Sandoz' return

Pharma Sandoz wants to be market leader in
generics market. The agency Werbeanstalt positions the
Almost exactly ten years to the day after its launch, the traditional company has become a new trusted brand.
largest corporate marriage in the world to date between Ciba Geigy and
Sandoz is the relaunch campaign in Switzerland for the then
"defunct" Sandoz brand was launched. In 2003, the decommissioned
Sandoz was revived as a generic brand and marketed under the
former company Schönenberger Pharma Generics. The brand
Sandoz was hardly visible to the outside world anymore and was
Swiss end consumers are almost no longer noticed. But with
Acquisitions of various generics manufacturers in 2005 - among others
Hexal in Holzkirchen near Munich and its Swiss subsidiary
Subsidiary Ecosol, the number two in the Swiss generics market
- Novartis intends to make its Sandoz Division the world's largest
generics brand and build it up accordingly in the domestic market.
Switzerland. And the timing could hardly be better.

The beginning of the generics boom
In pharmaceutical markets such as Denmark or Germany, where the
cost sharing by patients led to an increase in price sensitivity,
the proportion of imitations in the overall drugs market is correspondingly high
- 32 and 23 percent respectively. In Switzerland, the
Generics share despite tripling sales since 2000 to over 300
million francs at just eight percent of the total
pharmaceutical market. This could change drastically in the near future. With the
Federal Council ordinance, according to which patients have had to pay for
original medicines have to pay twice as high a co-payment
than for imitation preparations, if such are available. The question
is no longer original or copy, but now 20 or 10 percent
Deductible.

Until recently, hardly anyone was interested in generics.
in the foreseeable future, federal regulations will also change the low-interest
high-interest product group and from a niche market soon a
mass market. Although the patent protection of over 30 blockbusters had expired by 2010
(drugs with annual sales of over one billion euros worldwide)
dollar), no one wants to give precise details of the enormous
market potential. Neither the Minister of Health nor Robin Koenig,
Brand Manager of Sandoz. Presumably because they want to use the manufacturers of
original medicines. After all
margins with the argument of higher research and development costs.
development costs, which in turn is becoming increasingly expensive.
the item "Marketing and sales" usually accounts for around
a third of sales. Compared to their advertising message
Sandoz - measured against the targets - falls strategically and
not necessarily easier in tactical terms, but it is financially far below
the expenses of the original pharmaceutical companies.

Markom's challenges in the generics market are primarily the
competitive situation, because original preparations after the expiry of the 20-year
patent term can be imitated by an average of ten companies, and the
still prevailing opinion that the copies can only be so cheap
because they are inferior to the originals in many respects.
The Zurich agency commissioned by Sandoz wants to counter this prejudice.
advertising agency with its campaign. At the center is the
Building trust and image for Sandoz. Because in addition to the important but
price argument, which is often perceived skeptically, is gaining in importance among end consumers.
the need to know more about the copycat products is increasing.
know. The campaign meets this requirement above all on a tactical level with
posters, advertisements and POS presence in Swiss pharmacies,
by demonstrating the 20-year proven track record of the preparations and the same
Effect and tolerability of the originals but at a lower price
thematized.

Over a dozen headlines
At a strategic level, those responsible want to create a beautiful
and rather generic-looking TV commercial on the one hand to dispel prejudices
and break the skeptical behavior pattern by making comparisons and
to historical prejudices - against the car, the TV or the
of fashion - which later turned out to be mistakes. On the other hand
The aim is to position the Sandoz brand as a synonym for generics.
become. Both levels are linked in particular by the more recent claim "a healthy
decision", which is regarded by the various target groups as a concrete as
can be interpreted as a financial promise. On this foundation
and the weakening of prejudices is the basis of the headline concept.
Concept designer Michael Manzardo and CD Sarah Hiltebrand developed over
a dozen headlines that are filled with ironic allusions to the
originals advertise the equivalent imitation products and, in addition, doctors
and pharmacists as trusted authorities in the influencer role
and address patients' need for safety. The fact that the brand
Sandoz has a much higher market share in the older and more interesting segment.
The high level of awareness can only be beneficial.

Luca Aloisi