Context Web Pharma Study Posting

PHARMACEUTICAL DIGITAL MARKETING: GO BEYOND TRADITIONAL TARGETING

CONTEXTWEB INTELLIGENCE REPORT

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Executive Summary ...................................................................................... 2The Challenges ............................................................................................. 3 Strict Regulation ................................................................................ 3 Limited and Costly Health Inventory ................................................. 4 Brand Safety ....................................................................................... 5

The Solution ................................................................................................... 6 The Importance of Understanding the Target ................................... 6 Reaching the Target at Scale ............................................................. 9 Reaching the Target Safely ............................................................... 10

The Impact .................................................................................................... 11 Reach ................................................................................................. 11 Brand Lift ........................................................................................... 12 Clicks ................................................................................................. 13 Qualitative Performance ................................................................... 14

Implications for Advertisers ....................................................................... 16Conclusion .................................................................................................... 17Methodology ................................................................................................. 18


TABLE OF CONTENTS

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Few verticals are as challenged by online marketing as the pharmaceutical industry. When it comes to digital targeting, pharma is between a rock and a hard place, even though its annual digital spend is over $1 billion dollars.1 While widely used in other industries, cookie targeting is generally avoided in pharma due to privacy concerns, even though the practice is not outright forbidden by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Yet finding other targeting means is not always easy. Beyond targeting, drug companies are hyper-sensitive to brand safety issues and can ill afford to have an ad displayed on a page with inappropriate content as it can undermine their credibility.

At the same time, medical advertisers overall are experiencing some of the lowest interaction rates of all verticals, according to MediaMinds 2011 benchmarks.2 Standard and rich media click-through rates (CTRs) are half as high as those in average-performing verticals. To address these challenges, many pharmas have taken what at first glance looks like the safe way out by advertising on large health sites. CONTEXTWEB research shows that unfortunately this may not be the most effective approach. Due to a limited supply of inventory, pharma advertisers end up paying top dollar nearly four times the average cost per thousand impressions (CPM), according to comScore. In its research, CONTEXTWEB has found that targeting ad placements to a variety of content pages can be effective at a much lower cost 70% more effective than the average CTR for pharma campaigns, and 24% more efficient.

In this Intelligence Report, CONTEXTWEB will address four key questions that pharma advertisers need to ask themselves in order to meet their campaign goals while maintaining compliance with federal regulations:

How can I reach my target? Because pharma advertisers are loath to use cookie targeting, they need to find other ways to gain a deeper understanding of who their audience is.

Can I reach my target at scale? Once the audience is identified, how do you leverage those insights to broaden the scope of campaigns in order to make the best use of your digital investments?

Can I reach my target safely? Nothing else matters in a pharma campaign unless you can guarantee brand safe environments.

Am I reaching my target effectively? What is the optimal mix of targeting tactics that will achieve campaign goals (reach, brand lift, clicks, page environment) while maintaining regulatory compliance?

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

1Source: eMarketer, April 20112Source: MediaMind, Benchmarks H1 2011, April 13, 2011 via eMarketer


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THE CHALLENGES

Strict Regulation

The digital advertising industry as a whole is under the glare of privacy cops since audience and behavioral targeting are widespread practices in display advertising. To ward off threats of federal intervention, the industry is developing voluntary, self-governing standards for privacy. Pharma advertisers face a double whammy. Not only do they need to satisfy overall industry standards, but they also need to adhere to stringent FDA and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) requirements on everything from privacy to creative copy. In 1996, the U.S. Congress enacted the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) which sought to protect the security and privacy of health data. Because health information is some of our most protected data, its not hard to imagine a pharma advertiser being chastised for misusing it online, considering the growing public debate about information privacy.

In 2009, the FDA took an aggressive stance with warning letters to a number of pharmas, forcing the industry to pull back and rethink its paid search practices. In August 2010, the FDA issued a warning letter to a leading pharma brand about its Facebook marketing efforts.3 As the adoption of search was thus restricted, pharmas have been even more careful in terms of investment in and adoption of new display and social media marketing tactics.

