DTC Drug Ads Promote Learning for 89.4M Consumers  

Manhattan Research Finds 22.3 Million Going Online for More Information

NEW YORK, NY – November 29, 2005 – Among the 89.4 million U.S. adults seeking additional information after seeing or hearing direct-to-consumer (DTC) drug ads, more consumers report that they go online for information than dial the 800 number. In fact, more than 22 million consumers now report going online to learn more about the pharmaceutical products advertised as compared to only 6.2 million consumers who dial an 800 number for more information.  Moreover, 41.6 million consumers agree that DTC advertising for a specific prescription drug directly impacted their decision to seek additional information about the condition mentioned in the advertisement.

“These new findings represent a shift in behavior whereby consumers are far more likely to use the Internet for patient education and disease information than they are to use the 800 number of a pharmaceutical company, which has been the traditional call to action in DTC advertisements,” states Meredith Abreu, Vice President of Research. “With increased FDA scrutiny of DTC ads, combined with the growing reliance of consumers on the Internet, pharmaceutical and biotech companies need to reevaluate the role of the online channel within the context of their overall consumer marketing strategy.”

This market shift is one of the key market trends identified by Manhattan Research in its latest release of Cybercitizen® Health, a strategic research and advisory service in its tenth year, which is focused on consumer adoption and usage of the Internet and other related technologies for healthcare. 

Webinar

To register for the overview webinar, visit http://www.manhattanresearch.com/events/Webinars/.

Topics Covered in Cybercitizen® Health
The Cybercitizen® Health strategic research and advisory service, a telephone study conducted with a random sample of 4,031 U.S. adults, explores topics such as the Internet, email communication with physicians, DTC advertising trends, health ecommerce, health plans and providers, use of pharmaceutical information online and health information seeking methods. In addition to providing insight regarding overall market trends, the data can be analyzed by over 30 therapeutic segments across a variety of topics.  

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MEDIA CONTACT:

Erica Alexander

Manhattan Research, LLC

T  212.255.7799

E  ealexander@manhattanresearch.com

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