Blockbuster Brands Allocate 49% of Marketing Budget to Advertising

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. — The average blockbuster brand allots 49% of its budget to fulfill advertising needs, according to a new report from Cutting Edge Information "US Pharmaceutical Launches: Marketing Spend and Structure" ( http://www.uspharmalaunch.com/ ).

Blockbuster brands, drugs forecasted to have peak annual sales of $1 billion or more, tend to grant a larger percentage of their budgets to advertising than mid-level and niche drugs. The average mid-level brand allocates 29% to advertising, while niche products only spend 17%.

This spending disparity is directly related to the size and nature of each brand's market. Most blockbuster brands, for example, target a mass-market audience, while most niche brands serve specialty markets not well-targeted by traditional advertising.

The brand classes rely on different marketing functions to fulfill their specific marketing needs, thus they allocate funds according to those needs. For blockbusters brands, advertising appears to take priority. Thought leader development is high on the mid-level list of priorities, as a lot of effort is put into influencing the brand's target medical audience. Niche brands, on the other hand, spend 55% of their marketing budgets on brand activities, such as product profile development, packaging, and management of market research.

"Each drug has its own unique fingerprint, complete with various brand challenges, yet distinct patterns emerge among brand classes," said Research Team Leader Eric Bolesh. "Regardless of projected peak annual sales, all brands invest some baseline amount in a core set of activities required to move a brand toward market launch."

"US Pharmaceutical Launches: Marketing Spend and Structure," available at http://www.uspharmalaunch.com/ , includes 18 in-depth brand profiles complete with US marketing resources. To understand resource patterns and market forces that affect various drugs, Cutting Edge Information studied brands from companies of different sizes and backgrounds, including Eli Lilly, Johnson & Johnson, Genzyme and Millennium.

To view a summary of this report, visit http://www.uspharmalaunch.com/ . For more information on this report or to learn about other Cutting Edge Information research, contact Eric Bolesh at Eric_Bolesh@cuttingedgeinfo.com or +1-919-433-0209.

Source: Cutting Edge Information

CONTACT: Eric Bolesh of Cutting Edge Information, +1-919-433-0209, or
Eric_Bolesh@cuttingedgeinfo.com

Web site: http://www.uspharmalaunch.com/
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