‟s family and there staff ,tickets to special entertainment events
are provided by pharmaceutical companies to doctors .
 CONCLUSION

It is evident that the competitive environment is becoming more intense in the

pharmaceutical industry. As a result, Schuiling and Moss consider that branding can
represent a new competitive advantage, and that pharmaceutical companies must embrace
marketing and branding strategies to a greater extent than they have in the past. Changes
in the way medicines are marketed and sold make it very important for these companies
to brand their products appropriately. The early years of the prescription lifecycle will be
important for drug companies to establish brands that are ready to be switched to over the
counter. The results of the pilot study reported here suggestthat branding for the
pharmaceutical industry has become a paramount step in successfully marketing and
selling products. With all the changes and challenges facing the industry, it is important
for these companies to implement effective strategies for branding their products so that,
even after patent expiry, the product can survive in the competitive industry that is
inundated with other brands as well as generic drugs. As suggested previously, the
branding strategies of FMCG are not sufficient for success and survival in the
pharmaceutical industry. Therefore, unique strategies need to be implemented regarding
promotion, packaging, naming drugs, advertising, through use of slogans, logos and other
tools and finally, corporate branding.
Many researchers are confident that in order to return to significant growth, branding
could represent a new competitive edge that the industry should leverage. It will enable
firms to differentiate their products from those of their competitors using both tangible
and intangible benefits. Branding can also help to protect the brand against generics by
building brand loyalty prior to patent expiry industry has become a paramount step in
successfully marketing and selling products. With all the changes and challenges facing
the industry, it is important for these companies to implement effective strategies for
branding their products so that, even after patent expiry, the product can survive in the
competitive industry that is inundated with other brands as well as generic drugs. As
suggested previously, the branding strategies of FMCG are not sufficient for success and
survival in the pharmaceutical industry. Therefore, unique strategies need to be
implemented regarding promotion, packaging, naming drugs, advertising, through use of
slogans, logos and other tools and finally, corporate branding. Many researchers are
confident that in order to return to significant growth, branding could represent a new
competitive edge that the industry should leverage. It will enable firms to differentiate
their products from those of their competitors using both tangible and intangible benefits.
Branding can also help to protect the brand against generics by building brand loyalty
prior to patent expiry and influencing the behaviour and attitudes of patients and doctors.
The relatively limited lifetime of pharmaceutical brands should be compensated for by
linking brand names more strongly to corporate names. This study acts as a starting point
to understand the importance of branding, and how consumers view prescription drugs
and nonprescription drugs as well as consumers ‟ perceptions of branded versus generic
drugs.
Branding in Pharmaceutical industry has become very important in today‟s competitive
environment. Important consideration for making a successful Pharmaceutical brand is
the way the brand is build and then communicated to the target audience. Need of an hour
is to lead with building trust rather than a brand equity and relationship other than brand.
One should do brand conversion to corporate brands, because once the trust is build in
the company, then it is easier for the consumer to have faith in any brand of that very
company. The study revealed that there are two components that measure the brand
equity, those are the tangible and the intangible component. Hence, an equation to
calculate brand equity of an antacid is been derived.
The difference between a branded product and its non-branded counterpart is that the
brand communicates added values. To thrive, managers need to ensure that the bundle of
values they offer to consumers are relevant, superior to competitors‟ and have enduring
brand values. Against the backdrop of the fact that there is keen competition, most of
which is unfair due to the prevalence of fake drugs, the issue of branding goes deep down
to the very core issues of survival and effective competition by firms in the marketplace.
Most organisations in the pharmaceutical sector in Ghana have branding strategies in
place but the question is what roles do these strategies play in the effective marketing of
 pharmaceutical products. The objective of the study therefore, is to examine the
perceived role of branding in marketing of pharmaceutical products using three
pharmaceutical companies in India.

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