THE ART OF

BRANDING A Pfizer and Eli Lilly are

CONDITION two companies that have

successfully created a
brand strategy that
helped build awareness
Healthcare marketers are taking
for both the condition
the concept of “branding a condition” and the treatment.
to new levels of sophistication,
author Vince Parry reports. Done
appropriately, this type of branding
helps keep both brand managers and the
clinical community focused on a single
story with a problem/solution structure.

ears ago, when the winter holiday season rolled around, I Typically, when marketers talk about branding, they are referring

Y looked forward to it in all but one aspect: my uncle’s with-

ering pessimism about the whole business. Celebration
and good cheer were out of the question. Why should we be com-
to the unique identity of a product or service that enables cus-
tomers to distinguish it from competitors. However, within the
pharmaceutical industry, marketing professionals have increasing-
pelled to feel happy on a given set of days when the world would ly taken branding to the next level by branding the disease or con-
be essentially the same afterward? Humbug. Then, in the 1980s, a dition that a particular product is capable of treating.
remarkable condition was identified that gave shape to this acri- The idea behind “condition branding” is relatively simple: If you
mony: seasonal affective disorder (SAD), which Webster’s defines can define a particular condition and its associated symptoms in
as “depression that tends to occur as the days grow shorter during the minds of physicians and patients, you can also predicate the
the fall and winter.” best treatment for that condition.
Even more miraculously, it seemed, there were drugs on the This concept is by no means new. Warner-Lambert was looking
market capable of treating it. My uncle was transformed from an for an opportunity to expand its market for Listerine in the 1920s.
unpleasant curmudgeon to a sympathetic victim with the coining Although the product was being marketed for everything from
of a simple phrase. While this new “idea” may have appeared to dandruff to wound irrigation, sales were flat. Warner-Lambert
be a happy accident, in reality it was the successful outcome of found its answer by creating awareness — and anxiety — around
careful branding on the part of those with ready solutions. a serious-sounding medical condition: halitosis. Whereas the
Branding is about the ownership of ideas: giving customers a harmless concept of unpleasant breath would not cause much of a
new way to think about things, and — in the process — transfer- stir, halitosis — through effective branding or the ownership of
ring the values of this experience to a situation or commodity. ideas — was demonized for a range of social casualties from lack
BRANDING A CONDITION

