Professional Documents
Culture Documents
GSK Marketing Report
GSK Marketing Report
PANADOL
MARKETING STRATEGIES
GROUP MEMBERS:
ZAINAB LAKHANI
IFRAH JAVED
AHSAN AFZAL
OVAIS RAJPUT
AMNAH FIDA
TABLE OF CONTENT
Acknowledgement................................................................................ 3
Executive Summary.............................................................................4
Research Methodology.........................................................................5
GLAXO-SMITH-KLINE:............................................................................ 5
A Brief History.................................................................................... 5
GSK: Mission & Strategy....................................................................5
GSK Pakistan...................................................................................... 7
GSK Product Portfolio.........................................................................7
Panadol................................................................................................ 9
Consumer Behavior Model.................................................................10
What is Consumer Behavior Model?...................................................10
Current Consumer Behavior Model at GSK.........................................12
Modifications and Recommendations...............................................16
Competitive strategies at Panadol......................................................19
Introduction:.................................................................................... 19
What Panadol has managed?...........................................................20
Competitive advantage:..................................................................20
The competitive strategies:.............................................................21
The four Ps:....................................................................................21
Recommendations...........................................................................22
Company`s Value definition practice of segmentation, targeting and
positioning:........................................................................................23
What is Value?.................................................................................23
How GSK applies this Module?.........................................................25
How can they modify their current practices?..................................26
GSKs Value Creation Effectiveness....................................................27
Existing Practice..............................................................................30
Recommended upgrade...................................................................31
Communicating Value........................................................................34
Why is there a need of marketing communications?........................34
Direct mail..................................................................................... 34
Telemarketing................................................................................ 34
Magazines..................................................................................... 34
Electronic media............................................................................ 35
Current communication program of Panadol....................................37
Analysis and recommendations for GSK...........................................39
Conclusion.........................................................................................42
ACKNOWELDEMENT
First of all we would like to thank Allah Almighty for giving us the resolution
and determination to complete this report. We have taken efforts in this
project. However, it would not have been possible without the kind support
and help of many individuals. We would like to extend our sincere thanks to
all our fellow colleagues and group mates who directly or indirectly
participated in working on this project. We would like to give due credit to
our teacher Mr. JAVED AHMED for guiding and mentoring us throughout
the supervision and support that he gave, truly helped the progression and
smoothness of our work.
We are highly indebted to GLAXO SMITH KLINE for their guidance and
constant supervision as well as for providing necessary information regarding
the project & also for their support in completing the project.
Our grateful thanks also go to the staff at GSK, notably Mr. ASAD AHMED
assistant brand manager for the wellness program for providing us with the
necessary information and assistance needed in accomplishing of this feat.
We would like to express our gratitude towards our parents for their kind cooperation and encouragement which helped us in completion of this project.
Furthermore, we would like to express our special gratitude and thanks to the
staff at GSK for giving us such attention and time.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
This report was made by gathering relevant data from the specified
documents in order to analyze the material and arrive at a more complete
understanding and historical reconstruction of the GSK`s product Panadol.
This report hopes to shed light on the five marketing modules and relate them
to GSK
All of the data for the report was collected through the online resources and
the GSK`s own website. The literature review of the modules was written on
the basis of class lectures, Harvard business reviews and personal knowledge.
The application of modules to GSK is written on the basis of an interview
that was held with the Assistant brand manager at GSK Mr. Asad Ahmed. The
report uses qualitative data from primary and secondary sources
Recommendations to the module were based on our understanding and ideas.
We were also given a feedback from our Lecturer to assist us and direct us
towards a good report and practical application of the modules.
make decisions earlier, so that only those medicines which are significantly
differentiated from existing therapies are progressed. We have broken up the
traditional hierarchical R&D business model and
created smaller, more agile groups of scientists
who are accountable for their projects. All of this
has been underpinned with a focus on improving
the rates of return in R&D and being more
rigorous in how we allocate investment across Pharmaceuticals, Vaccines and
Consumer Healthcare R&D.
