Comments on: DTC Ad Spending Is Down… And Falling Fast

By: bob ehrlich

bob ehrlich — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 04:38:03 +0000

The decline in advertising is largely concentrated in the decline in sleep aid advertising and a couple of other brand declines. There are some declines due to the economy but that is minor. The real determining factor in total spending is the number of new brands launched. We have seen a decline in new drug approvals the last two years. The decline is not at all indicative of a lack of confidence in DTC as an advertising technique.

The 2009 numbers could well be down 5-8%. Some of that may be caused by declining prices of adverising and drug companies might buy the same GRP levels for less money. We may see some budget cutting due to profit considerations but I predict it will be minor. Those predicting or hoping for the demise of DTC will be wrong.

DTC could be inpacted by more stringent regulations under the Obama administration. That is unlikely but possible. The decline would be from making television DTC ads harder to execute in 60 seconds by adding risk disclosure requirements. Of course the ad industry will fight that on first amendment grounds and win.

By: Compliance Analyst

Compliance Analyst — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 15:45:00 +0000

Atlex, good point, I forgot about those ones as well. You also see a surge when things are about to go off patent. I noticed this with Ambien…or perhaps I just noticed more advertising since our company was coming out with a generic. You can also factor in these blocbusters coming off patent: Zocor (simvastatin), Zoloft (sertraline), Pravachol (pravastatin), Flonase (fluticasone propionate) and Mobic (meloxicam). Though I can’t say that I have seen a lot of ads for these.

By: Ed Silverman

Ed Silverman — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 14:48:39 +0000

Hi Atlex,

That’s an interesting point. I’d have to look up the data to determine the extent to which ad expenditures for those products accounted for total spending during that period. But I wouldn’t be surprised if this factored into the result.

Regards
ed

By: Lisa Van S

Lisa Van S — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 14:36:25 +0000

No decline in Cymbalta ads, that’s for sure.

By: atlex

atlex — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 13:21:27 +0000

A much more likely explanation is that a few key products went dark in the first 6 to 9 months of the year due to controversies. For instance, Lipitor stopped DTC for quite awhile due to the Jarvik controversy. And, Vytorin cut back considerably due it the negative study that came out early in 2008. The same proabbly holds true for Avandia.

By: Compliance Analyst

Compliance Analyst — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 12:59:30 +0000

You could also claim that it is down due to the economy and people are not buying the branded medications, thus moving to generics. That and lower amounts of drugs being approved….but what do I know.

By: Laura Borst

Laura Borst — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 22:06:45 +0000

I think the advertising budget is down for DTC pharmaceuticals because such spending on ads shows how greedy the drug companies are. They are willing to sell products that actually damage peoples’ health for their own short-term profits. Plus, they are required to reveal adverse effects in such ads. While physicians are ethically required to reveal adverse effects to their patients of proposed prescription drugs, doctors’ offices are not as easily watched as television commercials(though it is good to maintain privacy for patients).