Report: How Brands Can Elevate Their Pharma Advertising for Real-World Impact

Beyond brand building, pharma advertising has long served to educate healthcare consumers about various health conditions and their potential treatments. But do DTC and HCP audiences agree? In their eyes, what is the value of pharma ads?

In partnership with MAGNA Media Trials, we set out to understand perceptions about pharma advertising among consumer and provider audiences. The study, Beyond the Prescription, surveyed 1,166 patients and 1,001 doctors, and it affirmed the life-changing potential of pharma ads while uncovering several opportunities for pharma brands to take their advertising to the next level.

Today, pharma ads positively influence health outcomes with improved relevance, timeliness, and more sophisticated targeting. Let’s explore how the results of this study can inform your next campaign.

First…Our Key Findings

Health marketers have become experts in reaching clinically relevant DTC audiences daily with pharma advertising messages. As evidenced by the MAGNA study, our efforts are paying off, inspiring patients to have more informed conversations with their HCPs. And HCPs agree, with 92% of doctors surveyed agreeing that pharma ads empower patients to take a more active role in managing their health.

The majority of patients also see the benefits of pharma advertising. More than half reported that pharma ads have helped them learn about new medications (63%) and discover a health condition they weren’t previously aware of (55%). Additionally, 62% reported they would have missed out on learning about a condition affecting them or someone close to them if not for pharma advertising.

Taking a closer look at the demographics of our survey respondents, we found that younger generations are often more receptive to pharma advertising than older generations. 63% of Gen Z adults and 59% of millennials said pharma ads helped them better manage an existing condition compared to 40% of baby boomers. Multicultural audiences also benefit more from pharma advertising, with 75% of respondents agreeing that ads have positively impacted past health outcomes.

From Insights to Outcomes

The findings from Beyond the Prescription reveal how receptive HCP and patient audiences are to pharma advertising. However, pharma brands still have many opportunities to improve their reach and relevance. 55% of respondents feel they see too many irrelevant pharma ads, and 63% said they would be more open to seeing relevant ads.

Considering how beneficial both audiences find pharma advertising to be, one can only imagine the effect that more sophisticated targeting and messaging timeliness could have on future health outcomes. It starts with putting these insights into action.

Here are three ways to fine-tune your advertising strategy to be more impactful.

  1. Engage younger audiences: Out of all the survey respondents, Gen Z and millennials were the most receptive toward pharma ads. Where applicable, be sure to include these audiences to drive awareness about conditions that may affect them or someone they know.
  2. Align with HCPs: Most doctors surveyed stated that they see the benefits of pharma ads for patient education. However, they can benefit just as much from exposure to similar messaging, helping them lead more informed conversations with their patients about available treatments. Consider creating an integrated HCP-DTC campaign for maximum effectiveness.
  3. Prioritize relevance: Consumers expect more personalization from advertising. Relevance is critical for making an impact. Focus on creating relatable content that enhances the effectiveness of pharma ads and goes beyond sales to foster more meaningful connections with your audience.

Level Up Your Approach to Pharma Advertising

The media landscape is evolving, and advertising technology is evolving with it. Marketers now have the power to incorporate real-time audience signals, optimization, and measurement into their campaigns. Unfortunately, while powerful in other spaces, generic advertising platforms hinder health advertising campaigns, often lacking the privacy-safe health data and technology to reach HCP and DTC audiences effectively. Health intelligence is what makes all the difference.

By seeking out a specialized platform built for health, pharma brands can achieve higher audience quality and script lift with their campaigns while also delivering relevant ad messages to the audiences who need it most. With the ability to optimize in real time, pharma brands can have an even greater impact on health outcomes by connecting consumers with information that influences them to take a more active role in their health.

Want to explore even more findings from our study? Click here to request a copy of “Beyond the Prescription.”

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