Screenings help uncover unknown disease.
The healthcare industry is a confluence of pharmaceutical manufacturers, physicians, hospitals and insurers. All of these sectors rely on marketing to keep their names in front of the public, but they usually use different types of strategies. The prevalence of advertising directed to consumers exploded once the Food and Drug Administration allowed drug manufacturers an alternative to marketing only to physicians, as had been the case for decades. The aggregate marketing by all the healthcare industry players has empowered patients to have a say-so in their own health and well-being by creating awareness of disease states and the drugs and care providers available to treat them.
Big Pharma and Big Insurer Strategies
Mass advertising is still the most effective and efficient way to get a message out to the largest number of people. Both big pharmaceutical and big insurance companies use mass advertising as a primary marketing channel. Pharmaceutical companies primarily utilize television and magazine media while insurers tend to use primarily direct mail and TV to a lesser extent.
One requirement of drug advertising is the disclosure of potential adverse effects from use of the drug product in the ad. In print, marketers are required to provide very detailed information on their product including chemical makeup, usage, and adverse side effects, right alongside the positive benefits of using the drug. In broadcast media, because of time limitations, manufacturers only need to verbalize adverse side effects. Too long a list of negative side effects can dissuade a consumer from using a drug. In such a situation, marketers have to weigh whether they should advertise directly to consumers or only to physicians.
Physician and Hospital Strategies
Local physicians and hospitals use media like community newspapers or regional magazines to make consumers aware of their health specialty and location. Some doctors' practices and hospitals rely on public relations initiatives like local charitable golfing or running events to create awareness. Local health fairs are also usually staffed by local healthcare marketers, even though they're often funded by large pharmaceutical or insurance providers. The goal is to get directly in front of a patient population, conducting simple health indicator screenings such as cholesterol and blood pressure measurements and suggesting followup at their local facility as needed. Health fairs are often planned to coincide with other local events like parades or street fairs that attract a significant amount of foot traffic.
Online Marketing
The Internet has proven itself an invaluable tool for all healthcare marketers. Local physicians use online advertising or submissions to search engines and directories to ensure they will be found during a local web search. Hospitals, too, have online presences in websites that act as digital brochures.
Drug companies and insurers establish websites both for physicians and for patients to visit. The Internet allows drug makers to explain a disease condition thoroughly, using renderings and real-life patient cases, to provide answers to frequently asked questions and to offer a means to contact the maker, an insurer or a local physician. Insurers' websites give detailed descriptions of plans, coverage and benefits.
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