5 Quick Tips For Successful Online Pharmaceutical Advertising Campaigns

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By Jesse Goldstein, an account executive at Gamut, smart media from Cox.  

 

The fragmentation of audiences across what seems to be infinite channels of media has forced pharmaceutical marketers to navigate a tricky maze to reach their niche markets. Audiences of all shapes and sizes can be engaged via television, radio, newspaper, magazines and the Internet. But for pharmaceutical companies in particular, who are often trying to reach doctors or the people suffering from particular ailments and diseases, identifying the avenues to engage with these distinct subsects of the population can be quite challenging. With so many options, it can seem near impossible to ultimately reach a target demographic.

But chances are strong that these audiences can be found online, researching their symptoms and looking for remedies. What’s more, the digital landscape offers hyper-targeting capabilities that makes engaging with these niche audiences quite simple. That’s why online advertising can be very advantageous for pharmaceutical companies.

That is, if the campaign is executed correctly. Here are a few quick tips to keep in mind when delving into an online advertising campaign:

  • First and foremost, it’s important to conduct research and know your audience. Who are they? Where do they go online? What does their ailment say about their lifestyle? Is the illness more common among people of a particular age group, gender or ethnic background? This information should be used to identify potential placements for your ads online. Which online outlets have readerships and/or viewerships that overlap with those specific groups? It can be helpful to use media partner research points, such as online media usage and top indexing local sites, as a guide to reaching your target audiences.
  • High-impact placements can be incredibly effective when trying to increase awareness for a new drug or therapy. These online advertising units, such as sliding billboards, interstitials and homepage takeovers, not only stand out, but provide a much richer engagement with an audience. These placements can also make a big splash and are ideal for introducing new products, especially when the timing is right. For example, a homepage takeover to promote a new allergy pill in the spring months or a cold and flu remedy during winter months can perform exceptionally well.
  • If, however, you’re running a conversion-based advertising campaign, high volume rotational media is more effective than a one-day homepage takeover. Investing in the long term, in this case, will help to generate more quality click-throughs to the product site.
  • The digital landscape offers a range of advertising options, and it’s important not to spend all of your budget in one place. Instead, use market research to ascertain the right mix between mobile and desktop ad spend behind a certain product. You may find that the audience for a particular remedy spends a lot of time on their mobile phone accessing Facebook, but uses their tablet to consume news. The spend to reach that audience should reflect those preferences. Finding the right balance and allocating your budget accordingly is critical to achieving a maximum return on your ad spend.
  • While it’s vital to be smart about media buying, you must be equally smart about the creative end of the ad campaign. Without strong creative, even the most highly-targeted placements will suffer as a result. An online advertisement should not only be eye-catching, but relevant and relatable. You are offering healing, relief and comfort. Be sure your visuals and copy reflect that.