GSK PAKISTAN
GlaxoSmithKline Pakistan is a recognized leader in
Pakistan's pharmaceutical industry sector. They have been awarded for
excellence in health, safety & environment. Also, they are recognized for
their community work and for their HR practices - leading the corporate
sector as the best place to work.
PANADOL
Since we have made Panadol the main focus of our report, a little information
is given below.
Panadol is one of the world's leading paracetamol-based pain relievers. It is
sold in more than 85 countries, including India, where it is called Crocin and
Colombia where it is marketed as Dolex. The range includes various
strengths, products for infants and babies as well as multi-symptom cold
relief products. The Panadol product range offers many different treatments
for relieving your mild to moderate pain. Panadol is sold in six forms around
the world:
1. Panadol
2. Panadol Extra
3. Panadol Rapid
4. Panadol Night
5. Panadol Extra Strength (sold in Latin America-based countries)
6. Panadol Multi-Symptom (sold in Latin America-based countries)
CONSUMER BUYING
BEHAVIOUR
WHAT IS CONSUMER
BUYING BEHAVIOUR?
It is the study to understand the purchase behavior
and the processes of any consumer when they
purchase
Social factors such as family and friends also effect purchase decisions.
Reference groups which a person wants to be a part of also have a great
influence on what an individual buys. For example if all the popular children
at school own an Iphone a child who desires to be popular would also want to
have an Iphone thinking that through this he can be a part of that group.
Cultural factors also have an important role in the purchase decisions factors
such as religion effects what a person would chose to buy and reject. For
example if a Muslim family wants to go for a dinner they wont prefer a
restaurant which sells pork or alcohol. Moreover, social class also affects
purchase decisions as a person belonging to upper class would want to own
branded products to maintain their status. Gender also has a vital role as the
purchase behavior of men and women differ in different societies.
cough, cold
etc.
Q2. How do you trigger the need for your
product and
brand so there
awareness. However
taking Panadol extra then one tablet per day would be enough. However the
recommended dosage is two tablets per day.
There have been no recent advertising or promotional campaigns for Panadol.
But they do have some upcoming advertising promotional projects which are
in the process of approval from the government. It is usually a very lengthy
process at takes up to a year or so.
Q3. How do they cater the information search process?
Ans. As mentioned above they do have promotional programs in line waiting
for approval. Though they couldnt disclose the exact detail the promotions
will be informative but will have an emotional trigger as well. For example
Panadol effective for flu and cough will be informational. But they could
also add Panadol every mothers choice for her kids then it will be laced
with emotions. Moreover they also have medical camps in rural areas to
educate people on importance of health and a healthy lifestyle.
3%
18%
23%
PAIN
PRESCRIBED BY DOCTOR
18%
OTHER
39%
This pie chart shows that only 11% people use Panadol when prescribed by
doctors. The rest 89% take it on their own for fever, pain headache or some
other reason.
Below is the graph of the percentage of people who would resort to a doctor
in case of flue, fever and pain.
12% 9%
21%
MAYBE
DISAGREE
STRONGLY DISAGREE
39%
18%
This graph clearly shows that most of the people dont visit the doctors for
issues like fever, headache and pain.
Mostly people use Panadol when its recommended by family or friends or at
their own jurisdiction. There is a limited role the doctor plays in the
consumption of Panadol.
8%
ADVERTISEMENT
43%
35%
SELF JURISDICTION
OTHER
15%
The graph shows that mostly people use Panadol either when they are told by
a friend and family or at their own jurisdiction. A very low percentage of
people rely on advertisement and other reasons.
Q5. What are the alternatives or competitive products of Panadol?
ANS. There are many competitors of Panadol these mainly include Ponstan,
Disperin, Brufen and other pain killers available in the market.
Q6. How do you differentiate Panadol from all the other competitors which
assists consumers in the evaluation process?
