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Before 1998, the Japanese market for antidepressants was untapped. To the Japanese, depression(Utsubyo) was a bad word — a social stigma. Successful antidepressant marketers avoided Japan, but GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) saw a market opportunity. Using a consistent message, GSK changed the way Japanese thought about depression — “Does your soul have a cold (Kokoro no Kaze) … depression is a disease that anyone can get. It can be cured by medicine. Early detection is important.” For four years, 1,300 GSK salespeople visited selected doctors twice a week with this message. From 2001 to 2003, GSK’s Paxil sales tripled — from $108 million to $298 million. GSK’s message hit home — online bulletin boards had as many conversations about depression as performance!
— “Gentlemen, congratulations. You’ve successfully brought depression to Japan.”
