12Blinnformat

8/4/2019 12Blinnformat

1/4

Page 42The World Self-Medication Industry (WSMI) 13th General Assembly

The Association of the European Self-Medication Industry (AESGP) 35th Annual Meeting

Self-care a vital element of health policy in the information age, Berlin, 9-12 June 1999

EXPANDING THE BOUNDARIES OF SELF-

MEDICATION IN A GLOBAL CONTEXT

Creating a global brand

Mr Tom Blinn, Vice President, Global Personal Healthcare, Procter & Gamble

As background for todays topic Globalbrands: how does self-medication score?, let mebriefly introduce my company to you. Procter &Gamble markets approximately 300 brands to

nearly five billion consumers in over 140 coun-tries. We compete in a wide number of consumercategories. In healthcare, we are in both theprescription and non-prescription market seg-ments. I am very hopeful many of the brands arefamiliar to you. Many of these brands are

global. Of those that are not, most are workingon it. Procter & Gamble has headquarter opera-tions in Belgium, Venezuela, Japan and theUnited States and on the ground operations in

an additional 70 countries.

This brief company overview and my personalbackground should give you some confidencethat I am a qualified speaker on todays subject.I certainly do not have all the answers. But I amconfident I can trigger a productive dialogue onsome very important issues.

Now, turning to todays discussion, I would like tocomment briefly on responsible self-medication.

Encouraging responsible self-medication benefits con-sumers and society as a whole. The case that establishesthe critical importance of responsible self-medication on aglobal basis has been made by numerous institutions.These include the World Health Organization, govern-ment and regulatory authorities across the globe and, ofcourse, the World Self-Medication Industry Federation,WSMI. Even the United Nations itself has recognisedconsumer right of access. Access to safe and effectivemedicines plays a part in that.

Additionally, responsible self-medication directlybenefits governments and healthcare systems. The publi-

cation Tony Jamison spoke of this morning referencesnumerous economic studies from countries such as Can-ada, the United States, Germany, the U.K., France andItaly. These studies document specific benefits includingsignificant reductions in healthcare system costs and theopportunity to dedicate limited healthcare resources toimportant issues that are inappropriate for self care.Given these very critical benefits to consumers and soci-ety as a whole, advancing responsible self-care is a criti-cal issue on the global agenda.

I will not spend more time embellishing the case for

responsible self-care as its been very well made andbroadly accepted. My talk will focus on better deliveringagainst the goal of encouraging responsible self-medication. I will offer the perspective that global brandsin non-prescription healthcare can and should dramati-cally help progress towards this goal. And making prog-ress towards this goal is a win-win-win proposition. Forconsumers, government and regulatory authorities and theindustry as a whole. But, there are several barriers in theway of making this happen.

I would like to set the stage by first talking brieflyabout brands and global brands in particular so we arestarting from a place of common understanding.

A brand can be most simply defined as a trustedtrademark. But a truly successful brand can be more fullyand accurately defined as a product or line of productsthat: 1) stands for something very specific in consumersminds; and 2) establishes a trusted relationship with con-sumers based on its performance and relevance in theirlives. Everyone in this room has brands in their lives thatfit this description.

The definition of a global brand simply builds on this.A global brand has a clear and consistent identity withconsumers across geographies. It is positioned the samefrom one country to another; it has essentially the sameformula; it delivers the same benefit and is presented con-

sistently to the consumer through consistent advertisingand packaging.


2/4

The World Self-Medication Industry (WSMI) 13th General Assembly



Page 43

There are numerous brands within P&G that meet thisconsistency definition. Ones you are likely familiar withoutside of Healthcare are Pantene (110), Pringles (105)and Pampers (102). And as you can see from the chartdetailing the number of countries they are sold in, they areavailable to consumers in both developed and developingcountries.

This is a very, very important point. Global presenceoffers economies of scale which can allow very highquality products to be offered with state of the art tech-nology, and a variety of sizes, packs and absolute con-sumer cash outlays. This allows access by several eco-nomic levels. As an example, the size and scope of ourglobal Pantene business has resulted in the brands com-mon formula being upgraded in performance severaltimes in the past 8 years. And the line up has been ex-tended from a shampoo only to a full line of hair careproducts including conditioners, styling aids and treat-ments. The brands scale also makes selling 5 mill sa-chets in China for 60 You On (about 7 cents U.S.) an af-

fordable value to the consumer and an acceptable returnas a business proposition. Without the global scale un-derpinning the brand, the selling of this very advancedproduct technology in such small sizes would not be vi-able.

This same story is true on Pampers. Over the past 12years, global scale has allowed us to fund numerous en-hanced Pampers products in over 90 countries. Withoutthe ability to globalise, development costs would havebeen prohibitive and the availability of new, superiorproducts would have been severely limited.

