At the launch of Viagra in October 1998 the U

The media fuss about Viagra was not enough to ensure the growth of the market for erectile dysfunction, or the arrival of two competitors: Eli Lilly in February 2003 with Cialis, then a co-promotion GSK-Bayer a month later, with Levitra. Today, four laboratories are struggling to develop this new niche. Worse: two new entrants have provided their growth on the market of the famous Blue pills of Pfizer shares.

"No one was in fact prepared to discuss this issue deemed very personal, patient, or even the doctor", says Sylvia Cukier, Pfizer spokesman. At the launch of Viagra in October 1998, the U.S. laboratory had trained generalists, sexologists and urologists, "to cut short the fantasies and well positioning the new product as a drug and not a sham." He did publish in the public press of articles written by doctors, explaining the pathology to the drama.

The appropriate Internet media

Today, the French market is limited to 400000 patients treated, worth 60 million euros, when epidemiologic studies identify 3 millions of men suffering from erectile dysfunction, is a potential market of 200 million euros. All European countries, the France figure in last place in the growth rate of the therapeutic class IPDE5 which brings together 3 molecules of the market with 30 from January to October 2003, when the Germany and the Italy display 38 or 54 Spain.

Result: each laboratory attempts to end the taboo through offensive and innovative marketing, without of course aggressive. The exercise is delicate in a sector where the drug agency is extremely vigilant to the skids. Great evils great remedies: Pfizer has launched with the assistance of Arvato, operational marketing agency, a campaign in the mainstream press. If Viagra appears not as such legislation requires , the detachable leaflet attracts the eye by a handsome man brand and tanned and offers patients to receive information, to call a voice server, or go to a website to find out "everything you always wanted to know about the erectile dysfunction without ever daring to request it."such as Woody Allen said.

"In areas such as erectile dysfunction or depression that are still very taboo, the Internet media allows to respect the anonymity of the patient and provides the answers to the questions that arise about its pathology", says the group. The operation, which will end late December, will be renewed in the year 2004. The audiovisual media have even been proposed but immediately excluded time to the difficulty of the topic: "This is not obvious to develop a message neither aggressive nor vulgar, must avoid the gauloiserie register to the French and must be seen and heard by the rest of the family." "As this pathology has implications for the sentimental life, we prefer to locate our communication in an emotional context, hence the name of the Internet site, Universpassionscom", explains Sylvia Cukier.

These precautions are followed also by competition but with supported winks. And Eli Lilly, which pulled Cialis on 14 February 2003, Valentine's day, after fifteen days of "teasing" in the medical press, positions on topics on the harmony of the couple rather than the male performance. It also uses arguments on the duration of action of the product and its use with advertising in medical offices and pharmacies on the theme "love without programming". Very prudent in France, approaching first specialists, laboratory proved more aggressive us where the "direct to consumer" is widely used in medicines. Cialis, just to receive the approval of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), will be present on the "PGA Tour", famous competition of the Professional Golf Association in the United States. And relies on its U.S. success to bring wider accession to the European.

Open dialogue

For their part, GSK and Bayer attach to facilitate communication. "The patient lives a painful situation in which it is isolated." Our goal is therefore reassure him, to learn that this disorder is often associated with age, and is sometimes a consequence of another disease (hypertension, obesity, smoking...) and finally, that it is easy to treat. "As the doctor, we seek to help identify the patient and to provide the good words to open dialogue," said Véronique baronet, Director of marketing Urology at GSK. Meetings with general practitioners have been conducted in partnership with an association of sexologists accustomed to communicate on this type of subjects.

On the shape and health fair, which took place in October in Paris, a "patient amphi" entitled "erection disorders, speak in" made room: "Many patients remained at the end to go ask the doctors", reported the head.

Through to information on diseases, these operations allow pharmaceutical companies to address the universe of consumer marketing, their covetous object. Pfizer, the concept of the website dedicated to patients in a given pathology should be expanded to other topics and headings of the Pfizerfr site to enrich videos, images and games. Pharmaceutical benefits to raise social taboos to emancipate themselves.