Caso Warner Lambert
UJRRMER-LnmBERT IRELHMO: NICONIL
Declan Dixon, director of marketing for Warner-Lambert Ireland (WLI), examined two very different sales forecasts as he considered the upcoming launch of Niconil®, scheduled For January 1990. Niconil was an innovative new product that promised to help the thou-sands of smokers who attempted to quit smoking each year. More commonly known simply as "the patch," Niconil was a transdermal skin patch that gradually released nicotine into the bloodstream to alleviate the physical symptoms of nicotine withdrawal.
Now in October of 1989, Dixon and his staff had to decide several key aspects of the product launch. There were different opinions about how Niconil should be priced and in what quantities it would sell. Pricing deci-sions would directly impact product profitability as well as sales volume, and accurate sales forecasts were vital to planning adequate production capacity. Finally, the product team needed to reach consensus on the Niconil communications campaign to meet advertising dead-lines and to ensure an integrated product launch. Company Background
Warner-Lambert was an international pharmaceutical and consumer products company with over $4 billion in worldwide revenues expected in 1989. Warner-Lambert consumer products (50% of worldwide sales) included such brands as Dentyne chewing gum, Listerine mouth wash, and Hall's cough drops. Its pharmaceutical prod-ucts, marketed through the Parke Davis Division, included drugs for treating a wide variety of ailments, including heart disease and bronchial disorders.
Research Associate Susan P. Smith prepared this case under the supervi-sion of-Professor John A. Quelch as the basis for class discussion rather than to illustrate either effective or ineffective handling of an administra-tive situation.
Copyright © 1992 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College. Harvard Business School Case 9-593-008. To order copies or request permission to reproduce materials, call
Declan Dixon, director of marketing for Warner-Lambert Ireland (WLI), examined two very different sales forecasts as he considered the upcoming launch of Niconil®, scheduled For January 1990. Niconil was an innovative new product that promised to help the thou-sands of smokers who attempted to quit smoking each year. More commonly known simply as "the patch," Niconil was a transdermal skin patch that gradually released nicotine into the bloodstream to alleviate the physical symptoms of nicotine withdrawal.
Now in October of 1989, Dixon and his staff had to decide several key aspects of the product launch. There were different opinions about how Niconil should be priced and in what quantities it would sell. Pricing deci-sions would directly impact product profitability as well as sales volume, and accurate sales forecasts were vital to planning adequate production capacity. Finally, the product team needed to reach consensus on the Niconil communications campaign to meet advertising dead-lines and to ensure an integrated product launch. Company Background
Warner-Lambert was an international pharmaceutical and consumer products company with over $4 billion in worldwide revenues expected in 1989. Warner-Lambert consumer products (50% of worldwide sales) included such brands as Dentyne chewing gum, Listerine mouth wash, and Hall's cough drops. Its pharmaceutical prod-ucts, marketed through the Parke Davis Division, included drugs for treating a wide variety of ailments, including heart disease and bronchial disorders.
Research Associate Susan P. Smith prepared this case under the supervi-sion of-Professor John A. Quelch as the basis for class discussion rather than to illustrate either effective or ineffective handling of an administra-tive situation.
Copyright © 1992 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College. Harvard Business School Case 9-593-008. To order copies or request permission to reproduce materials, call