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Overweight and obesity become global problems nowadays. Pharmaceutical companies try to find the solutions to these problems by creating weight-loss drugs. These are the pills, which have to be taken regularly for a period of time. They serve as an additional aid to the weight-loss program of a person. It is best to combine them with healthy diet and regular exercising. 3. The Situation Analysis Company Analysis Cambridge Science Pharmaceuticals (SSP) is a global pharmaceutical company based in Cambridge, US. In 2007, it had a remarkable sales record of $25 billion.
Currently, it is ready to launch a very promising drug in the weight-loss field, which will greatly impact the company’s future. With correct positioning, it has all the chances of becoming a new market leader and a holder of the monopoly on the market. Competitor Analysis The weight-loss drug market is new to business society and it is still developing; however, it is highly competitive. Currently, the ETC product monopoly is held by a Metabolic Marketing Plan BY Mikhail Metabolic: Communications Plan By Mikhail Casanova tee competitive products All, Connivance and Phaedra.
The advantages to the Metabolic product on its competitors are crucial. Metabolic is the first weight-loss rug, which is potentially approved by the FDA in all the aspects – it is the safest weight-loss drug on the market. It means, that it does not have so many side effects, as the competitor’s products do. For example, there have been many cases of heart- death, caused by the regular usage of the Phaedra product, and a lot of liver damages cause by Xenia. Out of all these drugs, All is the only one, which got approved by the FDA; so, one can say that it is the number one competitor for the Metabolic product on the market.
Even though it got approved, it is much less safe to ensure than Metabolic product. All causes a lot of side effects as the loose stools, abdominal pain, and increased defecation incontinence, when a person consumes it with too much fat. Another advantage of Metabolic is the program itself. It is longer and better balanced than the Allis’s one. Unlike its competitors, it offers an individual exercise plan and a personal support component. The price tag of $3 – $5 for Metabolic can be considered relatively inexpensive to the competitors’ products and with all the benefits it gives.
It is also much easier to use than the competitors’ rodents (1 pill a day versus 1 pill per meal). The duration of the effect of the Metabolic pill is also better than the one of the competitors’ products. The main difference of the Metabolic product from all its potential competitors is its vision and philosophy. It focuses on the improvement of the product from the health perspective, making it safer to use for its consumers with the least amount of side effects, while the other companies try to strengthen the effects of their product, so, that the results will be noticed earlier.
This is very important, because the customers f the weight-loss products do not want Just to lose the weight, but become healthy in all of the aspects. Consumer Analysis Since the Metabolic is a weight-loss drug, and it is already known that its target costumers have a Body Mass Index varying from 25 to 30 units, it is easy to determine and choose the segments of the potential consumers. Mostly, these are the average people, who are very concerned about the overweight and obesity issue. They may suffer from the exceed of weight and they are highly motivated in fighting with it.
They attend the gym regularly, exercise a lot, and struggle with healthy diets; forever, this is still not enough for them to lose the exceeding weight. Metabolic is not a solution, but a great aid in fighting with their problem. Some overweight people do not care about or even do not notice their problem, so, Metabolic do not see them as the primary costumers. The gender of the potential customers is most of the cases feminine. As studies show, women tend to care and put much more attention into their physical appearance, than men do.
In addition, studies say that 75 % of overweight women are not happy with their weight and 60 % tried to fight with their exceed of weight with different methods but failed. The age of the potential Metabolic consumers is also easy to determine. It is known, that most of the people become more and more concerned with their weight when they are getting older and older. When a person reaches his physical size and stops growing, his body changes – the calories gained per day do not go into the gar u eat .
These tats are very hard to fight, and even the exceeding exercising at this age is not a solution. The fat usually becomes a problem at the age of 25-35. The Metabolic drug is averagely ricer; however, not everybody can afford it. It is never given out for free, since, the overweight is not considered an illness. The consumer has to have salary of funds, which can cover the full Metabolic diet program. He also has to have an access to the gym and can afford to buy healthy products. The estimated income of the Metabolic consumer is $40’000+ a year, so, this is a middle-class person.
