Cialis critical analysis

Why was Viagra so successful?

Viagra’s success was due to:

• Viagra was the first orally taken drug that addressed ED. Other alternatives that had already existed in the market were: penile implants, vacuum pumps , ED injection and urethra suppository, none of them were really user friendly.
• Viagra was the first affordable solution for ED, its retail price was $10/dose, whereas Caverject injection cost $25/dose, vacuum pumps $300 to $500, and the most expensive, penile implants ranged from $12,000 to $18,000. Pfizer employed advertising which reached out to all men. They featured celebrities in their ads, such as Bob Dole, Raphael Palmiero, Mark Martin. Seeing these celebrities publically confess to having ED, made men feel more comfortable in acknowledging their own ED issues and communicating it to their physicians.
• Unlike injections, Viagra could be taken everyday.
• Some people saw recreational usage to Viagra.
• Viagra was approved by Medicaid in 11 states.
• There was a huge market for ED drugs.

In 1996 the number of ED prompted doctor visits was at the all time high of 1. 3 million visits.

Draw a perceptual map that summarizes the positioning strategies adopted by Viagra, Levitra and Cialis and evaluate those strategies.

Viagra’s positioning strategy

Pfizer first started out by featuring older celebrities, like Bob Dole, trying to capture attention of their target market. Statistics showed that over 50% of Viagra’s customers were men over 50. Later, Pfizer changed its strategy and started featuring young celebrities, such as a baseball player, NASCAR driver.

They wanted to show that even “manly mans” could have a problem and they also wanted to put out a message that Viagra is not only for older men but for men of all ages, who might even only have a slight problem. Basically, their message to men was “you’re not too young for Viagra”. I think this was the right move on Pfizer’s side since it expand their target market to men of all ages, at the same time maybe draw out men who didn’t feel comfortable with the subject. Levitra’s positioning strategy: Bayer and Glaxo positioned Levitra as a way of enhancing the sexual experience.

It was not about the number of times a man could have sex, it was all about quality. They also wanted to educate the public about ED and about their solution to it. Their reps spent 50% more time talking to doctors about Levitra than Pfizer’s did about Viagra. This was a good positioning strategy for Bayer and Glaxo. With Levitra, coming to market after Viagra, they had to differentiate themselves somehow. And doing this from a quality angle, I believe they hit the right note with a lot of men. Cialis’ positioning strategy:

Lilly Icos, after doing several years of research and seeing both, Viagra and Levitra’s performance in the market, decided to position Cialis as a stress-free, more spontaneous, fitting into an every-day lifestyle type of a solution to ED. Men didn’t have to feel stressed to perform because of the time constraints. They can live their normal lives, with Cialis kind of in the background. I believe it’s a really good strategy, given the characteristics of Cialis. People with ED want to put their problem out of their mind and not think about it.

And Cialis would be the perfect solution – there’s no pressure to perform, they can have sex at their own convenience. No major changes would need to be made to their lives.

How can the product attributes of Cialis be translated into a successful positioning platform for the product’s launch?

Cialis differentiated itself from the rest of the available ED treatments in the following ways:

• Cialis took faster effect than Viagra and remained effective longer than Viagra (around 36 hours and the effect kicked in only when needed). This was a huge plus on Cialis’ side since it was so flexible. It had effect even after eating fatty foods. It could also be taken by patients who had high blood pressure, and it could be taken along with alpha blockers. The bottom line – it accommodated most everyone under most every circumstance.
• Cialis had less physical side effects than its competitors, Viagra and Levitra. Outlined below are some of the different ways Lilly Icos could have positioned Cialis:
• To men of any age and of any physical condition with any level of ED severity.
• To men who love their routines and don’t want to change them. Emphasize on the fact that men’s partners don’t even have to know that they’re taking drugs for their condition. This might especially be important to men who start dating a new person; they might not want their partner to know about their condition, at least maybe not right away.
• Can be taken before/after any type of activity: work, sports, romantic dinner out.
• Can be taken by men of many different lifestyles (busy professionals, busy parents, retired, etc. )
• End benefit is that anyone with any sort of ED dysfunction can feel problem-free again! It works for any man, anywhere, anytime!