Remember when the success of an advertising campaign was measured by how many people bought your product? The strategy was simple: bring something new to market—ideally, something that fills an unmet need—and then convince people to try it, if even just once.

And for years, what worked for GE and General Mills worked for Merck and Pfizer as well. But we’ve entered a new age in pharmaceutical advertising. An age where a product is not just a pill, it’s a promise of a better, healthier future. An age where patient profiles—more than product profiles—drive marketing initiatives and (the hope is, at least) increase sales down the line.

Because, let’s face it, we live in an age where medication is no longer just for the infirmed. An age where Lipitor, Cialis, and Propecia are the brands filling the 6-o’clock news spots. Now don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of products out there (not enough, actually) that really do save lives. Products that, without which, people quite literally would not be able to get out of bed in the morning. I’ve worked on products like these, and I’ve even felt good about it. But the influx of lifestyle drugs can’t be ignored, and they’re setting the bar for all the rest.

Today, pharmaceutical companies want to offer products that come with built-in support systems. Products that promote not just a chemical or biological change, but a lifestyle change. Products that not only make people feel better, but make them live better, live longer, and live stronger. Products that people will not only try, but will keep taking for years to come.

And this shift in focus hasn’t come a moment too soon, with the market flooded with generics and the FDA watching more closely than ever before.  But it means that we’re now tasked with satisfying a different kind of marketing strategy. One that is less about boosting initial sales and more about bolstering compliance down the line. Clients want campaigns that are more patient-centric, messages that are more end-benefit oriented, and support programs designed to enhance the patient experience, if you will. In other words, pharma’s getting personal.

For the early adopters out there—the companies willing to sacrifice out-of-the-gate sales in an effort to increase compliance and solidifying future profits—the potential benefits are huge. And what’s good for the goose is good for…well, the guys the goose pays to do its advertising.