Product Team Cialis: Getting Ready To Market Case Study Samples

Executive Summary

Erectile dysfunction, also called ED, is a common condition among men, especially those in their advanced age. However, ED affects younger men too, but due to the social stigma and embarrassment attached with the condition, younger men flinch from seeking treatment lest their condition becomes known to all. This stands a major barrier to the market expansion of ED medications. Of late, Viagra has the maximum market share in the ED market with Cialis following close second. If Cialis adopts a marketing campaign more focused on educating general public about ED, then it might help people break out of their psychological barriers and seek treatment for the condition. Since Viagra targets mainly customers of advanced age, Cialis’ marketing strategy should envelop the customer base of all ages, young and old as ED is not a condition limited to old people. This paper upon giving an overview of the ED market presents a marketing campaign for Cialis so that Cialis can become a leading player in the market with the adoption of the right marketing strategy.

Introduction

Erectile dysfunction, more commonly known as ED, is not a rare problem. In fact, almost 50% men, between the age of 40 and 60 years, experience some form of ED. Pfizer came up with a medicine called Viagra in 1998 to treat erectile dysfunction (Rahardjo, 2012). Viagra, days after the launch, took the market by storm and sold billions of pills every year since then.
Cialis is also a medicine developed by a joint venture between Elly Lilly, a pharmaceutical company and ICOS, a biotechnology company (Roy, 2004). Before Cialis was developed, Viagra enjoyed monopoly in the market but saw its market share go down after the introduction of Levitra. Cialis was trying to enter the market in which the brand name of Viagra was synonymous with ED. However, after 3-4 years of the usage of Viagra, some side effects and death cases due to abusive usage of Viagra manifested before the public. This gave Cialis an opportunity to launch a product with better product features and fewer side effects. Currently, Cialis comes close second to Viagra in terms of market share (Wilson, 2013). However, if Cialis adopts a better marketing strategy than Viagra, it can become the leading player in the market. This essay will first discuss the present market condition of ED and then propose a marketing plan for Cialis.

External Market/ Macro Analysis

Demographics
As per the recent study available, the average age of ED patients in the USA is 58.4 years (Wilson, 2013). A study conducted in all the major countries of the world including France, Germany, the UK, Italy, and Spain shows that the average global age of ED patients is more than 50 years (Cashen, 2010). This is primarily because the likelihood of developing erectile dysfunction is related to the increase of age. Besides, even if younger people have ED, they flinch from discussing it openly. Therefore, the average age may not indicate the actual average age of the condition.
In the USA, 50% of the buyers of ED medication are employed full time. 44% of the ED patients are retired (Wilson, 2013). Only a very small percentage of the ED users are employed part time or unemployed. The percentage of ED users with full time employment is even more for other countries like Germany, France, and Spain.
In the USA and the UK, 80% of the ED patients are married or living with a partner followed by 12% of patients who are either divorced or separated (Cashen, 2010).

Demographic Shift

In almost all the developed countries, the percentage of people in the retirement age bracket will increase significantly in the next 30 years. In the USA, by 2035, almost 35% of the population will be over 60 years of age (Wilson, 2013). In Canada, one in every 5 people will be more than 65 years of age in the next 10 years. In Europe, the ratio between working class people and pensioners will be 2:1 by 2050 (Rahardjo, 2012). This means that number of people facing ED will increase significantly. This will increase the total market size and the potential for market expansion for ED medications significantly.

Economic

One strange observation was that in the USA, most of the Viagra users had at least post-secondary education, whereas in France, Germany and the UK, the majority of the Viagra users had only primary education. Because of this, the average income of ED patients in the USA was close to $45,000. On the other hand, ED patients of other countries mentioned above have an average income of $35, 000 (Cashen, 2010).

Political and Legal

Currently, two major markets of ED are the USA and Europe, which account for almost 80-85% of all the Viagra sales. The US market is regulated by FDA. FDA has recently approved direct advertising to the consumers. This has opened new doors for the pharmaceutical companies (Rahardjo, 2012). However, FDA is very powerful in the USA, so any abuse of the direct advertising to consumers will be dealt with harshly.
Europe, on the other hand, continues to ban the pharmaceutical companies from direct advertising to consumers. All pharmaceutical companies in Europe need to advertise their products to the group of knowledgeable stakeholders like doctors, hospitals, pharmacy and so on (Cashen, 2010).
In case of serious side effects, a company may face serious legal action in the developed countries. For example, Viagra faced legal action after it was discovered that as many as 130 people died upon taking Viagra (Rahardjo, 2012). Cialis should also be prepared for all the legal actions taken against it even if the fault does not lie with the product or the company itself.

