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April 19, 2004 - Strategy Magazine
News

ED drug wars: The battle for the $139 million industry is on:
Who will outwit, outlast and outplay?

by Susan Bourette
page 2

It certainly isn't a soft sell anymore. Undoubtedly, the erectile dysfunction marketing war has hit a new and fevered pitch.

Click. A man stands under a showerhead, grinning from ear to ear and singing My Way, while a message pops up on the screen, urging viewers to talk to their doctor. Move up the dial and there's another commercial extolling the happiness embodied in a little orange pill called Levitra. Meanwhile, another channel is playing up Cialis' staying power and reputation as "le weekender" with the tag line "The Weekend is Here."

Indeed, a category shakeup is underway as two new entrants vie for position in the ED category, intent on wresting market share away from Pfizer's Viagra, now celebrating its fifth anniversary in Canada.

There is much at stake. Consider these statistics: The market has nearly tripled to $139 million in 2003, up from $54 million in 1999, according to figures compiled by IMS Health, a Montreal-based research firm, which tracks the pharmaceutical industry.

Other figures show that 152 million men suffer from ED worldwide. That translates into three or four million men in Canada, of whom only an estimated 12% have so far received treatment.

That means huge, untapped sales potential, the marketing gurus say.

"There is tremendous unmet need," says Doug Grant, VP of public policy and communications for Bayer of Toronto, which markets Levitra in association with GlaxoSmithKline. "The whole category is new and each drug provides a new option. We're planning to make Levitra as much a household name as Viagra."

Grant says Bayer is confident it can seize a sizeable share of a burgeoning market, partially based on gleanings from its own research. The company conducted a sexual satisfaction survey last year, for example, which found that 88% of patients with ED would try a new drug, while 96% of physicians are willing to prescribe one.

For its part, industry Goliath Pfizer, whose category-creator Viagra accounts for 80% of all ED prescriptions, says it isn't worried. In fact, says Pfizer spokesperson Sophie McCann, the company welcomes the competition because new entrants are likely to help grow the market.

The most recent Viagra campaign, developed by Toronto agency Taxi and launched in March, continues and expands a marketing message that began five years ago, McCann says.

"Essentially, we have always tried to break down barriers and taboos," McCann explains. "Encouraging men to talk to their doctors and to let them know that they are not alone."

McCann says the company has focused its marketing efforts on television - despite the launch of a major print campaign featuring ordinary Canadians this spring (see cover image) - because TV is powerful in its ability to change perceptions. She adds that the company has no plans to stray from its marketing strategy: "There's no point in fixing what isn't broke."

Meanwhile, the new ED contenders appear to be taking note of the need to educate consumers, if taking a slightly different route to winning them over.

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