Also, the studies show, that the single people tend to care more about their physical appearance, than the married / in relationship ones, especially, the women. The relationship status of the Metabolic customer can be identified as single / actively searching. Also, there are the sub-segments of the customers on the market – Metabolic consumers can be divided in two kinds: some want to use the product to look good, others, who want to be healthier. The first type of the customers are usually younger (25+), the second type are older (35+).
The first sub-segment is considered as the priority for the Metabolic product. This is explained by the philosophy of the drug: it is made for the people, who want to be healthy and not Just slim. SSP puts a lot of effort in making Metabolic a safe product to use on the first place. As a conclusion, the target costumer of the Metabolic product is usually an overweight woman (IBM 25-30), aged 25+, with the yearly income of $40’000+ (middle class). She usually has a college education. Her self-esteem is low and she is either worried that she does not look good or she wants to become healthier.
She is a workingwoman or a housewife, usually single. She attends the gym regularly and stays on a strict healthy diet. She is very motivated and willing to fight with her problem via any means. Product Analysis Metabolic is a prescription weight-loss drug developed by SSP. It is consumed in the form of pills one time a day. It costs $3 – $5 a day. The average duration of the Metabolic treatment program is 12 weeks. The cost of the program varies from $252 to $420. The drug is prescribed to the overweight people with the IBM of 25 to 30, and is not as effective on the consumers with higher IBM.
To achieve the maximum effectiveness of the drug, the individual diet and the exercise program have to be developed and followed during the usage of the Metabolic. As any other weight-loss rug, Metabolic has some side effects. They are similar to the ones of All (gastrointestinal discomfort) but much less noticeable. They may appear if a person combines the consumption of the Metabolic drug with a lot of fatty foods. At this stage, it awaits the final approval of the FDA, and will be launched, as soon, as it gets the approval.
SOOT- Analysts Strength The obvious strength to the Metabolic product is the size to the market. Currently, most of the US adult population is considered overweight or obese and many of them are willing to lose wait via any means, weight-loss drugs are in great demand. Metabolic is also one of the least harmful weight-loss drugs, which are presented on the market and can be considered as sustainable. It is one of the first weight-loss drugs, which has the approval of the FDA for the overweight people. Its side effects are less severe than the ones of the competitors’ products.
The program duration is very well balanced and easy to follow, as well as the pills are easy to consume. Weaknesses Despite the fact that Metabolic is one of the least harmful weight-loss drugs on the marketplace, it still has some side effects if it is consumed with fatty foods. The price tag of $3-$5 is also relatively high to some segments. Even if the person has an income of $3’330 a month ($40’000 a year excluding the tax) and will use Metabolic everyday ($5 a day), he will spend about 5 % of his income on the weight-loss (not taking into consideration the cost of gym and healthy food).
Another weakness of the Metabolic product is the limited IBM range of its customers. It is effective in weight- loss only if the IBM of the consumer is between 25-30. Opportunities The FDA approval logo can be used on the Metabolic products in marketing purposes o emphasize its safety and the advantages on the competitors, which did not get the approval. Metabolic has to be positioned as the safest weight-loss drug on the market. Studies show that the Metabolic customers lose weight significantly by the end of the 12-week program and can maintain their shape for three years with proper diet and exercise.
It is not a bad idea to create a promotion: If you do not lose the minimal weight within the 12-week program, you will get your money back. This may create the advantage on the competitors and create a very positive trustful mage for the Metabolic product. Threats The weight-loss market is highly competitive, so, the Metabolic has to position itself very carefully and properly, otherwise, it will fail. If for some reason the Metabolic will not get the final approval of the FDA, the whole concept of the safe weight-loss drug will fail.
PESTLE – Analysts Political The political situation in the world is positive for the launch of the Metabolic drug. More and more global companies try to be more sustainable every year. Meatball’s concept of the safe sustainable drug approved by the FDA for the weight-loss has a ere positive image, since, the obesity has became a worldwide-recognized problem. Many modern governments put a lot of emphasis on fighting with this problem for the healthier nation. Especially, in the US, where obesity became a global issue, the government greatly supports and approves all the companies, which help in tasting with it.
