Brand Medicine

A couple days ago I finished reading Brand Medicine, which provided a interesting range of perspectives on the importance of branding in the pharmaceutical industry. It's pretty easy to find a range of perspectives in the academic literature on any and all sides of the debate surrounding direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising of prescription drugs, of course. Brand Medicine provided a different perspective, that of the advertising agency, on DTC advertising of prescription and over-the-counter (OTC) drugs from around the world.

The book was published in 2001, so a few of the topics covered feel a little dated now - particularly regarding regulations of DTC/OTC advertising in the U.S. That aside, there is some really useful information here to help get a better understanding of how advertising agencies work for pharma clients, the role that branding can have in a drug withstanding generic competition, etc.

I'd definitely recommend this book for anyone with an interest in the marketing and branding of prescription and OTC drugs. It covers some aspects of pharma marketing that probably don't receive much/enough attention in the academic literature (designing bottles for the elderly, name selection, box design, etc.), so I think Brand Medicine has a lot to offer both academics and advertising professionals.