Metabical
A new weight-loss drug
Integrated Marketing Campaign Plan
Yeshna Ramessur
Sergei Kobzaruk
Arie Ross Agency
12th April 2016
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Table of Contents
Executive Summary ....................................................................................................................................... 3
Situation Analysis ......................................................................................................................................... 3
Communications objectives ......................................................................................................................... 5
Target audience assessment ........................................................................................................................ 6
Insights ......................................................................................................................................................... 8
Strategic thinking ......................................................................................................................................... 9
Positioning strategy & statement ............................................................................................................... 10
Key Message ............................................................................................................................................... 11
Strategy ....................................................................................................................................................... 11
Execution ..................................................................................................................................................... 12
Media Plan .................................................................................................................................................. 13
Creative Execution ....................................................................................................................................... 15
PR Launch Event .......................................................................................................................................... 18
Broadcast media ......................................................................................................................................... 19
TV participation/Sponsorship ...................................................................................................................... 20
Print Media: Magazines .............................................................................................................................. 21
Out-of-home Media: ................................................................................................................................... 23
Metabical.com Website .............................................................................................................................. 25
Interactive Media ........................................................................................................................................ 27
Budget: ........................................................................................................................................................ 32
Blocking Chart ............................................................................................................................................. 33
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Executive Summary
CSP is a well-respected pharmaceutical company with a wide range of products and well
established brand. It’s coming out with a new revolutionary weight-loss product called Metabical.
It has no alternatives on the market, is FDA approved, has no side effects and is long lasting.
Any other competitive products on the market has significant health consequences for its patients
and are inferior to CSP product.
We came up with a theme #Endthestruggle as we realized that our intended target audience were
the forgotten segment of the market. Consumers between ages of 35-55 with BMI 25-30 concerned
about their health and look have tried multiple solutions like gym, weight watchers, diet and
nothing have worked out. Through this we realized that our target audience were professionals
who were content with life and they were looking for the perfect product to shred extra pounds.
Metabical fits their needs ideally. Our product launch campaign includes PR event, TV, out-of-
home, social media, banner ads, print, and medical journals.
We will get doctors involved before launch with product seeding, make consumers aware of the
new product and encourage them to try out. CSP requires 23 MM to execute integrated
communications plan to successfully launch Metabical on the market and be a number one weight-
loss product. Our contingency budget is estimated at 7 MM, 30% of the total ad budget.
It is projected that in 5 years after launch Metabical will achieve a target goal of 5% ROI returns
and total profits will be 37.43 MM in total.
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Situation Analysis
USA is notoriously known for its overweight population. Most importantly, popular conversation
are directed to the seriously or morbidly overweight population. It was a lucrative business
considering that 65% of the US population is considered overweight. And the segment that drove
the business was the morbidly overweight segment which amount for 30.5% of the population.
The moderately overweight segment were left forgotten. They didn’t have any products specific
for them. Their only devices was to join a gym, take supplements, or extreme diet modification,
but those methods they had already tried, possibly they have reached their current goal through
those ways. Taking one step further was simply not working anymore. Our audience were
frustrated and tired, even hopeless, feeling that this is it. They will have to live with this excess 30
pounds because the industry didn’t cater for them. Especially, because this segment was
moderately overweight, that didn’t pose serious health issues for them. Hence, no one even thought
that they could want to lose even more weight. That’s when CSP created Metabical – a
revolutionary product unique on its own with great capacity that actually helps its intended patient
to lose the last 20 pounds that would just not go away. We understood that Metabical is everything.
It exceeds marketing expectations, it outweighs competitors. But we needed to come up with a
great creative that could convey the message and generate sales and create positive conversation.
Having people to believe in it, seems quite hard because competitors have been playing with
consumers sentiments making them believe into fake advertising, this has caused a lot of negative
inhibitions that has essentially caused current customer to disconnect from weight-loss pills and
therefore created disbelief. Metabical has no direct competitors as such, but our target audience
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must have turned to other products as they were simply not aware of the BMI and what appropriate
products there are for them. CSP was able to gauge into this and develop a product specific for a
specific market. Hence, we also need to communicate that through customer education.
The most common advice that a moderately overweight person get when they decide to lose weight
is “eat fewer calories than you burn”, or “reduce calories in, increase calories out.” While this is
true, the reality of a slower metabolism and diet modification past a certain age is very hard to
digest. Our target market, have possibly tried everything to lose weight, but were still struggling
for the remaining few pounds.
This is why we realised, selling a revolutionary product as Metabical will not be hard, but we need
to get the correct message out that will resonate with what the audience has been looking for.
Brand promises
- Lose weight without any effort
- Once lost, you will not regain this weight
- Following the instructions will make sure that the patient does not put on weight again. The
rollercoaster effect is gone.
- No side effects if instructions are followed.
- It works because it contains chemicals that work on the organs, unlike our competitors whose
product worked momentarily due to the fact that they were doing retention of water. Metabical is
acting on the brain, sending signals telling him to stop eating once the patient is full. (we found
out that, the reason why those patients keep on putting weight is that, once they are able to lose
some weight, they reward themselves with a piece of cake, or a glass of champagne, and due to
the inefficacy of other products they put on weight twice as fast as they lost it). With Metabical
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acting right where the madness starts again, the brain, there is no possibility to put on weight again
because the indulgence of eating is reduced.
One advantage that Metabical has compared to competitors: Our brand truths align with the human
truths of our target: The promise of losing weight in a healthy, long-lasting and fast way.
