Will DTC disappear?

Feb/23/2008 08:09 Filed in: Regulatory Environment
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A recent eMail from an industry trade magazine that is all but in pharma's back pocket suggested that DTC advertising may disappear with the changing political landscape. The chances of that happening however are about as much as DTC marketers actually understanding the changing environment in which they market. There is just too much at stake here and too much money that changes hands thus lobbyists will ensure that DTC advertising remains as part of the nightly news.




There are many reasons to cut DTC advertising; first, there is the perception that it ads to health care costs in this country and second is the false perception that it adds to the cost of drugs. We know through various studies that DTC advertising actually reduces health care costs by getting consumers to be proactive about their health and working with their HCP on health choices. If DTC ads were to be eliminated drug prices might actually increase as pharma companies implement pricing to ensure an adequate ROI. Without DTC to help the product through the life-cycle pharma might have to spend money on other channels to help recoup their investment dollars.


The real reason, however, that DTC advertising will not go away is because of the money that changes hands during the process. First there are the networks and spot cable markets which are desperate for advertising revenue. Without DTC ads the nightly news and 60 Minutes would be scrambling for sponsors. Then there are the ad agencies who bill millions of dollars for their services which primarily focuses on getting marketers to spend money on TV. If DTC ads were pulled thousands of people in the ad agency business would be out of work.


So I think it's safe to say that lobbyists from both the TV networks and ad agency corporations will get a nice inflow of dollars to ensure that DTC ads don't go away. I am sure that you will also see some more industry sponsored studies on the effectiveness of DTC advertising. At the end of the day those annoying ads will still be on TV and DTC marketers continue to push messages to a skeptical public.
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