Disclaimer: I have an engineering degree and often think and act like an engineer. I know enough about marketing to be dangerous.
While watching NFL football this evening, a commercial aired for a drug-eluting stent. I’ve been following drug-eluting stent technology for years. I’ve read enough to know that the technology is not all that was hoped it would be 5 years ago. I know that there are boatloads of scientific data both for and against drug-eluting stents. I know that drug-eluting stent sales have declined significantly in the past 2 years. But the commercial talked very little about any of this or the benefits. It showed numerous people (mostly middle-aged men) engaged in a variety of physical activities. I found it a little interesting.
It got me thinking. I don’t recall ever seeing a television commercial for a medical device. Why or why not? I decided to do an internet search. Apparently there will be more spots for drug-eluting stents from a number of manufacturers. Will other medical device technologies follow suit? I suspect so. Turn on the TV any time of day. How many commercials are there for pharmaceuticals? Too many to count.
Is this a good forum to advertise? A previous employer experimented with print ads for medical device technologies in several newspapers. Their goal was to educate consumers and recipients of the products. Do patients have this kind of buying power? Either way, shouldn’t the patients be informed of both the pros and cons of the technologies?
I’ve seen commercials for devices to monitor blood sugar, presumably for diabetes management. I might be wrong, but I think I remember seeing them for at least a couple years. Stent advertisements are a whole different ballgame though.
Jacob,
Good point–you are right.
I also read that we should expect to see more television advertising from other stent manufacturers.
j