The J&J Way

When marketing a new, potentially high risk drug such as Johnson &
Johnson's new Ortho Evra birth control patch, premptive measures may be
necessary to eliminate risk of a Vioxx-type incident from occurring.
According to an article published by MediaPost Publications in Marketing
Daily, although Ortho Evra may be more convenient than oral birth
control, it has been proven to double the risk of blood clots. In
addition, women who use the patch are exposed to 60% more hormones than
those who take birth control pills. Keeping these potential negatives in
mind, Johnson & JOhnson has developed a strategy of their own to prevent
a crisis scenario before it even occurs. Since the online community plays
such an enormous and growing role in the spread of information, J&J hopes to avoid
negative online attention for its birth control patch by buying the rights
to negative domain names. by purchasing domain names such as
Deathbypatch.com and Orthoevrakills.com, the idea is that these domains
will no longer available for negative use against the company. Larry
Mickelberg, senior vice president/Marketing of Medical Broadcasting Co.
commented "It's really a best practice move." Although none of the domain
names purchased were currently in use, J&J saw how the Vioxx situation
prompted Web sites with names like Vioxxlitigation.com, Vioxxlawyers.com
and others. "Vioxx has definitely changed the rules for drug companies,"
Mickelberg said. In today's era of the internet and instant access to
information, there is so much opportunity for litigators who have become
quick to pounce on pharmaceutical companies. keeping this in mind the
actions J&J are taking to reduce the risk of negative online sites may be
a smart step in defending themselves against a potential crisis scenario.