In this report, Healthcare Marketing Analyst Maureen Malloy reviews the market potential for unbranded websites, how strong of an opportunity unbranded initiatives represent for pharma, the elements consumers seek on these properties, and best practices for marketers to consider.

For more information, please email sales@manhattanresearch.com or submit the form below:

* Required field

Topics Covered:

• Landscape: Unbranded Websites and Consumer Trends

  • Consumer Demand and Market Potential for Unbranded Online Initiatives
  • Profiling Unbranded Website Users
• Outlook: Implement Unbranded Initiatives Strategically
• Best Practices and Examples

During the early days of digital marketing in the pharmaceutical industry, unbranded websites were the primary form of online communication, with websites like MSWatch.com serving as pharma’s first foray into the online space. As the online health landscape matured, though, pharma digital strategies evolved to the point that for many brands, a product website became the central component of a product’s online content portfolio.

But consumer health information-seeking and industry trends indicate that a product website alone is insufficient for carrying a digital strategy. Consumers are using a broad variety of online resources at multiple points throughout the disease and treatment continuum, especially during the earlier stages of condition assessment. In fact, the product site tends to be one of the least-frequently visited resources when consumers are researching product information online. Consequently, many marketers are trying to expand their “net” to reach patients at multiple points where consumers conduct research online, rather than concentrating their efforts on the product website as a destination.

Unbranded websites are one way that pharma marketers can open up additional opportunities to engage consumers. Although these websites are apt to run into similar challenges facing other pharma-owned properties in attracting visitors, some brands have been able to effectively use these websites for specific strategic needs. The most effective strategic objectives for such sites tend to be to boost relationship marketing programs, to fill resource gaps in certain therapeutic categories, and to connect with patients in a more personable, relatable way than product messaging (and until recently, have faced less regulatory scrutiny). There are a range of approaches depending on how conservative brands and companies are from a regulatory perspective. Certainly a recent FDA warning letter sent to Novartis regarding two unbranded websites is going to shake up this tactic as they did search engine marketing.

The goal of this module is to discuss some of the benefits that unbranded websites can offer pharma in the current and future eHealth landscape and to highlight some best practices and good examples in the industry today.


Key questions to be addressed include the following:

• How strong is consumer demand for unbranded websites?
• In which ways are consumers influenced by unbranded websites and how strong of an opportunity do these initiatives represent for pharma marketers?
• What key elements are consumers seeking on unbranded websites?What best practices around unbranded online assets and strategies should marketers consider?