Comments on John Singer's articles RSS Syndication from SeekingAlpha.com http://seekingalpha.com/author/john-singer/articles http://seekingalpha.com/article/108945-poor-strategy-is-costly?source=feed#comment-321028 321028 Thu, 04 Dec 2008 14:46:43 -0500 blog.marketingdoctor.tv ). He blogs from a branding perspective--a really simple concept, but one that is often lost sight of and which fits with the ideas in this article. The example of the drug companies, for instance--in marketing their products, they side-step the question of what their brand/s is/are supposed to be--what I think Dr. Tantillo refers to as their 'core essentials.'

Dr. Tantillo did a post on Citigroup last week, when its stock was down at $3.77. He argues that Citigroup strayed from its roots--lost sight of its brand:

"We don’t really call them conglomerates anymore, and we talked about “synergies,” but the basic idea was the same: create massive companies with hundreds of thousands of employees, which would supposedly save bottom-line costs and create one-stop shopping for consumers and companies."

"Leading with marketing rather than deal finance would have shown that the basic natures of a bank and an insurance company are very different, and combining them would only dilute both."
Citigroup post: blog.marketingdoctor.t...
]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/108945-poor-strategy-is-costly?source=feed#comment-320040 320040 Wed, 03 Dec 2008 13:33:16 -0500 I am not sure that DCT can be the key however as it only really exists in America and Pharma's problems are global.
High development costs resulting from increasing regulatory pressure have put pressure on margins.
High prices have encouraged buyers to band together and exploit generics which has also put pressure on margins.
The fundamental problem however is that many Pharma companies have worked out the old small molecule seam and their transition to the new one has not yet paid off.]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/108945-poor-strategy-is-costly?source=feed#comment-319992 319992 Wed, 03 Dec 2008 12:54:15 -0500 Your article sounds more like an exercise in the English language than anything substantive. Is the redbaron's astute observation that "money they have spent on advertising has been largely wasted" substantiated in fact or just his sage opinion?]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/108945-poor-strategy-is-costly?source=feed#comment-319590 319590 Wed, 03 Dec 2008 07:18:11 -0500
Your examples are spot-on, and especially so with the drug companies. The money they have spent on advertising has been largely wasted, and could have been much better spent on research. While they waste funds on this promotional practice, many much needed new drugs could be found and developed with the same funds.

No doubt this current economic down-turn will prompt some corporate soul-searching and changes in 'strategy', but lets all hope that the CEO's who eventually emerge will approach the new corporate era with a new spirit of 'strategy'.

Many thanks for presenting this concept, John Singer.]]>