The two most common—and costly—mistakes in executing DTC campaigns are using poor-quality copy and setting inappropriate budgets, according to David Kweskin, SVP and practice area leader, advertising and brand performance for TNS, who also slammed the commercial wisdom of disease-awareness ads.
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?
Cracking the patient-physician interaction has long proved elusive for pharma. But by combining patient chart data with actual audio conversations, marketers can better understand how to impact the exchange, says Carolyn Choh Fleming
So much has happened since Claritin’s ‘Blue Skies’ spots ushered in a new era of consumer drug advertising that it’s difficult to believe the DTC adventure is only a decade old. Matthew Arnold charts the key milestones, players and campaigns, and looks ahead to the future of DTC
Health Canada, the Canadian counterpart to the FDA, is reviewing rules on DTC with a view toward modernizing Canada’s Food and Drug Act, according The Toronto Star.
Asked about any legislative challenges to DTC at last month’s Center for Medicine in the Public Interest conference in Washington, FDA commissioner Andrew von Eschenbach said: “As with any particular entity, whether an organization or individual, there is a right to free speech and an ability under the Constitution to free expression.”
A survey of members of the National Medical Association (NMA), an African-American physicians’ group, suggests a largely positive impression of DTC advertising on the part of black doctors but flags fears about ads overstating efficacy, presenting confusing risk/benefit information and pressuring them to prescribe advertised drugs.