Competitive Review
Metabical is truly different when compared to competitors available on the market, in the sense
that it is the only pill that targets weight loss of 10 to 30 pounds. Amongst weight loss solutions
available on the market, such as personal trainers, weight-watchers or drugs like Alli, Xenical,
Xenadrine EFX, or One-A-Day WeightSmart, only Alli was FDA approved for weight-loss. All
weight loss drugs were accompanied by moderate to severe side effects such as hypertension,
tachycardia, heart palpitations etc. They faced many negative complaints and were seen as using
deceptive marketing at the expense of consumers. On top of that, they were used for heavily
overweight people. Metabical differs in every way. It is based on one pill per day structure, with a
controlled program that helps the consumer to track and adopt healthier habits while losing weight
safely. It is the safest product so far, in the sense that it works as a low-dose formulation and
reduces stress on the liver. It showed remarkable clinical trial results: 26 pounds lost on average
over 12 weeks. Less severe side effects appeared only if a high level of fat was consumed.
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Marketing objectives
Achieve a minimum 5% ROI within five years of the new product’s launch.
To position Metabical as the ultimate hope, where moderately overweight consumers, a
forgotten segment of the market, have to lose the remaining few pounds and maintain that
for 3 years, and to communicate that it works because of the unique components that it
possesses.
Communications objectives
1. Position Metabical as the only safe and guaranteed weight-loss product in the minds of
target consumers.
2. Present happy, relieved images of consumers’ feelings after long and painstaking struggle
that affected their lives. Establish a bond of hope and empowerment between a consumer
and CSP’s new product.
3. Build 70% awareness around the efficacy and brand promise of Metabical as the only
weight loss pill that achieves what it claims, but only for moderately overweight disciplined
people. To be achieved in year one.
4. Communicate that unlike other weight loss pill, Metabical works in low-dose formulation
which reduces stress on the liver or heart, unlike other products.
5. Further accentuate that Metabical presents no side effects if all the instructions of the pill
intake and support program is respected.
6. Attract moderately overweight women 35-55 years of age with BMI 25-30 to experience
Metabical.
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7. Become top-of-mind brand recall when it comes to losing a few points in the mind of
Healthcare Providers.
8. Generate engagement in “The Metabical Challenge” that will allow consumers to stay
connected with Metabical and therefore improve sharing that will in term result in word-
of-mouth.
Choosing a pill in the USA is usually backed up by brand credibility, awareness, function and
emotional benefit, market access, and sales representative’s relationship with the doctor. To
increase believability in Metabical, it is best to start by a PR campaign that will focus on product
seeding, while our sales representatives will participate at doctor’s symposium and reinforce that
with regular visits to their offices.
Target audience assessment
“I have tried countless diets and every new weight-loss pill that has come on the market.
Nothing seems to take off those extra pounds. With diets, I am miserable because I am starving all the time,
and none of the weight-loss pills seem to work. I might lose a couple pounds,
but I never reach my weight-loss goals and I usually end up gaining more back.
I would give anything to lose this extra 20 pounds, so that I can live a longer, happier life.”
– Tamara Jinkens, focus group participant age 42
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Segment by age
Tamara is 42 years old. She is successful. She has been busy creating the life of her dream, she has
acquired several successes in life, but with the years, she has also put on some weight. Because
she is conscious and educated, she has tried to maintain her weight with what was available to her
from diets, gym, pills and nutrition modification, but because of her hectic lifestyle, her inability
to keep up with a strict diet for a long time has made her regain her weight. Basically, she is been
battling with weight-loss and weight gain for too long to recall. She is at a point in her life where
she is frustrated and has lost hope to ever regain the goal weight that she feel satisfied in. She goes
to yoga, take her kids to school or frequent women who are confident because of their personal
image. She looks up to those wondering if she’s ever going to reach that. She has been looking for
information about reaching and maintain her goal weight, but has been left unsatisfied.
Motivation to purchase
The motivation that lies behind choosing a weight-loss program is usually the brand and its
promises and the support gotten from that. Trust in the company offering the service or product is
very important, but in this industry, weight-loss has been a business often led by deceptive
advertising that has caused our target market to disconnect with a weight-loss program that will
make them achieve their goal weight, finally! For this reason, reconciling the audience with believe
into a new product is utterly important, hence we are focussing on the brand promise of the product:
it works because it contains real products that go to the root of the problem.
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The health and wellness continuum
Our target market is aware of every product on the market that addresses weight-loss issues. They
are savvy enough to know the side effects, what they promise to achieve and how miserably they
failed at achieving that. Because of the poor image left by our competitors, Metabical has to come
up with a new message strong enough to make them believe in it.
Functional and emotional need
The functional need our target market is trying to solve it to lose weight. The emotional need is to
look good: possibly for their significant others. But we are going through and empowerment
appeal: to make them achieve what they feel inside. Addressing both what functional and
emotional needs Metabical is solving will create a powerful selling element for the customers.
How to broaden the market?
Successfully targeting women, will drive men to try the product. For a very long time, weight-loss
companies have been targeting women as the subject matter. Having done so, in the eyes of men,
women are the ultimate go-to person when it comes to losing weight. Luckily for us, we are going
to leverage that belief and target women so they want to recommend to other. Women are great
influencers to the people around them – not in a negative way, but because they are always
researching and looking for the best deal, that behaviour makes them reliable. Through our sales
promotion, we are going to incentivise them into referring to a men, with the message: Hey Ladies.
Thank you for believing in us. We are truly focus on making our customers achieve their goal
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weight. This is why, we want you to invite the men in your life, to follow us. Give them the gift of
weight loss.