ANS. The differentiating factor of Panadol is its safety profile. Panadol is
made of paracetamol and its side effects are next to none. Compared to
aspirin in which you face blood thinning. Moreover like other main killers in
the market it does not cause liver failure or kidney issues. Its a safe product
for all age groups even the children. Hence its unique selling point is indeed
its safety profile. Hence it helps consumer in evaluating it from competitors
and they chose it because it guarantees safety.
Q7. How do you trigger the final purchase of Panadol?
ANS. The distribution of Panadol is excellent. Its widely and easily available
in every part of Pakistan this shows the efficiency in the distribution chain.
Moreover the price of Panadol is very economical rather it nothing compared
to the value delivered so they dont have to make a lot of effort in order to
trigger the purchase process.
6% 6%
15-25 MINUTES
33%
25-40 MINUTES
MORE THAN 60 MINUTES
55%
This shows that mostly consumers consider Panadol to start showing its
effects in less than an hour. This is very good.
MODIFICATIONS AND
RECOMMENDATIONS
There is an only so much you can do in terms of
advertising and promotions when dealing with
pharmaceutical industries. As it deals with
medicines and life saving drugs direct
promotions to the end consumers is not always
the answer. Mostly companies have to take a back route in order to increase
the sales and market share of their product.
I would recommend some strategies that GSK can use to improve its
consumer behavior model which will over all benefit its marketing plan for
Panadol
Panadol an edge over its competitors. It will also improve the goodwill of
GSK as a whole not only Panadol. It will affect the reputation of its entire
product and increase GSKs goodwill and public relations. As GSK currently
no public relation campaigns it will also cater to that need. It will trigger
consumer behavior positively towards their product as consumers will see
GSK in a positive light and a company which cares about the well being of its
consumers. It will be considered as a brand personality which represents
transparency, respect for people, patient-focus and integrity.
They can even educate pharmacists on the safety profile of Panadol and ask
them to communicate this value to the consumers. The can even send
representatives to doctors all over Pakistan to prescribe their product more.
The basic use of Panadol is mild flu, fever, cold, pain and headaches. These
problems dont usually trigger the visit to a doctor and people mostly resort to
self medication. Awareness that taking Panadol will be safe and have next to
no side effects will aid the purchase process as consumers wont think twice
before buying and using Panadol. This will affect the consumer behavior
positively and increase the purchase of the product.
This will help first stage of the consumer behavior model of awareness and
problem recognition as it will help make people more health conscious they
will get more knowledge about their immune system and problems such as
cold, fever, pain etc. They will be more aware of the safety aspect of Panadol
and trust it more.
This will aid the second stage of the consumer behavior model which is the
information search stage. Being aware of Panadol and its usage and dosage
will assist the consumers. They will be more comfortable using Panadol as
currently none of its competitors are advertising their products.
Panadol range the market share of Panadol will rise and improve its brand
image. The basic objective of Panadol should be that it should be made so
available and so widely used that rather than being a choice for the
consumers it becomes the brand. People when need a painkiller the first name
that pops into their mind should be Panadol. By adding variations and more
products in their product line they would eat up the margin of their
competitors
This will be beneficial because when the consumers search for information
and evaluate alternatives for their need of a pain killer. Panadol will be the
only option in their mind due to the vast advertisements and promotions. This
would be very beneficial for Panadol and its market share.
through which they can provide feedback. They can even have sales
promotion stalls in supermarkets and big pharmacies through which a
qualified nurse can educate people about the safe usage and dosage of
Panadol. Moreover they can ask consumers about their experiences of using
Panadol and its effectiveness.
This will improve the effectiveness of the last stage of post purchase
behavior. As consumers will be more inclined towards using a medicine
which they believe cares about them and their response. It is a medicine
which people usually resort to while self medicating. Hence knowing the fact
that the company cares about them they will trust the brand more which will
give consumers confidence and belief in the efficacy of Panadol even after
purchase. This will lead consumers to re purchase the product and even
recommend it to their friends and family.
