WARC predicts growth in pharma and healthcare ad spending and a significant shift away from television to digital.

According to marketing intelligence firm WARC, global advertising spending in healthcare and pharma will increase by 3.7% in 2020 over 2019, growing to $35.7 billion. The bulk of the spending (55%) will remain on television ads, but that spending will increase just 0.8%. Spending on digital ads, on the other hand, will rise by over 14%.

Unlike TV, which provides a means for mass marketing, online advertising allows for targeting of people that could potentially fit into specific patient populations. It is also possible that the movement to online ads in the US is in response to the push to include list prices in TV ads. Interestingly, pharma and healthcare ad spending in the US is growing at nearly double the global rate (6.3%) and is predicted by WARC to reach $12 billion.