Tylenol Interactive Store Provides Product Recommendations

As more and more prescription drugs convert to over-the-counter (OTC) status and patients are forced to take more responsibility, there is a new opportunity for bringing OTC drug information to the point-of-sale. The Tylenol Interactive Store and Health Information Center provides practical patient information such as symptom analysis and product recommendations through an interactive video server.Introduced by McNeil Consumer Products Co., Fort Washington, Pa., (the wholly owned Johnson & Johnson subsidiary that manufactures and markets Tylenol) the unit educates patients with 3-D animation of anatomy, which helps consumers visualize the causes and effects of diseases within their bodies. A voice-over helps viewers understand the pictures, addressing headaches, arthritis pain, colds and flu, sinus pain, allergies and drug safety."The biggest challenge in marketing Tylenol is helping consumers overcome the confusion faced in selecting the right product. This is especially true with our cold and flu products, which contain multiple ingredients. Patients with several symptoms need to choose between pain relievers, cough suppressants, decongestants, and/or antihistamines," explains Glen Griffiths, vice president of strategic promotions for McNeil. "Our interactive display alleviates the confusion first by using a symptom interview similar to what a doctor gives. We developed an algorithm that, based on the patient's yes/no answers to the diagnostic interview, selects a pre-recorded video product recommendation that explains the Tylenol product appropriate for that set of symptoms."Griffiths explains why the company made this first venture into interactive displays: "We publish millions of brochures, but our research into healthcare information retention indicated that printed materials do not completely answer most patients' questions, satisfying just a small number of patients' needs. We found that visual illustrations and animation help people understand and retain healthcare information better than just printed words and pictures."Existing brochures do augment the interactive display, which measures 18 inches wide by 5 feet high by 18 inches deep. The unit accommodates about 10 different Tylenol products, depending on seasonality, and up to 60 SKUs.An initial, limited regional test run of the unit was offered to McNeil Consumer Product's most valued and progressive customers. About eight retailers are using the display in an average of 10 to 12 outlets each. The units were free with a minimum order, based on the needs of each customer's business. Another production run is scheduled for early 1998."One of our goals was to add value to our existing product line by offering this display for free," reveals Griffiths, "but the biggest challenge was to find a technology cheap enough to give away." Since the application did not require the sophistication of a computer, "we chose an inexpensive but powerful and high-quality video CD-ROM for playing back patients' requests," he says. McNeil selected a 32-bit microprocessor designed exclusively for video, reducing the typical hardware cost of computerized interactive retail displays by up to 95 percent.Griffiths says the newer units planned for 1998 will be at least twice as fast, with five times the memory, for the same manufacturing price. Adaptations such as on-screen retailer logos, floormaps of a store and other customizations are also being considered.

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