A survey of more than 2,000 patients and physicians has painted a rosy picture of the impact of pharma ads, showing that promotions raise awareness of treatment options, drive discovery of health conditions and improve management of existing ailments.
The survey is the result of a collaboration between media intelligence business Magna and advertising platform DeepIntent. Together, the businesses ran online surveys of 1,166 patients and 1,001 doctors to determine whether pharma ads do more than just build brands. Advocates of direct-to-consumer ads argue they have educational value and improve health. The survey gathered data to support that view.
First, Magna and DeepIntent showed pharma ads do their primary job: raising awareness of treatments. Almost two-thirds of patients said they learnt about medicines they were previously unaware of through pharma ads. Gen Z and Millennials were almost as likely as older people to learn about drugs from ads.
Other questions looked at whether ads provide additional value. Almost one-third of patients said they rely on pharma ads to learn about health conditions or medications. More than half of patients said they found a health condition through an ad and 62% agreed they would have missed out on learning about the condition without the pharma promotion.
The survey suggests ads can improve health management. Almost half of patients said ads help them make informed decisions about their health and 54% agreed promotions help them better manage an existing condition. In the absence of pharma ads, 61% of patients believe their overall understanding of the condition would have been less comprehensive.
Patients without easy access to healthcare were more likely to say ads enabled them to discover a health condition or better manage their health than their counterparts with ready access. The survey found the proportion of people who derive those benefits correlates to age, too, with the percentage who said ads support better management of existing conditions falling from 63% for Gen Z to 40% for Boomers.
The survey suggests ads are driving those benefits despite widespread mistrust of pharma messaging. Just 31% of patients said they trust pharma messaging. Mistrust was high across all demographic groups included in the survey results. Patients who have more trust in pharma ads were more likely to say they had benefited from drug promotions.
Magna and DeepIntent identified patient-focused messaging and representation as ways companies can build trust. The companies recommend including younger people and multicultural audiences in media strategies, when appropriate because they are particularly responsive to pharma messaging.
Collectively, healthcare professionals have historically held negative views of ads, with some physicians believing they mislead patients. A Tealium survey suggested opinions are evolving last year. That survey found two-thirds of younger healthcare professionals have no problem with ads but also tracked ongoing objections among older practitioners.
Magna and DeepIntent reported overwhelmingly positive responses from physicians. More than 90% of physicians said patients’ awareness of treatment options and understanding of conditions are improved by pharma ads. A similar proportion said drug ads encourage patients to discuss health concerns and empower them to take a more active role in managing their health.