What Works in DTC Strategies
Executive Summary
In a comparison of direct-to-the-consumer advertising strategies, Health Resource found that compliance ad campaigns can be more cost-effective than switch campaigns.
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Big Pharma Continues to Rely on Marketing to Consumers
DTC advertising for prescription drugs is alive and well. Companies spent $2.16 billion through the end of October 2002--$216 million per month--a 4.4% increase over the monthly industry spend rate from 2001. In a year characterized by belt-tightening decisions, this step-up in spending reflects just how crucial it is for pharmaceuticals to steer consumers towards high-margin drugs.
When the Consumer Drives Demand
Empowered consumers are playing a more proactive role in almost all treatment decisions. For consumer-driven and lifestyle drugs, a fast-growing portion of pharma's portfolio, marketers still focus on physician detailing but must resist the temptation to rely only on physicians to interpret consumers' needs. Consumers have their own approach to evaluating the risks and rewards of a lifestyle-oriented drug. The fact that it outperforms placebo in clinical trials matters little: they expect it to be significantly better, and without unpleasant side effects. Companies must weigh these expectations early in the development process. Adjusting the paradigm where the physician is king is a major challenge. The perception that traditional detailing efforts generate the dollars, while consumer marketing only spends them, remains hard to change.
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