The pharmaceutical industry spent $1.3 billion on direct-to-consumer (DTC) ads for prescription drugs in 1998, up from $1 billion in 1997, according to pharmaceutical consultancy Scott-Levin, Newtown, PA. Pharmaceutical companies launched 57 new DTC campaigns last year, which rely heavily on direct marketing.
Drug companies, noted the report, are spending more on television advertising in 1998, with 52% of consumer expenditures were for DRTV ads, up from only 27% in 1997. Scott-Levin attributed this to looser Food and Drug Administration guidelines that took effect in August 1997. Meanwhile, spending on print ads for drugs dropped almost 35% in 1998.
But consumer advertising’s share of the more than $8 billion spent on pharmaceutical promotion accounted for only 16.1% of the total, lagging behind physician details (68.5%) and on meetings and events (15.4%) and on consumer advertising.
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