Turning around revenue for a late stage product

The challenge

With a lack of new clinical data and three years from loss of exclusivity, growth stalled for our client’s product. With well-established generic competition owning the market, the brand struggled to reach new prescribers.

The promise of the brands positioning and messaging had failed to materialize. There was a perceived lack of efficacy and it faced apathy from healthcare professionals. The brand sought to focus its messaging to stabilize revenue and maximize value in the final stages of its lifecycle.

The brand also faced a decrease in overall sales, as the sales force was to be redeployed to support other products. As loss of exclusivity grew near, our client tasked us to design and implement a multichannel digital campaign to identify new prescribers and maintain revenue.

The solution

We established a plan to supplement sales force interactions with digital tactics. The solution was three key moves.

1. Apply predictive analytics: pinpoint new targets likely to engage and prescribe
2. Refresh the core patient type + define the differentiation point
3. Craft relevant messages that resonate with HCPs, inspiring action

Predictive Analytics: pinpointing new targets likely to engage and prescribe

closerlook applied predictive analytics by leveraging years of customer data to identify potential writers that profiled similarly to brand loyalists. Our analysts scrutinized over 100 variables—including sales data, attendance at speaker events and interactions-to identify its consummate prescriber to build look-alike models and identify ideal prescribers. It was believed that these physicians were most likely to have specific patient types that would benefit from the unique mechanism of action (MOA) of the product in their practice. We then scored, ranked and solidified the new target list that we would execute a digital-first multichannel campaign against.

Refreshing the core patient type + defining the differentiation point

We conducted primary market research to uncover the most common unmet needs across the identified target patient audience. Using this insight, we refocused campaign messaging to an audience that would benefit most to the drug’s unique MOA. What was once perceived as lack of efficacy became a focal point for the brand.

We developed a new conceptual creative treatment and content rooted in insight about the newly targeted patient type. We captured the essence and guidelines of the new creative in an updated brand book and creative system and then applied the new treatment across digital tactics.

Relevant messages resonate with HCPs, inspiring action

Based on the new information we had on our targets, we focused messaging on what HCPs found most relevant:

• The product’s unique mechanism of action
• The targeted patient type, highlighting a clearly articulated unmet need
• A sample program

The campaign quickly showed new prescribers benefits of the product and what patients the treatment was right for. A sample request program was determined to be the most valuable action we wanted these HCPs to take. It was a consistent callout in all messaging and a simple way for HCPs to sign up once and receive samples for three months.

Monthly acquisition emails, display advertising and text drivers all included messaging highlighting the online sample requests. An interactive KOL article told the entire clinical story through video-based content. The campaign’s goal: Respect physicians’ time and deliver the information they need, so patients get the treatment they were missing.

Results

Predictive analytics were used to expand target reach look-alike data modeling to identify new and underserviced targets likely to prescribe, resulting in 10,000 additional HCPs with a high likelihood to write.

The combination of simplified positioning, new conceptual creative, relevant messaging and a new NPP ecosystem proved extremely successful. The prescriber base increased by 36 percent and revenue for the brand increased 40 percent, resulting in nearly 100% incremental profit for the company.