Pfizer – Marketing Case Study Sample

The aim of this portfolio is to analyse whether Pfizer Inc. is a market leader of bring forthing ethical merchandises in the pharmaceutical industry in Hong Kong. To accomplish this aim. Pfizer needs to enlarge and rectify their selling communications. ( such as. adjust their promotional tools. distinguish their products…etc ) .

Pfizer Inc. is established since 1849 by Charles Pfizer and Charles Earhart and up till now. it has 150 states utilizing their pharmaceutical merchandises. The central office is located in New York. NY ( USA ) and the research & A ; development location in England. Japan. France and USA severally. 120. 000 employees in world-wide. Stock exchange listings at the New York Stock Exchange ( PFE ) . London ( PFZ ) Euronext and Swiss. In 2002. the grosss is up to USD $ 32. 4 one million millions. Pfizer operations are established in Belgium. Brazil. Canada. Cuba. England. Mexico. Panama. and Puerto Rico.

Hank McKinnell. Ph. D. . Pfizer’s Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer taking a pharmaceutical company with $ 32. 4 Billion grosss in 2002 and the Resources & A ; Development budget in 2003 is $ 7. 1 Billion. Pfizer Inc. started from a all right chemical company since 1849. so up till now with 120. 000 employees in worldwide. Merger and acquisition allowed for rapid growing and international enlargement as more than 150 states use their merchandise brought into Hank’s vision.

Pfizer Inc. . discovers. develops. makers. and markets taking prescription medical specialty for worlds and animate beings and many of the world’s best-known consumer trade names. Our advanced. value-added merchandises better the quality of life of people around the universe and assist them enjoy longer. healthier. and more productive lives. The company has three concern sections: wellness attention. carnal wellness and consumer wellness attention.

Harmonizing to the figure from the Finanical Times ( April 6th. 2000 ) . the 3-top world-wide pharmaceutical companies in gross revenues is from GlaxoSmithKline ( GSK ) . Pfizer and Merck ( MSD ) severally. However. in 2001. the top figure one in gross revenues is Pfizer and they maintain this top degree for the following 2 old ages up till now. The chief ground for their enormous growing is that their cardinal pharmaceutical merchandises are able to better the quality of life of people. Those merchandises are Aricept ( donepezil hydrochloride ) tablets. Celebux ( Celebrex ) . Diflucan ( fluconazole ) . Lipitor ( atorvastatin Ca ) tablets. Neurontin ( Neurontin ) . Norvasc ( amlodipine besylate ) . Viagra ( sildenafil citrate ) tablet. Zithromax ( Zithromax ) . Zoloft ( sertraline HCI ) and Zyrtec ( certirizone HCI ) .

Research & A ; Development is a cardinal factor that a pharmaceutical company must hold. Pfizer inc. spent USD7. 1 one million millions in 2003 and this is the lone pharmaceutical company that can pass this immense sum for R & A ; D. Mission: Pfizer Inc wants to go the world’s most valued company to patients. clients. co-workers. investors. concern spouses. and the communities where we work and live. Their aggressive attitude would take them to carry through the undertaking. Aim: Pfizer dedicates ourselves to humanity’s quest for longer. healther. happier lives through invention in pharmaceutical. consumer. and carnal wellness merchandises.

After the acquisition of Pharmacia. Pfizer Inc. is now the figure one in footings of corporate size and gross revenues in the pharmaceutical industry. The enlargement of Pfizer. whose strong public presentation and wellhead of accomplishments promise greater benefits to 1000000s and 1000000s of people and their animate beings. The expanded Pfizer is ready to get the hang the challenges in front. challenges that range from unlocking the Human Genome to convey lifesaving medical specialties to countries that have yet to see a paved route. Pfizer Inc. now has world-class capablenesss in virtually every curative class. supplying everything from basic attention for people and their animals… . . to the most serious and complex interventions for dangerous conditions.

Joining with Pharmacia moves Pfizer Inc. closer to that end. Pfizer Inc. is now the unchallenged leader in human pharmaceuticals. foremost in every major universe market. Pfizer Inc. besides has. by far. the world’s largest in private funded biomedical research group. seeable around the universe and puting more than USD $ 100 1000000s every hebdomad discovering and developing high-value medical specialties.

