Product Prescription


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Product Prescription
By: Audrey Sellers, Associate Editor
Issue: 2007may

Product Prescription
Doctor up your next campaign with these healthcare products.

By Audrey Sellers

The pharmaceutical industry is a healthy one. It ranks No. 3 on PPAI’s list of Top Buyers Of Promotional Products, based on a 2003 study by Louisiana State University and Glenrich Business Studies. The study also shows that healthcare has the second-most growth potential for promotional products, with education claiming the top spot. There is abundant opportunity to tap into this market, so examine these products that add life to any promotional campaign.

Audrey Sellers is an associate editor for PPB.
Prescription instructions are easy to see with the patent-pending Medicine Bottle Magnifier, which conveniently fits over pill bottles.
Carson Optical. UPIC: carsonop. 800-967-8427.
www.carson-optical.com.

Anatomical Flip Charts offer an overview of subjects ranging from cholesterol and diabetes to hypertension and arthritis.
The Book Company. UPIC: BOOKCO. 800-367-9388. www.thebookco.com.

The StayFit Pill Timer, a six-compartment pill holder, features an LCD display for time, pill alarm and mode status. An unlined notepad and elastic pen loop are enclosed in the zipped carrying case.
Leed’s. UPIC: LEEDS. 800-860-1555. www.leedsworld.com.

Users can press down on the Foil Pack Pill Opener to easily push pills from their packaging. A palette of solid and translucent colors is available.
Evans Manufacturing, Inc. UPIC: EVANS. 800-745-3826.
www.evans-mfg.com.

The refillable Quick-Care Bandage Dispenser comes with five latex-free fabric bandages and is available in white or four translucent shades: blue, orange, pink or red.
Quick Point, Inc. UPIC: QUICKPT. 636-343-9400. www.quickpoint.com.

Medical staff love sharing the 16-ounce Truffle Box, which contains 32 milk and dark chocolate pieces personalized with caduceus and mortar and pestle images.
Chocolate Inn. UPIC: CHOCINN. 800-526-3437. www.chocolateinn.com.

Almost one-foot long, the Jumbo All-Week Pill Box can hold 100 aspirin in each compartment, which features the days of the week in both printed and Braille formats.
Bay State Specialty Co. UPIC: BAYSTATE. 508-947-6700. www.baystate.com.

The patent-pending, smooth-action lid on the Push Button Apothecary makes for easy access to cotton swabs, prep pads or gauze.
Punch Products USA, Inc. UPIC: VISIONUS. 800-422-2780. www.vision1usa.com.

Outfit surgical staff in the Coordinating Scrub Set, which comes in a number of solid colors or themed prints such as Bamboo Garden or High Seas.
Fast Lane Clothing Company. UPIC: FAST4409. 800-959-0126. www.toucandance.com.

The Deluxe Prescription Pad, which includes a three-by six-inch writing tablet and pen loop, has French-turned edges and rounded corners.
Strong Leather Co. UPIC: STRONG. 800-332-6025. www.strongleather.com.

There are two pill compartments and a guarded blade inside the Pill Cutter.
Beacon Promotions Inc. UPIC: BEACONP. 800-628-9979. www.beaconpromotions.com.

The Remedy features several zip-lock sleeves for storing samples and supplies, allowing health professionals to stock and organize products quickly and categorically.
Goodhope Bags Ind. Inc. UPIC: GOOD0004. 800-634-8084. www.goodhopebags.com.

The Instant Sanitizer On A Clip simplifies on-the-go cleanliness, with a one-ounce bottle of Purell inside a neoprene sleeve with a plastic clip.
Humphrey Line. UPIC: HUMPHREY. 800-547-4242. www.humphreyline.com.

Recipients can reap the benefits of all-natural stress relief therapy by applying the residue-free Herbal Therapy Patch, which lasts all day.
Custom HBC Corporation. UPIC: hbcspec. 877-442-9881. www.customhbc.com.

The individual sheets of the Phone Message Books can be produced as adhesive notes for increased visibility and usefulness to healthcare professionals.
Cardinal Brands/Custom Solutions. UPIC: Cardi603. 800-444-3508. www.cardinalbrands.com.

More convenient than liquid soap and easier than hand gel, Sani-Spray™ Antiseptic Hand Sanitizer is a non-aerosol pump that sprays alcohol-free antiseptic, killing 99.9 percent of bacteria.
The W.I.S.E. Group. UPIC: wisegrp. 561-966-9180. www.promosoap.com.

In Medical Practice, Practical Sells
For a product to work in the pharmaceutical industry, it must have relevance, says Rich Butler, managing director of supplier The W.I.S.E. Group (UPIC: wisegrp) in Lake Worth, Florida. “We’re at a place now where we have to give products with benefit to doctors and patients,” he says.

Butler follows the marketing code of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), which states that promotional gifts must support the medical practices of health professionals. He says because the pharmaceutical industry does a good job of self-policing this code, distributors are smart to stick with medically relevant products.

“More than any other type of business, drug companies are always launching new brands and prescription drugs, and they want their brands to be recognized by the public very quickly,” says Butler. “Pharmaceutical companies are continually high-volume users of promotional products. Their audience is hundreds of thousands of practitioners.”

But before scheduling an appointment with the doc, conduct a product checkup. Are your products medically relevant? How can medical professionals use them? Butler says, “[Pharmaceutical products] have changed dramatically over the past five or six years because there are less and less non-relevant products.”

Usefulness might be what the doctor ordered, but sometimes pharmaceutical companies want more—they want creative and unique products. Butler says innovative packaging can help meet this need for creativity. Anything from heart-shaped bottles of antibacterial soap for heart drugs to brain-shaped bottles for Alzheimer’s drugs can inject new life into an ailing campaign. “It’s not just a bottle of soap anymore—it’s a bottle that looks like an organ.”

Butler gives the pharmaceutical industry a positive prognosis. “From a business perspective, it’s very dynamic and explosive. But it’s not easy,” he says. “You have to tap into the brands—what do they do? It can be a lucrative and profitable business as long as you create and innovate.”

—AS

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