Advice You - Business

When discussing the impending demise of print advertising, it is the big players - newspapers, magazines and Yellow Pages – that first come to mind. And the reality is th

According to USFDA, a combination product is one composed of any combination of a drug and device; biological product and device; drug and biological product

at all three have taken some hits as the Internet has grown in popularity:

Newspapers have fared the worst.

They have witnessed steady declines in readership

; or drug, device, and biological product and fixed dose combination would include two or more combinations of drug.

Examples of combination products may in

leading to diminished ad revenue. Large newspapers have beefed up their online advertising efforts, but the gains there do not come close to outweighing the losses in pr

lude drug-coated devices, drugs packaged with delivery devices in medical kits, and drugs and devices packaged separately but intended to be used together.

int ad revenue. Magazines have also seen decreased revenue. Year over year increases in ad revenue dropped from 11.1% in 2004, to 7.2% in 2005, and then to 3.8% in 2006.

here is enormous increase in the number of combination products entering the market in the recent years. Combination products have proven advantages but fixe

Although online Yellow Pages directories are seeing more growth than their printed counterparts, the paper Yellow Pages directory is still in use – nearly three-quarters

d dose combinations are still in the process of convincing regulatory authority on their advantages over the single ingredient formulations.

Combination pro

of consumers consult one of those big yellow books every month.

Why is Print Advertising Falling Behind?
There are two main reasons – cost and reporting options. T

ucts have become life saving products for the pharmaceutical companies who doesn’t have many innovative molecules in their product pipeline and have been inc

aditional print advertising tends to be more expensive than online advertising. And print advertising cannot be tracked as effectively as online. An advertiser has no way

easingly used in the product life cycle management. Even the companies having product patents are trying to extend their product life cycle through the combi

of knowing how many people really saw an ad in a newspaper, magazine or Yellow Pages directory. With online, advertisers can analyze click through rates and Web site tra

nation products and maximize the revenues. But the companies involved in this practice are overlooking that they are burdening the patients both economically

fic, getting a clearer picture of what is and is not working.

So, Print is Dead?

No. Print advertising still has value. In fact, most marketers would tell you th

and physically. They need to rightly judge the benefits of the combination products and they have to even look at the risks involved when combining the produ

at print and online complement each other and can work very effectively together. An interesting study shows exactly how this can happen.

We've probably all read statist

ts. Some of the combination products were well accepted by physicians while others suffered. Companies involved in development of combination products are fi

cs that show how many people research products and services online before buying – 92% of consumers, according to the latest reports. But what gets them interested in sea

ding difficulty in defining their combination products and facing various challenges from selecting a combination to marketing it.

Following aspects would a

rching for a product to begin with? Surprisingly, ads in magazines and newspapers are the launching point for many online searches. A Retail Advertising and Marketing Ass

dd to the challenges in developing combination products:

Which markets to tap where the combination products can do fairly well?
Which combination prod

ciation (RAMA) study done in March, 2007 found that magazine ads prompt nearly 50% of consumers to seek product information online, and over 40% of newspaper ads and prin

cts are meaningful and rational?
Which therapeutic categories to select?
Which Combinations can address unmet needs of the patients?
Do combin

t articles do the same.

Add to that study the results of another conducted in early 2007 by Park Associates in Dallas: nearly one-third of U.S. households do not have th

tions increase the patient compliance?
What would be the developing cost?
How to tackle the risks encountered during combination product developmen

Internet and do not plan to get it anytime soon. Clearly, with this large number of potential customers offline, print advertising still has value.

The Bottom Line
t?

As combination products don't fit into the traditional categories of drugs, medical devices, or biological products, the USFDA is in the process of devel
b>

The print yellow pages product still works. The return on investment is no longer as high as it once was but it still has its place in advertising. You need to be in
ping new procedures for reviewing their safety, efficacy and quality.

Professional from academic institutions, pharmaceutical industries, health care indust
he print yellow pages to make sure your current clients can find you or else they will call your competitor.

Diversity is good. To reach all of your prospective customer
y and representatives from various regulatory agencies are working out to design the regulatory requirements for manufacture and sale of combination products
s, you should plan an advertising campaign that takes advantage of both online and print media. The industry you operate in will dictate what portion of your advertising
.

As there is an increasing trend of the combination products companies manufacturing such products should be able to tackle the problems involved in the de
udget goes where. Consider retail, where print advertising can bring really strong ROI, versus IT services, which might be better off with a stronger online component.

A
elopment. They need to be wiser in analyzing the market trends and the regulatory requirements.

Companies that provide selfless information through particip
s the studies cited here show, no matter what your business sells, you must consider all of your advertising options, in all media, to extend your reach as far as you can

tion in industry events and feedback to regulatory authorities would be able to face the challenges and will be successful in developing combination products

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Advice You - Losing Your Shirt On Print Yellow Pages?

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