Signs of an Economic Recovery? Spending on Direct-to-Consumer Advertising is on the Rise Again
A post on the Pharmalot blog 
today reports that spending on direct-to-consumer pharmaceutical advertising came bounding back in the third quarter —rising 15 percent to $1.16 billion, according to DTC Perspectives (which cited data from TNS Media Intelligence).
The increased spending marks the first quarterly gain in nearly two years after slumping 6.4 percent earlier this year from January to June. According to the Pharmalot post, “Internet spending increased the most—more than tripling between January and September to $221 million (display ads only). And, more ads were placed in newspapers, which showed a 25 percent gain to $104 million during the same period.
During the first nine months of 2009 the leading advertisers by brand (each of which spent more than $125 million each) were:
- Lipitor (Pfizer)
- Abilify (Bristol-Myers Squibb/Otsuka America)
- Cymbalta (Eli Lilly) and
- Advair (GlaxoSmithKline)
Could this be a sign that the pharmaceutical industry thinks that the economy is improving? Alternatively, maybe pharma marketers think that people might become increasingly stressed by the economy and drugs like Abilify and Cymbalta (a variety of psychiatric indications) and Lipitor (high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease ands stroke) may be in greater demand. And finally, from a completely cynical perspective, maybe drug makers want to sell as many drugs as possible before healthcare reform and possible price controls kick in?
Hat tip to Ed!!!!
Until next time...
Good Luck and Good Job Hunting!!!!!!!!!
