DTC spending up in Q3

Following several quarters of sliding DTC ad spending, TNS Media Intelligence data shows that pharma DTC advertising rose to $1.16 billion, up 15 percent from the same period last year. That's a big jump, considering ad spending was down 6.4 percent during the first half of the year. Pharma companies looked to the Internet to push Q3 ad spending up, more than tripling between January and September to $221 million. Newspapers regained some lost ground with a 25 percent increase to $104 million last quarter, according to consulting firm DTC Perspectives, which cited data from TNS Media Intelligence.

Procter & Gamble, Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer made the top 10 advertisers list. Lipitor (Pfizer), Abilify (Bristol-Myers Squibb), Cymbalta (Eli Lilly) and Advair (GlaxoSmithKline) were the most advertised brands, each of which spent more than $125 million, Pharmalot says, citing the report. Pfizer/Wyeth's Pristiq also made the Top 20 brands new to DTC advertising.

- here's the TNS Media Intelligence release
- see the write-up from Pharmalot
- get the DTC ad spending report

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