Issue № 84. February 2021

Blacklist or Black PR? Counter-Marketing of Intestinal Adsorbents in the Media

Alexander V. Khovanov — PhD, Associate Professor, TNC SILMA, Moscow, Russian Federation. 
E-mail: khovanoff_alex@mail.ru

Olga A. Minchina — Marketing Manager, TNC SILMA, Moscow, Russian Federation.
E-mail: olga-minchina@mail.ru
ORCID ID: 0000-0003-1513-192X

The managerial decision making process requires understanding of counter-marketing techniques in the media for objective interpretation of the facts amid information overload. The article contains the principles for routine tracking of counter-marketing data in the media in the field of pharmacy, illustrated by examples of Enterosgel, Polysorb and activated carbon. Counter-marketing often involves a straw man fallacy. The negative messages may cover the country in which the product is manufactured, the product group and the manufacturer. Then these messages shift to attack the product, and these tactics can be used for lobbying decisions. The authors discuss the methods and results of counter-marketing in the media involving manufacturers of medicinal products from group A07B according to the ATC classification, or intestinal adsorbents. The variety of intestinal adsorbents in Russia and the CIS is tremendous, due to R&D carried out in the USSR. The choice of A07B group provides the opportunity to view counter-marketing not only as a tool of competitors, but also as an instrument of international large-scale influence, way beyond the usual brand wars. The study methods include the analysis of routine pharmacovigilance, requests from regulatory authorities, messages from contractors and users and media publications from 2012 to 2020. Counter-marketing is widely used globally, as attested by the instances of discrediting intestinal adsorbents in the media. However, wise use of counter-marketing has the power to neutralize negative messages by turning them in favor of the manufacturer. 

Keywords

Counter-marketing, marketing, Enterosgel, Polymethylsiloxane polyhydrate, activated carbon, Polysorb, Colloidal silicon dioxide, mass media, Internet.

DOI: 10.24412/2070-1381-2021-84-62-84