Introduction
Panadol is a GSKs trade name for paracetemol. Paracetemol is a commonly
prescribed and a widely used drug. The 2 main functions that this medicine
caters to are that it helps in reducing the fever and relieving pain. However in
todays market the word paracetemol has been replaced by Gsks Panadol.
Not only Panadol is one of the most inexpensive medicine but also effective
and is safely given to children, adults and even the aged without heavy side
effects. The main competitors of Panadol are:
Dispirin (aspirin) which is a pain reliever
Brufen which is also a pain reliever and
Ponston is mainly used for the purpose of fever
reduction.
Panadol can safely be said to be as the
market
and has
after.
well
into 2
different products one for the children so they have syrup and
one for
the adults which are the tablets. Panadol has also increased its product line by
creating Panadol extra, Panadol advance, Panadol cold and flu max and more.
Panadol is Gsks one of the renowned health care brands which they define as
over the counter medicine.
As a market leader there are only few strategies that one can employ. Either it
can:
Expand market
Defend market share
Expand market share.
Panadol can be seen to employ the third strategy that is the expand market
share. Market share is defined as the percentage of the total market that a
company controls for a particular product. So expanding it would mean
increasing that percentage. Expanding the market share means widening
profit margins and increasing earnings for the company. Day by day as the
number of patients coming in increases so does the prescription.
Competitive advantage:
The main competitive advantage that Panadol has is that it is the most
inexpensive and has the least side effects. However, looking at the chart we
notice that dispirins is the cheapest drug. But it should be noted that disprin
has heavy side effects. And the main purpose why dispirin is taken for is the
thinning of the blood. While the other 2 that is Ponston and Brufen are
relatively expensive.
Medicine
Panadol
Dispirin
Ponston
PKR
132.59
47.00
236.6
Brufen
430.
Place
Price
counter medicine.
Relatively affordable by the middle class, lower class and upper
Promotion
middle class.
Does not need a lot of promotion most people are aware of the usage
and its widely recognized.
RECOMMENDATIONS
The one main disadvantage that Panadol has is that
even though it has diversified into producing a well
range of products for women, children and specially
designed to relieve pain of specific parts of body there is very little awareness
of it. Few people are actually aware about the different products and not
much is being done to promote it.
So what could be done is that a carefully designed marketing plan should be
implemented so people would know that if they want a back and neck pain
reliever they dont have to buy the assumed all in one function tablet of
Panadol but the specifically designed Pandols back and neck pain reliever.
Promotion can be done educating through the advertisement and bill boards
and since the product is price elastic meaning everyone would buy as the
need arises. Standees could be kept at the hospitals and even at the
pharmaceutical stores so even the people who dont really visit the hospitals
as the trend is in Pakistan they could get to know about the product through
the pharmacy stores. Since men are generally the main people to purchase
medicines for the family.
product
is
What is segmentation?
Segmentation can be defined as grouping consumers by some criteria, such
that those within a group will respond similarly to a marketing action and
What is targeting?
After segmenting the market, targeting is a process of selecting the segments
that the company will be catering basing their decision upon the profitability,
their core objective, their mission or any other thing which makes them
thinks that they should target this segment. Different strategies including the
marketing mix that is the four P`s are made according to these target markets
both the companies that Toyota has differentiated their car as rough and tough
where as Honda has differentiated it as a luxury car.
much thin that may cause serious problems. On asking of the questions that
are they able to price their products, Panadol to be specific, on the basis of
the value that they are providing? So the manager replied by saying that they
are unable to charge high price or price according to the value they are
providing because the price module or the prices are dictated to them by the
Health Ministry of Pakistan. They have to obey that pricing so price goes out
of the game, no matter how much utility the Panadol is providing or how
satisfied the consumer is by having Panadol doesnt affect their price or
pricing strategy. Like if they are told to sell the tablet at Re 1 they have to sell
it at Re 1. They can only increase their profits either by reducing their cost or
by increasing their market share i.e. sales.
