Metabical: Communications Plan Essay

1. Introduction Metabical is a bran new revolutionary weight loss drug, developed by the Cambridge Science Pharmaceuticals, which expects the final approved by the FDA (US Food and Drug Administration). As soon, as the FDA approves it, the product is going to be launched. Metabical is clinically proven to be a very effective drug for the weight-loss in moderately overweight people with the BMI 25-30. 2. Background The statistics show, that not less than 70 % of participants of the Marketing Survey for the weight-loss products are unhappy with their current weight. 35 % of them are trying actively to lose weight via any means. 15 % of them do not mind the usage of the weight-loss products to help them in losing weight. 65 % of the adult population of the United States is considered as the overweight or obese. Many of the members of focus groups claim that they starve themselves with diets and suffer from the intensive exercising; however, they do not get the desired results as quick and easy as they want them to be. These facts show the need of the market for the weight-loss products. Overweight and obesity become global problems nowadays. Pharmaceutical companies try to find the solutions to these problems by creating weight-loss drugs. These are the pills, which have to be taken regularly for a period of time. They serve as an additional aid to the weight-loss program of a person. It is best to combine them with healthy diet and regular exercising. 3. The Situation Analysis Company Analysis Cambridge Science Pharmaceuticals (CSP) is a global pharmaceutical company based in Cambridge, US. In 2007, it had a remarkable sales record of $25 billion. Currently, it is ready to launch a very promising drug in the weight-loss field, which will greatly impact the company’s future. With correct positioning, it has all the chances of becoming a new market leader and a holder of the monopoly on the market. Competitor Analysis The weight-loss drug market is new to business society and it is still developing; however, it is highly competitive. Currently, the OTC product monopoly is held by a few competitive products: Alli, Xeniacal4 and Ephedra. The advantages of the Metabical product on its competitors are crucial. Metabical is the first weight-loss drug, which is potentially approved by the FDA in all the aspects – it is the safest weight-loss drug on the market. It means, that it does not have so many side effects, as the competitor’s products do. For example, there have been many cases of heart-death, caused by the regular usage of the Ephedra product, and a lot of liver damages cause by Xenical4. Out of all these drugs, Alli is the only one, which got approved by the FDA; so, one can say that it is the number one competitor for the Metabical product on the market. Even though it got approved, it is much less safe to consume than Metabical product. Alli causes a lot of side effects as the loose stools, abdominal pain, and increased defecation incontinence, when a person consumes it with too much fat. Another advantage of Metabical is the program itself. It is longer and better balanced than the Alli’s one. Unlike its competitors, it offers an individual exercise plan and a personal support component. The price tag of $3 – $5 for Metabical can be considered relatively inexpensive to the competitors’ products and with all the benefits it gives. It is also much easier to use than the competitors’ products (1 pill a day versus 1 pill per meal). The duration of the effect of the Metabical pill is also better than the one of the competitors’ products. The main difference of the Metabical product from all its potential competitors is its vision and philosophy. It focuses on the improvement of the product from the health perspective, making it safer to use for its consumers with the least amount of side effects, while the other companies try to strengthen the effects of their product, so, that the results will be noticed earlier. This is very important, because the customers of the weight-loss products do not want just to lose the weight, but become healthy in all of the aspects. Consumer Analysis Since the Metabical is a weight-loss drug, and it is already known that its target costumers have a Body Mass Index varying from 25 to 30 units, it is easy to determine and choose the segments of the potential consumers. Mostly, these are the average people, who are very concerned about the overweight and obesity issue. They may suffer from the exceed of weight and they are highly motivated in fighting with it. They attend the gym regularly, exercise a lot, and struggle with healthy diets; however, this is still not enough for them to lose the exceeding weight. Metabical is not a solution, but a great aid in fighting with their problem. Some overweight people do not care about or even do not notice their problem, so, Metabical do not see them as the primary costumers. The gender of the potential customers is most of the cases feminine. As studies show, women tend to care and put much more attention into their physical appearance, than men do. In addition, studies say that 75 % of overweight women are not happy with their weight and 60 % tried to fight with their exceed of weight with different methods but failed. The age of the potential Metabical consumers is also easy to determine. It is known, that most of the people become more and more concerned with their weight when they are getting older and older. When a person reaches his physical size and stops growing, his body changes – the calories gained per day do not go into the growth, but the fat. These fats are very hard to fight, and even the exceeding exercising at this age is not a solution. The fat usually becomes a problem at the age of 25-35. The Metabical drug is averagely priced; however, not everybody can afford it. It is never given out for free, since, the overweight is not considered an illness. The consumer has to have salary of funds, which can cover the full Metabical diet program. He also has to have an access to the gym and can afford to buy healthy products. The estimated income of the Metabical consumer is $40’000+ a year, so, this is a middle-class person. Also, the studies show, that the single people tend to care more about their physical appearance, than the married / in relationship ones, especially, the women. The relationship status of the Metabical customer can be identified as single / actively searching. Also, there are the sub-segments of the customers on the market – Metabical consumers can be divided in two kinds: some want to use the product to look good, others, who want to be healthier. The first type of the customers are usually younger (25+), the second type are older (35+). The first sub-segment is considered as the priority for the Metabical product. This is explained by the philosophy of the drug: it is made for the people, who want to be healthy and not just slim. CSP puts a lot of effort in making Metabical a safe product to use on the first place. As a conclusion, the target costumer of the Metabical product is usually an overweight woman (BMI 25-30), aged 25+, with the yearly income of $40’000+ (middle class). She usually has a college education. Her self-esteem is low and she is either worried that she does not look good or she wants to become healthier. She is a workingwoman or a housewife, usually single. She attends the gym regularly and stays on a strict healthy diet. She is very motivated and willing to fight with her problem via any means. Product Analysis Metabical is a prescription weight-loss drug developed by CSP. It is consumed in the form of pills one time a day. It costs $3 – $5 a day. The average duration of the Metabical treatment program is 12 weeks. The cost of the program varies from $252 to $420. The drug is prescribed to the overweight people with the BMI of 25 to 30, and is not as effective on the consumers with higher BMI. To achieve the maximum effectiveness of the drug, the individual diet and the exercise program have to be developed and followed during the usage of the Metabical. As any other weight-loss drug, Metabical has some side effects. They are similar to the ones of Alli (gastrointestinal discomfort) but much less noticeable. They may appear if a person combines the consumption of the Metabical drug with a lot of fatty foods. At this stage, it awaits the final approval of the FDA, and will be launched, as soon, as it gets the approval.