Health audience segments help pharma marketers reach high-quality audiences while using media and budget more efficiently. In just the past two years, the implementation of these audience segments has doubled across life sciences advertising campaigns, increasing from 15% to 30%.1
While most campaigns incorporate a reach segment to achieve awareness at scale, the use of premium audience segments continues to rise. Connecting with patients at specific points in their journey, at scale, and across channels enables pharma marketers to be more strategic and agile in their campaigns. With this shift, marketers need to know three trends to stay competitive.
1. Multiple Audience Segments Within One Brand Campaign
Data shows that four out of five campaigns use more than one type of audience segment.2 “We are trying to find patients at different stages in their journey, and in order to do that we need different data sources and different targeting methodologies,” says Anna Cammisa, Director of Business Insights at CMI Media Group. A single campaign could target a patient who has just been diagnosed and is researching disease symptoms, as well as someone who is already undergoing treatment. Applying multiple audience segments gives marketers the flexibility to design one campaign that can achieve multiple goals.
2. Customized Messaging for Different Points of the Patient Journey
Meeting patients at a precise point of their journey requires brands to engage with consumers on their terms. While a broadcast message still has its place, marketers are moving away from a one-size-fits-all approach. Instead, they are focusing on formulating distinct messaging for niche audiences. Using health audience segments makes it easier to find and connect with very specific groups of patients and provides the opportunity to deliver customized messaging where it resonates best.
3. Unified Audience Strategy Across Channels
The media landscape continues to become more fragmented with the introduction and accelerated adoption of technologies such as streaming video, online video, and digital audio. As the way consumers digest content becomes more diverse, marketers have responded by expanding their advertising channels. This has been a necessary route, but often not the most cost-effective or efficient one.
With the increased use of health audience segments, we’re seeing marketers take an audience-first approach to their media strategy. By utilizing the same audience segments across traditional and emerging media channels, brands can engage consumers with the right frequency across platforms and devices.
Marketers can be more efficient in delivering a two-fold campaign—one with both a broader message and then subsequent messages at each step of the patient journey—by working with a single vendor who offers both reach and premium audience segments. When choosing a partner, make sure they can scale up or down depending on campaign goals and work across multiple channels and platforms. And, as with any precise audience targeting, make sure the vendor uses a methodology that supports and respects patient privacy.
