Cymbalta anti-depressant branding case study - by Eli Lilly
Background
When Eli Lilly got the approval for Cymbalta, an anti-depressant, after a struggle of 13 years, it had a very short window to enter the market and make its presence felt. Also, the patent for Prozac, Lilly’s big-ticket player in the field of anti-depressants, was going to expire. To not lose the market share of Prozac to another brand, Lilly had to come up with a drug that will give it a competitive edge over others in depression treatment.
Insight
The drugs in the market treated depression, the mental, emotional, and more psychological symptoms of it – like feelings of sadness and fatigue. But people suffering from depression also suffer from very clear and visible physical pain, symptoms of which include trouble in sleeping and weight fluctuation. The physical pain of depression was very visible and real, and that is where the brand could differentiate itself.
Execution
The campaign was executed both offline and online. First, the unbranded ‘Depression hurts’ part was launched with TVCs and then the Cymbalta branding took over. The microsite of Cymbalta had an interactive ‘symptom body map’ where the person could self-screen himself for pain in various parts of the body. This had an interesting take on making people aware of their problem and discuss the solution with them. The whole objective was to make people look at depression differently. The entire campaign had a real-life look and feel, with adults in real-life situations, which made the campaign and its message of the physical pain of depression even more real.
Impact
Cymbalta was able to break into a crowded anti-depressant market and hit blockbuster status in its second year and $4.2 billion in sales by 2011 - eight years after launch. As per Nielsen, a Cymbalta commercial was the second-most recalled DTC ad of 2008.
Key takeaway
Even in a cluttered market, your product can talk to a person if it has its heart and insight in the right place.
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