16 September 2008 VIEW on Marketing BRAND OPPORTUNITIES The days of legendary blockbuster launches and their massive budgets are fewer and farther between in the present. The party is pretty much over. As trends indicate, we are shifting from a blockbuster model of primary care, single indication brands to a broad and multifaceted array of brands that defy conventional categorization. So, what’s a marketer to do? Well, the approach you need to survive has to be radically different. In the past, there was a tendency to invest in huge media buys and enormous sales teams to overcome mediocre branding. This — let’s call it “sheer force” — approach to fending off competitive threats and patent expiration did nothing to truly further brand loyalty. So, it’s imperative we recover from our blockbuster marketing addictions. With the market changing so quickly and the world becoming increasingly more connected, a new vision is required. Unfortunately, many of us are seeing this too late in the form of massive layoffs, lowered revenues, and erratic brand behavior. Your journey starts by redefining how you look at the new world and your brand in it. It ends with what you ultimately measure and how. Let’s call the steps along this journey the “lookout points.” Following this sixstep recovery program will allow you to peer through the chaos and see more relevant opportunities for your brand to thrive in this new healthcare marketing era. Lookout Point No. 1 — Identify Leverage Points; DO NOT Simply Define the Market Don’t just do a landscape analysis. Seek to identify marketing leverage points throughout the process of care that will create competitive immunity — whether it be market forces, service offerings, competitive threats, or economic factors, among other things. Deepen your defenses so you are not as vulnerable. Lookout Point No. 2 — Segmentation BEFORE Targeting If we only define our customers by their stats (eg, prescribing volume, zip code) without talking to them, we are simply creating targets. We must engage them in conversation or watch them in their social environment to understand why they do what they do and develop a mindset continuum across audiences. Employ linguistic techniques to see things beyond the obvious targets. Lookout Point No. 3 — Positioning IS NOT a Message Messaging is just a means to share, not the endgame that we so often “test” in vain and then edit to mean nothing at all. Look beyond the features of your product and take an inventory of the problems your brand may solve and the needs it may satisfy. Within this inventory you can discover a core benefit that will be differentiating and aspirational. Beware of iterative testing of features with audiences who cannot see into the future. After all, positioning is earned and should reflect a five to seven year outlook for your brand. Lookout Point No. 4 — Creative VERSUS Formulaic It is essential that you differentiate your brand in an evergrowing sea of sameness. Creative messages have to resonate and be single minded, compelling, and so well branded they will “superglue” themselves into the mind of your audience. Root out those tiresome pharma images of happy smiling patients, animals, and boxing gloves and replace them with an original solution that engages your audience. Lookout Point No. 5 — Inventive Implementation NOT Just Innovation We all strive to implement innovative solutions. However, in our quest to be groundbreaking, we may miss the fact that innovative — and often expensive — ideas may not always resonate with our audience. Assess how your audience currently consumes information and what will change their thinking and behavior. Those ideas that will move the audience toward your ultimate mindset destination are the inventive solutions you need, not always the innovative solutions you want. Lookout Point No. 6 — Engagement Factor VERSUS ROI ROI only tells you if a tactic was worth doing, it doesn’t tell you how engaged a customer is with your brand. Start measuring your brand’s engagement factor to see what the future holds. Is the path you’ve set out on going to lead you where you said you need to be ultimately? The less obvious successes might not be as sexy, but this is what will tell you if you’ll have results to measure at all or not. Now is the time to be disciplined and ask yourself the tough questions. As you tackle these six steps, you will gain greater confidence that your brand is redefining excellence in this new healthcare era. Be strong, defy convention. VOX Medica Inc. VOX MEDICA INC. builds brand recognition and visibility, customizes meaningful education and knowledge solutions, and allows for market access to clients worldwide. For more information, visit voxmedica.com. The Six Step Blockbuster Marketing Recovery Program As trends indicate, we are shifting from a blockbuster model of primary care, single indication brands to a broad and multifaceted array of brands that defy conventional categorization. George Glatcz President look out voxmedica.com

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