Insights
Overweight people with 25-30 BMI who tried to lose weight have a widely held belief that losing
these last few pounds is a struggle on a personal level that affects their self-esteem, constant tweaks
in a lifestyle - their loved ones and families. Frustration and mystery surrounds this problem. They
believe that nothing can help to achieve long term results. Trying competitor products make them
lose more water than fat and the time they stop taking the drug they gain the weight back. Constant
physical work-outs don’t help either. They want to live healthier life, yet all they tireless efforts
do not bring long term results.
Since our communication strategy needed to include both the healthcare providers and end-
consumer simultaneously with the exact same message, we found different insights for both
groups.
Insights: Health Care providers:
-They had patients who were struggling with weight-loss and compliance was difficult.
- The best way to reach HCP was to incentivise the meeting, they adore free samples and free stuff.
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- They enjoy being thanked. The ability for stakeholders to express gratitude for their good work
was another way to establish long-lasting relationship. They are not closed to having a relationship
with a company, but they want meaningful ones. Those who take care of them!
- Doctors are huge referrals to other doctors.
- Their receptionists are gatekeepers which can be by-passed through direct mail and personal visit
on appointment which needed an established relationship with the doctors.
Insights: Consumers:
- One reason why most women who are moderately overweight felt the need to shed pounds was
that they probably could no longer fit in their favorite dress, then the realization hits: growing old
and fat. If they don’t do anything now, they will have a hard time fitting in the society.
- The target market is not comfortable with admitting that they want to lose weight for self-esteem
reasons, instead they will say they want to stay healthy. Therefore, we will need to come up with
a great ad that demonstrate that without picturing the audience as having an inferiority issue.
Instead, we should go for empowering them – make them feel proud they are doing this for
themselves.
- Consumers are looking for a solution that gets the job done with relatively high speed and is
reliable.
- Consumers do not want to keep hooked to a weight loss program and be deceived after that. What
they want is a rapid solution that complements their life. It requires no sweating at the gym or
restriction of diet.
- They lacked motivation to keep going. The moment they lost a few pounds, they allowed
themselves to indulge on a piece of chocolate one day, then one glass of wine another day. Within
days, they put on the weight they took weeks to lose.
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- Our audience suffered from “a roller-coaster” effect of weight gain and loss that made them
disbelieve in any promises by corporations.
Strategic thinking
We want our target audience to come forward and say they matter too. Just because they are at
beginning of the weight-gain spectrum, they are allowed to want to lose the extra few pounds
remaining. We found out that our target audience being in the middle-age love nostalgia. They are
also savvy customers who look for information thoroughly before buying into any product,
especially when it comes to health issues. They are likely to go to a doctor first, and look for
information online, read and watch review videos. So we understood that the best way to reach the
end-consumers was to create content that relates directly to their daily lives and therefore create
relevance to them. Also, the message needs to be powerful enough to create believability in a
product that has been looked upon because of deceitful advertising by competitors.
The best way to do that, was to create a snowball effect advertising. Reaching the doctors first
through medical symposium and events as they make time to attend events, then using our
salesforce to leverage existing relationship established by CSP’s older products. Then, through PR
campaign, we are going to video tape a typical person in her daily life. The PR campaign is going
to reinforce what the doctors already know, and will be used as a recall. Essentially, it will bridge
the gap between doctors and end-consumers. In terms of timing, it will be done before OOH
advertising, as it is going to spark curiosity. After the PR campaign, advertising will start to appear
at the end-consumers level, to start and keep the conversation going. We need a strong powerful
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message that resonates with the target audience experience and daily lives and is relevant,
interesting but also highly original to wipe out any negative sentiments left by competitors.
Communication Strategy
With so many consumers struggling to lose weight being frustrated and sometimes desperate,
that’s on one hand, and with the massive number of other weight-loss drugs and false claims on
the other, combined with a very high price of the whole Metabical 12 week course we knew that
there was a clear need to come up not only with functional benefits, but to strike consumers from
emotional side as and establish a bond of trust with a brand new product on the market.
On the other side, it became clear to us that in the US, doctors hold the real power in prescription
drugs. So, we need to strike the doctors first. CSP proven experience has already established good
relationship with the doctors.
It was clear that to make a successful launch we would have to get doctors and pharmacists on
board, make them aware of the product, its key benefits and how it fundamentally differed from
any other on the market. Because it’s a prescription product and how highly credible doctors’
endorsements generally are. We had all the necessary clinical data to prove how superior Metabical
was. Secondly, patient-doctor dialogue was an important source of hope and empowerment even
for people just starting the course. We combined Metabical’s functional side - effectiveness, long
term effects, no side-effects with patient’s emotions - hope and how it can empower them and
achieve they’re unattainable goal to communicate what our new drug was about in realistic and
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encouraging manner. This way CSP would hit both functional and emotional areas with doctors
and patients. Emotional connection with Metabical was very significant.
TV, print, and personal selling will be used to create awareness, establish trust. PR is used to start
conversations and strengthen awareness. Direct mail to the doctors was important to make them
aware of a sensational product hitting the market.
Portray the feeling of relief and happiness customers would experience after a long and painstaking
struggle.
Positioning strategy & statement
Strategy
Benefits sought.
- Contains an appetite- suppressant agent, called calosera;
- Contains a fat-blocking agent and calorie-absorption agent, meditonan;
- Results visible by week 12 of drug intake achieving an approximate loss of 15-26 pounds – with
only one pill per day
- So far, Metabical is considered the safest drug on the market.
Statement
For women aged between 35 and 65 years old, with a BMI between 25 and 30, Metabical
provides the only integrated weight loss program that will help your patient lose and maintain his
goal weight up to 3 years after shedding initial excess weight. Metabical has been clinically
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proven to show results in the first 12 weeks and is considered the safest FDA approved weight
loss pill on the market.
