Where on TV Do the Top 20 #Pharma Brands Spend a Lot on Advertising?
The advertisers of the top 20 best-selling drugs directed two-thirds of their TV ad spending last year on just four networks — broadcast titans CBS, ABC, NBC, and FOX.
“People talk a lot about how television viewership is eroding, and traditional media is fading, and that is all true. But the decline is very slow, and so there are still big audiences. And if you’re a pharma company, and you want to reach a lot of people quickly … there’s really no better place to go still than the traditional networks,” said Timothy Calkins, a marketing professor at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management.
It also helps that these viewers are getting older and older — and, thus, presumably more receptive to pitches for drugs to treat ailments like arthritis and erectile dysfunction. It’s likely no coincidence that CBS drew the most advertising dollars last year; the age of its median viewer in 2014 was nearly 59.
The makers of the top 20 best-selling prescription drugs bought a collective $29 million worth of ads on the History Channel last year. And $12 million on the Food Network. And $8 million on Animal Planet, according to Kantar data.
Spending on cable TV ads for the top eight best-selling prescription drugs has more than doubled in the past decade, according to Kantar data. It’s risen at a faster rate over that period than spending on network TV.
“Pharma companies know who they’re going after,” Calkins said, “and they really focus on reaching those people.” Really? So you're saying that Fox TV, which is a minor channel for DTC ads, does not have a viewership primed for the top 20 selling drugs?
“Pharma companies know who they’re going after,” Calkins said, “and they really focus on reaching those people.” Really? So you're saying that Fox TV, which is a minor channel for DTC ads, does not have a viewership primed for the top 20 selling drugs?
“Pharma companies know who they’re going after,” Calkins said, “and they really focus on reaching those people.” Really? So you're saying that Fox TV, which is a minor channel for DTC ads, does not have a viewership primed for the top 20 selling drugs?