Starting this year, sales reps for drug companies will no longer be able to provide doctors with pens, coffee mugs, staplers, etc. emblazoned with product and corporate logos.
I’ll bet that pharmaceutical sales reps aren’t all that crushed.
I have never, ever, bought a product or service because I had it on my coffee mug or saw it on somebody else’s. I suppose there might be some sort of subliminal value to logo placements, but today’s world is so full of visual SPAM that I think everyone pretty much filters it out.
In any case, the new guidelines were written by appointees of the Bush administration, which has been unswervingly chummy to the pharmaceutical industry. And significantly and unsurprisingly, the guidelines the real conflicts of interest untouched. For example, drug firms can still pay physicians to speak at boondoggle conferences.
I strongly suspect that the pharmaceutical industry agreed to forgo trinket distribution because they know that such giveaways really don’t have much impact on sales.
But I’ll bet most sales pros agree. I’ll bet that most sales reps, when it comes to logo trinkets, have the attitude that “as long as they’re available, I’ll hand them out.” However, when it comes right down to it, they’d just as soon that marketing spent the money on something useful, like lead generation.
That’s why I suspect, anyway. I want to know what you guys think, so here’s a poll:
Loading ...UPDATE (1/8): This post is continued in “Spam Stinks but Marketing is Clueless“
