Spending on prescription drug ads jumped 14% last month over October 2017, according to data from the Standard Media Index.
In the same month, the overall national advertising marketplace grew 7%, driven by digital ads, which increased by 17%. TV ad revenue was flat year-on-year last month, while print ad revenue dropped 27% last month.
Prescription drug ads outpaced other segments last month, according to Standard Media. Quick service restaurants increase by 12% in October and insurance was up 1%, according to Standard Media. Other categories like auto and telecom saw slight declines in ad spending.
On national TV, the auto industry spent the most, though that total was down 9% year-over-year, followed by entertainment, prescription drugs, insurance, and quick service restaurants. Drug ad spending on national TV grew 1% last month.
Standard Media Index is an advertising intelligence company that aggregates data from media buying companies and independent agencies to track ad spending across platforms.
In 2017, pharmaceutical companies spent $6.1 billion on direct-to-consumer ads, a 4.6% dip from 2016, according to data from Kantar Media. The figure included TV, magazine, digital, newspaper, radio, and out-of-home advertising.
With the exceptions of the TV and newspaper categories, which rose 6.7% and 1.8%, respectively, spending was down or flat across the board. Magazine and digital advertising took the biggest hits: magazine spending slipped 22.7% to $1.3 billion, while digital revenue fell 34.4% to $343 million, according to Kantar.
