Pharma companies that advertise on TV have an eye on the writers' strike, which has hampered Hollywood's ability to churn out new shows and may have accelerated the ratings slide. How has the walkout affected pharma advertising?

Many primary care journals have gotten dangerously thin this year, with some major medical publishers folding pharma ad revenue-dependent titles or putting them up for sale.

Measuring traffic online can be tough for advertisers, as no two tracking firms ever seem to agree. But, is the lack of standardization in media measurement actually inhibiting the growth of online pharma advertising?

Everybody's talking about social media as the next marketing channel for pharmas, but when will it materialize, and how deep will companies go?

With annual approvals for NMEs at their lowest point in a decade, one would think pharma would launch fewer ad campaigns.

When targeting Hispanic-, African- or Asian-American audiences, media must resonate and be culturally relevant.

With more of the business going to new media, agencies are increasingly turning to online media buyers. Does digital media need to be handled by a full-service agency, and is agency-based digital media still feasible?

Point-of-care marketing is emerging as a critical venue for reaching patients. With so much activity going on, is this space in danger of becoming as cluttered as any? Where are the opportunities to break through and educate patients?

Figures from TNS Media Intelligence show Johnson & Johnson decreased measured media spend last year by nearly 20%, potentially leaving significant monies for nontraditional media like paid search. Will other drug marketers follow suit?

How will generic erosion to prescription drug brands (such as Zoloft, Zocor, Pravachol)—as well as generic threats (Plavix and Norvasc)—affect spending on direct-to-consumer advertising?