Healthy Skepticism Library item: 17390

Warning: This library includes all items relevant to health product marketing that we are aware of regardless of quality. Often we do not agree with all or part of the contents.

Publication type: news

Quick Take: New study finds DTC drive to Web yields new prescribers
Eyeforpharma.com 2002 Dec 3
http://www.eyeforpharma.com/print.asp?news=26635

Full text:

A new study from the pharmaceutical research organization Johnston, Zabor, McManus (JZM) offers some interesting statistics on physician and consumer use of pharmaceutical Web sites as a result of DTC advertising. According to the study, 44% of consumers driven to pharmaceutical Web sites from DTC advertising intend to ask their physicians to prescribe that Web site’s brand. (March 12, 2002)

The study, based on an online survey of 6,709 patients, caregivers and physicians, included 16 therapeutically diverse brand Web sites, encompassing eight unique drug classes.

According to the survey, those driven to a Web site from a magazine advertisement were most likely to request a prescription (46%), followed closely by those who found the link on a TV (44%) or radio (37%) advertisement. In contrast, only 19% of those who visited pharmaceutical Web sites via a search engine or other source indicated they would request a prescription. And only 14% of those visiting Web sites based on their physicians’ referral said they would request a prescription.

“Our analysis of the data sheds light on issues that confound pharmaceutical brand managers concerning their DTC spends,” said J. Douglas Zabor, JZM’s CEO. “Magazine and TV ads appear to generate almost equal numbers of Web site visits that drive prescription request intentions, yet TV gets the lion’s share of the budget. This data may help brand managers reconsider their DTC media buying habits.”

In addition, the study found that 21% of healthcare providers who visit pharmaceutical Web sites plan to discuss the brand with colleagues, 34% indicated they would search for more information on the brand and 15% intend to discuss the brand with patients. The study also reports that 10% of physicians not currently prescribing a particular brand will begin doing so after visiting the brand’s Web site.

For more information on the survey, visit JZM’s Web site at jzm.com.