They also added the word `transparency` when they were describing their
values which according to them meant that they do not hide anything like the
ingredients from their consumers they conduct researches and programs to
aware the consumers regarding the consumption of the drugs and pain killers.
They have conducted programs in rural areas to spread the awareness
When it came to segmenting, we asked the manager that how they segment
their market. The answer he gave was that they have segment the market on
the basis of types of pain, different needs and the age groups. Based on
different needs they have divided their market like cold, fever, cough, pain,
flu and others cardio, neurotic or dermatology problems. They cater each
segment with different product for example for the muscular pain they have
Iodex as their product which fights for the market share against vintogen and
other renown brands, for the age group 3 to 13 they have Horlicks for
dentistry needs they have sensodyne and macleans as their premium products
and like this they segment their market.
For differentiation or positioning the target market the manager said that they
differentiate on the basis of effectiveness of the product for example the GSK
`s product Panadol extra may be affective at areas where other brands such as
Dispirin may not work as effectively as Panadol extra. Efficacy of the product
is that point or trait where they differentiate or position their product in the
market. Being a market leader GSK positions Panadol as perfect solution for
fatigue or headaches .with their tagline and campaign with theme of Panadol
your personal doctor they have successfully positioned their product as a
solution or tablet that should be there in home every time.
When it comes to segmenting the market GSK mainly segments the market
on the basis of pain, different problems and age groups which was conveyed
to us by the manager. GSK can segment the market on other dimensions for
example they can merge their pain and age group segmentation by
introducing medicines designed especially for kids for example Panadol
chotu(Panadol for kids) which can be a chewable tablet or a tablet in
attractive colors. GSK can also segment market on dimensions which include
weather. In Pakistan only four different seasons are experienced using this as
the basis of segmentation GSK can exploit the market having different
variables of same product Panadol for different markets. This will also help
positioning the brand once again, like this will enhance their image of
consumer care at its best.
When it comes to differentiation and positioning GSK can enhance their
positioning by making Panadol as a need of every home, they can do this by
communicating Panadol as an item of monthly grocery list. They can do this
by communicating it through their promotional and advertisement channels.
Panadol can be distributed with any of a frequently used grocery item not t
relate with but only to show that Panadol has such importance in your life.
This will help GSK differentiating their Panadol with other brands in the
market which are merely perceived as typical medicines only. GSK can
conduct an activity to find out what are the actual uses of Panadol that may
not have been in their Knowledge for example Panadol is also used for
toothaches in which the tablet is crushed in to powder form and then after
diluting it in water the water is used to rinse the mouth thoroughly. The
activity like what is a Panadol to you? can highlight the uses of Panadol
which can be worked upon.
More generally, many marketers (and most sales forces) believe that a broad
product line is required to fully cover all (or most) customer / market
requirements, and to erect barriers to fend off competition. So, there is a
prevalent tendency to add product lines, extend product lines to more
categories , add products to lines, and add basic product choices (e.g.
features, size, color, and package) or quality variants to hit different price
points Many of these line extensions do, in fact, provide meaningful strategic
or tactical benefits
memorable, and different from the competitors and must indicate the core
values of its products. Five main components of a brand are:
Quality
EXISTING PRACTICE
Product line management: Panadol is the most profitable product for GSK. As
stated by Mr. AsadAhmed in the interview it is a revenue generating
machine for the company. How ever the company plans to build on the
reputation and market share of this successful product and introduce more
variations of this same product inside the market. Mr. Asad told us that
different variances like Panadol for women and Panadol for flu are to be
introduced in the future in order to destroy the market of their competitors
and possible drive them out of the industry. Hence the variances will need
another year for approvals and the advertising campaigns are already in the
pipeline and are being worked upon.
