When frugal = stupid
Feb/10/2008 08:48 Filed in: DTC
Environment
I'm not going to go into the viability of the Web for health decisions. Research shows that most consumers turn to the Web first when evaluating health decisions yet as an eMarketer report pharma is stuck in "Web 1.5" and there are no signs that anyone in pharma understands how to use the Web and they are frightened of "losing control of the message". Of course this has happened already but you see most pharma marketers are MBA's who were taught that marketing is a science and that you go through steps 1-2-3 to get to a final point. The issue of course is that consumers have access to more information they need and they are talking to each other about prescription drugs and their side effects. A quick visit to any message board will tell you that marketers are in fact not in control anymore and pharma marketers don't how to respond.
In my recent conversations with some interactive and online ad agency people I learned that they are seeing "substantial" cuts in online media and website strategy implementation. As one senior VP said to me "I thought we were beyond the point of having to show the value of online, but I guess I was wrong". Another Director told me "what I don't understand is that we have consistently shown a positive ROI for everything we have done on the Internet, yet when dollars are allocated TV is always the first in line with its hand out and this leaves online initiatives with little or no money".
When I probed them a little bit more and asked why the Web was being cut I heard a sad story "they don't understand how to measure the impact of online". "While some marketers and agencies are adding whole department for Web analytics pharma usually has one person to analyze their web programs. Make no mistake about it this is going to impact the whole DTC industry and leave them behind while other consumer packaged goods marketers move ahead. Like a partner in an online agency said "the sad part is that the Web is more cost effective than any other channel if you know how to allocate your dollars".
Some Interactive agencies are that specialize in health sites are now branching out to consumer packaged goods. Others are for sale and I predict that consolidation within the interactive arena will continue. Pharma marketers always have an excuse for not trying new things like "we're a regulated industry" but the fact of the matter is that they are too sheltered in their matrix environments to understand that consumers now have more power then they do. I have to admit how funny it is to see forums where pharma marketers come together and pat themselves on the back and get their pictures in magazines to get promoted. It's always been about them never about patients and consumers but then someday this may change...
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