Correspondence: Reinhard Angelmar, INSEAD Boulevard de Constance 77305 Fontainebleau Cedex France. Tel: +33 (0)1 60 71 2641; Fax: +33 (0)1 60 72 9240; e-mail: reinhard.angelmar@insead.edu

¹is the Salmon and Rameau Fellow in Healthcare Management and Professor of Marketing at INSEAD, Fontainebleau. An author of many studies on the pharmaceutical industry, he has worked with pharmaceutical companies such as Johnson & Johnson, Lilly, Novartis and Pfizer. He teaches a course on Pharmaceutical Marketing Strategy at INSEAD, and is also a court expert in pharmaceutical litigation.

²is an INSEAD MBA Participant, class of July 2007. She previously worked as a Strategic Account Planner at OgilvyOne, New York, 2000–2006 where she developed consumer communications strategies for Boehringer-Ingelheim, Eli Lilly, GlaxoSmithKline, Pfizer, Schering-Plough and Wyeth Pharmaceuticals brands. She also co-authored and presented DTC Trends Reports for her OgilvyOne Clients.

³is Planning Director for Pfizer's Lipitor and Caduet, The Kaplan Thaler Group, New York. She was previously with Ogilvy & Mather, and Deutsch, New York, where she gained expertise in the DTC arena. She has worked on a range of pharmaceutical brands from Novartis' Zelnorm to Pfizer's Lipitor. She was awarded a gold Effie for the Zelnorm 'Tummies' work.

Received 14 May 2007; Revised 14 May 2007.

Abstract

With blockbuster brands such as Pfizer's Lipitor, GlaxoSmithKline's Advair, AstraZeneca's Nexium and many others, the pharmaceutical industry has demonstrated its expertise in building strong product brands. Product branding-focused marketing, however, leaves many patients untreated. Patients who do not recognise particular symptoms and medical conditions are less likely to seek medical attention and treatment, especially when their family doctor often lacks the time to probe for each and every possible medical condition. Product branding tells consumers about a solution but not about the problem which the solution addresses. Condition branding educates consumers, physicians and other stakeholders about the problem. We propose that the pharmaceutical marketing paradigm be broadened. Pharmaceutical marketers should build strong condition brands, in much the same way as they build strong product brands. Condition branding facilitates customers' decision-making, contributes to better health and may improve the standing of the pharmaceutical industry, which stands accused of overly aggressive product branding efforts, among other criticisms. When condition and product branding are well coordinated, each enhances the effectiveness of the other, raising patient health and brand sales.