Pfizer Inc. is recognized as the world’s most charitable company. donating more than USD $ 2 1000000s in money and medical specialty every working twenty-four hours to assist people in demand. Much of their attempt is devoted to supplying people in demand more entree to the medical specialties they need.

The Pfizer trade name now represents the attempts of more than 120. 000 work forces and adult females responsible for many of the most of import progresss in human and carnal wellness. They are now the unchallenged leader in their industry. Their hereafter. as one company. with a individual intent and mission. is aggressively defined. Pfizer Inc. wants to be the company that does more good. for more people. than any other on the planet.

Pfizer is now implementing a scheme to drive public presentation within the planetary concern. edifice on the concern theoretical account and direction ethic that they applied in USA. The most of import precedence is to better gross revenues public presentation across the concern through the launch of new pharmaceutical merchandises. maintain on reminding physicians to continuously utilizing bing merchandises and seek to increase ingestion and enlarge the OTC market. Pfizer is a strong and dependable trade name. with a strong competitory place and differentiated merchandises into different types of diseases. particularly in cardiovascular and haematopoietic system diseases. which appeal to a broad client base. However. Pfizer needs to pass on with their clients more efficaciously in order to capitalise on their chances.

The MCPF brings together the assorted elements into a logical sequence of activities where the principle for promotional determinations is built upon information generated at a old degree in the model. Another advantage of utilizing the MCPF is that it provides a suited checklist of activities that need to be considered.

The MCPF represents a sequence of determinations that selling directors undertake when fixing. implementing and measuring communicating schemes and programs. It does non intend that this sequence reflects world ; so many selling determinations are made outside any recognizable model. Selling communications require the satisfaction of promotional aims through the explicit and deliberate development of communicating scheme. The MCPF will be used to demo foremost the cardinal elements. 2nd some of the linkages and 3rd the incorporate attack that is required.

Context Analysis

Pfizer divides operations into two sections: pharmaceutical and consumer merchandises. Most recent full financial twelvemonth gross revenues were $ 32. 259 one million millions. with 91 % from human and carnal wellness merchandises and 9 % from confectionary. shave merchandises. and pool and fish tank merchandises:

Pharmaceuticals

• Human pharmaceuticals79. 0 %
• Animal wellness care4. 5 %
• Entire pharmaceuticals83. 5 %
• Consumer Merchandises
• Consumer health care 7. 5 %
• Confectionary 6. 2 %
• Shaving Merchandises 2. 0 %
• Tetra Pond and Aquarium 0. 8 %
• Entire Consumer Products16. 5 %
• Entire Sales100. 0 %

Business Context

Pfizer has built the world’s largest biomedical research and development organisation to back up its committedness to invention. the major driver of the company’s singular growing. The industry leader in R & A ; D investing. Pfizer boosted its investing in research to $ 4. 87 one million millions in 2001. a 347 % addition over the past 10 old ages with programs to increase research investing to over $ 5 billion in 2002.

The Warner-Lambert acquisition allowed Pfizer to construct on its important advantage in research both by adding 1000s of research workers and by supplying expertness in several new countries: Pfizer’s library of compounds efficaciously doubled. well increasing the likeliness of drug find. At the beginning of 2002. the company had 94 new compounds in development together with 68 undertakings devoted to spread outing the utilizations of current drugs for 162 on-going undertakings. Pfizer’s strong research focal point places the company to successfully react to patent termination and challenges from generics by widening the life of bing merchandises via expression or intensifying alterations or transition to over the counter ( OTC ) merchandises.

