Direct-To-Consumer Advertising – What Physicians Really Think About Your Medical Device
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DIRECT-TO-CONSUMER WHAT PHYSICIANS REALLY THINK OF YOUR MEDICAL DEVICE ADVERTISING
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During a recent one-on-one discussion about DTC Advertising with Dr. Robert Thornberry, of the Tallahassee Orthopedic Clinic, we heard first-hand what Physicians and their patients think about Direct-To-Consumer Advertising. Dr. Thornberry is the current President of the International Society for Computer Assisted Orthopedic Surgery. And, in addition to his clinical practice, Dr. Thornberry is managing director of Thornberry Technologies, bringing NASA technology down to Earth for medical applications in the operating room. Medical device advertising is different from drug advertising. The FDA has an extensive regulation that sets out requirements and prohibitions for drug advertising, but there's a void of FDA guidance to guide medical device advertising. In 2004, the FDA put out a draft guidance document to address advertising of restricted devices and it was withdrawn last year and manufacturers are left only with labeling guidelines, Federal Trade Commission laws, and they have to track individual warning letters to regulate their advertising strategies. So, as a result, companies and doctors and hospitals have been refining their advertising practices by borrowing strategies from consumer industries and applying these to medical devices through experimentation and through trial and error. To listen to the full webinar, visit us on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wYb2fwcc3EQ About The MarkeTech Group: With offices in North America and Europe, The MarkeTech Group provides a unique combination of extensive marketing research methodology expertise, deep medical technology domain knowledge and value-added strategic marketing consulting to medical technology companies who seek high quality marketing research studies and professional marketing strategy consulting. The MarkeTech Group's team of marketing research and strategy experts take pride in integrating their leading voice of customer (VOC) research expertise and strategic consulting into their clients' marketing and R&D departments to help successfully launch and maintain profitable products in healthcare. USA The MarkeTech Group, LLC 502 Mace Blvd, Suite 15 Davis, CA 95618 Tele: (+1) 530-792-8400 Fax: (+1) 530-792-8447 EUROPE The MarkeTech Group, SARL 3, Rue Emile Péhant 44 000 Nantes Tele: +33 (0)2 72 01 00 80 Fax: +33 (0)2 40 48 29 40 Visit us on the web at: http://www.themarketechgroup.com/?utm_source=SlideShare&utm_medium=Social+Media&utm_campaign=DTC+Advertising
Transcript of Direct-To-Consumer Advertising – What Physicians Really Think About Your Medical Device
DIRECT-TO-CONSUMER
WHAT PHYSICIANS REALLY THINK
OF YOUR MEDICAL DEVICE
ADVERTISING
During a recent one-on-one discussion about DTC Advertising with Dr. Robert Thornberry, of the Tallahassee Orthopedic Clinic…
…we heard first-hand what Physicians and their patients think about your advertisements.
Creates Awareness
Recruits for Clinical Studies
Provides Educational Resources for Patients
Encourages Interaction w/ Physicians
Appeals to Customers by Gender
Enables patients to find Physicians via Product Websites
HERE’S WHAT’S WORKING WITH MEDICAL DEVICE ADVERTISING TODAY
Here are 5 ways Medical Device
DTC ADVERTISEMENTS can be improved...
ADVERTISE MORE REALISTIC EXPECTATIONS
“If you create unrealistic expectation, it is a gargantuan headache for us when patients end up showing up at the doctor's office. Because they already saw on TV that says they can get unrealistic expectations. It's already been proven, and you're just the jerk that won't give it to them. I know vendors have to push product at all costs but you also have to do it somewhat responsibly so you don't mislead patients and don't put us on the front lines, having to justify why your product was not as good as what you told patients it was.”
1… “Manufacturers shouldn’t set
unrealistic expectations.”
DIRECT EDUCATIONAL MATERIAL TO PHYSICIANS, RATHER THAN JUST THE PATIENT
“Direct-to-consumer tends to add to
surgeon time. It doesn't save time.” 2…
“Actually the more informed a patient is the longer it is to talk to them about their surgery. Which, it's good that they're more informed but, as far as saving time, absolutely not. I had a patient I just scheduled for a knee replacement. She spent 35 minutes explaining to me everything that she knew about knee replacement because she had been studying it for three months. So, they do not go shorter. Now, it's wonderful that she's well informed, but this is a time expense to me as a clinician having to explain everything she knows. I wish I could say that was a positive.”
“Companies should inform physicians
before starting ad campaigns so they
won’t be caught unaware and can
provide input on the message.”
3…
ELICIT EXPERT OPINIONS
“I think it's nice if we know what's coming out so we can comment on it. So, I think they need some feedback from the different physicians in saying, "You know, this is pretty misleading, you probably shouldn't do this," or, "Yeah, this makes great sense, this educational content is good." So we don't have some of these messes that are created. I like being a part of the choices. I like them being able to prove to me that their product is better and then I can recommend it.”
USE SPOKESPEOPLE WITH CAUTION
“You can look at Floyd Landis with his blood doping. That was a negative. I talked to Jack Nicklaus just after he got his hip, he wasn't that happy with it. They pulled his pretty quickly because he had to have his hip revised. So, you have to understand that you're hanging your hat on these personalities and these testimonials. But, if it's just a marketing gimmick, I have very little patience for it. I can appreciate the marketing, but it doesn't improve my patients' care. I can tolerate it if it does something to improve patient care.
4… “Spokespersons can backfire. You
have to be careful when you do this
type of marketing.”
ENGAGE IN WORD OF MOUTH
“Word of mouth among doctors is an effective
strategy. Prove to doctors that you have a
quality product that works, and they’ll be
more likely to prescribe them to their
patients.”
5…
“There’s this product called EXPAREL put out by Pacira. They're going out and doing word-of-mouth marketing. They're out there bringing in physicians and teaching them about their product and it's going off like hotcakes. It's just selling like crazy because it's a good product and they're selling it through physicians to be used on their patients. I really like it because it has proven value. These vendors actually taught me about their products so that I’m comfortable prescribing it to my patients.”
USA 502 Mace Blvd, Suite 15 Davis, CA 95618 PH: + 1 530-792-8400 FX: + 1 530-792-8447
http://www.themarketechgroup.com/
Europe / France 3 rue Emile Péhant
44000 Nantes PH: +33 (0)2 72 01 00 80 FX: +33 (0)2 40 48 29 40
To hear the entire interview click .
