Don’t use random data for DTC strategic decisions

Random marketing data via social media may not be applicable for your product/health condition.
Marketers need to ask “why?” and “what does this include?”
Perfect example is the latest health data from Rock Health. It doesn’t differentiate between health apps and fitness apps.
DTC marketers need to conduct their own research and validate it with follow up research.

The debate on TV vs. online pharma ads

[inlinetweet prefix=”” tweeter=”” suffix=””]U.S. adults, internet use for health information is vast and growing; 8 in 10 adults say they use the internet for health and wellness purposes, an increase of 13% since 2015. (Source: Kantar)[/inlinetweet]
T[inlinetweet prefix=”” tweeter=”” suffix=””]two in five ailment sufferers have seen or heard healthcare advertising on the internet or on a mobile device within the last year. (Kantar)[/inlinetweet]
Among the 61% of patients who had researched prescription drugs online in the past 12 months, 34% had requested a specific prescription drug at least once.
Among patients who had requested an Rx, 25% were prompted to do so by a TV ad and 25% by ads seen online. (DRG)
[inlinetweet prefix=”” tweeter=”” suffix=””]An average 80 DTC ads air every hour on TV[/inlinetweet] (Axios)

Data from DRG Digital | Manhattan Research’s Cybercitizen Health® U.S. 2018 study of 3,084 U.S. patients show that:

Among the 61% of patients who had researched prescription drugs online in the past 12 months, 34% had requested a specific prescription drug at least once.
Among patients who had requested an Rx, 25% were prompted to do so by a TV ad and 25% by ads seen online.
Among the 65% of patients who recalled seeing or hearing TV ads about prescription drugs in the past 12 months, 22% had requested a specific drug.
Among the 49% of patients who recalled seeing or hearing online ads, 42% had requested a specific Rx drug.
TV or online ads may be particularly effective at reaching some condition groups. Among online Rx researchers requesting a prescription, patients with multiple sclerosis, hypertension and Alzheimer’s Disease were particularly likely to cite TV ads as the impetus for their request, while patients with hepatitis C, type 1 diabetes and severe asthma were more likely to cite online ads.