Pepcid Ac Analysis
The problem Pepcid AC faced in its initial entry into the market was direct competition from competing products that, together, took almost all market share. Pepcid AC positioned itself as three important things: providing lasting relief from GERD and gastrointestinal upset by means of the fewest pills possible and providing not only relief but prevention. Tegamet already had an established marketing base that consisted of customers who knew the brand name and were weary to switch to another product.
The main point of entry for Pepcid AC would be educating the public on the H2-receptor antagonist prescription drugs, the reduced number of pills needed, and the difference between market-standard Tegamet and new Pepcid AC. My recommendation would be to consider TV advertising as a main means of communicating the product offering of Pepcid AC and essentially “spreading the word” on how the product differentiates itself.
Product endorsement from a physician would be beneficial to push the product into the hands of weary consumers. Finding a series of doctors who would be able to push the product is the largest problem. Doctors were finding that traditional antacids were easier to sell because they already had an established reputation in the household. By finding a few key doctors who have a lot of influence in the community such as a “Dr. Phill” or a “Dr.
Oz,” and offering the product as free samples to the doctors and their patients, it would help get the brand name into the mouths of mothers around the country. Endorsement for the product by a few key doctors who are respected in the community, combined with the doctors using and recommending the product to some of their own personal patients, would increase the strength of the brand name and help foster word-of-mouth, an essentially low-cost form of marketing.
