Welcome to the world of pharmaceutical advertising
As my summer with Patients & Purpose comes to a close, I wanted to take a moment to reflect on the many meaningful experiences that helped me learn more about healthcare advertising. This internship was my first experience in the pharmaceutical industry, and it has been nothing short of rewarding. I learned so much from this experience and was surprised by how unique the world of pharma advertising truly is.
The ads that I see in my daily life are often on social media platforms through influencers, sponsored ads, and digital campaigns. After taking a deeper dive into healthcare advertising at P&P, I realized that pharmaceutical advertising is so different from the types of advertising that I usually consume. I learned that healthcare advertisers face unique challenges and obstacles when making campaigns come to life.
Pharmaceutical advertising must abide by specific rules and regulations
Learning about the regulations that pharma advertisers must abide by was eye-opening. In addition to the restrictions and the approvals needed to move forward with advertisements, there is an ethical obligation to be transparent with consumers about any drug that is being sold. Although seemingly obvious, I was surprised by the extent to which the existing obligations impact pharma content and timing. While these restrictions may pose a creative obstacle, it’s important to remember that they are implemented for the patients’ benefit.
With these observations in mind, non-healthcare brands have more flexibility and can target a more general audience. These brands can quickly adapt to trends, advertise based on social and global events, and recruit influencers much more easily.
The pharmaceutical industry is often slow to adopt the latest social media
As discussed in a recent P&P blog post, Time for TikTok in Pharma?, the platform TikTok is unique in terms of user experience and content aggregation. Several brands in the beauty, clothing, music, and food industry use TikTok for their benefit. They can engage with their audiences by hopping on trends to drive engagement.
One possible explanation for the lack of healthcare advertising on TikTok is the obstacle posed by the rules and regulations discussed above. Despite this, the astounding number of responses to the COVID-19 pandemic on TikTok indicate an opportunity for pharma advertisers. Even though most of the content is related to the pandemic, it shows that pharma marketing can find its place on the app and that people are receptive to relatable content.
However, certain TikTok features like the “For You” page, which allows content to be aggregated to users based on an algorithm, pose a challenge for pharma advertisers. While the algorithm proves to be a useful tool for brands to reach their audiences, it can also be difficult to control whether the content is seen by the right user. When it comes to medical information, it’s extremely important that the right information is delivered to the appropriate audience, and that can be challenging on a platform like TikTok.
In addition, social media is a more challenging feat for pharma brands because it changes at a very quick pace. Trends come and go, audiences shift, and the way that consumers share and consume content can change rapidly.
Customized messaging is more challenging in pharma
General consumer brands in industries like beauty, clothing, music, and even food, target individual audiences based on unique factors and demographics. This allows their messaging to resonate with a wider variety of people. But for pharma, the rules and regulations mentioned earlier can make tailoring content to specific audiences more challenging. As a result, many pharma brands are forced to broaden their messaging to speak to a more general audience. Despite this, it’s been interesting to see how P&P is still able to tailor messages to specific audiences to ensure patients get content that’s uniquely suitable for them.
Looking forward
Throughout my internship at P&P, I have gained so much knowledge about the world of healthcare advertising: understanding the rules and restrictions for brands, learning how to develop advertising materials for patients and HCPs, and recognizing the impact that this work has on patients’ lives. My role as a copy intern allowed my creativity to shine and taught me how to write for patient audiences. Along the way, I have listened to and been inspired by patient stories, while learning so much about the challenges that pharma advertisers overcome to craft messages that resonate with patients. With my new experiences in my back pocket, I am looking forward to taking on creative challenges and discovering solutions to push pharma advertising to the next level.
