Metabical: Positioning and Communications Strategy for a New Weight-Loss Drug
Metabical: Positioning and Communications Strategy for a new Weight-Loss Drug
Q & A 1. Who is involved in the decision making process? What is the decision making process for Metabical?
Since Metabical is a prescription drug for weight loss which can only be bought via a prescription, the overweight patients are not the only decision makers involved. The health care providers are also decision makers in this process for they are the ones who prescribe the drug.
The consumer decision making process (J.Paul Peter & Donnelly, Ch3, p.49) for Metabical goes through five stages: a) Perceiving or recognizing a need.
According to the case, 65 % of Americans are overweight. Many perceive themselves as social outcasts. Here Metabical ties in with a variety of needs in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs: the need for belongingness and love for companionship. After all no one likes being excluded. Exclusion can also negatively impact one’s self esteem. So it also ties in with the need for self esteem and self actualization since excess weight negatively impacts hiring, wages, and job promotion. b) Alternative Search: Once the need for love and belonging, and self esteem is recognized the overweight individual collects information from marketing sources like ads, or public sources like newspapers and magazines. The consumer might even ask his health care provider about it. He/she might even ask their overweight friends i.e. group sources who tried many diet drugs before. Then the consumer processes information after having been exposed to it, having been attentive, and having understood and retained its message. c) Alternative Evaluation: The consumer here compares Metabical to the other competitive products: OTC products, product Alli, ephedra. Here he/ she would see that OTC products have several side effects since they do not go to the stringent FDA approval. Ephedra for instance is linked to several cases of heart death. Alli although FDA
Q & A 1. Who is involved in the decision making process? What is the decision making process for Metabical?
Since Metabical is a prescription drug for weight loss which can only be bought via a prescription, the overweight patients are not the only decision makers involved. The health care providers are also decision makers in this process for they are the ones who prescribe the drug.
The consumer decision making process (J.Paul Peter & Donnelly, Ch3, p.49) for Metabical goes through five stages: a) Perceiving or recognizing a need.
According to the case, 65 % of Americans are overweight. Many perceive themselves as social outcasts. Here Metabical ties in with a variety of needs in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs: the need for belongingness and love for companionship. After all no one likes being excluded. Exclusion can also negatively impact one’s self esteem. So it also ties in with the need for self esteem and self actualization since excess weight negatively impacts hiring, wages, and job promotion. b) Alternative Search: Once the need for love and belonging, and self esteem is recognized the overweight individual collects information from marketing sources like ads, or public sources like newspapers and magazines. The consumer might even ask his health care provider about it. He/she might even ask their overweight friends i.e. group sources who tried many diet drugs before. Then the consumer processes information after having been exposed to it, having been attentive, and having understood and retained its message. c) Alternative Evaluation: The consumer here compares Metabical to the other competitive products: OTC products, product Alli, ephedra. Here he/ she would see that OTC products have several side effects since they do not go to the stringent FDA approval. Ephedra for instance is linked to several cases of heart death. Alli although FDA
References: * Our book: J.Paul Peter & Donnelly, Marketing Management Knowledge and skills, Mc Graw Hill tenth Edition Note: I read Ch 3 for decision making process search, Ch 5 for segmentation, Ch 8 for IMC, and Section 2 at the end of the book entitled Analyzing Marketing Problems & cases. It had information about how to prepare case analysis and what SWOT analysis was on page 216-217. For the hierarchy of effects model, I looked at the slides the Dr explained and provided us with last time. I also read from the below website to understand more about what it was: http://drypen.in/advertising/hierarchy-of-effects-model.html ____________________________________________________________ ________________