TELMA: TELMA :BUILDING & DEFENDING MARKET LEADER

PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRY IN INDIA:

In 2010, the Indian pharmaceutical companies produced 20-22% of the world’s generic drugs in terms of volume & offered 600 finished medicines & nearly 400 bulk drugs. Top 10 players accounting for nearly 37% of the market share in 2010.  Top 10 players accounting for nearly 37% of the market share in 2010. The domestic market was worth $ 12.26 billion growing at 17% per year , the industry enjoyed a market share of $ 14 billion in the US growing at  22% per year.

Telismartan:

·         Telmisartan was used for the management of hypertension.

·         It was discovered by Boehringer Ingelhiem

·         ONTARGET trial was done with both telmisartan and Ramipril.

·         The result of the trial was announced in 2008 and proved that telmisartan was as effective as Ramipril with better tolerated with lower side effects.

Telma: The Brand

In 2003, Telma was introduced. Telma built a powerful identity and an enviable market position in the antihypertensive category. Campaigns to occupy a position of leadership & give out info related the brand. To reinforce this message, the brand imagery used bright yellow .

Position Defense:

The position defense is the simplest defensive strategy.  It simply involves trying to hold your current position in the market. To do this, you simply continue to invest in your current markets and attempt to build your brand name and customer loyalty. The problem with this strategy is that it can make you a target for new entrants to the market.

Mobile Defense:

The mobile defense involves making constant changes to your business so that it is difficult for competitors to compete with you. This can involve introducing new products, entering new markets or simply making changes to existing products. This constant moving between strategies requires a flexible business that can adjust to change.

Counter Offensive Defense:

The counter-offensive defense is a retaliatory strategy.When a competitor attacks your business, you strike back with your own attack. For instance, if you operate a bakery that only produces gluten-free products and a competitor who produces regular bread also begins producing gluten-free products, you could hit back at it by introducing regular bread products.

Contraction Defense:

The contraction defense is the least desirable defense because it involves retreating from markets. If you don't believe you can successfully defend those markets, however, then it can be the best option. This allows you to redeploy your resources into other areas. For example, imagine that you manufacture two products: liquid soap and bar soap. If you find that you can no longer compete in the bar soap market, then it makes sense to retreat from that market and focus on liquid soaps.

STRATEGIC BRAND PROGRAMS

Strategic Brand Program can be sub-divided into 4 phases:

•         2003 – 2005: Initial Years of Building Telma

•         2006 – 2007: Growing the Brand

•         2008 – 2010:  Fortifying the brand

•         2011 – Beyond: Sustaining the Brand

TELMA: THE CHALLENGE AHEAD :

Telma had created a new category for the Telmisartan molecule in the antihypertensive market in India. The brand adopted a premium pricing strategy and yet occupied a leadership position, not only in terms of revenue but also in terms of number of prescriptions.Since Telma was already the ‘‘cardiologist’s favorite’’, Should they devote more marketing effort towards diabetologists who were the second highest segment of prescribers ?