Key Message
“Last few pounds are not coming back”
Rational positioning.
Tagline:
“It just works”
Creative plan
Objectives
1. Communicate that Metabical is the only safe and effective solution for a moderate weight-loss
on the market by providing the evidence; FDA approved, long lasting effects, guaranteed
weight-loss, no-side effects.
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2. Communicate that desire to be healthy and have just the right weight and shredded body is
possible with Metabical.
3. Portray how consumers become who they always wanted, aspired to be, through discipline,
effort, painstaking struggle. Show that consumers attach a tremendous meaning and
significance to setting and achieving a goal and how Metabical can help.
4. Create a sense of empowerment in our audience for them so as to trigger trial purchase.
Authenticity – how we do it? It is what lies within the product.
(CSP was able to combine a powerful appetite-suppressant compound, namely calosera, that act
directly on the region of the brain that convinces it to be full after eating the required quantity. In
this way, it prevents over-eating or giving in to every indulgence, especially a piece of cake at the
end of a long tiring day).
Strategy
Appeal is emotional storytelling with factual information that we believe will resonate with our
target market really well.
We want to highlight the pain, struggles and the fight our consumers went through on their way to
losing weight.
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We will talk about how completing an endurance event takes hours of roadwork and training, as
well as loads of physical and mental toughness. Preparing for a fight takes blood, sweat, and tears,
literally and figuratively. Such qualities are to be celebrated and commended. And the loftier the
goal the bigger emotional attachment it has to your psychological well-being. We’ll go on to say
that losing weight matters to us and it matters immensely. We attach tremendous meaning and
significance to setting and achieving a weight loss. ("And Then What? What Happens After We
Reach Our Goals." Breaking Muscle. Web. 04 Apr. 2016)
The desire to be healthy and have the right weight is a sustainable goal as well as maintaining a
shredded body. Metabical is the only product on the market that is efficient, safe and provides a
sustainable weight-loss. A life changing product.
Style - informative. Tone - inspirational.
Execution
Stories will be told by real target people who tried Metabical to tell their stories about weight-loss
struggle for many years and how nothing helped or was ineffective, health damaging or with severe
side effects. They would compare it to physical exercises, compare weight loss with a fight, how
they tried and prepared. And what losing weight meant to them. How important is for their life,
self-esteem.
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People will be selected from different states aged 35, 40, 50, 55 years old who tried different
popular weight loss options and failed.
Proof will be provided by the clinical studies’ results, FDA approval, customers’ testimonials, and
medical community roundtable discussion.
Pre-roll
Endorsement with doctors: - GlobalHealth PR will leverage its relationship with through Doctors
associations.
Launch
Our PR will conduct a product launch event in a business hotel and will invite our end-consumers
who have tried the product as well as doctors and medical personnel. Implement testimonials of
real target people who tried Metabical to tell their stories about weight-loss struggle for many years
and how nothing helped or was ineffective, health damaging or with severe side effects. They
would advise to not waste your time and give Metabical a try like they did.
Post Launch
Product as a hero – We will show slice-of-life advertisement that will be generated by consumers
to demonstrate how Metabical changed their lives.
Media Plan
Budget: a total of $23 Million is available to media and PR advertising.
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Objectives
Effectively reach target market so as to create sales within first 3 months of launching
Communicate that Metabical has no alternatives and is an innovation from every perspective - low
side effects, weight loss effectiveness, and long term results.
Reach New York audience.
Who: Efficiently reach 35-55 year old women, career driven professionals with college and
university education living in major urban cities to achieve 270000 12 week purchases within first
12 weeks of the launch. Launch in New York. They are interested in lifestyle, appearance and
health. They subscribe to magazines, watches TV, and easily tune in to wellness and self-image
improvement products.
What: The message will focus on communicating that that Metabical has no alternatives and is an
innovation from every perspective - low side effects, weight loss effectiveness, and long term
results.
When: Message will focus on generating sales and desire to try Metabical strategically for summer
months. Therefore advertising will begin in February 2017 throughout the year. Especially
launching in February will increase trial as it works in 3 months, and will give ample time for
customers to shed weight right before summer, plus it will make them want to purchase as soon as
possible.
Where: It will be on a regional scope in New York.
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How: Since the weight loss industry is filled with competitors proposing deceptive marketing, we
will focus on pushing the key message at different time intervals. We will launch apps that allows
consumers to track and showcase their goals. This will increase empowerment as well. Consumers
will refer to others and keep the buzz going. A Facebook community page will be open and
functioning for consumers and information-seekers to have access on to see results achieved. It
will be very focusses on real people sharing their real results in real-time.
Media Strategy
Profile-Matching. Our primary target market being women spend at least 70% of their purchase
decision researching for information online, such as reviews as well. They are tech-savvy and very
information oriented. They like reliable information. Metabical will have a strong online presence
but will also have a strong relationship with general practitioners.
Market Coverage
Metabical will be launched in New York. New York is a high traffic region concentrated with
professional women, our target market. New York is representative to be used as a base for future
regional or national launch. New York is a centre of mass advertising campaign and sharing of
information is higher. Furthermore there is a significant spillover from people visiting from other
states and going back. This fits our communication strategy which is focussed on word of mouth
– both with the doctors and the end-consumers.
Timing
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Ads will be displayed through a blitz schedule. We need massive introduction campaign with high
levels of problem recognition and awareness during introductory period. Heavy advertising will
be done through PR and marketing to the health care providers which require more planning, time
and money especially for recalling purposes because of the gatekeepers.
PR Campaign begins – November 2016.
