Datril Case
DATRIL: PIONEERING THE ACETAMINOPHEN MARKET
Decision
Marvin Koslow, vice president for marketing services at Bristol-Myers is going to choose a positioning strategy for Datril, an acetaminophen based analgesic, in order to solidify Bristol-Myers’ position in the analgesics market and gain share in the rapidly growing acetaminophen market. There are two possible options: ‘Pricing at par with Tylenol and it as a Tylenol substitute, featuring Bristol-Myers product’ and ‘low Priced alternative to Tylenol’. I strongly recommend that Bristol-Myers choose the former option with a modification. Reasons for the Decision
First of all, this option gives the company a chance to effectively target. The target customer of Datril should not be overlapped with those of Tylenol. Tylenol was a dominant and well established brand in the acetaminophen market, and was used for a long time by loyal customers who get recommendations from medical professions. It means the existing customers were likely not price-sensitive compared to aspirin customers. Datril is not able to offer an effective differentiated value to these customers compared to Tylenol. Therefore Marvin Koslow should target at aspirin users who were lightly suffering from irritation of stomach lining and who didn’t visit doctors. ‘No side effect’ is more valuable to these customers. As we target these customers, Bristol-Myers’ offering could give an optimal value proposition between customer’s and the company’s value. Also, this option is more effective to positioning. The company should suggest benefits of pain relief as a category membership to aspirin and acetaminophen based analgesics users. As a differentiation, the company should appeal to the customers’ hearts with its functional value, ‘no side effect’. In addition, the company should use the company’s another offering’s competitive edge, well established brand of Bristol-Myers. This well established brand equity gives a psychological value, emotional
Decision
Marvin Koslow, vice president for marketing services at Bristol-Myers is going to choose a positioning strategy for Datril, an acetaminophen based analgesic, in order to solidify Bristol-Myers’ position in the analgesics market and gain share in the rapidly growing acetaminophen market. There are two possible options: ‘Pricing at par with Tylenol and it as a Tylenol substitute, featuring Bristol-Myers product’ and ‘low Priced alternative to Tylenol’. I strongly recommend that Bristol-Myers choose the former option with a modification. Reasons for the Decision
First of all, this option gives the company a chance to effectively target. The target customer of Datril should not be overlapped with those of Tylenol. Tylenol was a dominant and well established brand in the acetaminophen market, and was used for a long time by loyal customers who get recommendations from medical professions. It means the existing customers were likely not price-sensitive compared to aspirin customers. Datril is not able to offer an effective differentiated value to these customers compared to Tylenol. Therefore Marvin Koslow should target at aspirin users who were lightly suffering from irritation of stomach lining and who didn’t visit doctors. ‘No side effect’ is more valuable to these customers. As we target these customers, Bristol-Myers’ offering could give an optimal value proposition between customer’s and the company’s value. Also, this option is more effective to positioning. The company should suggest benefits of pain relief as a category membership to aspirin and acetaminophen based analgesics users. As a differentiation, the company should appeal to the customers’ hearts with its functional value, ‘no side effect’. In addition, the company should use the company’s another offering’s competitive edge, well established brand of Bristol-Myers. This well established brand equity gives a psychological value, emotional