of career advancement to divorce. As the antidote, Listerine saw

sales increase from $100,000 to $4 million over the next six years, If done appropriately, condition
and helped make halitosis a household word. branding has numerous benefits,
the greatest of which is how it
The value of branding a condition
Healthcare marketers have taken this concept to new levels of
creates consensus internally and
sophistication in recent times. Today, the seeds must be sown in a externally.
complex landscape of audiences involving pharmaceutical compa-
nies, external thought leaders, support groups and consumers; and the-counter remedies. GERD elevated the medical importance of
the effort must be coordinated with multiple communications the condition by presenting it as an acutely chronic “disorder” with
agencies in the fields of branding, advertising, education and pub- an underlying physiologic etiology and the potential for serious
lic relations. longer-term consequences if left unresolved — a far cry from the
If done appropriately, condition branding has numerous bene- “plop-plop, fizz-fizz” perception of heartburn.
fits, the greatest of which is how it creates consensus internally and The company launched a well-coordinated initiative by creating
externally. Such consensus serves to keep brand managers and the the Glaxo Institute for Digestive Health (GIDH), which served as
clinical community focused on a single story with a lock-and-key, a platform for education and awareness. The GIDH sponsored
problem/solution structure. Internally, the activity fosters motiva- research awards in the area of GI health, discussed GERD in the
tion and momentum, maximizing the product investment by initi- context of other, more serious gastrointestinal (GI) diseases,
ating comprehensive marketing efforts early in the process. The involved powerful third-party advocates such as the American
product can better own customer perceptions about College of Gastroenterology and fielded a public relations effort
evolving/existing disease states, define new patient segments with called Heartburn Across America. Not only did GSK double the
currently unmet needs and drive attitudes about new scientific percentage of physicians who perceived them as leaders in GI
modalities that promise greater treatment benefits. health, but it helped them drive annual sales for Zantac to over $2
Externally, the value of company-sponsored activity helps forge billion at peak, 65 percent of which was accounted for by GERD.
better relationships with thought leaders seeking to shape the
debate around therapeutic approaches, and with members of the Capturing impotence in an acronym
clinical community who are always interested in mentoring Rather than needing elevation from a trivial status, some health
patients on new perspectives in treatment. The product brand, in conditions are considered medically relevant, yet they suffer from
turn, benefits by creating a leadership status as the owner and driv- an association with social embarrassment. Often, the stigma sur-
er of ideas in the category, thus pre-empting competitive efforts. rounding these conditions has been worsened by a history of OTC
There are three principal strategies for fostering the creation of remedies whose low-budget or lowbrow promotional efforts push
a condition and aligning it with a product: patients further into hiding. (Think of the ersatz hair loss regimens
■ elevating the importance of an existing condition publicized for years and their legacy on contemporary attempts to
■ redefining an existing condition to reduce a stigma medicalize alopecia.)
■ developing a new condition to build recognition for an unmet Perhaps the most well-recognized example today of a company
market need. redefining an existing condition to reduce stigma is Pfizer and its
successful effort to link erectile dysfunction, or ED, with the drug
New approach to an old condition Viagra (sildenafil citrate). Impotence has long existed as a recog-
As the Warner-Lambert example illustrated, a company can ele- nized medical condition, but it was associated either with disabili-
vate the benign notion of unpleasant breath to the serious and ty linked to physical trauma, or more commonly, with a loss of
risk-affirming status of a condition deserving vigilant treatment libido — both of which contribute to low self-esteem in a patriar-
(with Listerine). A more contemporary example of using brand- chal society. Furthermore, the remedies over the years were often
ing to raise the bar of seriousness involves Zantac (ranitidine invasive and their implementation indiscreet. The term “erectile
hydrochloride) and gastroesophageal reflux disease, or GERD. dysfunction” refocused the condition from being associated with a
In 1986, GlaxoSmithKline successfully launched Zantac for lack of potency (i.e. male virility) to the more enlightened concept
ulcers, but it faced the challenge of broadening its reach into the of a physical loss of function that could be simply reversed. Like
heartburn market. Heartburn, after all, did not seem to warrant a GERD, ED was captured in an acronym suitable for mass DTC
prescription drug and was perceived to be well managed by over- promotion and functioned as an easy password between physician
BRANDING A CONDITION

5 QUESTIONS
The answers to these questions should help you determine whether branding a condition is right for your product.

1. Does your product impact a disease think about the condition that a) condition that is not perceived to be an
in a unique way — via a new pathway, at a legitimizes the subject as worthy of important health risk?
new site of action, addressing an scientific research, funding and Condition branding may also be used to
underlying cause versus relieving reimbursement; b) encourages counter negative perceptions generated
symptoms — that would benefit from consumers to come forward and present by competitors that are attempting to
redefining the disease to highlight the as a new patient segment; and c) acts define your scope of influence narrowly.
difference? as a “password” between physician and By changing the nomenclature to reflect
Perceptions about the value of solving a patient that initiates open dialogue. a broader value or coining condition
problem increase remarkably when the names that are more relevant to
problem is more finely understood. 3. Does your product have significant customers, your product can reframe
Furthermore, the value of fostering such benefits for a condition with little or no the debate in favor of its unique benefits.
an understanding — thereby expanding awareness?
physician/patient knowledge and comfort A product can help own a new market 5. Are you seeking a niche within a
— can be made to accrue to your segment by calling attention to, and crowded therapeutic category?
product as part of a comprehensive aligning itself with, a freshly minted A market’s saturation, and the
branding initiative. If your product works condition. In some cases, the product commodity perceptions that can set in,
in a unique way, then the problem it does not even have to be the only one of its often compels products to brand more
solves may be branded to elevate the kind on the market to gain an exclusive link around practical and emotional benefits
distinct and significant impact your to the condition. Products can create a (versus functional benefits). Condition
product makes. branded condition using nomenclature branding can work hand-in-glove with
that builds on the product’s unique such marketing tactics, identifying a new
2. Are there stigmas/social concerns properties. In other instances, recognized disease segment, or sub-segment, that
associated with the condition your symptoms and/or diagnoses can be can be owned by the product. The same
product treats that would hinder a assembled into an ownable “syndrome” goes for commodity markets. The
physician/patient dialogue? that can be tagged to a product. product that brings clarity to a practical
By re-branding a condition that problem or an emotional need via
engenders embarrassment, a product 4. Are there competitive efforts to condition branding increases its
can create a new, more reputable way to niche your product as only beneficial for a opportunity to outpace the pack.