Pfizer’s focal point on R & A ; D is matched by an every bit strong accent on selling. The company promotes its human pharmaceutical merchandises to wellness attention suppliers including physicians. nurse practicians. physician helpers. druggists. pharmaceutics benefits directors ( PBMs ) . and managed attention organisations ( MCOs. ) Pfizer besides promotes its merchandises straight to consumers in the U. S. via direct-to-consumer ( DTC ) print and telecasting advertisement. Pfizer has responded to the Food and Drug Administration’s 1997 determination to loosen limitations on DTC advertisement of prescription drugs by increasing DTC promotional disbursement each twelvemonth

Promotional Aims

The corporate end is to go the most valued company in the universe. Pfizer’s committedness to discovering and developing advanced interventions and remedies for diseases has improved the lives of infinite people around the universe. Pfizer’s delication to continually heightening its grapevine ensures that it will put the criterion in new and current curative countries for the hereafter.

Promotional Strategy

It is a push scheme. Pfizer’s strong selling and gross revenues operations have enabled the company to go the “partner of choice” for the selling advanced merchandises developed by others. Pfizer has been highly skilled in making confederations with other pharmaceutical companies via co-promotion understandings. Through co-promotion and licensing understandings. Pfizer promotes and markets such extremely promising merchandises as Celebrex. Bextra. Aricept. and so on with confederation spouses. Pfizer provides hard currency. staff. and other resources to farther develop. market promote. and sell the merchandises in exchange for a portion of grosss.

Communication Scheme

Sound clinical research is the basis of Pfizer selling and lays the foundation for pass oning scientific informations to healthcare professionals and consumers. Selling and medical forces work closely throughout the full life rhythm of a merchandise to supply appropriate information to the clients. This partnership ensures that all medical information from Pfizer is believable. relevant and utile to the health care professionals who use its merchandises to care for their patients.

Rivals

Pfizer concluded that “frequently exceeding organisational and geographical boundaries to run into the altering demands of our customers” was of import to their mark audience. and would therefore. be a relevant and effectual point of distinction versus their rivals. Pfizer’s Research & A ; Development section supports on concentrating on developing the medical specialties for coronary diseases. like the successful instance of LIPITOR and NORVASC developed that is sharing at least 50 % of the Pfizer’s sum concern per annum. The strategic of enlarging their merchandising web through different media such as magazine and public dealingss activities that identity themselves as a top-class pharmaceutical company in coronary diseases in world-wide other than the other rivals like AstraZeneca and Novartis. Because medical specialty development for coronary diseases is still the precedence in the pharmaceutical market now.

Pricing

For pricing scheme. as Pfizer Inc is selling ethical merchandises. Once a new pharmaceutical merchandise is developed. Pfizer will purchase patent for assorted contents. such as. ingredient. wadding. trade name. dosage… . etc so the other pharmaceutical companies are non allowed to bring forth and sell within the patent period. Normally. the patent is at least for 5 old ages or even longer. In other words. Pfizer is okay to sell any monetary value as they want because physicians can non happen permutation if they truly need that merchandise. Harmonizing to economic theory. Pfizer is in a monopolistic market. Following is a table demoing the pricing scheme of one of the Pfizer’s cardinal merchandise ( ZITHROMAX ) for different mark market groups.

As above shown. the monetary value scope of a cardinal merchandise from Pfizer is rather big. The per centum in between the lowest and the highest monetary value can be 200 % . As Public Hospital requires more ingestion. the merchandising monetary value would be lower while OTC market can sell high retail monetary value so the monetary value Pfizer sells to them should be higher. However. for General Practitioners. the monetary value is flexible and the scope is big. It all depends on the relationship between the medical representatives and the physicians and the monthly ingestion. Furthermore. for public infirmaries. the monetary value should sell higher as public hospital’s fee is expensive than public infirmaries.

For every merchandise Pfizer sells to people. it has fixed term. That is. purchase 2 box of medical specialty with 1 box fillip. fillip would be more if purchase more. It is non allowed to sell in net monetary value. Different market groups will hold different monetary value term as the above tabular array clearly indicated.

For illustration. anti-inflammatory medical specialty. COX 2 category. the monetary value of one capsule Pfizer sells to physicians is about HK $ 5. 50 while the monetary value at OTC market is more than HK $ 10. That’s why the 2002 gross in Hong Kong is more than 1 billion and keeps on holding wellness growing for 2003.

