Summary
The established ban on Direct-to-Consumer advertising in the European Union poses a unique challenge to the traditionally brand-driven pharmaceutical industry. In lieu of aggressive television and print-based promotional campaigns, companies must instead focus on driving consumers to seek a diagnosis by increasing disease awareness.
Highlights
Datamonitor has found that while few consumers view health information provided by pharmaceutical companies are more trustworthy than information from other sources, consumers do not generally refuse to use a website based on pharmaceutical sponsorship alone.English-language campaigns, which focus on an International audience, are not an effective way to develop lasting relationships with consumers. Sites that are targeted to an 'International audience' are less clearly regulated by local advertising laws. However, they are also less effective as they cannot carry local-market-specific information.The pharmaceutical industry should continue to try to establish itself as a source of disease and treatment information in Europe. Great care should be taken, however, to remain compliant with restrictions placed on communicating directly to consumers. Failing to do so will destroy the industry's credibility as a trustworthy source of information.
Scope
- Outline of the legal and inherent barriers that prevent the pharmaceutical industry from communicating effectively with European consumers
- Comparative analysis of the corporate websites of 10 leading pharmaceutical companies in the UK market
- Assessment of several key trends that will affect how the pharmaceutical industry in the European Union markets its products offline and online
- Insight into key consumer demands and best practices in consumer-facing websites in the European market, based on Datamonitor's research
Reasons to Purchase
- Identify ways to provide consumers with high quality health information, while remaining compliant with bans on DTC advertising of branded products
- Plan promotional campaigns to build the industry's reputation as a source of superior quality information both online and offline
- Recognize that English-language only sites, which target an International audience, are not an effective way to develop lasting relationships
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