Health Care Providers:
Group 1: Returning resident doctors – June 2016
Group2: New doctors, fresh out of school – July 2016
Sales representatives – every 3 months visits to health care providers, beginning January 2016,
following launch
Regional Launch: - End-consumers: - Be ready for summer, therefore start advertising in March
(so they have 12 weeks exactly for the summer, this will increase trial purchase).
Reach/Frequency/Continuity
Since this is a new revolutionary product in a category that has lost weight, it is very important to
select the correct media that can fulfil our business objectives.
Reach will be over a whole year period: our advertising campaign will be deployed little by little
over time to create a snowball effect involving our target market, doctors, and sales representatives.
We will reach the end-consumers through various tactics to ensure they have been exposed along
their customer path to purchase. Flighting advertising will ensure that there is a continuity in
messages and it is consistent across media selection platforms.
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Media Selection Rationale:
Media that will be used to bring Metabical to life, are television, magazines, and out-of-home
medium: transit, street-level ads, billboards and posters. Online advertising through banner
advertising on general medical websites, example: Webdoctor.com. Metabical will have a website
and a phone applications which will give people to the possibility to track their progress at any
moment of the day and stay connected.
Media rejection rationale.
Radio was excluded, since it is not favourable for visual displays. To really resonate without
audience and make them believe again, radio would not do it. Metabical is worth talking about it,
but it’s better be shown.
Creative Execution
THEME: #ENDTHESTRUGGLE
Step 1: Marketing to Doctors
Timing: June – July 2016
Journal publications:
1. American Journal of Public Health – one of the oldest established monthly medical journals
Cost: 4300 USD for a full page
What: 12 pages in total
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Timing: 4 months total length: January, February, June, July
2. The Lancet – has been around for so long that other journals look up to it as a measurement and
it covers a lot of topics and features news from the top medical institutions in the world. CSP is a
successful company that has proven experience therefore publishing in this journal will show the
proper credible collaboration.
Lancet is a weekly journal.
What: Double page spread, 4 colours
Cost: 6500$ 4 months in total. 64 ads in total,
Timing: in every weekly issue, for 4 month: June, July, August, September
Event 1: Integrative Healthcare Symposium
Showcase Your New Product
76% of attendees from the 2015 event said it was very important for them to research, evaluate or see
new products.
69% of attendees are involved in or influence purchasing decisions
Timing: February 2017
Cost: $ 200,000
Source: http://www.ihsymposium.com/annual-conference/
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What’s in it for Metabical?
In the pharmaceutical industry, relationship marketing is what works. Doctors are less likely to
listen to pharmaceutical companies they don’t know about. By building a one-on-one rapport, we
are getting closer to the doctors. They are able to know us, our company, our company most
importantly what we do. Using such ways, ensure that the doctors know us personally, so they
build trust in us. Besides, doctors are big referrals to other doctors. In the US billions of money is
spent on marketing to doctors as compared to millions on marketing to end-consumers. So to
say, it is a big deal. By getting the doctors on board, we ensure that they can push Metabical.
Implementation
Medical representatives will attend doctors’ symposium and events to create a presence and start
building a network. They will also have Metabical detail aid to show how the product works. The
medical representative will have an iPad with them on which videos about how the product acts
on the human body and it actually works. The key message here will be differentiating with
competitor’s product. Getting the doctors on board is the key.
Control
Once our medical representatives have attended the symposium and events, they will express their
gratitude. It will be during December, and we found out that holiday season. To get through the
gate keepers, our medical representatives will tell the receptions that they are here to give a
compliment to the doctor. Our tactic here will be to express our deepest gratitude and then do a
follow-up. We will leave samples for them to try and will give them a co-branded Metabical Scale
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or a MediScript / Metabical tablet if they are willing to seed out product. Medical representatives
will be in charge or following up and see if they have actually prescribed Metabical.
CSP had an advantage as they have been doing business previously through selling of gastro pills
which is related to public health Doctors who will be on board will have to log-in on our website.
We found out that doctors love to receive medical related news. We will have news published
about Metabical and its effects. We will have webinars by our doctors to talk about the efficacy of
Metabical. This will be an endorsement that will reach other doctors as well.
Distribution vehicles
We will select the most competent sales person and will give them sales kit in which there will be
brochures about Metabical, its components list, and tracking journal. They will also be trained to
learn how to express gratitude to doctors and do a proper follow up. We found out that doctors like
to be thanked. Those sales person are already in touch with the doctors through CSP’s previous
products.
High tech and high touch medical representatives will attend doctor’s symposium.
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Metabical Sales Kit
Cost of 1 sales kit Cost / Item Rationale
Visiting Cards. $0.01 A call to action
Free promotional samples (84 pills) $100.00 Pills for them to give to their patients
Medi-script tablet $280.00 If they get on board
Metabical Scale $49.99 If they get on board
Fitbug Org. Fitness Band $49.99 to give to their patients who finish the
treatment
Brochures $0.05
Containing Metabical and CSP information
Booktlets $5.00
CD/ DVD give aways $2.00 for them to put on their tv screens
Other costs: Daily call planner/Daily
report format/ Route plan
$200.00 For other miscellaneous cost
Gratitude Card $1.50 To send during holidays, as a means of
following up
Total Cost $688.54
What’s is in for Metabical?
Main objective:
We are reaching 30 doctors, we are hoping each one of them will get 3 of his patient to try
Metabical. So, 90 people to start the Metabical product.
- Exposure to doctors
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- Print and online presence: they will allow our product, website, logo and 60-word
description in the Program of Events and on the event website for 2 months after the event
- E-mail marketing: they will mention our participation to pre-registered attendees on their
website, Integrativepractitioner.com
- They will display our website, and description on their website.