This unique pharma challenge was captured by eMarketer in a 2010 report, which referred to it as a delicate balancing act between reaching consumers in new ways while navigating FDA guidelines.


Onerous regulation by the FDA and FTC have further restricted pharmas use of display, search and social media advertising

Health inventory is crowded and costly

Brand safety is not one size fits all

3eMarketer, DTC Pharmaceutical Marketing Online: A Slow Shift to Digital, August 2010

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THE CHALLENGES

Limited and Costly Health Inventory

The natural fit for many pharma companies is to have their ads placed next to content covering specific ailments or conditions that consumers are seeking out. Its not surprising therefore that demand for these ad placements is outpacing supply. From December 2009 to December 2010, health display ad impressions grew by 56% while unique visitor growth was just 29%, and page views only grew by 11% (Figure 1). This resulted in the number of ads per page increasing by 41%, creating clutter, and ultimately brand dilution and diminished performance.


+56%+29%

+11%

1.8B 2.9B 3.6B 4.8B 103M 132M

Health Page ViewsHealth Unique VisitorsHealth Display Ad Impressions

Display Ad Growth Content Consumption Growth

Dec-09 Dec-10

Growth in Display Ads is Outpacing Content Consumption

As in any situation where demand outstrips supply, the cost of these impressions has risen. Pharma advertisers typically have a higher tolerance for premium prices, but this situation creates an environment in which they are fighting over a small piece of the same digital pie. According to the December 2010 comScore Ad Metrix Display Spend Report, health sites were charging an average CPM of $8.94. Thats nearly four times as much as the overall average CPM of $2.36. The only higher-priced categories were auto and finance, both of which have similar supply and demand issues.

Figure 1: comScore Ad Metrix Trend

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THE CHALLENGES

Brand Safety

Brand safety is of course at the forefront of any discussion with pharma advertisers. According to research from the Winterberry Group, healthcare and pharma advertisers, more than those in any other vertical, understand that brand safety is crucial.4 There have been many industry efforts to make the process of brand safety transparent by creating standard operating procedures. In June 2010, the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) created a set of standards which included guidelines on inventory vetting. These standards outline prohibited and non-standard content characteristics. While these types of initiatives move the industry forward, and it is important to participate in them, pharma advertisers still rely on their own definitions of safety. For that reason it is essential to make sure safety guidelines adhere to pharma advertisers definitions.

IAB Inventory Guidelines


4eMarketer, Winterberry Group Research. Advertising Professionals in North America Who Believe that Brand Safety is a Meaningful Issue, April 2010

Prohibited Content Illegal activities (i.e. drug-

related content) Warez (i.e. illegal file sharing)

Spyware/Malware Copyright infringement

Non-Standard Content Unmoderated, user-generated content Extreme graphics Explicit violence Pornography Profane content Hate content Under construction content Incentivized content

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THE SOLUTION


If pharma advertisers are to overcome these challenges, they need to develop a holistic approach that addresses all of them. Otherwise, they risk devaluing their brand, limiting spend or inciting the ire of regulators.

Through its research, CONTEXTWEB has found that the best solution is a multi-pronged approach that provides targeting, scalability and brand safety, while not sacrificing effectiveness.

The Importance of Understanding the Target

Because online targeting tools such as cookie targeting are generally not used by pharma advertisers, they need to get creative in their efforts to reach potential customers. This means finding alternative ways to gain deeper audience insights, in order to expand their potential reach. A better understanding of just one more audience attribute, for example, could grow that reach by thousands. One effective alternative method they can use is to take advantage of whats known as long-tail content, especially non-health-related content. The long-tail Internet is made up of millions of less heavily trafficked websites with lower reach than popular destinations such as WebMD and Everyday Health, which are considered the short tail. CONTEXTWEB research has shown that if used strategically, the long tail can be a more efficient use of ad dollars than the short tail. Figure 2 shows that the growth potential for reaching a number of different key pharma targets is well over 200% when using the broader inventory source of the long tail, instead of just relying on more expensive short-tail health sites with premium content.