Of course, there are numerous great examples ofglobal brands outside of P&G. Two of the very best are

Coke, found in 180 countries, and McDonalds, found in110 countries. Now since we are in Germany, automotiveexamples would seem appropriate. Let us consider BMWand Mercedes. Both have more than 113 of their salesoutside of Europe. Each has better than a 20% marketshare in the luxury car markets in the United States andJapan. From a broader European perspective, Volvo sellshalf their cars outside of Europe.

Whats common across all these global examples?Consumers are aware of these brands globally, they arewidely available and consistently executed in brand name,advertising and actual product. This consistency leads totrust and ease of choice. Even more fundamental and

relevant, all are examples of superior quality products,offered at a competitive value that broadens consumerchoices. That is what it takes to win. You cannot justsay, lets go global and it happens. You must have aproduct and positioning that are competitive on a world-wide basis. That can be a winning business propositioncountry after country. This is a much greater challengethan winning in any one country or region.

The consumer is the ultimate winner. At a minimum,their local choices are broadened and increased competi-tion keeps pricing competitive in the market. But inmany, many cases the presence of global brands bringswith it superior products in terms of technology, benefitand quality. Offered at a competitive value. Said anotherway, global brands often raise the standard. In healthcare,this can mean efficacy, safety and meeting GMPs. This is

a critical point. A global brand raises the stakes for amanufacturer. A problem in any one country can impactthe entire global proposition and Company reputation.The incentive to get it right and keep it right is very high.Once you have successfully executed and supported abrand of this scale, it is a business large enough to gener-ate funds to invest further in continuing to improve that

brand and invent new ones. A very productive cycle forthe consumer.

This is not just theory. At P&G, we are moving evenfaster with entirely new global products. Just two weeksago, we announced the launch of two entirely new globalbrands. One is Dryel; a product that allows consumers toclean and freshen dry clean only clothes at home. Theother is Swiffer; a new cleaning system for dry householdsurfaces. From their inception, Dryel and Swiffer weredeveloped with global expansion in mind. As a result,both products will be rolled out across North America,Western Europe and portions of Asia and Latin Americaover the next 18 months. The roll out of each product

includes a single brand name and uniform packaging,brand positioning and advertising.

With this as background, let us turn to todays specificquestion.

Global brands: how does self-medication score?Despite the fact that global healthcare consumers wantand deserve access to safe, efficacious, quality brands thatoffer the very best standard of care, the answer is verylow when compared to other categories.

Based on our internal analysis, the most global non-prescription Healthcare brand is Vicks which is availablein over 85 countries. This is followed by Halls found in60 countries, and Ricola found in 45 countries. Tylenol

far and away the largest non-prescription brand in theU.S. is available in only 17 countries. Compared to thenon-healthcare brand examples, this is a very dramaticdifference in global presence. And I should emphasisethis is just a comparison of presence, not consistencyacross borders. The differences in presentation consis-tency are even greater. For perspective, while a Vicksentry can be found in over 85 countries, the same formcan be found in only 41 countries and the same formulacan be found in only 29.

So why is the self-medication score so low? Aroundthe world, the differences and inconsistencies in freedomto market criteria for non-prescription brands creates a

barrier that makes global branding exceptionally difficult,complex and expensive to execute. Unfortunately, thereis a very long list of key areas of inconsistency. It in-cludes:

- brand name usage

- advertising limitations

- approved non-prescription actives

- dose levels and forms

- claims and indications

- dossier filing requirements

- pricing freedom

- distribution channels and shelf placement


3/4

Page 44The World Self-Medication Industry (WSMI) 13th General Assembly



All these differences despite the fact that the consumerneeds in self-medication are very consistent around theworld. You are all aware of these differences. But youmay not be fully aware of how they limit global branding.For global branding to be effectively achieved, the abilityto commercialise consistently is essential.

I have been asked to discuss two of these areas spe-cifically: the use of brand names and advertising. Speak-ers that follow me today will touch on several of the oth-ers.

The key issue with respect to brand names is the in-ability to use a brand name consistently around the world.As an example, some countries allow umbrella brandingfor products within the same product group; other coun-tries do not. Additionally, some allow use of the Rx namewhen switched to OTC; some do not. For perspective, welooked at 16 countries across Europe. There were 13 dif-ferent approaches to these branding issues. These verydifferent criteria result in complexity, confusion, in-creased costs and ultimately fewer consumer choices.

Thats because the investment required to establish nu-merous brand names all too often prohibits geographicexpansion.

Using the same brand name across countries andacross products in a similar product group is essential tosuccessful global branding. The consumer benefits froma harmonised approach to brand names that consistentlyallows umbrella branding and recognisable use of theparent Rx brand name when switching. This is critical toclear and trusted understanding of efficacy and safetyacross geographies. Further, this consistency and trusthelp make more informed choices, more easily andquickly.

