Pharmaceutical advertising shifts to emerging markets

Pharmaceutical companies have always run as globally minded initiatives. The costs of research, development and marketing services is often so high that organizations have no choice but to cast a wide enough net in an attempt to gain enough revenue to turn a profit. While pharmaceutical marketing works best when it targets individual consumer groups, including enough demographic subsections is the key to successful returns on investments.

According to a recent report from market research firm Cegedim Strategic Data, the worldwide financial focus on pharmaceutical marketing is beginning to shift. While traditional markets like North America and Europe continue to draw the majority of advertising dollars, emerging markets are quickly becoming the centers of attention for marketing professionals.

Shifting targets to find new revenue

Industry experts know that the number of sales representatives employed by pharmaceutical marketing services has been steadily declining over the years. Cegedim found that in North America alone, the number of sales reps fell by 7.4 percent from 70,880 to 66,000 in 2013. Europe saw a similar decline from 77,330 to 72,000.

Overall marketing revenue in the U.K. fell by 13 percent, while the U.S. experienced a 4 percent drop.

The money paid to these sales reps and the funds once dedicated to the Western world has shifted from traditional centers of pharmaceutical marketing to emerging countries like China, Brazil and Russia. The Cegedim report indicated that while marketing revenues may be decreasing in other countries, these three regions saw increases of 9 percent, 11 percent and 16 percent respectively.

While the massive populations and burgeoning infrastructures of countries like China, Brazil and Russia make them prime targets for returns on investments in the future, second-tier markets like Mexico, which experienced a 9 percent increase in advertising revenue, have not escaped big pharma's targets either.

Facilitating these shifts is a greater interest in digital services among pharmaceutical marketing professionals. Christopher Wooden, vice president of global sales at Cegedim, said in a statement that digital marketing has room to grow.

"In absolute terms, digital marketing investment is still a relatively small portion of the mix," Wooden said. "However, we expect the use of these channels will only continue to advance as marketers seek to maintain reach through ease of access while delivering a high level of information quality to [health care professionals]."