Distribution: Panadol is the most widely used medicine inside Pakistan and
this massive usage is an example of the drug being widely available
throughout the country, whenever and wherever the customer needs it.
GSK uses the distribution channel #3 which has been explained above.
The product is transferred from manufacturer to the whole seller, then to
the retailer and then finally to the consumer. This channel enables the
company to distribute its product in incredibly remote places at a very low
cost. According to Mr. Asad there are fifty intermediaries working with
GSK in order to distribute the product throughout the region
RECOMMENDED UPGRADE
Product line management: Panadol is a very vital product for the company
which has an incredibly good reputation inside the market. It generates large
sums of revenue and therefore this product line should be expanded further in
order to increase revenues and profits for the company. Although Mr. Asad
talked about the introduction of new variances but he was not sure of when
exactly they will be launched and what exactly would be the companys
marketing plan these new variances. Our recommendation would be that the
company should not waste more time in introducing these new variances.
The environmental conditions of a huge city like Karachi have been getting
poor day by day. Attention paid by the local government towards improving
the health care facilities have drastically gone down hence there are now
thousands of local residents falling down in different illnesses such as flu
fever and body pain every day. The market for the new variances is huge and
it should be seen as an opportunity and a market gap by the company. New
variances like Panadol for flu and Panadol for women should be introduced in
order to provide specific and specialized treatments for flu and for women.
These variances would further communicate the companys core value of
patient first to the consumers and would make them believe that the
company understands its responsibility of catering to every new need of the
consumer.
This extension of the product line would provide a number of benefits to the
company such as :
1 Leverage costs would be drastically reduced via economies of scale.
Economies of scale is basically a stage in which as the company increases its
output its average cost per unit tends to fall and move towards an optimum
point.
Hence the company will have to manage these costs effectively in order to
fully avail the advantages of product line expansion.
Branding: as Mr. Asad pointed out in his interview Panadols brand image is
all about safety and minimal side effects. Although it is a healthy brand image
to have but it has to communicated to the audience and to the market on a
larger scale and majority of the users of Panadol still do not know what does
the brand of Panadol really stands for. GSK hasnt introduced any advertising
campaign in the last 5 years. They communicated to their customers through
their products only. Hence the company needs to make more use of digital
and print media in order to communicate their brand image clearly to the
consumers.
Panadol is arguably the safest drug to use inside the market. According to Mr.
Asad all the other drugs in the market such as Ponstan and disprin carry a lot
of side effects. They cause severe headaches with additional dosages and
seriously damage the patients health. Whereas on the other hand Panadol
almost has zero side effects hence this image of intense safety should be
communicated to the consumers through different advertisement campaigns.
The advertisements do not need to be fancy or persuasive, they can be simple
and informative, informing the general public about the safety feature of the
brand of Panadol. A clear brand image will yield a number of benefits for the
company:
1. Easier client recognition: it will reduce client recruitment and
advertising costs so you can grow your business faster.
2. Expressing competitive advantage: it will provide an advantage over
competitors and protect the value of the business
3. Expressing position and space in the market: the company would get
known in the market as standing for and owning a position that its
competitors cannot claim
4. Increased response rates: Tapping client benefits in branding increases
the reaction rate from the companys activities
5. Lowers costs of communication to clients: Brand consistency can
dramatically lower the cost of communicating to the clients
6. Recruitment of new employees: Great staff want to be associated with
and work for a great legal brand
Hence our recommendation for branding is that the company needs to be
more vocal about its distinctive brand image inside the market.
Pricing: As stated by Mr Asad the prices charged by GSK for their product
of Panadol are minimal. These prices are fixed by the Government of
Pakistan through its health ministry and pharmaceutical companies cannot do
much about them. Based on the value and the price charged, panadols
pricing would come under the heading of price penetration. Price penetration
is charging low prices and offering high quality in return.