Our PR Launch Event:
#EndTheStruggle
Over a period of November – February 2017, we are going to follow 3 women of our target
audience, in their daily lives, and how they are using Metabical. After that, we are going to make
a documentary of their results.
Where are we going to find them?
Since, we are already in touch with our doctors, we are going to ask them to ask those 3 of them
most difficult weight-loss case, and try to have them on board. They will do so because they want
a new hope, which Metabical represents. As an additional incentive, we are going to give them:
$1200 for completing the treatment or a Fitbug Org Fitness band.
From time to time, we are going to generate 10 secs ads of their progress as a teaser on Facebook
and Instagram.
And those videos, snaps or pictures will be accompanied with the message “#End the struggle”
We will have an event where we are going to invite those women, and they will be the heroes of
the night. They will give live testimonials. We are also going to invite medical personnel who deal
with public health: hospital care givers, doctors, pharmacists.
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Cost: $400,000
Timing for product seeding: Nov- Feb 2017
Launch Event: February
The key message: #endthestruggle
Where: St.Regis in New York
Why: one of the biggest business hotels
Step 2: Marketing to End-Consumers
Noise has to be created to the end-consumers too, so they create a pull strategy. It is very important
for the end-consumers to be aware of the existence of such a revolutionary product prior to big
launch as it improves credibility but most importantly, it enhance the brand image therefore helps
to build on brand awareness.
For end-consumers, although the theme remains #endthestruggle, we are using real life stories that
everyone can relate to.
Why?
Fitbug Orb’s is the ultimate way
to monitor your steps, sleep and
calories. It is connected to an app
for people who want to monitor
their food intake.
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Broadcast media
Television
Objective: To achieve a rating of 60% in order to drive awareness for Metabical.
TV spots will be displayed on selected TV channels such as:
Channel
name
House
hold
Reach
Theme Prime
time
Cost No. of spots
Ion Life 65% Health/
Lifestyle/Occasi
onal Movies
7.30 pm $112,000 for 30 secs
(According to Nielsen)
4 per week
Live
Well
Network
25% Health/Lifestyle 8.30 pm $70,000 for 30 sec
(approximate)
3 per week
Message:
Show the active women who goes on a roller coaster with her family and kids, and she sees it go
up and down, and this reminds her of her weight scale which also goes up and down.
Narrative say: “Beat the rollercoaster effect once and for all, the final few pounds are not coming
back. Metabical. Visit your doctor now”.
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It will be a 30 seconds spot.
Timing: March, February
TV participation/Sponsorship:
Get Ellen Degeneres on board. This is so because she is always sharing real life stories, struggles
of people in their daily life settings. She has great influence. Although, she will not endorse the
product. We want her to share the story of someone who actually used the product despite failing
miserably with others. This is actually news-worthy.
Many of our target audience, have been deceived by competitors’ product for many reasons. We
will get her to use Metabical and share her story on Ellen. We will get her to talk about her journey:
why she gained weight, what she did, how she felt discouraged, how at one point she was forced
to accept someone she is not deep inside, until she was asked to try Metabical. And 12 weeks later,
the result is just amazing. She personally, will tell everyone to give it a try. By mentioning that it
is a prescription drug, we believe this will entice people into believing that this product actually
works. 73% of her audience are women (according to her PR agency).
Her PR agent: EMSI Public Relations, the guaranteed media PR firm
Cost: 2 million
Timing: February
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Print Media: Magazines
Vanity Fair:
For Lifestyle Audience,
PROFILE OF AFFLUENT AUDIENCE
Age - 25 – 54 - 55%
Household Income - Median HHI$160,812
Gender - Male/Female29% / 71%
Education - Any College95%
Source: www.ellentv.com/
What’s in it for Metabical?
We are focussed on sharing real life
struggle of ordinary people, who are
looking for a solution, but don’t even
know it exists.
Having Ellen to talk about it, we are
increasing exposure with our target
audience.
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Employment Status - FT or PT/
Professional or Executive 79%
Source: http://www.condenast.com/brands/vanity-fair/news
As a teaser, prior to having real life stories, we are going to show bits and pieces of human story
like such:
Women’s Health Magazine
Women’s Health magazine differentiate itself in the sense that it propels consumers to take action.
It provides the motivation and inspiration for 30 million consumers to buy.
From its official website:
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“From beauty to style to fitness, Women's Health gives readers the tools they need to make instant,
positive changes in their lives. For the “contemporary, confident, and ambitious women.”
Market Magazines Circulation Cost Timing
National
Magazine
Vanity Fair 1,205,229
$224,164 for 6
feature per year
Beginning Feb: 1 every 2
months
National
Magazine
Women’s
Health
1,500,000 $215,900 for a
full page ad/
copy
Alternate with Vanity fair,
beginning in January
Out-of-home Media:
Interactive Street-level ads
Description:
“Imagine how you would look with 30 pounds less.”
To measure engagement, an interactive screen will be placed at high traffic locations such as New
York. The message will be “Are you tired of looking like this? It will show a bulgy gender neutral
person, at street-level advertising. Whenever someone looks at it, a camera takes full body picture
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of the person, and it is displayed on the screen. Then there will be an arrow that will indicate
“please swipe to the left to see what you can do”. When he does so, it will show a healthy body
and the message “Metabical can help. Don’t lose hope”. With each swipes, we will be able to
capture engagement. This will be uniquely used to know how many people are actually drawn to
the message. This will help to know how many people are actually involved with the brand. There
will be a QR code that will direct them to the website.
