Big pharma rethinking DTC strategy

American consumers may be seeing far fewer television ads sponsored by big pharma companies, if recent developments in the industry are any indication.  One of the first clear signals that a change is underway, may have been Bristol Meyers Squibb's announcement last week that it is suspending DTC advertising for its new drugs for their first year on the market. Although some critics have portrayed BMS' motives for the decision as a noble one, the rationale for the decision may have more to do with preserving the bottom line than it does with serving the public interest, according to BrandWeek. With TV time pricey, many drug companies are seriously thinking about fine tuning their ad strategy to win a better return on investment. Many, Brandweek reports, are considering expanding their experiments with direct to patient (DTP) ads, by devoting more spending on web sites and other interactive technologies which allow them to build on relationships with existing customers.

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