Honor The Basics

By Mark Land, M.S., RAC-US, AAHP President 

In this issue we examine marketing of homeopathic drug products. As I read through the articles, what consistently came to mind was that the basics matter. The principles that former AAHP board member Cynthia Batterman discusses were developed at the turn of the 20th century. At a time when marketing and direct outreach to consumers was in its infancy. Similarly the points raised by Eric Foxman on OTC vs. Rx-only indications were enacted into law in 1951 at a time when pharmaceutical medicine was evolving into a powerful ally of physicians when treating serious disease. At that time criteria were necessary to differentiate serious versus self-treatable diseases. Hubert Humphrey, the then senator from Minnesota and future Vice President of the United States, and U.S. Representative Carl Durham of North Carolina, both pharmacists, were addressing risks associated with advertising treatments to consumers for serious disease, among other things. 

Cynthia speaks about the basics of brand awareness within the business organization—of firms coming to the realization of where their product fits in. While this is very sound advice, I would argue that the aim of a drug product is explored internally long before we establish a succinct position statement. That is not to say that a position statement isn’t necessary. Quite the contrary. As Cynthia mentions, it is the basis of the product’s marketing plan. 

Brenda van Goethem, an AAHP Board member, discusses the emerging uses of artificial intelligence (AI) to help with the marketing of homeopathic products. As we all know by now, AI is powerful with many applications. Recently we have seen the emergence of consumer sentiment analysis for what Brenda calls “near real time” consumer perception research. This approach is being used in a variety of ways from politics to product branding. I am simultaneously intrigued by the democratizing power of this technology and the risks associated with its over-application. As we race forward with AI, lets keep in mind that the fundamentals still matter. 

I think I covered a lot of what Eric mentioned in his article on OTC vs. Rx-only. When I read the warning letters Eric referenced, my first thought was that it was possible that these marketers were ignorant of the concepts addressed by pharmacists Durham and Humphrey. If that is the case, it then means that these marketers failed at the basics of their project. Consumers were placed at risk. None of us want that. 

Marketing and regulatory compliance are not mutually exclusive investments of your homeopathic company. Remember the basics across the enterprise and your brands will thrive.