Creating Awareness Of Hemorrhoids Medication: Strategies For An Effective Advertising Essay.

The importance of raising awareness about hemorrhoids medication

The objective behind initiating this advertising campaign is to create awareness about the company’s product used to cure and relive the pain occur in the condition of hemorrhoids. The problem of piles is very common in the people who are above 50 Years, pregnant women and people who are suffering from obesity. Piles can be very painful but can be cured using proper medication and by taking proper diet but doctors sometimes advise them to go for operation, which is sometimes not necessary (Healthdirect, 2017). The product that will be launched by our company will openly address the issue of hemorrhoids as they are not discussed openly among people. With the help of an effective advertising campaign, individuals can be educated how piles can be cured through medicine and a healthy diet. The success of an advertising campaign can be measured by the number of lead it generates and how the leads are converted to sales (CBS, 2007).

In order to create awareness about the product it is very important that the communication strategy should directly connect with the target audience which are the patients suffering from piles. The company should use social media to connect with the patients worldwide and let them know about the company’s product and its effectiveness in treating piles. The only limitation is the regulation of authorities like WHO have restricted then sharing of drug information publicly. To overcome this challenge, the company should post general information and avoid any claims (DiPersio, 2016). According to a survey, over 72 percent individuals rely on online content for health related information (DigiPharma, 2015). By creating effective content on company’s website and acknowledging patient’s issues and queries regarding piles will create a favourable brand image in the minds of customers.

The target audience of the company will be Gastroenterologists who will be prescribing the medicine to the patients who come to them for the treatment of piles. In order to induce doctors it is very important that the product should be safe and high on quality. Apart from this it should be affordable to the patient also. The individual suffering from piles and their family members should also be targeted as they are the ultimate users of this product. In order to convince them to buy the product, the company should spread the knowledge about the disease and how their product is useful in curing the problem. Many a times individuals are not in a position to discuss their problem, they only limit to telling the family members. The Retailers or chemist is also the target audience. In order to boost the sales, the chemists should be convinced how the company’s product is effective that its competitors (Timmermann, 2015).

Target audience for the medication and how to reach them

Creating awareness in the medicine area is a challenging job. The various awareness strategies that can be used by the company are:

• Going digital is a very wide and cost effective medium to generate awareness about the product in the masses at a very affordable cost.
• The company should focus on value driven initiatives such as creating awareness about the disease. By creating awareness about the disease rather than focusing on product promotion of the product. This will motivate the individuals who are suffering from this disease to consult the doctor and take medical treatment (Bulik, 2015).
• Sponsoring a charity event can also help to generate awareness among a larger audience.
• Putting up posters is a conventional but yet very effective way to engage the audience (Scientific American, 2017).

A media vehicle is a method of communication used by a company to advertise and create awareness of their product among the target audience. The cost of launching, promoting and distributing new product in the market involves a lot of expenditure (Belch et al, 2011). In order to minimize the advertisement cost there are certain factors that are to be considered while selecting the media vehicle:

• The nature and demand for the product in the market segment: If the product is a FMCG products than it should have a wider reach. In the case of pharmaceutical product the mass advertising can be done for over the counter product and not for prescription products.
• The size of the target population: Advertising strategy is successful only when it reaches the right audience. Targeting the right audience will not only generate positive results but also reduces cost.
• The budget of the company: Healthcare marketing is done with a tight budget unlike the other consumer products.
• Objectives of the campaign: Different advertising have different objectives behind them, media vehicle should be chosen based on those objectives (Rademaker, 2011).

The advertisement position used for the Hemorrhoids will be fixed ad position in the medical journal and magazines. The reason for mot choosing mass media such as television because the medicine is should be taken after consulting the doctor and it is not over the counter medicine. There are lots of strict regulations against advertising prescription medicine. The print ads in a medical journal and other magazine are very effective as it target both doctors and the individuals who are suffering. The target audience to be engaging is not very wide, as a result they very cost effectively create awareness about the product. Also, if one ad is fixed on a particular spot in the magazine it will fetch the attention of individuals. Digital print ads are also very easy way to advertise the product.

• Printing cost: Printing cost will involve the cost of putting ads in the magazines and journal. It will also cost of printing disease awareness posters at various public places. The posters and ads should be advertised among the target audience in such a way that they don’t feel embarrassed about having Hemorrhoids.
• Market Research Cost: It involves cost of exploring the target audience and market in which the advertising campaign will be launched.
• Labor cost: Labor cost involves individuals who will be engaged in this advertising campaign. They will be involved in sticking posters at the necessary places such as hospitals and other chemist stores.

Print media involves investment but it is great strategy to attract the attention of the audience towards the problem of piles. The budget statement is as follows: 

It is very important to negotiate with media vehicle so that the actual cost does not exceed the set budgeted amount. The negotiation is done in media buying. Media buying refers to the securing advertisement position in various modes of communication. A media buyer is responsible for cracking the best deal so that the objective of the company gets fulfilled. The negotiation in pharmaceutical products is very important as they have a restricted budget for advertisement. The negotiation is done not only in financial terms but also in reference to securing a media space for visibility of the advertisement campaign. If the media buying is not done in an efficient manner, the advertisement will not reach to the target audience in a cost effective way.

