NEW JERSEY, January 2, 2003:

Does your brand's campaign connect with your customers? What part of the campaign creates the connection. Some DTC ads attempt to create brand intimacy with music. A highly recognizeable song builds a sense of familiarity, a level of understanding.

Take the current VIOXX spots with Dorothy Hamill. "It's a beautiful morning..." You already know the song, you associate positive emotions with the tune, and ostensibly the brand.

But is it effective brand intimacy --or is it a creative crutch?

I beleive that if it's appropriate, a song can help contribute to brand intimacy. The VIOXX spots would fail if they employed the music of the Clash, or the Goo Goo Dolls. Different tunes would speak differently, and the lack of intimacy would be obvious.

So music is one way to measure brand intimacy, and evaluate the level of emotional connection achieved by the campaign.

Next week, another factor in creating brand intimacy: tone of the copy.

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