Cipla battles perceptions in a new campaign

The pharma major engages directly with patients, addresses social stigma and environmental concerns to expand the brand footprint in respiratory diseases

For a while now pharmaceutical companies have been taking the direct route to the customer, bypassing doctors or stepping neatly around them in their communication to build their brand identities beyond the drugs in their portfolio. With its latest campaign Cipla is doing the same, hoping to expand its reach and recall in respiratory diseases, a category that has the lion’s share of revenues in its drugs’ portfolio. 

Breathlessness, asthma and a string of respiratory ailments has been on the rise in India as cities face severe pollution challenges and as lifestyle changes among urban Indians drive up their incidence. For Cipla this has been a category that has grown significantly over the past few years, accounting for 19 per cent of total sales in 2016-2017 (FY17). The respiratory segment contributed $400 million (nearly Rs 2,600 crore) to Cipla’s consolidated revenue in FY17. 

What is also driving the company’s deep-dive and increased investment in building its brand identity as one of the leading drug makers in its category is the increasing vulnerability of Indians to respiratory ailments. According to the State of Global Air 2017 report by the US-based Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), India’s air quality deteriorated faster than ever over the five years to 2015. Also India and China together accounted for 52 per cent of the total deaths due to air pollution. Cipla has tied the two factors together, hoping to build its identity as a brand larger than the drugs it sells. 

Finding a voice

The ongoing campaign focuses on breaking common myths about inhalers, offering the company’s view as the authoritative word on such ailments. “Across the patient funnel from awareness to diagnosis,  treatment and compliance, there are several deep-seated myths about asthma and inhalation. Owing to this around 60-70 per cent of the overall patient population is on sub-optimal oral medication while inhalation which is the safest and the most effective mode of treatment, languishes in usage,” says Nikhil Chopra, head, India business, Cipla.

The company wants to take control of the conversation around air and breathlessness through the campaign. By doing this, it is following a global trend among pharma companies to project their brands as definitive and dependable purveyors of information. A McKinsey study (The Road to Digital Success for Pharma) says: “Historically, pharma companies have controlled both the generation and dissemination of information about their products. Digital technologies have weakened that control, opening an array of new, independent information channels… In response, pharma companies will have to build the capabilities to anticipate or react rapidly to these new sources of evidence, and remain the main source of authority on the performance of their products.”

The Cipla campaign focus es on what is seen as a rising problem among urban school children and addresses the taboo around using inhalers, assuring parents and patients that there is no harm or shame in doing so.  The #BerokZindagi campaign argues that asthma can be controlled with inhalers enabling patients to lead a normal life and wraps the larger message of using medicines along with a targeted one about appropriate dosage deliveries.

The company has rolled out the campaign through digital and television advertisements in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Kolkata and will be extended to other parts of the country.  

Extending reach

The company wants to be seen not just as a maker of drugs that treat asthma but one that is engaged with the larger crisis of air pollution in the country. The campaign, the company says, must be seen against this backdrop. 

While the ads are new, Cipla says it has been closely associated with the issue of air quality since 2011 when it created a dedicated website to raise awareness about asthma. Earlier this year it launched a helpline in Delhi for lung care, given the city’s ongoing battle with pollution.   

This is the company’s second multi-channel campaign in the respiratory space this year after the ‘Save Your Lungs Dilli’ which was aimed at creating awareness about lung care in the National Capital Region. A helpline was launched for people suffering from respiratory illness and those who are vulnerable to breathing problems as part of the campaign. The company says it engaged with around 5,000 patients at the time. 

Linking pollution with asthma is the most obvious thing to do, say analysts. A recent report in medical journal The Lancet said that pollution resulted in 2.5 million deaths in India in 2015, the highest in the world. 

“As market leaders in inhalation therapy, Cipla has taken the onus to increase awareness and debunk these myths around asthma and provide right treatment to millions of patients across the country,” said Chopra. The awareness campaign has been launched as the company gears up to launch new inhalers in the domestic market.