KEY TAKEAWAY: According to a 2016 STAT-Harvard poll, only 7% of consumer respondents were motivated to talk to their physician about a prescription drug they saw on TV, down from 21% in 2015. The poll also indicated that 57% of U.S. adults support ending Rx drug TV advertising. So then why would DTC managers continue to invest in TV?
Category Archive: DTC Spending
KEY TAKEAWAY: A recent research report indicated that up to 98% of all online ad clicks are from BOTS. This could be used as another excuse to allocate money to TV, but there are opportunities within all data. DTC marketers need to “think beyond the click” to deliver brand messages.
KEY TAKEAWAY: Pharma needs more consumer markers because patients are consumers of health care and that extends into prescription drug choices as well. The days of using TV to push prescription drugs and patients running to their doctor are pretty much over.
KEY TAKEAWAY: Spending $40 million on a DTC campaign to increase awareness of a drug that people are demolishing on social media is a waste of money. Surely DTC marketers can do better than this.
KEY TAKEAWAY: Great ads start with a focus on the target audience, but they take the concept of advertising one step further. They aren’t afraid to “break the mold” of ads to create action on the part of consumers. While the pharma industry has no shortage of self proclaimed ad awards patients are making DTC ads more and more irrelevant.
KEY TAKEAWAY: Ed Silverman reported that a US representative has introduced a bill calling for a three-year moratorium on advertising newly approved prescription drugs directly to consumers, reasoning that such a freeze would prevent consumers from receiving inaccurate information and also hold down health care costs. This proposed ban is not about what’s best for healthcare, it’s about punishing drug companies for high prices.
KEY TAKEAWAY: DTC ads raise awareness of health problems and new medications, but they are not cost effective in driving prescribing behavior. To succeed, DTC marketers need to focus more on an integrated approach with allocates more to digital marketing.
KEY TAKEAWAY: Some viewers of the Super Bowl said pharma ads addressing not-so-pleasant bodily functions during Sunday’s broadcast missed the mark. What missed the mark, however, was not the placement of the ads but the creative execution, which, although I’m sure was tested to the Nth degree, just didn’t make “common sense”.