Have you compared ROI for TV versus online marketing for the pharma industry? ROI for digital marketing in the pharma industry ranges from 4:1 on the low end to high double digits on the high end, according to an article by Bill Drummy who routinely calculates clients’ ROI in his role as CEO of a marketing agency. In comparison, studies show pharma often overspends on TV ads for a low, neutral or even negative ROI.
Online vs. TV Ads
A pharma marketing blogger, John Mack, known as PharmaGuy, analyzed TV ad ROI for Invokana and found they made only $0.90 for every dollar spent on TV” for a negative ROI. He found even if you attributed every penny of increased sales to the Invokana TV ads alone (dismissing all other marketing as having any impact), that unrealistic TV ad ROI number at absolute best would still only be 2:1.
Other brands and companies don’t fare much better with TV ads. Several studies show average ROI for DTC (direct to consumer) of only 1.5-2.0 on the highest end even when counting revenue over a three-year period post-campaign to make the numbers look better. In contrast, the 4:1 or better ROIs calculated on many online pharma campaigns are more lucrative for most brands and deserve a higher portion of the budget.
Conclusion for Pharma Execs
Make decisions based on effectiveness rather than habit. Take a look at your own online marketing spend versus other channels like TV to see if you are allocating enough to the channel with the best ROI.
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