and patient to initiate a formerly difficult conversation. has resulted from breaking the problems into their component
Furthermore, the brand personality of ED — simple, discreet and parts to better assess treatment options. Not surprisingly, many of
empowering — aligned beautifully with that of Viagra, an elegant these newly coined conditions were brought to light through
and effective solution to this redefined condition. direct funding by pharmaceutical companies, in research, in
publicity or both.
Fulfilling unmet needs A legendary example of this condition branding strategy was
No therapeutic category is more accepting of condition branding the development of Xanax (alprazolam) for panic disorder in the
than the field of anxiety and depression, where illness is rarely 1970s. In DSM-II, panic disorder fell under the broad category of
based on measurable physical symptoms and, therefore, open to anxiety neurosis. Without a well-branded condition, patients expe-
conceptual definition. Watching the Diagnostic and Statistical riencing panic attacks often went to cardiologists, thinking their
Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) balloon in size over the problem was a heart condition, only to be labeled “cardiac com-
decades to its current phonebook dimensions would have us plainers” and hypochondriacs due to a lack of physical pathology.
believe that the world is a more unstable place today than ever. In Dr. David Sheehan, a pioneering thought leader in the field of
reality, the increasing number of identified emotional conditions panic, helped characterize the condition and push for a new way to
diagnose and treat it. Upjohn, the makers of Xanax, helped fund conflicting notions of a mental disorder. By changing the brand
this early research, as well as publications and speaking tours to name from Prozac to Sarafem — packaged in a lavender-colored
cardiologists to help raise awareness of the heart-brain connection pill and promoted with images of sunflowers and smart women —
in the minds of panic disorder patients. Xanax was the only ben- Lilly created a brand that better aligned with the personality of the
zodiazepine to be studied that showed clear evidence of effective- condition for a hand-in-glove fit.
ness. Through an unrestricted grant to the National Institute of
Mental Health, a three-day thought leader conference resulted in A better brand of illness
a published consensus on the diagnostic criteria of panic disorder If you feel that your product could benefit from condition brand-
and how best to treat it. ing (refer to the five questionson page 46), remember the basic les-
Xanax was the first to receive an exclusive indication, thereby sons learned over time: evaluate all the strategic options for what
maintaining its leadership in anxiety disorders. Since the release of suits your product best, develop nomenclature with a facility and
DSM-III in 1980, which first recognized panic disorder as a distinct tone commensurate with your product situation and build consen-
condition, its incidence has grown 1,000-fold, and newer antide- sus early on both internally and externally. In other words, avoid
pressants have stepped in to foster expanding ideas about panic. BAD (bureaucratic adversity disorder). ■
A recent example is the recognition of premenstrual dysphoric
disorder (PMDD) in DSM-IV and the subsequent indication for
Sarafem (fluoxetine hydrochloride). PMDD is a severe form of
premenstrual syndrome, or PMS.
VINCE PARRY
As many industry insiders know, Sarafem is identical in formu-
Vince Parry is chief branding officer for
la and dose to Prozac (marketed at the time by Lilly), so the inChord Communications, a global group of
branding strategy that helped build awareness for both the condi- communications companies providing seam-
tion and the drug were fascinatingly integrated. A company-spon- less marketing solutions. He also is presi-
sored prelaunch initiative built awareness for the new condition, dent of Y, inChord’s strategic branding com-
recasting diagnosis to conform to the new criteria. While the con- pany. He can be reached at (212) 899-5010 or via e-mail
dition effectively captured the branded concept of unwellness at [email protected].
associated with hormonal transition, the remedy (Prozac) evoked

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Electronically Reprinted from May, 2003