1. Merck Competitive Analysis – Web & Social
Kendal Nicole Lambert
Hello everyone, my name is Kendal. For those of you who don’t know me I am the Resident Intern for the Merck Comms Design team this summer. Part of my project was to create a competitive analysis for Merck’s rival brands. I dove into over 30 of them, touching on the birth control IUD category to asthma medication, diabetes Type 2, cancer, and HIV. I understand that each of you work on certain brands and not others, so for the sake of time the full deck will be available to you after this to help your 2018 planning.

2. Insights to Goals, Objs & Audience
Overall swot
In-depth swot
Insights to Goals, Objs & Audience
Here’s the plan of action for this meeting. First we’re going to look at this from a top-line perspective with the overall SWOT covering the major themes I found across these brands
Then we can dive into a few specific examples that will touch on insights and audiences, then we’ll look at a few screenbrabs to illustrate the points
Screenshots

3. Overall Strengths Web Social Use of video How-to-use tutorials
Advair
User/celebrity testimonials
TV spots available
Action buttons
Sign up for /text on latest news
Tell a friend ( )
Patient resources
Walkthrough on how to talk to Doc
Patient savings plan
Breo
Patient support program
Downloadable patient brochure
Medication guide
Lifestyle tips/”how to manage” with
Symbicort, Onglyza
Interactive
Quiz
Did You Know-scrollables
Layout
Breaks out different uses for medication based on specific condition
Side-by-side comparison to competitors
Invokana
Copy and imagery speak to desired target audience
Social
Twitter and YouTube have most recognition
Mentions from reputable pharma pages
Shingrix
Use of hashtag + brand name
Videos of User experiences- “video diaries”
Mirena
Overall, most of the competitors were pretty solid when it comes to their sites
Almost all of them incorporated video into the websites whether it be their actual tv spots, or animated how to use tutorials
Provided ample resources, downloadable brochures, and walkthroughs to ease the conversation with your Doc and what to ask.
Certain medications have multiple uses so I found it very helpful when they broke out how the medication can aid that specific condition on its own page, as opposed to being cluttered all together. (For example, Remicade, an immunosuppressive drug, can be used to treat arthritis, Crohn's disease, and plaque psoriasis)
As far as social, Twitter and YouTube saw the most recognition of these brands, not to much FB. It was easy to find them on these social platforms by use of a hashtag and the brand name- very simple. And for Youtube, most of the content were “video diaries” of people who use the product.

4. Overall Weaknesses Web Social
Text heavy, little to no (people) imagery
Remicade
(Trivicay is great example of a brand that uses straightforward, comprehendible language -and humor- to help patients feel comfortable with such an “uncomfortable” condition.)
Links to other pages are hard to find
Statistics do not show date
Banner pull-down repeatedly gets in the way; makes viewing area smaller
Striblid, Liletta
Social
Majority do not have owned FB, Twitter, YouTube page
Lawsuit-related FB pages
Onglyza
Community FB pages against brand
Paragard
Low engagement, no activity to show; Out of date
Users detect lack of difference between similar brands by parent company (Ei: Bayer)
Some of the not so great things I found were the pages being too text heavy, lack of balance between imagery and text. No white space.
Specifically with Remicade, I understand its medication but they sounded a little too scientific, taking out the human element.
In every one of these brands, they have that Important Safety Information tab that is permanently on each page in the form of a banner pulldown either on the top or bottom of the page. For me, it was getting in the way of the actual content of the website, making the viewing area very small.
A lot of these brands didn’t have owned social platforms, there was only about three or four that did (Symbicort, Advair, and the Bayer IUDs – which were unbranded)
When it came to FB, there were a number of community based pages composed of normal folks who are outraged by the brand and its effects. I will show some lawsuit groups that formed and even negative mentions on Twitter.

