Online direct-to-consumer marketing continues to remain an effective option for pharma companies, according to a new study.
The Eighth Annual Online Marketing Effectiveness Benchmarks for the Pharmaceutical Industry report published by comScore Health Solutions demonstrated that pharma online advertising has the highest viewability rates of ten industries benchmarked by the researchers, with 51 per cent of billions of advertisements assessed found to be ‘viewable’. Other industries measured included travel, consumer goods and media/entertainment.
This is important as viewability – the degree to which an advertisement is actually seen by a consumer – has a large impact on the effectiveness of an advertising campaign. In this case viewability is defined as 50 per cent or more the advertisement appearing in the viewable frame of the web browser for at least one second.
Online Display Advertisement Viewability
Source: comScore vCE Benchmarks, Q4 2013
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A driving force for the continued growth of online advertising is new technology, with the report finding that consumers are turning to new platforms, such as mobile devices, to consume health-related content.
Despite concerns that brand sites might be an increasingly archaic form of marketing, comScore was able to show that these sites “provide sizeable lifts in both brand awareness and favorability”. This was particular true in terms of patient adherence; among patients who visited a branded website, there was a 14.7-point lift above a control group in terms of prescription refill activity.
“The importance of pharmaceutical branded websites continues to be high. Our research shows that regardless of how condition sufferers get to the site, that visit has a significant influence in those patients seeking treatment,” said John Mangano, VP, comScore Health Solutions.
“Marketers should also take note of what devices consumers are using to engage with health-related content, as visitation to the category via mobile devices has increased by 36 per cent in just the past year”.
Mangano added that understanding how to reach consumers effectively through platforms such as mobile will help companies create better marketing and content strategies, whether they are targeting patients or prospects.