Merchandise

Every twelvemonth. Pfizer spends a batch of money on Resources & A ; Development ( 2003 R & A ; D budget USD $ 7. 1 one million millions ) . normally it has 2-3 new merchandises developed. The assortment of their pharmaceutical merchandises is really big which covers cardiovascular diseases. cardinal nervous system diseases. genito-urinary system diseases. upper and lower respiratory system diseases. neuropathic hurting diseases. histamine diseases… . etc. We are now naming the cardinal merchandise of each diseases group as followerss: –

Place/Distribution

Pfizer Inc’s Hong Kong office is called Pfizer Corporation Hong Kong Limited and the location is at Stanhope House. North Point. It is located in the commercial country that other top pharmaceutical companies like Aventis. Merck Sharp & A ; Dohme. Astra Zeneca…etc are all located. The Hong Kong office is Pfizer Inc’s ain office. For every states in global market. Pfizer should hold their office at that place and will non follow agent or distribution for selling their merchandises.

Pfizer will non maintain stocks at their terminal. They assigned a distributer called Zuelling in Hong Kong to maintain stocks and distribute merchandises to Doctors. Hospitals and OTC market. Commission is 5 % per each order. The web of Zuelling is big in Hong Kong. other than Pfizer. they have other clients. such as. Aventis. AstraZeneca. GSK… . etc utilizing their services. Zuelling besides acts as a aggregator for Pfizer to acquire payments from mark market groups every month. Normally. the payment term is 30 yearss after the bringing of the merchandises. Once the medical representatives received the gross revenues orders from clients. it takes a upper limit of 2 yearss for bringing no affair at state side or business district. The logistic from Pfizer is rather merely as all merchandises are centralized to be manufactured in the U. S. A. and import to Hong Kong and shop at Zuelling’s warehouse for bringing.

Gross saless Promotions

Pfizer keeps on holding gross revenues publicity since each twelvemonth is holding 2-3 new merchandises developing. The gross revenues publicity focuses to Hospitals and General Practitoners. Before the new merchandise is traveling to be launched. Pfizer should denote several relevant inside informations to these people foremost and advice them necessary back uping. Once launched. clinical survey paper and samples should be passed to the physicians when medical representatives sing them. For antibiotics. they are classified into 4 groups which is Penicillins. Quinolones. Macrolides and Cephalosporins. Every people should hold opposition for that medical specialty if normally taking the same antibiotics. that’s why Pfizer keeps on developing new antibiotics from clip to clip. So. gross revenues publicity is really of import for Pfizer to establish their new merchandise.

Merely give an illustration. Klacid and Zithromax are antibiotics under the same group of Macrolides but Klacid is manufactured by Abbott Laboratories Limited while Zithromax is from Pfizer Corporation. Klacid has been launched earlier than Pfizer but due to the aggressive spirit of gross revenues publicity ( selling point: shorter intervention class than Klacid which takes 3 yearss maximal and can specific to utilize one gm ( = 4 capsules ) for non-gonorrhoea diseases ) from Pfizer’s medical representatives. the market portion of Zithromax in Hong Kong is increasing now.

Direct Selling

Pfizer has employed more than 100 medical representatives in the Hong Kong office and divided into several groups for different merchandises and mark clients. Sampling is a must for physicians to considerate whether to stock the merchandise or non. No affair selling Hospitals or General Practitioners. it should supply samples to physicians for seeking. For public infirmaries under Hospital Authority’s supervising. medical representatives need to make pre-call and post-call to bit by bit near the physicians for selling the merchandises. For General Practitioners and Specialists. face to confront conversation to analyse the merchandises is the regular procedure for selling. Of class. both clients are needed to supply cusps. catch. D/A……etc when make necessary merchandising.

Personal Selling

Pfizer’s medical representatives have been to the full trained about the pharmaceutical merchandises and the background of the company. Merchandise preparation has been provided to each medical representative to guarantee that their cognition is accurate. This is to enable them to break provide clients on the uncertainties that they have. Overall. it can be said that Pfizer’s medical representatives are qualified. experienced. dedicated and motivated to assist the clients.