1. Budget: In order to negotiate with the media vehicle, it is important that the budget of the company is clearly defined by the company to their media buyer.
2. Media Space: Media Space in which the advertisement will be placed is another factor in negotiation. If the company wants to place their ads on the second or third page of the magazine, it will expensive because they caught user attention early. The media buyer should negotiate space in such a way that the ads are visible to the customers and it fits in the pocket of the company also.
3. Reach: Negotiation also depends on the reach of the advertisements. If the company wants to communicate their brand in masses then the cost of advertisement will also be high. High prices lead to better negotiation opportunity.

A media advertising contract is an important document that specify terms and condition of media advertising. It protects and works for the best interest of both the client and advertiser. The information discusses with media people are: The type of advertising used by the company. Here in this case it is print media. The objective of the advertising campaigns should be specified to them so that the contract terms can support the objectives of the campaign. The cost of advertising should also be stated along with the placement spots of ads in the magazine and journals. The time duration of placing those ads should also be specified. All these information should be communicated well to the media people so that they can design and execute the media contract after considering all these factors.

Communication strategies for promoting the medication

While signing the media contract the ethical and legal considerations in designing the advertising campaigns are: It should be noted that the information used in the print media is not deceptive and it is truthful. The company should not make any false claims in order to accelerate sale of the products. The information disclosed under the advertisement is under the regulation of Therapeutic Goods Administration or not (TGA, 2011). At the end of the advertisements it should be mentioned that the discretion of physician is important in order to use the medicine. Many a time drug companies go anonymous about a patient’s identity in order to prove the effectiveness of the medicine but it should be completely avoided.

The advertising campaigns are monitored on a regular basis to check whether the results arriving out of such campaigns are fulfilling the objectives of the company or not. They can be monitored by analyzing the sales figure of the Hemorrhoids product in the market. If the sales graph is showing an upward trend then the marketing campaigning is effective. Also, apart from sales how many patients and other individuals have shown interest in the company’s interest is another positive sign. The benefits of an advertising campaign cannot be analyzed in the short period of time but they are there to give company a long term advantage to the company than its competitors in terms of recognition and awareness (Queensland Government, 2017).

1. The advertising campaigns have contributed in the increase in sales and the customers enquiries about the Hemorrhoids medicine or not.
2. The Brand image of the company have been improved as compared to the competitors in the minds of the customers are not.
3. The objective of the campaign which was creating awareness about the problems of piles and how the medicine has been useful in the diagnosis of the problem.
4. Also the individuals who have used the product have positive reviews about the product or not (Taylor, 2009).

The advertising campaign should educate individuals about the problems related to Hemorrhoids and take charge of their own heath but it should be noted that the ads should not mortify the individuals who are suffering from this disease. The aim of this ad should motivate individuals to consult doctor but the individuals should not use the medicine without proper consultation. The advertising campaigns of a pharmaceutical company has many legal restriction on the content advertised. The company should check that they are not violating any laws. It should also be checked that the product ad is not encouraging under diagnosis or under treatment of the disease piles (Ventola, 2011).

The success of the advertising campaign can be analyzed when the individuals have become aware about the problems of piles and they are willing to try our product. The main aim of the advertising campaign was to generate product awareness in the target audience. Also after the monitoring of before and after sales result, the success of the campaign can be determined. During the advertising campaign the number of inquiries received for the product. The inquiry of the potential customer can generate lead for the sales (Kotler, 2010).

References

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CBS, 2007, Determining Your Advertising Objectives, Retrieved from https://www.cbsnews.com/news/determining-your-advertising-objectives/ on 10 May 2017.

DiPersio, J.L., 2016, Winning Over Pharma Communication Challenges, Retrieved from https://www.dtcperspectives.com/9210-2/ on 10 May 2017.

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https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3832158/ on 10 May 2017.

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Kotler, Ph, 2010, Marketing Management 13th edition, New Jersey, U.S.A, Prentice Hall.

Queensland Government, 2017, Monitoring the success of your advertising, Retrieved from

https://www.business.qld.gov.au/running-business/marketing-sales/marketing-promotion/advertising/monitoring on 10 May 2017.

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https://swoba.hhs.se/hastba/papers/hastba2011_004.pdf on 10 May 2017.

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https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/pharma-watch-raising-awareness-or-drumming-up-sales/ on 10 May 2017.

Taylor J.W, 2009, How To Create A Successful Advertising Plan.

TGA, 2017, Advertising medicines to consumers, Retrieved from

https://www.tga.gov.au/advertising-medicines-consumers on 10 May 2017.

Timmermann, S., 2015, What a target audience is and what it matters to your pharmacy, Retrieved from

https://www.pharmacyowners.com/blog/what-a-target-audience-is-and-why-it-matters-to-your-pharmacy on 10 May 2017.

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