BOTHELL — The makers of Cialis will set up activity tents at Professional Golfers Association tournaments and sponsor golf-related television segments to give the erectile dysfunction drug more exposure among the sport’s enthusiasts.
ICOS Corp. of Bothell and Eli Lilly &Co. debuted its stepped-up marketing campaign to golfers Thursday at The Honda Classic in Florida.
Golf sponsorships are a key part of the advertising strategy to reach men over 40 years old, said Paul Clark, ICOS chairman and chief executive officer. That’s why the drug is an official partner of the PGA Tour through 2007 and title sponsor of the Cialis Western Open through 2006.
"The people who watch and play golf are an important audience to us, and we believe one of the best ways to connect with this fan base is through components that highlight the emotional and mental aspects of golf," Clark said in statement Thursday.
With that goal, the PGA Tour and Cialis’ marketing team created a series of TV vignettes that feature winning moments in PGA tournaments. Golf’s top players appear in the segments, though they do not explicitly endorse Cialis. The first of the vignettes will be broadcast during NBC Sports’ coverage of The Honda Classic this weekend.
At PGA tournaments, the Cialis fan tent, titled "Tips for Enjoying Your Golf Game" offers visitors a skills assessment and video lesson on improving their play on the golf course.
A new weekly feature on The Golf Channel and a new Web site, www.cialis.pgatour.com, also hit similar themes.
Cialis’ sponsorship of professional golf follows in the footsteps of its rivals. Viagra has an advertising relationship with Major League Baseball, while Levitra is an official NFL partner.
The sports partnerships are just part of the hugely expensive advertising battle between the three drugs. Cialis and Levitra ran commercials during this year’s Super Bowl.
There are signs that the ads are working, however. Verispan, a health care research firm, said the number of new prescriptions for erectile dysfunction drugs grew by 16 percent in the two weeks after the Super Bowl ads aired.
As of the week ending Feb. 13, Verispan reported that 14 percent of new patients got prescriptions for Cialis, which began selling just three months ago. That compared to 66 percent for Viagra and 19 percent for Levitra. Of the patients who switched from one drug to another, Cialis was the clear winner.
Reporter Eric Fetters: 425-339-3453 or fetters@heraldnet.com.
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