Cost: $250,000 / month
Timing: January – March
Banner advertising on Webdoctor.com
Our target audience are browsing the internet 70% of times when they have a problem. They are
at a vulnerable stage in their life, and they go on webdoctor.com to see what their symptoms are.
Cost: $2000 per month per add
Timing: 5 months, January to June, September to December
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What’s in it for Metabical?
Metabical will be able to connect with the individual on a personal level. This will interest, and
will generate some buzz.
Billboard – Pre-roll
Description:
As a pre-roll, we will set up a billboard in Times Square, for the whole month of January, as it is
the period where people come back from holidays. The message will be a teaser. We will only
show the picture of women on an exercise machine and display “ever wondered what your body
would look like with 30 pounds less?”
It would look something like that:
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Cost: $2.5 million (according to sources which are familiar with the Times Square’s biggest
billboard cost)
Time: January
Transit
Description:
Transit Advertising’s CPM provides the highest value based on impressions on a per dollar basis.
Message will communicate factual benefits that only Metabical can offer - FDA approved, long
lasting effects, guaranteed weight-loss, no-side effects. Tagline “It just works” will be
prominently displayed on every transit ad.
Where:
Transit shelter in downtown 3 locations; 4 shelters - cost to make ( 600$) 6500$ for 4 week
period. Transit advertising will be placed in the highest traffic subway stations in downtown of
Manhattan and Queens: Times Sq-42 St, 34 St-Herald Square, Lexington Av-53 St, 74-Bway
(7)/Jackson Hts-Roosevelt Av.
Cost: 12 bus shelters - 85.200$ per month. - 255.000
Timing: February – March, April
Airport banner
53.2 million Travelers in 2014. Young, educated travelers, business professionals travel thorough
this location that will be interested in Metabical. They wait a long time for their flight at such a
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large airport and will notice Metabical message. JFK is the place where high-end brands do
advertising, it fits Metabical positioning well. The timing coincide with people coming back
from holidays.
What:
We will have 5 super boards banners at JFK for 3 months.
Cost:
50.000 per 4 week time.
Timing: August, September, October
Metabical.com Website
Our website will have:
The very first page will be a slide page where people will post their progress through Twitter and
it will appear on it. There will be a counter at the end that shows the number of people endorsing
and using Metabical. It will keep changing all the time. The
About Us page: where we will give details of Who CSP is
Why Metabical: Details about the key benefits and why it works
How it works: a series of videos explaining how the pills actually work
Support programs: Our support programs will be downloaded. Metabical is different because it
offers the program for 24 months.
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Reference materials: online weight-control tools (weight-loss tracker, food diary, nutritional and
calorie calculator)
Personal support: community forums- enabled through apps
Meal plans: menu planner, grocery lists and thousands of recipes
Exercise plans: weight-training and cardio routines of people and we can exchange.
Blog: where we will give news about weight loss
Log In: there will be a log in page for doctors where they can get news about Metabical, white
papers, research papers, research progress about CSP in general. They can even post their concerns.
It will be a free sign up.
Through Marketing to end-consumers we want them to go on our website.
The Metabical Challenge will be started on Facebook. It will be focussed on Education, getting
the conversation started, sharing of experiences, and get the community involved. This will be
down through and empowerment experiment.
Through Google Ads, contents-based ads. Metabical will be directed to people who look up key
words.
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Cost: $250,000 (maintenance 2 times a year $45,000)
Interactive Media
Main objective is to generate engagement.
Implementation: Hire a team of 5 digital specialists.
Validation:
As soon as someone lands
on the page, the Wall of
Fame pops up; it shows the
positive comments, and count
number. UGC shows it works,
people are more likely to
believe in the brand
The actual home page shows
all the components of the
website, it is very explicit. It
shows a customer focus
approach with keeping it
simple. Doctors have a log in
page as well. They can get
additional information such as
webisodes
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CSP will invest in a Sysomos Heartbeat, a dashboard that will link all social media under one
platform. In this way, we can analyse what is going on, on each platform and monitor each
campaign. This is how we are going to measure the success of the social media platform.
Instagram:
Objective:
To engage users to participate in The Metabical Challenge by sharing their progress.
To get 8000 new followers, 300 Likes per post,
To generate #endthestruggle target of 200 per post
To have a minimum engagements of 30 comments on every posts.
Target audience: 46% of users are aged 25-54, and 55% of users are women (according to
Edison research)
Description:
With our Metabical Challenge, we are going to get people to share their progress as soon as they
notice a change. They will tag our hashtag. And will show to the world what Metabical is
helping them achieve. This demonstrate empowerment in the sense that our target have been
frustrated long enough, and Metabical is their hope and they can come forward and feel fulfilled
finally.
Cost: For a month long advertisement, the cost can come up to $500,000 (source: adage.com,
based on speculation, as Instagram doesn’t divulge its cost).
Timing: February to December 2017
Metrics: Likes: to measure how resonant the content is
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Facebook:
Objective:
To have an Organic Reach (fans and non-fans, who see a given post) of 25,000 per month
Organic Reach (fans and non-fans, who see a given post) – 25000
Engagement (# of people who have interacted with our content) – 3000
People Talking About Metabical (highlights the number of fans who did something to
show engagement to their followers) – 800
To obtain a Click-Through Rate – 850
Target Audience: 55.5% of users aged between 25-54 (According to ISL)
Description:
Mostly for educational purposes.
We are a consumer facing company and will provide consumers with possibility to reach us
directly and ask any questions and concerns they might have about the new product. We would
produce regular content useful to our followers on weight-loss and real stories of people struggles.
Our Facebook #askMetabical sessions will be led by our own scientists providing transparent and
honest answers and clarity our patients want, which is so rarely found in pharma community.
