Want the eyeballs of people with obesity? Think TV. That is a takeaway from a CMI Media Group survey that suggests the fight for attention will be waged on traditional marketing battlegrounds, with TV emerging as the best way for pharmas to reach people with obesity and Facebook still reigning supreme in the social media space.
Marketers have more ways than ever to reach patients, but the survey of 579 people who self-identified as having obesity shows that the classics are still in style. TV topped the list of media channels, with 76% of respondents telling CMI they watch it at least once a week. Email and social media came in second and third, respectively, with 74% and 70% weekly users in the survey sample.
How people watch TV has changed, though, with paid and free streaming the most common methods. Paid cable TV and free TV via antenna were a distant third and fourth, with less than half the number of users as paid streaming. CMI found comedy, drama and action/adventure are the most popular genres for the group.
The survey data on what people with obesity watch—and how they access the video content—informed recommendations by Brittany Hernandez, associate director of video strategy and investment at CMI.
“By leveraging targeted video campaigns on paid streaming services like Hulu or Peacock, pharma brands can maximize their ad dollars, investing where the highest number of obesity patients are tuning into,” Hernandez said in the report. “Pharma advertisers should also explore robust sponsorships surrounding comedic and dramatic genres, engaging and resonating with patients in the content they watch most.”
Social media is another widely used channel. And while upstarts such as TikTok dominate the news, the survey suggests Facebook is the first port of call for the vast majority of people with obesity. CMI found 83% of social media users look at Facebook at least once a week, putting it well ahead of YouTube (63%) and Instagram (43%) in the rankings.
The data collected from 107 caregivers are a little different, with email and search topping TV on the list of their most-used channels and with YouTube sneaking ahead of Facebook on the social media rankings. There is value in factoring caregivers into marketing campaigns, the survey suggested, because they are more likely than patients to ask doctors about the drug ads they see.
Another section of the survey points to the types of messages that might resonate with patients. Obesity patients can have issues accessing care, the survey found, leading Toby Katcher, senior vice president of video strategy and investment at CMI, to advise pharma brands to “emphasize accessibility, recognizing that many patients have transportation and financial challenges.”