New Tool Probes Doctors' Emotional Choices

Brand and comms research specialist Hall & Partners Health has launched a brand engagement measurement model called Engager Rx, to measure physician engagement with prescription brands.

Hall & Partners opened the specialist division in March 2010, citing requests from its pharma clients for 'fresh thinking, creativity and true expertise in branding'. The firm's Engager tool, rolled out soon after, measures how people think and feel - both consciously and unconsciously - about brands, and how they engage with them.

The division's new Engager Rx solution has been developed to demonstrate how doctors use emotion when choosing drugs. The model takes into consideration not only the rational drivers of brand engagement and brand equity, but also its emotional and social drivers.

The tool has been validated by a pilot study using Hall & Partners' proprietary research in the US and Europe, across 75+ brands, 12 therapeutic areas and among PCPS and multiple specialists.

Global Head of Health Abigail Stuart says the new tool 'challenges the notion that physicians are mostly left-brain driven and are primarily rational and logical in their thinking', adding: 'The Engager Rx pilot showed that while doctors are focused on the science, they are not immune to social influences and demonstrate real emotions when considering drug choices.'

Web site: www.hallandpartners.com .