Economical The drug manufacturing has been good for any economy most of the time. Most of the drug manufacturers work in close relationship with the government. It is a known fact that many medical companies, which work in the same industry, usually work in raters and set the unrealistic prices for the drugs with much lower net costs (production costs). Part of the profits goes into the government and the country’s economy. The global drug manufacturers also provide many Jobs to the people. This benefits the economy greatly. Social The demographics show that most of the US population is overweight.
Many of them see themselves as the social outsiders. Here, one can link the Metabolic product to the Mascots hierarchy of needs – the need for belongingness. By their nature, humans want to belong and fit in. Nobody likes to be picked out, since, the overweight and obesity do not match the socially accepted physical beauty standards. Many claim, that with time, the overweight person will be considered as “normal” like it was during the renaissance; however, with the media pressure, fashion, and Hollywood beauty perception, it is not likely to happen in the nearest future.
Technological The technology nowadays allows the production and development of all the kinds of medicament’s. The science will help in the future development of the Metabolic product. Technology will also play a crucial role in advertising and distributing the reduce, when it is launched. Environmental The environmental situation in the world is very good for the launch of the Metabolic product. The sustainable and healthy environment trend is very popular nowadays for people. The Meatball’s philosophy of the importance of healthy diets and exercising is closely tied with the sustainability trend.
Legal The legal issue is very important for launching any medicine product. It has to match all the needed requirements and regulations, which are set by the government and Drug Administration. It needs to prove that it is not harmful or dangerous in any way. The Metabolic product matches all the legal requirements for the weight-loss drug. It is known that it does not include any chemically harmful or forbidden components. One of the key concepts of the Metabolic drug is the safety of usage.
Like no other weight-loss drug, it focuses and emphasizes the importance on the FDA approval, which means, it matches all the necessary and unnecessary legal regulations. 4, Promotional O The objectives for the Metabolic product development can be developed into two kinds: short-term and long-term. Below is the list of the corporate, marketing and ammunitions objectives. Short term: 1 . Receiving the final approval of the FDA for the Metabolic product launch before the January 1st, 2009. 2. Designing the packaging for the Metabolic product in four variations: 7 pills, 14 pills, 42 pills, and 84 pills per pack. . Installing the selling price of $4. 00 per one pill for the official distributors ($28, $56, $168, $336 per package depending on the amount). 4. Creating the viable online-support weapon for the users of the product before the January 1st 2009. The access password for the web site will be included in each package. It is individual, and lasts for 24 months. 5. Providing all the major US pharmacies with the Metabolic drug at the time of the product launch. 6. Developing all the marketing campaigns and mass media advertisements (Internet, TV, Magazines, newspapers, street, public places ads, etc. For the Metabolic drug before January 1st 2009. 7. Creating the advertisement campaign, which will attract at least 200’000 consumers, who will follow the full Metabolic therapy course for the 1st year. 8. Have at least 5 TV commercials per day on the leading channels of the National Television. Each one lasts 30-60 seconds. They have to be on air during the first 24 weeks after the launch of Metabolic. 9. Posting the Metabolic advertisements in at least 1’000 of the major fitness clubs (chains like 24 Hour Fitness) before January 1st 2009. 10.
Purchasing the rights for the viral (Internet) advertisements in social networks (Backbone click-ads), mailing systems, search engines (immediate Google ads, when search is tied to weight-loss), and fitness / health web pages. 11. Making a Backbone group for the Metabolic product with at least three million followers by the end of the marketing campaign. 12. Launch a “see the effect” advertisement campaign after the first 12 weeks from the launch of Metabolic, which will demonstrate the first results and educate people about the advantages of Metabolic. 13.
