Twenty years of DTC advertising has not seemed to be enough time to gain acceptance by physicians, consumer advocates, and politicians. In fact the anti-DTC sentiment seems to be reaching a frenzy this election cycle. I have discussed before why this is happening. In brief, it is because of the false assumptions that DTC raises […]
By Bob Ehrlich
January 6, 2016
DTC in Perspective: DTC Spending Remains Strong in 2015
Judging by the first three quarters spending numbers from Nielsen, DTC should continue to grow in 2015 and 2016 versus the strong 2014 showing. Last year was the strongest spending in five years. DTC will probably grow more modestly in 2015 off a much higher base of $4.5 billion in 2014. DTC grew to $3.8 […]
By Bob Ehrlich
January 5, 2016
DTC in Perspective: The Stuart Elliott Flip on DTC
Who is Stuart Elliott and why should we care what he thinks? Let me back up a bit. Stuart Elliott was the advertising reporter for the New York Times for over 20 years. He left in 2014 to write for Media Village.com. In a column written on 12/9 Mr. Elliott said he no longer supports […]
By Bob Ehrlich
December 4, 2015
DTC in Perspective: The AMA Firestorm
The recent announcement by the American Medical Association(AMA) calling for a ban on DTC ads has created a media avalanche of coverage. Google ?AMA DTC ban? and you get numerous articles covering the issue. Many are from newspapers with letters/op-eds supporting the ban of DTC. The prestigious New York Timesran an editorial on November 27 […]
By Bob Ehrlich
November 23, 2015
DTC in Perspective: American Medical Association(AMA) Calls for DTC Ban
The AMA announced through a statement on 11/17 that they just voted to support a ban on DTC advertising. They cited the causes as over-prescribing of more expensive treatments and rising prescription prices. The AMA is being hypocritical since doctors advertise directly to consumers. Insurance companies advertise health coverage to consumers. Labs and test centers […]
By Gregg Fisher
November 23, 2015
Becoming Patient-Centric: The Case for a Humanistic Approach to Patient Insight-Mining
By Gregg Fisher & Anthony Alvarez of The Stem ?We must deepen a case history to a narrative or tale; only then do we have a ?who? as well as a ?what,? a real person, a patient, in relation to disease.? — Oliver Sacks in ?The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat? Dr. […]
November 23, 2015
The Shift from Mass to ‘Me’ Media Means We Need to Make it Personal & Private
By Cheryl Lubbert of Health Perspectives Group As we look back over the past year for lessons learned that we will take into the New Year, there are many we could choose: from celebrities on social media to controversial pricing. But based on our work with thousands of patients, helping to connect them with biopharma […]
By Anne O'Brien
November 23, 2015
Can Marrying DTC Ads with Relevant Content Minimize Ad Avoidance?
By Anne O?Brien of Remedy Health Media I have been quite the content creator lately. My October wedding provided plenty of fodder for Facebook posts, reaching not just my friends, but friends of friends. I was providing entertainment that might otherwise have been provided by a commercial publisher, maybe by my company?s site HealthCentral.com, or […]
November 19, 2015
The Five-Step Prescription for Curing Social Media Ills
Stop the coughing before it becomes a social media plague. By Peter Friedman of LiveWorld It?s taken a while, but the pharmaceutical industry has slowly realized the value of social media to reach caregivers, health care professionals, and patients to raise awareness and even track adverse events. According to the IMS Institute for Healthcare Informatics, […]
By Bob Ehrlich
November 16, 2015
DTC in Perspective: The Media Bias Against DTC
I don?t mean to sound paranoid but it seems to me that media reporting on DTC is heavily biased negatively. Maybe it reflects the media?s general anti-big business attitude. I recently came across a Los Angeles Times article on DTC, focused on risk communication. It is titled ?Direct-to-consumer marketing is a scandal, can the FDA […]
