DTC marketers ignorance of the Internet continues

Dec/15/2007 07:11 Filed in: DUH !
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According to some recent information pharma has spent just 1% of their marketing budgets on the Internet and that includes search and online ad spending. This is indicative of just how bad DTC marketers are and how ignorant they are when it comes to new media. Is it any wonder that year after year, when marketing and ad magazines, announce the best ads and marketers of the year that pharma is nowhere to be found? Instead the nightly news programs have become a showcase for pharmaceutical ads because somewhere DTC marketers still believe it drives business.



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Ignorance is bliss but in this case it is the blind leading the blind. DTC marketers have long had a long love affair with TV because it makes them feel like they are the big people on campus. They love to get wined and dined by the agencies and then go to the bogus awards ceremonies to collect awards that with $2.50 will get them on the subway.


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Courtesy: John Mack's Pharma Marketing



When I read that just 1% of spending is on the Web I realized that the problem(s) within DTC marketing are a lot worse than I thought. Even though trade magazines like DTC Perspectives continue to promote seminars on the effectiveness of the Web most DTC marketers turn a deaf ear. Let's look at some of the issues that are giving eMarketing people headaches;


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1. Budgets: I need money - The strategy drives the budget but in DTC the budget limits the strategy. Time and time again I hear from colleges who never get the money they need to do the job THEY want and NEED to do on the Web. Then when they do get the money and have successful results they have to go and fight for continued funding.


2. Process: There is a process to building great websites that includes qualitative and quantitative testing of concepts. Most however just build a site and put it up and don't care if users have a good experience or not.


3. Get this up on the website: How many times have eMarketers been told "get this up on the website" without thinking about the strategy of why we are putting on the website and the user experience.


4. You need how much!? It costs a lot of money to develop a website and guess what, once you develop the site you need to continually invest in the site to optimize it for users and business objectives.


5. Measurement: This is where DTC marketers really fall down. With the Internet you can measure targeted actions with your audience including intent to ask their physicians for an Rx as a result of coming to the site. DTC marketers however are all about "glitz and glamor".


6. We need Google: Another area where DTC marketers are extremely weak. If your brand & disease state have high awareness you may not need to allocate hundreds of dollars to search. Remember that Google can sell your brand keywords to others as well.


7. Social Media: Pharma has no idea how to approach social media and continues to ignore the consumer presence on the Web.


Add it all up and you have perhaps the worst marketing and advertising expertise in any marketing category. You'll hear excuses like "we can't do that we are a regulated industry" and "TV provides more ROI" but that is a cop out. Marketers, like those I worked with at Lilly, are very skilled at manipulating data that is presented to senior managers who are clueless.


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