Launching “get your money back” campaign after the launch of the Metabolic product to give the serious statement to the public. 14. Having Metabolic sponsoring at least 10 public health / sport / charity / sustainability events per year, after the launch of the product. Long-term: 1 . Having Metabolic ads in at least 100’000 fitness clubs around the world in the leading fitness-chains after 5 years from the launch of the product. . Having Metabolic sponsoring at least 50 public health / sport / charity / sustainability events per year, after 3 years from the launch of the product. . Reducing the production cost of Metabolic in a period of 4 years. 4. Distributing the Metabolic product in the leading global pharmacies around the world after 2 years from the launch of the product. 5. Developing the Metabolic drug to reduce the side effects to a minimum and make it more efficient for the consumers with the IBM 30-35 in the period of 5 years after the launch of the product. 6. Becoming an absolute market leader in he weight-loss market niche ( O) Witt the market snare to 7 period of 5 years after the launch of the product. 7.
Expanding the consumer segmentation range of the Metabolic after the 1st year of sales by implementing the long-term communications strategy. 5. Marketing Communications Strategy The purpose of the Metabolic communications plan is to develop the viable strategy of positioning and marketing the product correctly to achieve the Caps objectives. To attract the customers from the targeted segments, Metabolic has to inform them why it is the product to choose and prove that it matches all their needs. It has to demonstrate its benefits and the competitive advantage to its potential users.
As the targeted segment is divided into two sub-segments, Meatball’s communication strategy has to relate to both kinds. This can be achieved by creating a short and long-terms communications strategies. The short-term strategy will target the prior segment of consumers, who want to be healthier; while the long-term strategy will target all the other overweight people, who mostly want to lose some pounds to look better. For the primary short-term strategy, Metabolic has to position itself as the safest eight-loss product on the market, and prove it, by making a strong campaign, which will emphasize all its advantages.
This will establish the long-life demand for the Metabolic drug. It is very important for the SSP to cooperate with the local health care providers to develop the weight-loss programs and achieve the best possible results. The SSP shall also develop their product in a close relationship with the interested customers, according to the “Pull” strategy. There are very few weight-loss products, which deliver the same effect as Metabolic – loosing weight, by taking pills, tit no harm to the humans health.
So, there is a potentially high demand for this kind of products on the market. The production (supply) of the Metabolic pills should be closely tied with the elasticity of Demand, keeping the prices relatively high. There has to be no excess of supply of the pills produced. In this system, SSP will work very closely with its main consumers, understanding their needs and solving their problems. There will be a lot of BBC and CAB communication at this stage. This strategy is rather difficult to implement; however, it is the only one, which will ropey work in the chosen segment.
Pull strategy is also very effective, when the product is launched for the first time. It helps to focus and capture the main customers first – only after this goal is achieved, SSP can move on to implementing a much more global strategy to cover the needs of all the other consumers. If SSP will achieve its first-year objectives, it will focus on making their product available for all the overweight people, who want to lose weight for different reasons. This is a much trickier task to complete, since; Metabolic has a lot of competitors in he regular weight-loss drug market.
The demand for another weight-loss manufacturer is relatively small. These costumers are not as aware of health issue as the first type. Meatball’s goal in this situation is to crate a global awareness campaign, which will demonstrate the importance to taking the state FDA approved drug, rather then the regular ones. This information has to be “pushed” towards the customers. The brand will be popular enough to change the advertising intensity (decrease it at some point), and focus on showing what differentiates Metabolic from its competitors.
SSP has to emphasize the severe side effects and serious harm to the health of a human, which are present in many products of many other weigh-loss drug manufacturers. To convince them, Metabolic has to change its strategy from “Pull” to “Push”. When Metabolic becomes a worldwide know product with its loyal customer segment – to reach new limits it has to go global. In this case, quantity of the produced drug and a very powerful marketing campaign matter. The SSP will be experienced and will already know what the market wants, so, there shall be much less or no CAB communications.
The production of the drug has to change and correlate with the long term forecast. At this stage, Metabolic will have enough funds, reputation and power to create the demand on their product without taking into consideration only the customers’ needs or desires. It is very important for the SSP to position Metabolic correctly when it is launched, and then, create the smooth transition from one marketing communications strategy to another. 6. Promotional Mix The core concept Sales promotion 7. Resources 8. Schedule ; Implementation 9. Evaluation ; Control 10. Conclusion