Internet & DTC Marketing
Pharma Blog
Go ahead DTC Managers keep ignoring the Web
Jan/22/2007 06:39 Permalink
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An interesting article in the Wall Street Journal today with a poll asking "where do you turn first for health information"? Where do you think more than 64% of the 2600 votes said they go? A web site of course ! While the information is skewed because the demographics of the Wall Street Journal readers tend to have higher incomes and more education it is yet another reminder of the influence the Internet has on healthcare choices. Yet most DTC managers are still trying to read in the dark and are clueless as to the power of the Internet on health choices of aging baby boomers.


Pharma marketer had better beware because the days of big marketing budgets without results are coming to an end very quickly. The business model for pharmaceutical brands in a transition and those DTC marketer that continue to allocate more dollars to channels that have a bad ROI are going to be paying a price. As a recent article in Ad Age said:

"What's true for the brand is true for the management," said Robert Passikoff, founder-president of the consultancy Brand Keys and author of "Predicting Market Success." "Awareness does not mean profitability. None of these people (referring to out of work high profile Chief Marketing People) got to where they are without doing something that was successful, but often that success sets up expectations that go unmet.

Outlook


Yes there are some marketers who "get it" but for the most part most DTC online marketing consists of getting a website up and purchasing some keywords on Google and MSN. Website analysis and analytics are mostly nonexistent in pharma organizations at a time when companies are adding whole departments to analyze their online programs. Pharma product websites are often are rarely updated and the budget usually drives the strategy for the allocation of online dollars instead of the reverse. It's getting to the point where pharmaceutical industry online programs are actually the brunt of jokes from online industry insiders. Agencies that used to specialize specifically on online programs for health are branching out because they are sick and tired of presenting good data only to be told "we're going with TV".


Will it change anytime soon? I don't think so..there just isn't enough talented people out there who know what they are doing and the ones who are doing it right will move to other areas and be replaced by someone who doesn't understand the Internet. So go ahead DTC managers...keep ignoring the Internet and when you budgets get cut because share didn't increase don't even tell me it was about awareness !

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