Socio-Cultural

Socially, ED is viewed as an embarrassment. More than half of the people, who were interviewed for a survey, stated that they would not report treatment in the case of ED as it is a matter of shame. Especially, if ED happens at a younger age, then men avoid seeking help or wishing to discuss the matter with others (Cashen, 2010). On the other hand, older men think it is a natural phenomenon, but they also avoid seeking help.
Partners of the ED patients are mostly unaware of the prevalence of ED. In the case of an ED, they either blame the partner and the relationship weakens or they think it is happening due to work related stress or diabetes. Often ED conditions are hidden from the partners and partners are not involved in the decision-making process related to the treatment (Steyer, 2004). However, sometimes ED is discovered when partners visit doctors and complain about the lack of sexual activity.
Physicians do not prescribe ED medications easily as they are more concerned about the medications’ efficacy and safety (Cashen, 2010). Many physicians believe that Viagra or other ED medications are not safe for many types of patients. Many Primary Care Physicians (PCPs) do not feel comfortable talking about ED during annual checkups.

ED Market

The market size of ED medications is huge. If we consider the fact that 50% of all men between the ages of 40-70 years suffer from ED, then it makes it a multibillion dollar opportunity in the US market alone. However, due to the factors discussed above, only a small percentage of that 50% affected men seek medical help. Still Viagra accounts for almost $1 billion globally for Pfizer (Rahardjo, 2012). If Cialis can enter this market and spread awareness about ED, then it can grow substantially without worrying about the existing Viagra customers. The growth rate of Viagra is almost 16% year on year (YOY) in the USA and more than 30% in countries like Mexico, Canada and Brazil (Cashen, 2010).

Consumer Analysis

Let us understand the consumer base of the current ED market. Most of this consumer base is Viagra users currently.

Who: Men aged between 40 and 70 years

When: Purchase either after consultation with the family doctor or Urologist, or purchase from the online pharmacy without consulting the doctor.

Why- Consumers with ED problem do not want to feel embarrassed in front of their female partners.

Where - Local drugstores, directly from physicians, online pharmacy, and from other countries.
SWOT Analysis
Strength
As Cialis understood the problem that can occur from the nitrate used in the Viagra pills, it invented a pill that is much safer than Viagra, lasts longer and has fewer side effects (Rahardjo, 2012). The average usage cost per pill for patients will be less as one Cialis pill can last the whole weekend unlike Viagra.

Weakness

Cialis is a late entrant in the market where Viagra already has a huge customer base. It is difficult to lure away the satisfied customers from Viagra.

Opportunity

As a new player in the market, Cialis knows the problems Viagra faced and is able to come up with a product better than Viagra. Due to some cases of death due to Viagra overconsumption, Viagra is getting some negative publicity, which creates an opportunity for Cialis to cash on. Besides, many existing Viagra customers want to try Cialis.

Threat

Negative and harmful experiences by using Viagra may shrink the overall market size for ED medications. Seeking treatment or help in the event of of ED remains one of the major barriers to expand the market.

Competitor Analysis

Viagra is the main player in the ED market. Though Levitra owns some market share, Viagra still leads the market. Viagra marketing mainly focuses on aged people and retirees (Wilson, 2013). However, looking at the demographics of ED patients, it appears that there are a substantial number of people between the age group of 35 to 55 years suffering from ED (Rahardjo, 2012). They may also be taking Viagra due to lack of options, but they are not directly targeted by Viagra in the marketing campaign. Viagra has a market size of more than $1.0 billion running for over a few years. Viagra takes about 30 minutes to 1 hour to start showing its effect and may last up-to 4 to 6 hours after taking the medication (Wilson, 2013). One of the major issues with Viagra is that if a person has a tendency to high pressure, then the high nitrate content in Viagra can cause the heart rate to go up abnormally high due to which many people died of cardiac arrest after taking Viagra (Wilson, 2013). However, despite the side effects, Viagra has one of the highest customer satisfaction ratings.

Cialis Marketing Plan

Positioning
ED is a condition that one may choose not to get treatment for as ED does not affect the normal body functions and daily activities. However, ED can substantially affect one’s sexual life and can be the cause of straining or ending a relationship due to sexual inactivity (Cashen, 2010). Therefore, Cialis can position the drug as a “quality of life” drug. Marketing campaigns should portray the idea that taking Cialis can improve the quality of life of a person.

Consumer Acquisition

Mainly three customer groups can be targeted. The majority of focus of the Cialis advertising campaign should be laid on expanding the overall ED market. If Cialis can spread awareness of ED, then it will easily attract many new customers as currently only a fraction of the ED patients seek treatment.
Apart from expanding the market and acquiring new customers, Cialis should also target customers who are unhappy with Viagra and looking for alternatives.
Finally, there are a number of patients who do not mind trying an alternative medicine to Viagra. They may be satisfied customers of Viagra, but they still want to see if any other medication can enhance the experience for them.