Figure 2: comScore Plan Metrix, Dec 2010* Based on CONTEXTWEB inventory

13.9% 16.4%

Reach of Users Who Bought a Prescription for an Ailment or Condition

+274%

61.4%

16.9% 17.8%

69.6%

WebMD Health

EverydayHealth

Long-tail Inventory*

Reach of Users Who Searched the Internet for Information on a Treatment for an Ailment or Condition

+291%

WebMD Health

EverydayHealth

Long-tail Inventory*

To reach the pharma consumer in new ways, you must first understand them and their interests

Utilizing a broader source of non-health-related content can potentially grow reach by over 200%

Brand safety and scale dont have to be mutually exclusive

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THE SOLUTION

Figure 3 illustrates the growth potential for reaching these same targets by expanding beyond the limitations of health-related content. In both cases, the potential increased reach is substantially greater than 600%.

While the obvious starting point for targeting in-market pharma consumers is using condition-specific health content, pharma advertisers need to expand beyond it. Other readily available information, like consumer demographic and interest data, can be used to enhance audience identification without violating federal privacy restrictions. While these additional characteristics provide much greater precision in identifying audiences, less than a third of pharma advertisers are even giving their media partners demographic information to supplement the targeting process (Figure 4).

Figure 3: comScore Plan Metrix, Dec 2010 * Based on CONTEXTWEB inventory

Figure 4: CONTEXTWEB Q4 2010


8.5%

61.4%

Health & Fitness Content*

All Content*

Reach of Users Who Bought a Prescription for an Ailment

or Condition

+622%

Reach of Users Who Searched the Internet for Information on a Treatment

for an Ailment or Condition

69.6%

+625%

9.6%

Health & Fitness Content*

All Content*

Interest 8%

Demo 29%

Condition Sufferers63%

Pharmaceutical Display Campaign Targets

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THE SOLUTION

To address this lack of insight, CONTEXTWEB studied in detail the profile of users interested in pharma advertising during Q4 2010. This included combining leading third-party audience data with proprietary system data to analyze action patterns. The output of this process is referred to as a Smart Target. The action pattern used for this analysis was clicks on pharma ads. Pharma advertisers are interested in click-through because it serves as an indication of interest and is widely used for display campaign measurement and optimization, especially in the absence of online purchase metrics.

Based on its research, CONTEXTWEB created a Smart Target of the typical person interested in a display pharma ad, creating for the first time a profile of the ideal digital pharma prospect. It turns out the pharma desirable is an early retirement boomer, age 56 and up, living in a city and having older children who are grown or entering college (Figure 5). These consumers are college educated with mid- to high-level incomes but are not big spenders, most likely because of the burden of college expenses and the higher cost of city living. Savvy investors, they often research and are in-market for financial products. They are family-oriented with a broad range of interests, including travel and fitness. Given their age they are interested in health topics, but as shown in Figure 5 they also consume a wide range of content. And, importantly for advertisers, they readily respond to a richer display media experience.


Figure 5: CONTEXTWEB Insights Q4 2010

Transaction HistoryEducationCredit Reports

InterestsMale SportsHealth & FitnessForeign TravelDomestic TravelMusic

DemographicsAge 55+Middle-Higher IncomeOlder ChildrenGrad School Education

Health ConditionPain

CholesterolCOPD

Mens HealthGE Reux

Womens HealthBones

CardiovascularMental Health

AsthmaVision

In-MarketBanking Products

Coupons

Auto PreferenceChevroletSedan

LocationUrban

Day of Week Response14% Higher on Weekends

Rich Media Response176% Higher Than Standard Banners

PsychographicsFamily & General, Do-It-Yourselfers, Offer Seekers

ProfessionsRetired

Sales/Marketing

BehaviorsInvestors in

Mutual Funds & Annuities

Economic SpectrumDownscale

Making Ends Meet

Health Sports &

B

usiness &

Recreation

Industry

Auto Travel

To

p Cont

ent Consumption

Smart Target Prole of Pharma Clickers

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Reaching the Target at Scale

