Great Promos for Doctors

stored in two overflowing drawers in his front office. “When a rep drops off one of those, it just gets dropped in the pile – even if it’s an awesome light-up pen that flashes and plays music,” he says. “Those things just don’t make an impact the way a useful or unique item will.”

Despite his desire for quality promos that assist patient care, Dom Dera worries that bans on promotional products in health care will affect the public’s perception of doctors. “I worry about how patients will interpret these laws and the possible reporting of what gifts we accept,” he admits. “Will they really believe that I am prescribing certain prescriptions because I received 15 pens last week? I don’t know.”

View from Both Sides

Dr. Ferdinand Apolonio, a resident, is quick to admit his bias. Apolonio was a drug rep for a large pharmaceutical for many years, but he never observed physicians making decisions based on gifts or glossy graphs.

“What I noticed as a pharmaceutical representative is that handouts and flyers, especially the glossy ones with charts and graphs, tend to be a turnoff to many physicians,” he remembers. “Most physicians in general respond well to more factual presentations that include journal articles published in well-respected magazines or trade journals.”

The objective of branded products in medicine should be brand awareness rather than increasing the incidence of prescriptions, Apolonio believes. One of the most creative promotions he executed as a rep included a luau cruise, which he felt created brand awareness for two reasons: It was specifically targeted to a group of physicians, and it appealed to them personally. Apolonio stresses this promotion wouldn’t work well today with the gift limitations on pharmaceutical reps, but something similar could probably still be successful.

“There was a time when reps were inviting physicians to nice, fancy restaurants and the best steakhouses in town,” he remembers. “I decided to go with a targeted approach and tailor a brand-awareness promotion to a group of Filipino physicians.”

Apolonio organized the cruise catered with authentic Filipino food for about 200 doctors. Each received a branded lei as a photographer snapped a photo. A few weeks later, Apolonio made follow-up visits and gave each doctor his or her photo in a branded frame. He describes this approach as a soft sell and thinks that, even with today’s limitations, there are ways to target products to give them a more personal appeal.

As a physician, Apolonio sees things differently. He witnessed drastic changes in the way pharmaceuticals are marketed and perceived in the medical community. “Now inexpensive things are welcomed, but once you get into expensive things, doctors and staff become standoffish,” he says. “They feel as if they owe the drug rep something.”

Many physicians want to see pharmaceutical companies putting their money toward developing affordable medications, Apolonio adds. “The environment has changed so much in 20 years,” he explains. “Now the health industry is in crisis, Medicaid is taxed and Social Security is going bankrupt. People don’t have the money to buy these medications now; they have to choose between purchasing medications and eating.”

For his part, Apolonio only accepts small items. “I draw the line at $20,” he maintains. “I especially appreciate