Resources for Pharmaceutical Advertising

If your company manufacturers pharmaceuticals, you face some unique challenges in advertising. Ads for pharmaceutical companies must be accurate to prevent lawsuits and must target medical professionals and patients. In addition, pharmaceutical ads must be eye-catching to compete with the many products on the market today and must be informational in nature to provide doctors and patients with the facts they need to make an informed decision about treatment.

Pharmaceutical advertising companies help you target customers and health care professionals while adhering to advertising laws. Professional pharmaceutical industry advertising also ensures that your products are presented in the most attractive light. While you can hire a general advertising company, hiring an ad agency specializing in pharmaceuticals is often a better choice because the professionals at a pharmaceutical ad agency understand the laws surrounding pharmaceutical ads and can also create ads that help you compete with other generic and brand-name pharmaceutical products.

When working with pharmaceutical advertising firms, consider:

1. Choosing pharmaceutical ads that target both health care professionals and customers;

2. Developing a branding strategy to ensure product recognition;

3. Using in-office and media advertising to reach customers.

Select pharmaceutical ad agencies offering in-office marketing services

Physicians, nurse practitioners and physician assistants use a number of in-office products that double as marketing opportunities for pharmaceutical companies. In-office prescription pads, patient record charts, office posters, brochures, and informational products all give patients information while allowing pharmaceutical companies to spread a marketing message to a targeted group. In-office marketing is effective because it reaches such a targeted market.

Choose pharmaceutical advertising agencies that offer direct marketing solutions

Some pharmaceutical advertising firms offer direct marketing solutions, which allow companies to launch programs that target physicians and other prescribers. These companies offer sample fulfillment programs, voucher solutions and coupon redemption programs, among other direct advertising methods. When selecting a company with this sort of service, look for a pharmaceutical ad agency that offers fraud and abuse elimination services as well as reports that allow you to analyze the effectiveness of a direct marketing program.

Find a pharmaceutical advertising agency to develop pharmaceutical ads for customers

Even when a pharmaceutical company has success with in-office and direct marketing, that company must still ultimately convince customers and patients to choose their product or to request it by name. Pharmaceutical ad agencies offering customer advertising can develop pharmaceutical ads for print, radio and television broadcast and can also develop branding strategies so that customers recognize a particular brand or product. Many pharmaceutical advertising agencies now offer online marketing and advertising solutions, as well.

• Consider working with a pharmaceutical marketing agency that hires or works with physicians and health care professionals. These agencies can hire these medical health professionals to give presentations about your product, which can help with your branding strategy.