Its not enough to know who your target is; you must also know how to use those insights wisely if you are going to expand the scale of your campaign by tapping into non-health based, long-tail inventory. In addition, the budget allocation process demands that you know which content channels to spend the first dollars with, since you still need to be targeted in your approach. As part of its research, CONTEXTWEB reviewed data on content consumption patterns for the pharma Smart Target. By analyzing billions of impressions, CONTEXTWEB created a statistically significant and refined custom content channel for this audience. The resulting custom content channel is referred to as a Hotspot.

The Hotspot in Figure 6 illustrates where pharma advertisers can find the highest concentration of pharma consumers. This Hotspot reveals a broad range of content categories beyond health, including travel and sports.

THE SOLUTION


Figure 6: CONTEXTWEB INSIGHTS, February 2011

Hotspot of Pharma Clickers

149 > Reach Index 130Reach Index 150 130 > Reach Index 110

Arts & EntertainmentHumor

Books & LiteratureAnimation & Comics

Fine ArtCelebrity/Gossip

Autos4-Wheel Drive/SUVsRoadside Assistance

Vintage CarsHatchback

Certified Pre-OwnedDiesel

Off-Road VehiclesSedan

Electric VehiclesBuying/Selling Cars

HybridLuxuryCoupe

CrossoverWagon

ConvertibleMotorcycles

Business & IndustryGreen Solutions

Nonprofit Organizations

PurchasingGovernmentRetail IndustryAdvertisingForestry

Small BusinessTelecom

AgricultureMetals

MarketingCareer

TelecommutingU.S. Military

Career PlanningEducation

HomeschoolingSpecial EducationPrimary EducationGraduate SchoolBusiness School

Continuing EducationSecondary EducationDistance LearningFinance & MoneyForeign Exchange

TradingFinancial NewsHedge FundInvestingStocks

Credit/Debt & Loans

Finance & MoneyInsuranceDay TradingFood & DrinkVegetarian

Desserts & BakingOrganic Food

Barbecues & GrillingHealth & Fitness

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

IncontinenceAutism/PDD

Thyroid DiseaseNutrition

HypertensionArthritis

Physical TherapySenior HealthPediatrics

Alternative MedicineIncest/Abuse Support

Chronic PainDental Care

Headaches/MigrainesA.D.D.Epilepsy

Herbs for HealthGERD/Acid Reflux

InfertilitySmoking Cessation

Brain TumorDeafness

Weight LossCold & FluExerciseHepatitisNursingSexuality

Sleep DisordersHolistic Healing

AsthmaDiabetes

Psychology/PsychiatryDermatology

Bipolar DisorderAIDS/HIV

Hobbies & Games Interior Decorating

Environmental SafetyInventors & Patents

ChessGetting PublishedCreative WritingAppliancesHome Repair

Hobbies & Games Paranormal Phenomena

Candle & Soap MakingMagic & IllusionHome RecordingSci-Fi & FantasyCard Games

Parenting & FamilyBabies & Toddlers

AdoptionPregnancy

Parenting ChildrenSpecial Needs KidsParenting Teens

PetsCats

AquariumsVeterinary Medicine

DogsReal EstateApartmentsArchitectureReligionHinduismCatholicismJudaism

Latter-Day SaintsBuddhismChristianity

Alternative ReligionsScience

Senior LivingPhysicsChemistryMarriageAstronomyGeologyGay LifeWeddingsDivorceBiologyDating

