DTC Ads On Television Effectiveness Studied

Final details are being worked out with an as-yet-unnamed US televisionnetwork for Saatchi & Saatchi Worldwide to study the effectiveness and value of direct-to-consumer prescription drug advertising on television. Nationwide interviews would be done before and after new DTC ads were aired, reports Crain Communications. Moreover, the Food and Drug Administration has asked advertising agencies to collect and submit relevant data in this area.

Interest in TV ads is being stimulated by the ability to reach a large number of people quickly, says Rebecca Sroge, a director at Saatchi unit Kletmer Healthcare. TV ads also reach men, who are hard to get to in print, she added. Other ad agencies said 1998 will see a localization of messages, opening up event sponsorships and promotion through specialty doctors.

Competitive Media Reporting notes that spending for prescription products in measured media rose 50% to $567.2 million for the year through August 1997, with TV spending up a whopping 91% to $84.3 million in the period. There was increased activity in August, when the FDA relaxed rules on DTC TV advertising (Marketletter August 18, 1997).