Product Team Cialis: Getting Ready to Market
Lilly (Eli Lilly a pharmaceutical giant) and ICOS (a young biotech upstart) management are preparing for the launch of a new prescription drug entrant, Cialis, to compete in the Erectile Dysfunction (ED) market. They are faced with the challenge of converting the medical profile of Cialis into commercial success. Further, the launchers are confronted with a difficult but rather common marketing challenge: establishing their new entry in a category dominated by the first mover, Pfizer’s Viagra.
Viagra has the highest brand recognition of any pharmaceutical drug in the world. Moreover, it is the leader generating $1 billion in sales annually for three consecutive years. Viagra created a cultural phenomenon with celebrity spokesman in TV commercials and ads. By using Bob Dole and Mark Martin, the product hit many people who suffer from ED.
Having the complicated task to contend with existing and new firms in the competitive landscape, the management of Lilly and ICOS must determine how best to segment the market and which target market to focus on.
The three broad areas to target would be the Viagra user, Viagra dropouts and those that have never used Viagra. Initially, Cialis should target the Viagra dropouts. It is stated in the case that there are 6-7 million dropouts compared to the 3 million current Viagra users. Also, in the study conducted by Bayer, 76% of ED patients said that they would be interested in new treatment. This is a large target market that is interested and wanting a new product. Further, analysis provided by Lilly also showed a high willingness among ED patients. 46% of dropouts said that they had a high intent on taking Viagra in the future, thus, the management team could target them to switch to Cialis.
The marketing plan should take advantage of Cialis' medical profile. The new drug needs to be positioned to show how it is different than Viagra. Cialis marketers should follow...