ABSTRACT
The marketing communications vehicles discussed – internal communications, the medical department, the sales force, meetings, symposia, conferences, advertising, public relations and opinion leader development – are all there, and the customer, in the guise of the National Health Service (NHS), is strongly featured. Advertising creates awareness when a product is launched, and may maintain the awareness of a mature product. Just as it is important that the company shares strategies and plans externally with its agencies, so internally the communications process is crucial. A project team for a new product launch should therefore include members of the medical, marketing, communications and sales departments. Medical television was once seen as a major competitor to journal advertising, but has yet to materialize as a major force. The Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme and the organizational changes in the NHS will certainly make companies think more about educational and communications activities which do not attract tax penalties – and indeed they already have.
