PharmEasy, Netmeds ad campaigns leave consumers confused about the message

Middle-aged men dancing to the tune of popular Bollywood songs, elderly men doing a jig at the prospect of buying medicines on discount, fathers clapping their sons by the ear for messing up with the drugstore bills and celebrities as brand ambassadors; you name it and there will be an e-pharmacy advertisement to show for it. Online pharmacies, flush with funds from investors, are sparing no effort to get their brands visibility in a crowded marketplace. But while such attention-seeking advertising is meant to break through the clutter, it is likely to end up diluting the brands’ positioning, say experts.

 
Consider for instance, PharmEasy's campaign conceptualised by Mullen Lintas. It has dancing men mimicking the steps and expressions of a YouTube sensation who goes by the name of ‘dancing uncle’. In the campaign note, the agency said that the line Take it easy PharmEasy, “can be an eternal tonality and idea for our brand”. Or consider the Medlife ad with actor Boman Irani (Laddoo mat bano or don’t be a fool) where he admonishes his adult son for not being savvy about discounts. There are many others in the same vein. But the question is, while these may be conversation starters on social media, how do they help the brand?

 
N Chandramouli, chief executive officer of brand intelligence and data insights firm, TRA says, “The current advertisements look a force fit. It’s like any festive sale advertising that draws on discounting. This is definitely wrong positioning by the brands as it might dilute the brand in the long run.”
 

Focus on discounts and ease of delivery are the two pillars on which most e-commerce businesses in India have tried to gain a foothold of the vast market.
 
However online pharmacies, need to tread the line of trust and loyalty while maneuvering their way around regulatory do’s and don’ts. And hence such advertising says very little about the brand, the category and the promise it holds out for consumers.

 
In defence of e-pharmacies, getting customer attention is top priority at this stage. This is why the advertising has to grab attention. Brands are also focused on gaining customer trust. Netmeds that has signed up Mahendra Singh Dhoni for its campaign, 'India ki Pharmacy' says it is looking to win recall and trust for the brand. Pradeep Dadha, founder and CEO of Netmeds says, “In the online pharmacy space it is very important to gain the trust of the consumer and so we felt that Dhoni is the right brand ambassador for us.”
 
Dadha believes that discounting and advertising would mark early advertisements, but the convenience factor will be highlighted in later messages. Chandramouli is sceptical because he thinks it is not going to be easy to re-position the brand later. He says that medicines are a serious space, and data suggests that almost 40-50 per cent of patients in India go off prescriptions after some time. “Ads that would have a narrative of creating public awareness, for example, monthly alerts as to when to stock up your medicines, or how important it to be regular with one's medicines or health check-ups, fit the brand image better,” Chandramouli adds.

 
Typically, a consumer lands a 15-20 per cent discount on medicines bought through e-pharmacies. Add to this the ease of delivery. But, it will take a while to wean the Indian customer off the neighbourhood chemist (who seldom asks for a physician’s prescription) to the world of e-pharmacies. The local chemist also delivers home.
 
The Indian e-pharmacy industry is hardly one per cent of the overall pharmaceutical market in the country. The Rs 10 billion industry has started to witness some traction in the last couple of years, and the industry feels it has the scope to account for 12-15 per cent of the Rs 1.2 trillion pharma market in the country within the next five years.

 
As the e-pharmacy space gets even more crowded, the right branding strategy is going to be all the more crucial. So far online medicine retail brands like BigChemist, mChemist, 1mg.com have not taken to overt television advertising. More investor money in the sector is only likely to heat up the competition for grabbing the eyeballs and in all probability open viewers up to some more over-the-top advertising.