Sports & RecreationCricketSkiingTennis

VolleyballGolf

College SportsRunning/Walking

Canoeing/KayakingPaintball

CheerleadingInline SkatingSwimming

Waterski/Wakeboard

Sports & RecreationFigure Skating

FootballSnowboarding

SailingYachtingBaseball

SkateboardingClimbingRugby

OlympicsScuba Diving

RodeoBoxing

Table Tennis/Ping-Pong

BodybuildingSports & Recreation

Ice HockeyBasketball

Style & FashionCosmeticsFashionJewelryBody Art

Technology & Computing

Computer CertificationHome Theater Systems

Cameras & Camcorders

Computer NetworkingCell Phones

Computer PeripheralsTravel

Budget TravelAir Travel

Bed & BreakfastsCruisesCanada

Business TravelTheme Parks

AfricaNational Parks

WeatherCamping

Mexico & Central AmericaSpas

Adventure TravelCaribbean

Australia & New Zealand

Hotels

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THE SOLUTION

Reaching the Target Safely

Beyond targeting, pharma advertisers need to address brand safety to ensure that their brand doesnt appear on inappropriate sites. The best way to guarantee this is by addressing it both before and after an ad is served. For ad networks and exchanges, publisher screening must be rigorous and continuous because online content is constantly changing. Screening must also be done in real time and down to the individual page level in order to block potentially harmful web pages that may come from an otherwise safe domain. Ideally this process should be customizable for every advertiser and its particular campaign, as needs vary widely.

It is important to consider that the exact definitions of what is appropriate for a brand are highly subjective and may differ widely by industry and even by company. For example, while a pharma advertiser may need to keep off any sites that contain user-generated content, a consumer product goods (CPG) brand may welcome the opportunity. For this reason, pharma advertisers usually employ their own manual methods of checking content safety. This practice, however, makes it hard to scale beyond short-tail health sites, leaving broader inventory sources such as networks or exchanges out of the equation. But brand safety and scale dont have to be mutually exclusive for pharma advertisers they can utilize these broader sources using machine learning based on their specific input to scale safely. A recent CONTEXTWEB study utilizing Trust Metrics5 inventory modeling system found that 99% of a sample of more than 2,000 domains, where pharma campaigns ran on the CONTEXTWEB platform, were free of harmful content (Figure 7). Additionally, the results suggest there is a correlation between not showing your ad next to harmful content and an increased CTR. This reinforces the importance of being able to scale safely using automated monitoring sources and real-time page level monitoring.


Figure 7: CONTEXTWEB/Trust Metrics Study Q4 2010 *Directional results also indicate that there is a correlation between several brand safety metrics and click-through rate.

5Trust Metrics is a neutral information services company that serves as the digital measurement standard for publisher transparency, effectiveness, and quality

Without 99.9% 97.6% 98.5% 98.8% 99.6% 98.9%With 0.1% 2.4% 1.5% 1.2% 0.4% 1.1%

Percent of Domains With and Without Harmful Content

Illegal File Hate/ Political* Sharing AveragePorn* Profanity* Violence*

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THE IMPACT


Figure 8: CONTEXTWEB Insights Q4 2010

Understanding your audience and finding new ways to reach them safely is important, but it means nothing if your tactics arent effective in driving the desired results. Based on its research and work with pharma clients, CONTEXTWEB has found that the most effective strategy for pharma advertisers is to use a mix of targeting tactics. Each of them can boost the overall performance of digital media if used properly.

Reach

Employing a blend of health and non-health content does not mean hyper-targeting must be sacrificed. Pharma campaigns employing a blend of content are still able to reach the intended consumer. Figure 8 illustrates how sufferers of specific conditions were reached by targeting a mix of content.

Utilizing non-health-related content doesnt prevent hyper targeting and can produce 70% higher CTRs and 24% more CPC efficiency

Health content is important for creating brand lift

Evaluating page environment in combination with click performance can help prioritize ad placements

Target Reach for a Prescription Asthma/COPD Brand Campaign

(by index)

Target Reach for a PrescriptionGE Reux Brand Campaign

(by index)

205

121

GE Reux OTC Buyers

191

324

Asthma Sufferers GE Reux Rx Buyers COPD Sufferers

Internet Population IndexCampaign Reach Index

Internet Population IndexCampaign Reach Index

100 100 100 100

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Brand Awareness Lift by Content Category for a Prescription Gout Brand Campaign (vs. control)

Mens Health News & Current Affairs Sports & Recreation

+67% +65%+38%

Control..................................................................

