Feature 2 perg

A 2 percent rise in journal ad spending is hardly cause to celebrate the end of the downturn, but it is a welcome relief from the decreases MID-YEAR
AD REVIEW
of the past two years. Eugene May reports on the companies and
products that have steadied the ship.
STEADYING
The PERQ/HCI Journal Ad Review™ (JAR™) for the first half In the year-ago period,Wyeth was 2nd and Aventis held 4th place.
of 2003 recorded a 2 percent gain in spending in medical/surgical These two companies are now 9th and 10th, respectively, following journals over the same period in 2002. And although this spending cuts in the 50-60 percent range. Wyeth’s drop in rank can be increase is marginal at best, it represents a welcome change from the attributed to lower ad budgets for Effexor XR and Protonix, while declines of 4 percent and 13 percent in the respective 2002 and 2001 Aventis’ decline in position can be traced to lower ad outlays for Alle- periods. The total number of ad pages, however, fell by 2 percent.
gra, Amaryl, Lantus, and especially Lovenox.
Six new products introduced during the first half of 2003, and the last The Pharmacia/Pfizer partnership, which was formed to promote quarter of 2002, spent at a rate sufficient to move them into the top 25.
Bextra and Celebrex, repeated in 11th place. Among the advertisers Also, a renewed interest in journal advertising for certain major new to the top 25 are Sanofi-Synthelabo, up from 30th to 12th, and the products not advertised in the prior year, such as Cozaar and Singulair, Merck/Schering-Plough joint venture (13th) which was formed to contributed to the first half 2003 increase in print promotion.
promote Zetia. Other companies new to the top 25 include Eli Lilly,up from 28th to 18th following a 52 percent boost in spending to support Biggest advertiser
the promotion of Strattera and Zyprexa, and the Aventis/Procter & Once again, Pfizer was the heaviest advertiser with a 9 percent share.
Gamble partnership, up from 32nd to 19th as ad outlays increased by Pfizer has held the top spot since 1998 and has done so in large part by continuing to advertise products obtained through acquisitions such asParke-Davis. When ad spending by Pharmacia is included, Pfizer’s Most advertised category
SSRI/SNRIs continued to be the most heavily advertised therapeutic A 110 percent boost in spending, all attributed to Lexapro, advanced category with an 8.8 percent share of ad spending. In fact, this class Forest Pharmaceuticals from 8th to 2nd, while GlaxoSmithKline increased its hold on the number one spot as ad outlays climbed by (GSK) retained 3rd place, even as ad outlays were reduced by 10 32 percent, due in large part to Forest’s new entry, Lexapro. Cytostatic percent. AstraZeneca moved up two spots to 4th following a 24 percent drugs-other advanced from 3rd to 2nd even though there was only increase in expenditures, and, after an absence of more than two years,Merck (up from 9th to 5th) is back advertising Cozaar and Singulair, KEY TRENDS
both of which recently gained new indications. Merck’s renewed adver-tising support for Cozaar may also be due to the advances being made ■ Ad spending in medical/surgical journals up 2 percent. by Novartis’ Diovan in the angiotensin II receptor blocker market, ■ Total number of ad pages down 2 percent.
while a new claim for Singulair in allergic rhinitis most likely prompted ■ SSRI/SNRI’s the most heavily advertised drug category. Novartis slipped from 5th to 6th, Ortho-McNeil was unchanged in ■ Lexapro by Forest Pharmaceuticals the most heavily 7th place, even though spending was cut by 23 percent, and Abbott advanced from 10th to 8th on an 11 percent increase in ad expenditures.
TABLE 1: THE 25 LEADING ADVERTISERS BY COMPANY, FIRST HALF 2003
TOP COMPANY
% of Ad Market
ADVERTISER
2003 vs. 2002
Source: PERQ/HCI Journal Ad Review™ (JAR™) TABLE 2: THE 25 MOST ADVERTISED DRUG CATEGORIES, FIRST HALF 2003
% of Ad Market
MOST ADVERTISED
Category
2003 vs. 2002
DRUG CATEGORY
Source: PERQ/HCI Journal Ad Review™ (JAR™) MOST ADVERTISED
a marginal increase in spending (6 percent), while percent of Lexapro’s print spend was for nine-page proton pump inhibitors slipped one spot to 3rd as ads. Norvasc repeated in the number two spot, while spending cuts were implemented by Aciphex and Pfizer boosted expenditures for Neurontin by 265 Protonix. The antipsychotic-other drug class, which percent, thereby driving the brand from 58th to 3rd.
jumped from 10th to 4th, was driven largely by Zetia, a new cholesterol reducer marketed by BMS/Otsuka’s new entry, Abilify, while COX-2 Merck/Schering-Plough, ranked 4th. The introduc- inhibitors moved up from 7th to 5th as Bextra, tion of this brand was supported primarily by four- Celebrex and Vioxx all boosted ad outlays. Ethical page ads. Ambien, marketed by Sanofi-Synthelabo, drugs miscellaneous-other repeated in 6th place, climbed from 31st to 5th as ad outlays advanced by seizure disorders jumped from 13th to 7th following 111 percent. A new diabetes combination from GSK, a 70 percent increase in spending which can be Advandamet, was 6th, while Nexium climbed from attributed largely to higher expenditures for 22nd to 7th following a 57 percent boost in spending.
Neurontin, while angiotensin II receptor blockers- Prevacid moved up one spot to 8th and Bextra alone climbed from 15th to 8th as Benicar, Cozaar and Teveten all contributed to the 71 percent gain in The next three products, all previously marketed, this class. Diabetes-combinations, a new class which are new to the top 25 list. Actonel climbed from 29th includes products such as Avandamet, Glucovance to 10th, Ortho Evra jumped from 34th to 11th, and Previously ranked 16th,Lexapro now accounts for and Metaglip, ranked 9th with a 2.1 percent share.
Procrit moved up from 27th to 12th. Pfizer’s new anti- Calcium blockers dropped two spots to 10th.
migraine product, Relpax, ranked 13th while the company’s Lipitor advanced from 26th to 14th as ad Most advertised product
outlays increased by 59 percent. A 176 percent boost By far the most heavily advertised product was in spending advanced the Teveten family of products Almost 80 percent ofLexapro’s print spend was Lexapro. This Forest brand, which previously ranked from 60th to 15th, while Effexor XR, the most heavily 16th, now accounts for 6.3 percent of all spending in advertised product in the year-ago period, now ranks medical/surgical journals. Of note is that almost 80 16th following a 65 percent cut in ad outlays. ■ TABLE 3: THE 25 MOST ADVERTISED PRODUCTS, FIRST HALF 2003
% of Ad Market
2003 vs. 2002
Source: PERQ/HCI Journal Ad Review™ (JAR™)

Source: http://www.perq-hci.com/News/articles/Oct03.Perq.pdf