5. Overall Opportunities
Web
Think Interactive!
Quizzes
Infografics
“Virtual conversation with doctor”
Automated responses for Q&A
See FB chatbot by IPG MediaLab
Chat helpline
Keep layout neat and uncluttered, use white space and breakout categories, avoid text-heavy
Social
Owned social pages
Shareable buttons
Click to share on your own FB page with link to website pre-inserted
Keep hashtag consistent throughout all platforms.
Hashtag should be reflective of the brand’s personality. Watch length. Make it catchy.
Unbranded platforms:
Brand should be engaging with consumers in online space. Replying, reposting, ect.
Be mindful of balance between user-generated content (complaints/negative reviews) and brand-generated content (news-related updates)
In thinking about some of the things Merck’s brands can do better would be to have more interactive websites.
Take a quiz to find out if this medication is right for you.
Take the written “doctor guide” a step further to make it a virtual conversation. Have a bot to respond to the site visitor where they can type in their responses and receive a general automated responses, to get them comfortable with they types of questions to ask.
I think these steps would increase time spent on page. Because they aren’t just “reading” to lean they are “doing” to learn about the medication.
It’s important to have social share buttons somewhere on the page especially if awareness and social engagement are priorities for the brand.

6. Overall Threats Web Social
Site visitors frustrated with the display of information
Too cluttered
Banner pull-down
Providing outdated survey stats to prospective users
Social
Low engagement and low brand awareness
Not getting as much free promotion without social presence
Confusion
Inconsistent hashtag leading to unrelated searches
Lawsuit-related FB pages can lead to bankruptcy/ ruin brand reputation
As I mentioned with that banner pull-down, it may cause some people to get frustrated with it, especially an older person who enlarges the text on screen but can’t see anything because that thing gets in the way. I know it annoyed me and made me want to leave the website- the layout is very important
Some brands provided stats and surveys on their page but failed to date them on the bottom. That info could have been from 3 years ago and would be outdated.
All of these lawsuits can lead to a ruined reputation or worse bankruptcy

7. Key Takeaways Merck’s competitor brands:
Have stronger web presence than social
Many do not have owned (branded) social pages
Biggest risk for lack of social is low engagement and low brand awareness; allowing users to dictate what that brand means to consumers without having the brand to step in and represent itself
Neglecting to connect with consumers in the online space where they are having conversations about these brands
Overall, here were the key takeaways for the competitor brands:
they have a stronger web presence than social.
Not too many have owned social and Their biggest risk is for this is allowing users to dictate what that brand means to consumers without having the brand to step in and represent itself
And neglecting to connect with consumers in the online space where they are having conversations about these brands

8. Examples
We’ll jump into a few examples

9. nexplanon
Starting with Nexplanon

10. Nexplanon Product Overview
Nexplanon is a birth control implant, a very small rod inserted under the skin of a woman's upper arm to prevent pregnancy.
Nexplanon is one of Merck’s birth control brands. Its an implant that goes into the arm.
Below are Nexplanon’s competitor brands, Paragaurd, Lileeta and the Bayer sisters.

11. Sklya
We’re going to focus on Skyla

12. Sklya Product Overview
Skyla is an IUD that releases a low dose of hormones to prevent pregnancy.
Common brands: Mirena, Kyleena
Target Audience
Younger women. Teens to mid-20s
Females who want to focus on their life, hobbies, and passions
Females who view pregnancy as hindering them at this point in their life
Skyla is an IUD that releases a low dose of hormones to prevent pregnancy.
Its parent company is Bayer. Sister brands are…
Psychographics tell that they are females who….
Key Takeaways
Skyla is good at speaking to its audience and providing the materials they need, however they are not leveraging their social media presence to maximize their engagement.

