AstraZeneca Names I-Frontier for New Asthma Drug
British pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca L.P. has extended its relationship with interactive agency i-Frontier Corp. by awarding it the business for Pulmicort Respules, a preventive medicine for children age 1 to 8 who suffer from asthma.I-Frontier, Philadelphia, handles online marketing for AstraZeneca brands such as Pulmicort Turbuhaler and Nexium, the successor to its Prilosec heartburn drug.
There was no incumbent interactive agency for Pulmicort Respules. AstraZeneca, with U.S. headquarters in Wilmington, DE, did not disclose to i-Frontier whether it reviewed other agencies for the account.
"We're looking to educate the professional target audience on the product's efficiency through online advertising and e-mail marketing," said Brad Aronson, president of i-Frontier. "We'll be looking to reach physicians through sites they already visit and then build an e-mail relationship with them."
Pulmicort Respules contains a dose of liquid medicine in small plastic containers. Each container, when opened, is poured into a misting machine called a nebulizer.
In addition to AstraZeneca, i-Frontier handles interactive work for Schering-Plough's Claritin drug, StarMedia Network and Universal Studios Home Video. Founded in 1996, the agency reported billings of $50 million last year.
Online marketing for Pulmicort Respules breaks this month and will run through Dec. 31. The campaign targets pediatricians, pulmonologists and allergists through banners, buttons and badges on professional sites such as Medscape.
In separate e-mail buys, i-Frontier will target e-mail newsletters to physicians and will market to an inhouse list of doctors compiled by AstraZeneca.