On the subject of advertising, the key issue is widedifferences exist in which non-prescription brands can beadvertised and how. These communication inconsisten-cies create a major obstacle for global brands. Somecountries allow direct to consumer advertising for non-prescription products; some do not. Within those coun-tries that do allow advertising, some have written re-quirements for direct to consumer advertising; some donot and take decisions on a case by case basis. Further,when advertising is allowed, it is often with severe limi-tations or qualifications resulting in complex advertisingthat is confusing to the consumer and diminishes theirability to make informed choices.

To establish a global brand successfully, a consistentadvertising message is absolutely essential. The key roleof television advertising is to establish awareness of prod-uct choices appropriate for self-medication and to articu-late the key benefit to a mass audience. This advertisingmust be simple and consumer friendly to be effective.That is true of any product and category. A 30-secondcommercial just cannot tell all. In non-prescriptionhealthcare, the advertising must be thought of as one keyelement in a communication system that includes the labeland package insert.

A harmonised approach that would allow consistentcommunication across advertising, the package label and

insert leaflet would be a huge win for consumers, gov-ernment and the industry. Consistency and clarity ofcommunication across these three elements will lead to

more responsible product usage. This is true in nonhealthcare categories. It is arguably even more importantin Healthcare because of the role these products play inconsumers quality of life.

I must comment briefly on the topic of variance in ap-proved actives and doses as consumer presentation con-sistency is highly dependent on this issue being addressedas well. As I noted in the definition of a global brand, theproduct formula should be consistent across geographies.That maintains the integrity of the benefit and brand eq-uity. As such, the inability to use actives consistentlyacross geographies is a major issue limiting global brands.For example, acetaminophen or paracetamol is arguablythe most widely approved non-prescription ingredient.Yet, there is a wide range of allowed doses. For perspec-tive, we looked at 12 major countries across Europe,North America and Asia. Across those twelve, there weresix different approved dosage levels. This creates com-plexity, inconsistency in benefit and higher costs.

Dextromethorphan is an even more complex example

as it has both wide variation in regulatory status Rx ornon-prescription and wide variation in dose level. In ananalysis of 29 countries across the world, 8 classify dex-tromethorphan as Rx only; 5 have both an OTC and Rxdose; 16 have two dose levels approved as non-prescription. This means, in one country, Brand A maypromise cough relief with 30 milligrams of dextromethor-phan; in another, 20 milligrams; and in yet another, use anentirely different active because dextromethorphan is ap-proved as Rx only.

Stepping back, this overall situation just does notmake sense in todays global world. Everyone loses: con-sumers, governments and manufacturers. The consumer

pays the ultimate price. Lack of broad geographic avail-ability:

1. limits consumer access to choices and often the bestcurrently available care; and

2. limits funding for Research and Development effortsto find new, even better future healthcare solutions.

It simply should not be this way. Global brandsshould be broadly available to consumers in non-prescription healthcare just like in other categories. Therationale is straightforward:

- First, consumer needs in non-prescription categoriesare fundamentally the same all around the world.

- Second, todays global consumers are more diverse,educated, mobile, proactive and aware of what theworld has to offer. The world is indeed tiny due toglobal broadcast media like the BBC and CNNand, ofcourse, the worldwide web. Astudy cited in a recentWSMI publication indicated 40% of Internet userswere looking for Healthcare information. They knownew developments are out there, proactively search tofind them and do not want to be limited in terms ofaccess to them.

- Third, consistent presentation brand name, adver-tising, labelling and product profile reduces consumerand professional confusion and administrative com-

plexity and cost. A consistent global menu of avail-able products and marketing parameters should make


4/4

The World Self-Medication Industry (WSMI) 13th General Assembly



Page 45

for an even lower cost, and a better focused healthcaresystem for government authorities.

- Fourth, a global brands scale can best support a com-petent infrastructure that assures ongoing safety, effi-cacy and quality at the highest levels. Brands soldconsistently on a global basis have dramatically largerconsumer exposure and experience allowing for amuch more substantial safety database.

- And, finally, what it takes to win with the global con-sumer in non-prescription healthcare is exactly thesame as in other categories. That is: top quality prod-ucts offered at a competitive value. What could bebetter for the consumer?

In summary, dramatically increasing the number oftruly global brands would be a great step forward for con-sumers to responsibly self-medicate. Harmonisation is

required in key areas of presentation consistency to ac-complish this. And I believe it is possible. The work theInternational Conference on Harmonization has done inaligning registration requirements for Rx drugs on aglobal basis is truly impressive. It demonstrates progresson issues such as these can be made if there is focus andcommitment. I realise many country Boards of Health

and industry associations including the AESGP andWSMI are working these issues. This is truly criticalwork. To those of you who may not have engaged onthis, I encourage you to do so.

The bottom line. Global brands can and should meanmore and better choices; made available faster, more sim-ply, in a more responsible way. Everyone wins.

n

Documents

12Blinnformat