Marketing Campaign

Method. The primary marketing campaign of Cialis should focus on spreading awareness of the condition of ED. As per the statistics, the majority of the ED patients does not seek help or want to discuss the topic. Especially, men in their 30s and 40s do not want to seek help due to social embarrassment (Wilson, 2013). Cialis should create marketing campaign mainly targeting this segment. The advertisement should convey the message as to how the use of Cialis can improve the quality of life of “his” and “hers”. It is important to increase awareness not only among men, but also among women who can discuss the problem with their partners if the male partners are in denial. Also, female partners instead of belittling their partners can provide support to seeking help with proper medication. This advertisement campaign should mainly focus on the functions and benefits of Cialis without comparing it with Viagra or other competitors.
Cialis should also come up with a marketing campaign for the elderly ED patients. That campaign should mainly focus on the facts where Cialis is better than Viagra. It should clearly highlight how Cialis can perform better with less side effects in comparison to Viagra for the elderly. The advertisement should educate people that ED is not an irreversible phenomenon due to aging. It actually can be remedied through the usage of Cialis. This will ensure that old age people ignoring ED as a symptom of advanced age will be interested in trying out Cialis.
Mode. In the USA, the primary mode of advertisement should be through the television. As the primary intention is to spread awareness among public about ED, television can help publicize the educational campaigns quickly. The advertisement directed towards the younger audience should be aired during prime times like Super Bowl or during 8 to 10 pm time slot when the maximum number of viewers is hooked on to TV channels. The advertisement campaign for the elderly should be aired during that time when the percentage of elderly audience is more. Apart from TV advertisement, Cialis should also run advertisement campaign in adult magazines.
Price. Viagra tablets cost $10 a packet (Wilson, 2013). Cialis will project itself as a better product than Viagra, and so it is important that the price is kept high. Keeping the price from $12 to $15 will be a good price point for the launch.
Place. Cialis should be made available through retailers, pharmaceutical shops and online stores. Easy availability of the drug is crucial to its success.
Promotion. Cialis should collaborate with doctors and provide them with free samples, which can distributed by the doctors among patients. If Cialis can convince the doctors that it is a better medication than Viagra, then it will be easier for the company to acquire new patients through this free sample campaign.
Many people are shy of paying a visit to doctors. For them, Cialis should run an online campaign, which will help those customers get free samples.
Doctors. It is important that Cialis educate doctors about the product. Currently, many doctors feel that ED medications are harmful and should not be prescribed. Cialis should break that myth. It should also raise awareness among the doctors about the benefits of prescribing Cialis over Viagra. Cialis should also give incentive to doctors for prescribing Cialis over Viagra. Cialis mainly should work with PCPs and urologists.

Conclusion

Erectile dysfunction, also known as ED, is a problem common among men, especially those aged above 50 years. However, younger men too are afflicted with the condition, but because of the social shame and stigma attached with ED, younger men do not seek help or discuss the condition openly. As of now, Pfizer's Viagra is the leading player in the market. Though the introduction of Levitra and Cialis have made the Viagra market go down, still today Viagra has the maximum market share. Cialis stands in second position to Viagra in terms of market share. However, if it can target the loopholes of the Viagra marketing strategy and adopt a marketing campaign more effective than Viagra, Cialis may become the leading player in the market. Right now, due to social stigma, most of the men, especially those in their 30s and 40s, suffering from ED, do not seek help or treatment for the condition, which poses a barrier to the market growth of ED medications. In order to overcome this barrier, Cialis must promote an educational campaign about ED to encourage patients and their partners to seek help for ED. The marketing campaign of Viagra mainly targets the older patients, but Cialis should target the consumers of all ages, including young and old so that both young and old men can get over the psychological barriers and seek treatment for ED.

Work Cited

Cashen, C. 2010. Product Team Cialis: Getting Ready to Market. Scribd. [Online] Available at: <http://www.scribd.com/doc/34102121/Strategic-Marketing-Management-Cialis-Case-Study-Christopher-Cashen#scribd> [Accessed 28 March 2015].
Rahardjo, W. 2012. Cialis. Slideshare. [Online] Available at: <http://www.slideshare.net/inuwisnumurti/cialis-12088697> [Accessed 28 March 2015].
Steyer, R. 2004. Cialis Dares to be Different. The Street. [Online] Available at: <http://www.thestreet.com/story/10153065/1/cialis-dares-to-be-different.html> [Accessed 28 March 2015].
Roy, T. 2004. Cialis: Getting Ready to Market. Slideshare. [Online] Available at: <http://www.slideshare.net/taposhdr/cialis-go-to-market-hbs-9505-038> [Accessed 28 March 2015].
Wilson, J. 2013. Viagra: The little blue pill that could. CNN. [Online] Available at: <http://www.cnn.com/2013/03/27/health/viagra-anniversary-timeline/index.html> [Accessed 28 March 2015].