According to Mr Asad although the government regulations would never be
removed from the pharmaceutical firms but if we make an assumption that
they are removed than GSK can charge around Rs20 for each set of 12 pills
and this would increase the companys profits by 20 percent.
Increase in prices would defiantly lead to higher revenues because the
demand for Panadol in Pakistani market is inelastic i.e. changes in prices do
not drastically affect the demand of the product. An increase in price would
still keep Panadol as a very cheap product, one which constitutes a very small
proportion of a consumers income, plus although there are other competitors
in the market like ponston and disprin but still Panadol is the market leader
and just because of a minor increase in the price a consumer would not stop
buying Panadol put his/her health at a risk.
GSK enjoys a number of benefits by having a price inelastic demand:
1. There are several opportunities of increasing the prices of their products
inside the market. And as stated before this increase in prices would
almost certainly increase the revenues.
2. Increase in prices would not drastically bring down the sales units.
Since demand is price inelastic a slight increase in the prices would not
stop the consumer from the buying the product.
3. Profits are mostly constant i.e. they might be increasing at different
rates but most of the times they are increasing; very rarely theres a
decrease and change in the pattern of profits.
4. Constant profits make financial planning a lot easier. Lack of
uncertainty helps a lot in making future plans and determining the
success of those plans in the future
Hence increasing the prices of Panadol can generate large sums of revenues
for GSK but the Governmental price controls do not provide permission to
the firm to do so thus there is not much the company can do in the pricing
department. However the company can invest in research and developing
new methods of reducing costs in order to increase its profits.
2. Increase of revenue
3. Protection of brand image
4. Highlighting the companys customer first value
5. Possibility of increasing its share of the total pharmaceutical market of
the country
COMMUNICATING VALUE
Why is there a need for marketing communication?
Companies need to develop strategies to improve brand image and brand
awareness. The important aspect of spreading brand awareness and brand
image is through communication. Companies need to establish a
communication channel to win the new customers and retain existing
customer. This communication is not restricted just to customer but also
stakeholders in the value network. Communication is achieved through
advertisement, sales promotion, public relation exercise, direct marketing and
interactive marketing.
Most organizations waste money on marketing communications because their
activities are fragmented and their messages are not relevant. Much of the
budget spent is not geared to clearly defined objectives and the outcomes are
not measured.
Effective marketing communications requires;
A clear understanding of objectives
Careful planning
Coordination of the right communications tools
Various media
the
response
follows
Direct mail
Telemarketing
Magazines
Electronic media
1. The first step is identifying the target audience. The target audiences are
the existing customer or the potential new customers. Target audience
identification is essential for further development and overall success of
the communication program. Once the audience is identified, the next
part is assessing the present company or brand perception within the
target audience. Based on the results from the audience analysis the
message should address the requirements.
2.
3. The third step is the design of the message. The designing of the
message follows the objective of the message. The design of the
message has to address the following four points, content of message,
message structure, and message format and message source.
4. The fourth step is the selection of the communication channel. The
channel must be appropriate to carry the message to the target audience.
For pharmaceutical companies, their sales people are the most effective
channel in reaching the target doctor audience, instead of placing
billboards.
5. The fifth step is related with the financial estimates of the whole
expenditure. Companies need to decide budget of sales promotional and
other activities. The common methods followed are an affordable
method, percentage of sales method, competitive parity method, and
objective-task methods.
6. The sixth step is the decision relate to the communication mix.
Companies have limited budget, so they need balance expenditure
among advertising, sales promotion, public relation, sales force and
direct marketing. The relevant choice of the communication mix is
highly dependable on the industry the company is operating.
Upon our visit to GSK for our final term report, we met the Assistant Brand
Manager of The Wellness Program, which includes Panadol, Eno and Iodex.
We questioned him about the communication programs that were carried out
for Panadol, that how the firm does promotes the product, maintain sales,
advertises, creates and maintains PR and how effectively is all of this carried
out. We asked a few questions related the topic, to which he answered as
follows.
Q1. How do you communicate your message?
