Research: DTC TV ads are ineffective

DTC TV ads don’t drive new Rxs. People today have become savvier about how they determine which drugs they’ll ask about. TV ads do drive awareness, but the path between awareness and asking for the product is a long one with many twists and turns.

I just wrapped up a five-month quantitative and qualitative research project for a biotech company preparing to launch its first drug. The critical question they wanted answered was, “should we invest in DTC TV ads?”. With my client’s permission, here are some of the research findings.

1ne: The correlation between TV ads (alone) and driving new Rx’s was essentially zero.

2wo: TV ads did raise awareness, but that awareness translated into several actions. The top one was researching the drug online.

3hree: It often takes weeks or even months to schedule an appointment with their healthcare provider to ask about new drugs. During this time, most patients either do more research or forget about the drug unless it shows substantial benefits related to patient needs.

4our: Even if they ask for/about a new drug, there is a good chance their doctor will recommend a generic or competitor.

5ive: There is a direct correlation between a patient’s research for a new drug and their education level.