An aspirin a day will keep the heartattack away?
Submitted by Dabitch on Mon, 06/11/2001 - 12:10.
Like Bayer already has done St. Joseph aspirin will now market itself as not only the fever and pain killer - but also as a heart attack prevention medication.
Whats the matter? People don't have enough headaches lately?
Quoted from OrlandoSentinel.com
"Last year, McNeil Consumer Healthcare, a division of Johnson &
Johnson, acquired the St. Joseph brand.
``In our studies, the St. Joseph brand had a tremendous amount of
good will among baby boomers and now those baby boomers are starting to be at risk for heart
disease,'' says Jim Massey, assistant marketing manager for the St. Joseph brand.
But the brand founded by a Bavarian immigrant will find itself in for extra strength competition from a
German compatriot as it attempts to care out a niche in the $474 million aspirin market dominated by
Bayer Corp., which invented aspirin in 1897.
Jay Kolpon, vice president of marketing for Bayer's consumer division estimates that half those taking
aspirin use it for pain relief while the remainder consume it to prevent a heart attack.
Doctors have been prescribing an aspirin a day to patients who have either had a heart attack or are
at risk for one.
There are reams of evidence to suggest that is good practice, but there are no studies which directly
compare an 81 milligram dose to a 325 milligram dose.
Aspirin can cause various stomach ailments such as ulcers so many believe that a lower dose offers
the same benefits without the risk of side effects.
The St. Joseph campaign will stress that its product only contains 81 milligrams of aspirin, making it
gentler on the stomach than 325 milligrams tablets commonly available on drug store shelves.
However, Bayer as well as generic manufacturers offer an 81 milligram dose.
``We don't think that Bayer has really promoted the 81 milligram dose. We see potential,'' said Bob
Carpenter, vice president of marketing at McNeil."
Well, as my old tutor used to say - expand market share only goes so far... Then you must expand the market. Is that what they are doing - or are they really concerned with our health?
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Brilliant. And it’s all about positioning. By marketing the aspirin as a heart attack prevention medicine, not only the product will clearly stand out in consumer’s mind and will significantly differ from other aspirins (“it’s not an aspirin, it’s something else - hey, it’s more than just an aspirin”), but is to clearly point out an USP: like no other aspirin, this aspirin is to be used without concerns by all people, even people possibly suffering from heart disease.
Me again. I meant they would copy Bayer's strategy, but how many of us would remind that Bayer aspirin had been positioned alike at a time?
Raresh is posting drunk again... ;)) - you mean remember? Right?. :)
Well - since Bayer are running ads on the exact same strategy, they'll have to radically shange the execution to not get lost amoungst the regular testomonial "I once had a heartattack but now I take Bayer" ads.
:) My God, remember, right. Do Bayer's ads still run?
Unfortunatly. I saw one the other day. Testimonial style, an older ex-dancer describes "after I had my heartattack..." as if it were a rites of passage ".. I started taking Bayer every day".
Well, under these circumstances... This would be the only strategy for J&J to block Bayer. What took them so long to see it? On the other hand, how come J&J informs Bayer about their intentions? I admit, I'm amazed at such a gallantry.
Or...?
This is an old thread but then I'm new around here...
The thing is that aspirin is a very legitimate and very commonly "prescribed" anti-coagulant for heart attack victims and people at high risk. It is, at the moment, THE reference treatment post-attack - except that it's under heavy competition from a relatively new prescription-only product called Plavix, marketed in the US by Sanofi and Bristol Myers Squibb and worldwide by Sanofi alone. A recent clinical trial showed that Plavix is clearly superior, but at a much higher cost, so the aspirin marketers are feeling the heat - and responding.