Publishing schedule will be even with regular posts appearing every 3 days. #AskMetabical
sessions will be held every 2 weeks for 2 hours. Physicians won’t be involved as they can’t legally
talk about their work on Facebook or social media.
With our Facebook app, end-users can actually calculate their BMI, like so:
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Cost: $100,000
Timing: February – December
Metrics: Cost per impression – to measure awareness
Twitter:
Objective: To have an impression of 700 in the first month.
Target Audience: 64% of people aged between 25-54 (according to Branded! And The Edison
Research Arbitron Internet and Multimedia study)
Description:
Through twitter, our audience will be able to tweet their progress on our website, it will be
linked. We want them to share their progress with everyone, and with us.
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Cost: Twitter is paid by companies and advertisers.
Twitter cost (twitter.com)
270,000
Website Clicks or Conversions Campaigns: $1.68 $453,600.00
Followers Campaigns: $2.50 $675,000.00
Tweet Engagement Campaigns: $1.50 $405,000.00
App Installs or App Engagement Campaigns: $1.95 $526,500.00
Leads Campaigns: $4.47 $1,206,900.00
Video View Campaigns: $0.10 $27,000.00
Total $3,294,000
Timing: February – December
Measurement: Cost per engagement
Pinterest:
Objective: To drive engagement, as it is a great platform for users to share their pictures.
Target Audience: 71% of users are aged between 25-54, 80% are female, (according to
ComScore)
Description:
We want them to share their progress, what they are doing, what are they eating, how they feel.
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Cost: $21,500
Timing: February – December
Metrics: No. of pins – to measure the number of engagement.
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Budget:
Channel name Cost units Total Ion Life $112,000 for 30s 4 per week $1,790,000
Live Well Network
$70,000 for 30
sec 3 per week $840,000
American Journal of Public Health 4300 USD 12 pages $17,200
Lancet 6500$ 64 ads in tota $416,000
Integrative Healthcare Symposium $200,000
Sales kit 683.49 30 $ 20,520
#endthestruggle PR event - - $400,000
The Ellen Show - - $2,000,000
Vanity Fair 224164 6 $1,344,984
Women’s Health 215900 6 $1,295,400
Interactive Street Ad 250000 3 $750,000
Banner advertising on
Webdoctor.com
2000 5 $10,000
Billboard 2500000 1 period of 4
weeks
$2,500,000
Transit 7200 12 $86,400
Airport banner 50000 5 $ 250,000
metabical.com - - $340,000
Instagram: $500,000.00
Facebook $100,000.00
Twitter $3,294,000.00
Pinterest: $21,500.00
Total Budget $16,176,004
Contingency
(30%) $6,900,000
Budget
Allocated $23,000,000
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Blocking Chart
Activity Nov-16 Dec-
16 Jan-
17 Feb-17 Mar-
17 Apr-
17 May-
17 Jun-
17 Jul-17
Aug-17
Sep-17
Oct-17
Nov-17
Dec-17
Public Relations
Integrative Healthcare Symposium Feb-17
Launch Event Launch
Product Seeding
Sponsorships
The Ellen Show
Broadcast Media
Television
Ion Life 4
Live Well Network 3
Print Media
Magazines
American Journal of Public Health 1 1 1 1
The Lancet 4 4 4 4
Vanity Fair 1 1 1 1 1 1
Women’s Health Magazine 1 1 1 1 1 1
Social Media
Website
Banner advertising on Webdoctor.com
Out of Home
Interactive Street-level ads
Billboard
Transit
Airport banner
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Choice of PR Agency
Who:
They are comprised of more than 600 health specialist communications professionals who left
traditional agency path to see a better way. They have a partnership with more than 200 health,
life science and consumer science organisations. They provide access to more than 100 PhDs,
researchers and medical advisors: a huge network of medical professionals.
What they do?
The service we are seeking from them is product launching. Their criteria for selection fits
Metabical’s Identity:
Criteria they ask for Metabical Is your newest brand on track to receive regulatory approval in the next year? Yes Want to make a big splash with local and regional media? Yes Need perspective to reach key physicians and patients? Yes
Their previous work in various sectors of the pharmaceutical industry has made remarkable
impact. We believe they are the best agency we should engage with.
We work with you to devise a global strategy to position your product for launch success. Our
in-country expert partners can work with you to make sure your global campaign is
implemented successfully in-country.
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Summary of the big idea!
Need realisation:
We found out that our target
audience were the forgotten
segment of the market: they were at
the lower end of the overweight
segment, their health was not
threatened. No other company found
a reason to develop a product just
for them
Target Audience:
Our audience were left behind.
Due to the lack of alternatives for
them to lose the remaining 20
pounds they learnt to be content,
they were frustrated and lost hope
into ever reaching their goal
weight. They felt that they will
always fluctuate in weight
Execution:
So, we decided to drive a campaign
around the theme #Endthestruggle, to
communicate that finally there is a
product on the market that is good at
what it does. It is reliable, and
recommended by doctors. The
campaign revolved around
empowerment and referral, depicting
Metabical as a new hope.
What is in for Metabical?
After successful implementation of
the campaign, Metabical can be
sure that it won’t be subject to
deceptive advertising, since we are
using real people to tell their real life
stories. We get credible, intimate
relationship with our customers.
There is greater brand awareness,
most importantly, we have a great
relationship with doctors
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REFERENCES
1. Section 4: Demographics and Political Views of News Audiences
http://www.people-press.org/2012/09/27/section-4-demographics-and-political-views-of-news-
audiences/
2. Defining Objectives, Audience & Platform
https://www.lyfemarketing.com/beginners-social-media-guide-small-businesses/objectives/