13. SKLYA SWOT ANALYSIS Strengths Weaknesses Social
Website
Target audience clearly defined by imagery & copy
Share with a friend
Ample resources
Videos on IUDs
Walkthrough on how to talk to OB/GYN
Take a quiz
Social
Solid following, low engagement (no comments, likes on FB)
Not representing all brands equally (YouTube)
Social
Unbranded Facebook & YouTube page: Choices for Her
Threats
Opportunities
Its very important for brands to be able to speak to their audience and Skyla does this exceptionally well.
You want to be able to identify with that audience and think about things through their perspective..
Copy is easy to understand
They have an unbranded page on FB and YT called choices for her, which is shard with the other two brands as well. For Fb, they do post regularly, but aren’t getting any interaction.
Social
To target a young audience, they should be talking with them on social media. Risk connecting and engaging with target where they reside
Social
Increase awareness among target by having conversations with users

14. This image is on the homepage, driving home the sentiments of this target to focus on their life without having to worry about pregnancy getting in the way of that.
The webpage also Explains the changes that users may experience during the appt, changes in their cycle, and after placement
FAQ geared towards inquiries of younger target- which makes it relevant
An on the bottom: Encourages visitors to share with a friend- peer to peer recommendations. Which goes over very well among young people.

15. Social Stats FB: 29,451 people like this 29,639 people follow this
YouTube: 22 subscribers • 12,431 views  4 total videos (Mirena + Kyleena)
Unbranded FB and Youtube page for Bayer brands is called Choices for Her. On Fb, they have pretty big following. They post regularly, most recent ones were early July. Many views but, low engagement ( no liked, comments, shares)
On YouTube its good that they have consistent brand messaging, however there is lower fan base here. Only have 4 videos (commercial spots) and they are only for Mirena and Kyleena. Skyla’s is not up there although it does have a tv spot.
If you’re going to represent all three brands, make sure all three are up there. The Skyla one came out in 2015 so there’s no need for it not to be on the Youtube page, especially because they posted mirena’s spot 3 weeks ago.
Choices for Her does not extend to Twitter platform but I called out this mention of Skyla and its sister brands because I think its important for Bayer to be careful that they market individually to their target. People are pretty smart, they can tell when a brand is trying to mask itself and just go under a new name. A good reason to clearly distinct between their brands, especially of they are in the same category, In this case, IUDs.

16. They have this Consider this!
On that note Skyla, Mirena and Kyleena all have this banner above their website, highlighting the one you’re currently viewing and ease to jump between the two. And it mentions the dosage difference.
They could take it a step further and create a chart similar to this one to where they distinguish between the types as a means of transparency. Just a suggstions.

17. dulera
Next is Dulera

18. Dulera Product Overview
Dulera is an inhaled medicine used to control and prevent asthma.
An inhaled asthma medication.

19. Symbicort

20. Symbicort Product Overview
Symbicort is a bronchodilator that can treat asthma and COPD.
Key Takeaways
Symbicort owns “Breathable” an unbranded community that provides articles, breathing tips that can help navigate day-to-day life, valuable offers, and connection to others with the condition.
Symbicort treats both asthma and COPD
They have their own platform called Breathable, which provides articles and tips on living with asthma, savings, and connection to others living with the condition

21. SYMBICORT SWOT ANALYSIS
Strengths
Weaknesses
Website
“Breathable”
Easy to navigate
TV spot available
Customized recommendations based on need
Option for savings
Social
No activity to show on Facebook
Twitter: #Symbicort people complain about the price
Social
Facebook pg- good links, safety/prescribing info
Opportunities
Social
Threats
They not only had the asthma and COPD breakout tab, but also a tab for breathable and gave customized recommendations based on need.
They didn’t have much to say on FB in terms of posts, although they did have an owned page and on Twitter there were people who complained about them being too expensive.
So since savings is a big piece on their website, they should be promoting it also on social so people know there are ways to afford it.
Social
Promote savings offers on social pages
Symbicort customers leaving to go to more cost effective brand.

22. SYMBICORT
To the right, These are the customized recommendations I mentioned, “im having trouble breathing, what do I do, my doc said I have asthma, what’s next?”
Next to it is the landing page for Breathable. As you can see, the topics are very related to things that would interest people with asthma or COPD. (read a few). Any one of these blocks would bring you to a page like this one: Symptoms of COPD. With the us of graphics to illustrate points clearly.

