Metabical Marketing Positioning Strategy
In 2008, a marketing and positioning strategy was needed for Cambridge Sciences Pharmaceutical’s (CSP) new weight loss drug called Metabical. Metabical was touted as being a revolutionary weight loss drug with fewer negative side effects than the usual medicinal weight loss remedies. Metabical has many levels of decision-makers – both internal and external. CSP’s senior director of marketing, Barbara Printup likely reports to the company’s board of directors for her ultimate authority. Printup receives her directions for the Board and then delegates them amongst her subordinates in marketing and sales. During the development phase of the product, Printup was likely constantly in touch with the research and development (R&D) department at CSP so that she could gather information and controlled study results about the product. The information she would gather from R&D would then be used in order to promote the product. Among external groups that the director of marketing likely had consistent contact with, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) was likely at the front of her Rolodex. Printup likely had at least one high-level point of contact with the FDA who could have kept her up to date on recent internal agency updates about the status of Metabical and its clinical trials. Although R&D likely had the most consistent contact with the FDA, the director of marketing would need to be in touch with the FDA for various statistical and informational purposes. Without the massive amount of product and market research, the decision-making process for Printup would have been nearly impossible. Metabical was to be the first weight loss drug approved by the FDA for overweight individuals (defined as those with a BMI of 25-30). The research indicated that, unlike other weight loss drugs out at the time, there would be fewer side effects to deal with that other products typically induced including: loose stools, increased defecation, incontinence and abdominal pain[1].