Panadol promotes its safety profile. We make sure our consumers are aware
of the benefits Panadol has over other competitive products. We cant say that
there are no side effects of Panadol, but they are very less as compared to
other products in the market that promise the same results.
Q2. The Manager told us that Panadol is recommended by the doctors to their
patients when they complain of pain and headaches. On this we posed the
question that an average man wouldnt go to a doctor if he has a headache, or
he wouldnt be aware of what painkiller they are taking.
We have expert marketing teams that go and educate the doctors about
Panadol. And as far as an average man is considered, we have programs that
educate and make the chemists more aware, so that they recommend Panadol
to such people. Many people actually listen to what the chemist says as well
therefore we conduct such awareness programs too.
Along with this, as Panadol puts huge emphasis on its Safety Profile, the
doctors are chemists are specifically taught about the proper dosage of
Panadol.
Q3. What does the firm do for advertising and promotions of Panadol,
considering its a pharmaceutical product?
The Assistant Brand Manager told us that there have been no recent
advertising or promotional campaigns for Panadol. Panadol is already an
established brand so there is no need to promote the product further as such
as it has already penetrated in the market.
There have been no advertising campaigns for the past 5 years for Panadol;
however, they do have a few upcoming advertising promotional projects
which are in the process of approval from the government. It is usually a very
lengthy process at takes up to a year or so.
Q4. When we asked about how they go up against their competitors, we came
to know about their strategy of promoting Panadol in certain areas.
The Manager told us that through research, they have found that Ponston (a
competitive Product) is more popular in rural areas. So they carry out their
lecture and awareness sessions in rural areas. They cannot use electronic
media in those areas so they send their teams to carry out such interactive
educational sessions that are helpful to the consumer as well as are a good
way to promote Panadol.
Q5. What sort of advertisements have you planned when the government
approves your campaign?
Once we have a GO from the government, we will definitely focus on our
advertising programs. Also, people normally know about the product, for
example, Iodex, Panadol, Eno, Horilicks, but they dont know what GSK is.
They dont know about the main company. So we will focus on making
people aware of our company as a whole as well so that our other existing
products and upcoming new products make a place in the market.
Q.7. How is the PR of GSK over all?
We do not need PR as such right now; therefore we dont have a very strong
PR. It depends on our marketing strategies, if we need it we will increase the
PR accordingly and we will do it easily.
Q6. How do you manage your relations with consumer? Is there any direct
contact that you maintain?
No, we dont have direct contact with out end consumers. But we do conduct
surveys every now and then that help us know if the consumers are benefited
properly or not. I think that a lot more can and should be done in this area and
we plan on working on this as well.
The manager told us that next they plan on focusing on promotions and
awareness through advertising campaigns. The Ads will be functional,
Informative and emotional in nature, given the culture and traditions. We can
definitely make the whole campaign better, including research, PR,
promotions and advertisements, but our immediate focus will be improving
our advertisements.
IMPROVING ADVERTISEMENTS
The assistant brand manager of GSK Pakistan Ltd. admitted that there has not
been much emphasis on the advertising campaigns of Panadol; however, they
plan on changing that now. Though the brand has not been seen on any media
in Pakistan for the last few years, the firm has asked for the approval from the
government regarding the matter. Since that is a lengthy process, the firm is
not expecting any responses for at least 6 months to 1 year.
GSK Pakistan can choose from several types of advertisements. Although it
has to be extra careful in terms of advertising its drugs, in this case Panadol.
CONCLUSION
GSK is one of the leading pharmaceutical companies of Pakistan and Panadol
is arguably its biggest source of revenue. In this report we analyzed the
product of panadol through the three major modules of marketing,definingcreating-communicating value. After the analysis we provided
recommendations and upgrades which might help the product prosper further
in future. However the analysis is based upon the information provided by the
companys marketing department only and for complete feasibility analysis
of the problem and recommendations the financials of the company would
also be required.