Marketing Public Relations

Publicity communicates a narrative the public wants to cognize. Narratives are everyplace. in every organisation. These narratives are waiting to be told and made available to the media. Effective promotion can construct trade name individuality and trade name trueness. A good public image established through positive promotion. peers greater profitableness. How and what your company conveys will necessarily lend to your organization’s success. every bit good as to its repute.

For every one-fourth of a twelvemonth. Pfizer will set up booth at the Hong Kong Exhibition Center for a twelvemonth. It should across hebdomad terminal in order to allow more household to see the booth therefore deliver wellness attention message about popular diseases such as high blood pressure. hypercholesterolaemia… . etc. It besides advises necessary bar and allow more people to cognize Pfizer’s new merchandises. Sometimes. Pfizer will ask for Specialists to fall in the booth to show talk-show to people sing the benefits of utilizing Pfizer’s merchandises.

For public vehicles. motor-bus is the transit tools that most people chooses other than MTR. Due to quickly modernisation. all air-conditioned motor-bus is with mini telecasting installed. “Road Show’ channel is popular now. However. Pfizer did non hard-sell their merchandises through “Road Show” channel. They designed a movie show that a patient visits a Cardiovascular Specialist confer withing about cholesterolaemia and the Specialist detailly analyses the whole procedure of look intoing the diseases and rede bar and necessary intervention. The patron of the movie is Pfizer Corporation and the web-site of Pfizer will be disclosed at the terminal of the movie show. So. people will reach them consequently once they have farther questions. The above promotional tools shows more direct contact in between people and pharmaceutical company that is more convenient to acquire brief information / cognition instead than through physicians.

Personal merchandising ( Face to Face meeting )

Advantages

1. Personal meeting is easy for medical representatives to present the new merchandises to the physicians in inside informations. Particularly for the merchandises for some particular intervention. it needs clip ( might be at least 4-5 meetings ) to clearly explicate to the physicians how to utilize the medical specialty and what benefit to the patients in comparison to other rivals and relevant side-effect. Face toface conversation gives audience important assurance for merchandises selling.
2.  Easily to construct relationship for direct merchandising as medical representatives can straight acquire in touch with the end-user. For Pharmaceutical industry. converting physicians to switch to utilize your merchandise if they are utilizing another rival is hard than to sell them a new merchandise. So. once the merchandise is sold and with good-relationships with the clients. the concern will be in a rhythm as repetition order supports on running.
3. Can acquire more market information ( or competitor’s info ) from physicians. Will assist company to alter strategic and tactics in the market.

Disadvantages

1. High operational cost as it is dearly-won to engage a medical representative. Basic salary merely for a junior representative plus traveling allowance. it costs at least HK $ 17. 000. 00 per month. With committee that the mark per month is met. the disbursal should be over HK $ 20. 000. 00 per month. In comparison with other industries. wage in pharmaceutical industry is high.
2.  Doctors merely see medical representatives at most of the clip so relationship is easy to be built in between these two parties. Company will extremely trust on gross revenues representatives to acquire orders. Sometimes. it is rather hard to command in instance some representatives have rough demand therefore impact the operation of the company.

Magazines

Advantages

1. Pfizer ever advertised on several hit magazines for their cardinal merchandises so more people knows their merchandise and will confer with doctors when necessary. Right now. people is easy to acquire updated info through different media and they would hold brief cognition about some new pharmaceutical merchandises so advertisement at magazines is a good strategic to increase the merchandising web.
2. Long life as people might go through to their friends. relations and households to re-read therefore enlarge the merchandising web because more people will hold farther cognition and understanding about Pfizer’s pharmaceutical merchandises.
3. Cost is cheaper than advertisement at Television but the provender dorsum is besides efficient in comparison with Television advertizement. The assortment of magazines in Hong Kong is rather big. from younger magazines up to luxury magazines so people from different degree might see the AD.