THE IMPACT

Brand Lift

Brand awareness is an important metric for pharma advertisers because it is the first step in getting your product on the radar screen of someone suffering from a particular condition. CONTEXTWEB research suggests that health-related content can provide the most powerful environment for driving brand awareness. While this is certainly true, non-health-related content can move the needle as well. Figure 9 shows the results of exposure to prescription gout ads on three different contextual environments, with health-related content having the greatest effect.

Figure 9: VIZU & CONTEXTWEB Study, Q4 2010


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Clicks

The research also found that using Hotspot targeting which includes non-health-related content is extremely effective in driving higher CTRs. In fact, CONTEXTWEB found that Hotspot targeting can have higher CTRs than targeting health content alone and is more cost effective in terms of cost per click (CPC). CONTEXTWEB found that for pharma campaigns, Hotspots produced CTRs that were 70% higher than the average, and 24% more efficient (Figure 10). Health content was found to be more effective in terms of driving higher CTRs than run-of-network (RON), but not as efficient due to the higher cost of health content. RON placements were not as effective as content targeting in terms of CTR but were highly efficient often a strong consideration for pharma advertisers.

THE IMPACT


Long-tail inventory was also shown to be a powerful tool for pharma advertisers. CONTEXTWEB found it produced an overall 15% higher CTR for pharma campaigns. Figure 11 illustrates the CTR lift that was observed on four of the top five long-tail content channels pharma campaigns were served on.

Figure 10: CONTEXTWEB Internal Data for Pharmaceutical Campaigns, Q4 2010

Figure 11: CONTEXTWEB Internal Data for Pharmaceutical Campaigns, Q4 2010

CTR Lift by Targeting Tactic (vs. average) CPC Lift by Targeting Tactic (vs. average)

Average

Hotspot Health Content RON Hotspot Health Content RON

Average

+70%

-19%-50%

-24%

+68%

-44%

+100% +62%

+38% +13%

-38% Hobbies & Games

Health & Fitness

Sports & Recreation

News & Current Affairs

Arts & Entertainment

Long-tail CTR Lift by Content Category on Pharmaceutical Campaigns

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Qualitative Performance

In addition to traditional brand safety metrics, there are many characteristics of web content that should be weighed when considering how to prioritize ad placement. Because site environment impacts branding, pharma advertisers naturally want to be on quality sites where the environment elevates their messaging. Environmental factors such as page design, editorial quality and visitor usage, to name a few, can be addressed as part of any advertising buy for a pharma client. These types of insights can help determine which specific domains and content should be prioritized.

The CONTEXTWEB/Trust Metrics study also sought to explore how environment can play a role in prioritizing which content channels pharma campaigns should be on. Trust Metrics scored domains based on the statistical patterns of over 12,000 data points on each site, with results reported on a 0-100 scale. Sites scoring above 61 generally provide a premium value to advertisers. To demonstrate this more clearly, think of a typical local news site. This type of site would be attractive to advertisers even though it would probably score below 61 because of ad clutter, poor page layouts and lack of original content. Trust Metrics scored a random set of 100,000 domains and found that only 7% scored above 61, which means the Internet is most likely comprised of less-than-optimal sites. Trust Metrics also scored CONTEXTWEB domains that ran pharma campaigns in Q4 and found that 14% or twice the Internet average scored above 61. Figure 12 shows the percentage of domains that scored above 61 in each content category. These qualitative scores of domains within a content category should be considered along with historical performance in order to select the best categories for targeting.

THE IMPACT


Figure 12: CONTEXTWEB/Trust Metrics Study Q4 2010 *Domains were classified by category based on what the largest percentage of impressions were classified as.

