Brands returning to store shelves after an absence need to give a “provocative” reason for consumers to purchase the products again, according to an OTC marketing management consultant.

GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare LP is among the drug firms facing the challenge of alerting consumers to a product’s return. The firm emailed consumers registered on the MyAlli.com website July 2 to announce that OTC weight loss drug alli is available again, and it will use social media and other promotions to spread the word.

But Gary Stibel, CEO of the New England Consulting Group in Westport, Conn., suggests “the best way” to tell consumers a product is available again “is to reach out with some news” that is not purely “we are back.”

He cautioned that simply announcing a product is back is a “dual negative” that could push consumers away by reminding them why the product disappeared from the shelf or alerting others, who may have been oblivious to the absence, about a potential problem.

For example, when Johnson & Johnsonreturns to stores brands including Rolaids and Mylanta liquid products and Novartis Consumer Health Inc. again ships brands including Bufferin, Excedrin and Gas-X, they should avoid reminding consumers the products disappeared because of quality control issues that led to temporary manufacturing plant closures (Also see "Novartis Opts For OTC Recall, With J&J/McNeil Lessons Still Fresh" - Pink Sheet, 16 January, 2012. and Also see "FDA Enforces Consent Decree Over J&J/McNeil's OTC Manufacturing" - Pink Sheet, 14 March, 2011.).

Rather, the firms should promote the return with product news, such as new flavors or formats, packaging innovations, such as new graphics or value-adding functionality, or positive pricing news, Stibel said.

“The best news is product news that you are doing something different and better,” Stibel said, noting that Tylenol relaunched with a tamper-evidence seal following the painkiller’s 1982 recall due to tampering by an employee in Chicago ([A#05020040000]).

Following that recall, Tylenol not only regained market share lost during its absence, but gained additional share because consumers viewed the relaunched product as the safest painkiller available, he said.

These types of situations are opportunities for brands to differentiate themselves and rise above the fray by “being creative and squeezing lemons into lemonade,” Stibel said.

Buying Back Customers

If product and packaging changes are not options, brands should try to buy back consumers, said Robert Passikoff, founder and president of Brand Keys, a consumer loyalty research consultancy. He recommends manufacturers offer coupons to temporarily bring branded products’ prices down to store brand levels. This will entice consumers who switched to store brands to switch back, and with luck they will be reminded why they previously chose the brand over competitors and store brands.

Another strategy is to do nothing, Passikoff said. Simply place the product back on shelves without promotions or advertising.

He added that this strategy is helpful particularly for brands with reputations that have eroded due to multiple recalls or a particularly negative reason for the absence.

Stibel agreed, noting loyal consumers will buy well-known brands and pantry staples when they see the product on the shelf, and that the average consumer has a short memory so likely will not remember the product was recalled or missing.

Episodic Products Require More Outreach

Products that consumers buy cyclically or episodically, such as lifestyle drugs, require a different approach, Stibel said. Often if these products are out of consumers’ sight, they are also out of mind and manufacturers will need to market their return more aggressively.

In these cases, announcing the return of a product is useful, Passikoff said.

For example, Glaxo emailed alli users to announce the product, which was missing for six months due a shortage of the active ingredient orlistat, shipped to stores nationwide June 19. The manufacturer also announced the return on its Facebook page, to which consumers quickly posted with complaints that they still could not find the drug in stores.

To avoid angering consumers, Stibel recommends manufacturers take the extra time to ensure they have enough product available to meet consumer demand before announcing the return. Otherwise, firms risk consumer irritation and further eroding loyalty.

Stibel compared strategies for returning product to retail to conducting a war-time military operation. “You don’t throw one or two soldiers out there,” he said. Rather, manufacturers should take “time to figure out a way to come back at full strength.”

In response, GSK created a tool on its website to help consumers find where alli is available in their area, a spokeswoman said.

Exceptions To Every Rule

Because every brand and situation is unique, so should the strategy for returning a brand to the shelf, Passikoff said.

With this in mind, some brands should not be afraid to break the rules.

Alli, for example, does not compete against store brand equivalents and is the only FDA-approved OTC for weight loss, so unlike some other products it can get away with a simple, “Ta-da! We’re back!” Passikoff said.

“If you have something no one else has, then it doesn’t matter” what the price is or the reason for the disappearance because consumers want the product, he added.

Still, a GSK spokeswoman said the firm has “a robust promotional plan for alli and will phase in the plan as inventory levels at retail return to normal levels, likely by fall. Our promotional plan includes store promotions, public relations, digital and social media, among other activities.”

Likewise, because alli’s disappearance was not the result of a problem at GSK, the brand should not worry about reminding consumers why it was unavailable. If anything, the declaration could debunk potential misinformation or questions about the product’s quality.

Consumers Need Motivation To Buy Brands Returned To Stores After Absence

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