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ALLEGAN, Mich. — Perrigo Co. has kicked off what it calls the first-ever industry marketing and communications campaign for store-brand over-the-counter medicines.
The generic drug maker said Monday that the initiative, dubbed the "Store Brand Meds" campaign, aims to better educate consumers on the quality, value and effectiveness of store-brand medications.
Store-brand sales represent about 35% of the dollar share of all OTCs sold at retail today, but misperceptions about their quality and effectiveness still exist among some consumers, according to Perrigo. Referencing other successful industry branding campaigns such as "Got Milk?" or "Pork: The Other White Meat," the Store Brand Meds campaign is intended to address such misperceptions, the company said.
"Although we continue to see growing acceptance among consumers for store-brand medications, questions and misinformation are still out there," stated Jeff Needham, executive vice president and general manager for U.S. consumer health care at Perrigo, which is the world’s largest manufacturer of OTC medicines for the store-brand market. "We know there is a real benefit to helping educate consumers on how store brands are regulated, made and sold. It helps us, it helps the industry, it helps our retailers, and, most important, it empowers consumers by giving them the facts and information they need to make purchase decisions."
The Store Brand Meds campaign relies heavily on social media, including a recently launched Facebook page, YouTube channel and website.
Since the campaign’s soft launch in January, consumers have a new opportunity to learn about and engage with Store Brand Meds via its Facebook page in a fun, but informative way, Perrigo said. The campaign’s videos on YouTube have generated more than 3.2 million views.
The company added that it’s also making significant investments in digital advertising, public relations and electronic couponing to drive more awareness about the campaign.
Perrigo estimates that a customer will save an average of 36% by buying the store-brand instead of the name-brand medications. The company reported that its store-brand OTCs save consumers approximately $5 billion annually.
