White Coats and Blue Jeans: The Halo Effect Between DTC and HCP

Even before the pandemic halted almost all in-person interaction, sales reps in healthcare were already getting less facetime with medical professionals. A 2019 report from Decision Resources Group found that U.S. physicians were just increasingly too busy to make the time for reps.1

Today, access is an even bigger challenge. Nearly 40% of pharma and medical device marketers are pulling money away from field sales budgets and putting it into nonpersonal promotions, with half shifting their spend to digital tactics.2 While targeted online advertising makes it easier to deliver messaging to healthcare professionals (HCPs), you should keep a few things in mind when building your media strategy.

Traditionally, HCP advertising was focused on endemic advertising, the so-called “white coat moments” when a doctor is concentrated on their work. This used to be very separate from direct-to-consumer (DTC) marketing, which has always had wider channel adoption across both endemic and lifestyle channels.

Today, with more than two-thirds of HCPs considered digital natives, the opportunity to reach HCPs has extended well past these white coat moments. As digital HCP budgets grow, there’s a greater adoption of lifestyle channels for professional engagement. This means HCPs are being reached during their “blue jean moments” whether it’s reading news in the morning, listening to podcasts on their commute, or streaming TV in the evenings.

Connecting HCP and DTC Marketing

This increase in digital advertising opportunities doesn’t come without its challenges. More exposure means higher risks around ad fatigue and audience oversaturation. Digital efficiency presents the opportunity to maintain outreach volume, but if those touchpoints aren’t effective, they defeat the purpose. This is where our industry must break down the silos and better connect HCP engagement with DTC initiatives.

When we talk about this connection between white coat and blue jean moments, we’re really trying to answer the question “How does script volume change when running HCP and DTC campaigns simultaneously?” Digital channels that provide a feedback loop of performance data give rich insight into a consumer and HCP’s journey to script. By combining ad exposure and measurement data within privacy-conscious environments, marketers can understand where their paths cross and what combination of content, audience, channel, and frequency drives behavior.

Ask yourself three questions:

  1. What is the overlap between HCPs reached by a campaign and consumers within their networks?
  2. How does script lift change when one or both groups are exposed to the same campaign?
  3. Which channel combination drives the highest performance at the lowest frequency settings?

In the end, removing the walls between professional and consumer activations allows pharma marketers to do more with less, improve cost efficiency, and create a better brand experience for everyone.

References:

1. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/decision-resources-group-2019-epharma-physician-report-finds-us-physicians-increasingly-too-busy-to-see-pharma-sales-reps-300919190.html.

2. https://www.mmm-online.com/home/channel/features/healthcare-marketers-trend-report-2022-the-reset.

  • Baron Harper

    Baron Harper is Senior Director of Global Client Development at The Trade Desk. Baron joined The Trade Desk in 2016, spearheading the growth of their pharmaceutical client portfolio and product development. With more than a decade of AdTech experience at companies like Amazon, Baron is a strategic partner to some of the largest pharmaceutical and consumer health organizations, consulting on programmatic advertising strategy, measurement innovation, and driving better outcomes.

  • Lindsay Reardon

    Lindsay Reardon is Senior Director of Business Development at The Trade Desk. Lindsay holds 17 years of experience at the intersection of media and healthcare. At The Trade Desk, she leads a sales team that partners with the largest bio-pharmaceutical organizations. Lindsay leverages deep industry knowledge to create value through all phases of planning and execution, with an emphasis on privacy-safe, durable strategies.

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