Disadvantages

1. As the cost of advertisement at magazines is calculated based on words numbering. it is non possible to to the full publicize everything of that merchandise on the AD so people might hold questions or considerations to straight buy the merchandise.
2. It loses the chance to show the merchandise to the full and can non see the existent merchandise ( such as size. packing… . etc ) and no sample to be provided to seek. As the merchandise is medicine. people should be more careful before purchasing.
3. For some hit magazines like manner and decorative. audience’s attending should concentrate on what the magazine attracts and might pretermit such advertizements that selling medical specialty. Peoples might hold no involvement on that sort of AD.

Ad at MTR station inside

Advantages

1. More than 20 % of Hong Kong people is taking MTR for work so advertising inside MTR station will pull people’s attending for Pfizer’s merchandise. As the design of the AD is quite involvement and presentable. people might retrieve after seen one clip.
2. Cost is non so expensive in comparison with other media like Television and magazines. Right now. in Hong Kong. it has tendency for advertisement indoors MTR.
3. Not like Television advertizements. different clip period will hold different charges due to different degree of audience rate. However. it has fixed charges for advertisement inside MTR no affair in the forenoon or eventide. every bit long as the MTR is opened so the audience coverage would be bigger but. on the other manus. Pfizer would salvage some money on advertisement.

Disadvantages

1. Short life as MTR has fixed advertisement period for every company that advertises indoors MTR. Normally. it lasts for 1-2 hebdomads upper limit. So. it will non pull some people’s attending in instance they miss the opportunity while Pfizer advertisement
2. In comparing with Television advertizements. advertises inside MTR does non hold action. and non so exciting. Television can bring forth attention-grabbing scenes. set up a temper to complement a merchandise images or to the full show a product’s benefit. However. advertisement inside MTR can non make so.

Booth and public talk

Advantages

1. Supply more assurance to the people about Pfizer’s merchandises because they will ask for relevant physicians and specializers for talk-show. Peoples can see the existent merchandise at the booth. more understanding about the dose and side-effect. do presentation through picture tape so people will hold more apprehensions and cognitions about that merchandise. Plus the professional advice. assurance will be built up.
2. For easy communicating. during the booth. people will instantly raise up inquiries once they have questions and the physicians will answer them straight therefore avoid misinterpretations through other media.
3. More attractive as booth is alive with action. more exciting and entertaining than those in any other medium.

Disadvantages

1. This sort of map is non so frequently. Merely 1-2 times per twelvemonth. Besides. it is non so convenient to ask for physicians or specializers to fall in from clip to clip as they have their ain work. Without doctor’s support. assurance would be less.
2. Cost is non inexpensive as it needs to book the Hong Kong Exhibition Center and Government does non hold any sponsorship.
3.  It involves a batch of manpower to set up the booth. at least the teammate of that merchandise including merchandise director and gross revenues director need to go to. In position of this. it cut down the power for direct merchandising to private physicians and infirmaries.

Decision and Recommendation

Basically. Pfizer is a really aggressive pharmaceutical company as you will see that they are the no. 1 in gross revenues get downing from 2001 and keep for 2 old ages up till now. Their strong Resources & A ; Development section concentrating the demand of the pharmaceutical industry and making up to day of the month merchandises for today’s market. Every topest physician is willing to utilize Pfizer’s merchandise as it represents they are the leader in the pharmaceutical industry but on the other manus. the monetary value is rather expensive.

As Pfizer is so aggressive. the ingestion no affair for infirmaries and private physicians has already been over the mark of the undermentioned old ages so it is rather hard to hold farther growing. If the company keeps on adding mark to medical representatives. the result would go negative. So. Pfizer is better to decelerate down their strategic a small spot that to allow the outside ingestion to be digest foremost than to do farther increase.

Outside rival like AstraZeneca is following Pfizer’s strategic to spread out their concern. AstraZeneca is really celebrated in United Kingdom and traveling to increase the market portion in Hong Kong so Pfizer needs to aware this rival and do necessary agreements.

References/Bibliography

1. Fill. Chris. ( 2002 ) Marketing Communicationss: Context. Schemes and Applications. Third Edition. England: Prentice Hall
2. Pfizer Inc. Internet: . [ Accessed on October – November 2003 ]