23. They incorporate media on both pages explaining clearly how Symbicort helps asthma or COPD and making a very easy clean layout
below are some recent twitter mentions I found. So generally, people like Symbiort, but thay are frustrated with the cost.

24. Januvia & ERTU
Now into the diabetes category

25. Januvia Product Overview
JANUVIA & ERTU
Januvia Product Overview
Januvia is an anti-diabetic medication that can treat type 2 diabetes.
ERTU Product Overview
Ertugliflozin is a sodium-glucose co-transporter that helps improve glycemic control in adults with type 2 diabetes.
Both Januvia and ERTU are used to treat type 2 diabetes. we’ll take a look at Onglyza and Invokana

26. onglyza

27. Onglyza Product Overview
Onglyza is an anti-diabetic medication that can treat type 2 diabetes. When used along with proper diet and exercise, it helps control blood sugar.
Key Takeaways
Onglyza is not just focused on the product, but on the patient as well and how they can live a normal life with their condition, as noted by their How to Manage page.
Onlgyza has negative image on social with numerous lawsuit pages and complaint posts, with no owned social pages to combat it.
When used along with proper diet and exercise, it helps control blood sugar.

28. ONGLYZA SWOT ANALYSIS Strengths Weaknesses Social Opportunities
Website
Organic searches
Action buttons
Include page on how to manage Diabetes
Payment plan
Social
Lawsuit pages on FB
Complaints on Twitter on product being unsafe
Opportunities
Social
Low brand morale, dip in sales with negative publicity
Threats
Website
For “How to Take page” include videos
“Register now, download now”
Include videos to add media component and divvy up all the copy on the website. May include step by step directions in shortened bulleted form to accompany video
Social
Have owned social sites to combat negative fan groups and create positive brand rep

31. invokana

32. Invokana Product Overview
Invokana is an anti-diabetic medication that can treat type 2 diabetes. When used along with proper diet and exercise, it helps control blood sugar.
Key Takeaways
Invokana is smart to include a comparison chart between itself and the competitor brand, showing where Invokana’s strengths are and where Januvia lacks.
Website layout is not easy to view.

33. INVOKANA SWOT ANALYSIS
Strengths
Weaknesses
Website
Compares to Januvia
“Invokana Stories” user testimonials videos & Celeb endorsement James Earl Jones
Website
Banner pull-down repeatedly gets in the way; Makes viewing area smaller
Social
Informative YouTube videos. Scientific, not user produced
Opportunities
Website
Site visitors frustrated with the display of information
Threats
points out where competitor lacks
Website
Comparison to other brand name competitors

36. kEYTRUDA

37. Keytruda Product Overview
Keytruda is a medicine that may treat certain cancers by working with the immune system.

38. Opdivo

39. Opdivo Product Overview
Opdivo is a medicine that may treat melanoma, lung cancer, kidney cancer, blood cancer, head and neck cancer, or bladder cancer by working with the immune system.
Key Takeaways
Opdivio wants their users to know that they are here for them. As a brand, they portray “availability” and “accessibility” to consumers via the chat system and hotline number.
Because Opdivio can be used to treat many different conditions, they do well at simplifying the content by breaking out the specific condition and leading to separate pages only relevant to that condition.

40. OPDIVO SWOT ANALYSIS Strengths Weaknesses Social Social Threats
Website
Live chat
Prompts for specific conditions and how Opdivo can treat it
Help phone number – OPDIVO-1
Opdivo & You- patient support program
Reports clinical trial results
Social
No owned FB, Twitter or YouTube
Social
Relevant conversations on Twitter, relatively positive
Threats
Opportunities
Social
Leveraging positive mentions on social with owned pages for further personalized engagement
Social
Risk losing engagement with users