Qualitative Performance by Category

Indexed Value

News & Current AffairsTravelReal EstateSports & RecreationHealth & FitnessBusiness & IndustryFinance & MoneyCareerParenting & FamilyHome & GardenScienceEducationAutosFood & DrinkReligionArts & EntertainmentSocietyStyle & FashionTechnology & ComputingHobbies & GamesPets

Total

46%46%24%20%14%14%13%13%12%10%10%9%6%6%5%5%5%4%2%2%2%

14%

340334176146104103969587757368464638343426161211

100

Domain Category*% of Domains with Qualitative Score 61+

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Figure 13 combines historical pharma performance with qualitative ratings by category in order to gauge which content categories are most likely to help a pharma campaign meet its goals. While some categories may perform well in terms of CTR and CPC or efficiency, they may contain a lower percentage of optimal environments. When these three metrics are averaged it suggests pharma advertisers should make non-health content such as education, news and travel a priority.

THE IMPACT


Figure 13: CONTEXTWEB/Trust Metrics Study Q4 2010 *Domains were classified by category based on what the largest percentage of impressions were classified as.

Click and Qualitative Performance by Category

Q4 Pharmaceutical

CPC Index

EducationNews & Current AffairsTravelBusiness & IndustryHealth & FitnessScienceSports & RecreationFinance & MoneyReal EstateCareerTechnology & ComputingParenting & FamilyReligionStyle & FashionAutosSocietyArts & EntertainmentHobbies & GamesFood & DrinkHome & GardenPets

Total

475 80 86 107 161 125 79 117 53 86 126 93 115 100 71 86 79 81 93 40 67

100

411 98 81 145 72 122 94 99 77 122 147 81 96 107 116 110 104 119 54 69 90

100

Domain Category*

68 340 334 103 104 73 146 96 176 95 16 87 38 26 46 34 34 12 46 75 11

100

318 172 167 118 113 107 106 104 102 101 96 87 83 78 78 77 73 71 64 61 56

100

Q4 Pharmaceutical

CTR Index

% of Domains with Qualitative Score 61+

(Indexed Value)

AverageIndex Value

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IMPLICATIONS FOR ADVERTISERS

Based on our research findings, below is a prioritized series of targeting tactics that pharma advertisers can use to improve their digital media performance effectively while addressing privacy concerns. Together, they lay the groundwork for more efficient and effective digital marketing.

1. Every pharma campaign should begin with health-related content (Figure 14). It adds relevancy to the campaign, achieves hyper targeting and can increase brand lift.

2. Non-health-related content should also be added to the mix to reach the pharma advertisers target at scale. If prioritized properly, it can be an extremely effective and efficient tactic.

3. Performance media, which usually runs the entire network and includes content optimization, can also add scale and be used to boost efficiency and help you understand your target better.

4. Premium media such as above the fold, road blocking (i.e., a section takeover) and keyword targeting should only be used when you have a richly defined target such as a Smart Target profile. This will prevent budget waste on these more expensive tactics.

5. While not strictly forbidden by federal regulations, cookie targeting should be avoided on pharma campaigns, especially as privacy-friendly alternatives that dont sacrifice performance such as Smart Targets and Hotspots can be used instead.


Premiu

m Me

dia

Health Con

tent

Performan

ce Medi

a

AdvertiserCookie Targeting

PublisherCookie Targeting

3rd PartyCookie Targeting

Health Content

Non-Health-Related Content

Performance Media

Premium Media

Cookie Targeting

1

2

3

4Non

-Health

-Related

Cont

ent

Optimal Targeting Mix Prioritized by Tactic

Figure 14

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CONCLUSION

Behaviorally targeted online advertising spending is picking up steam, but the future remains unclear. Although it is predicted to grow by more than 20% over the next three years6, privacy issues are looming. This is a particularly thorny problem for the pharmaceutical industry, given stronger restrictions around consumer health information. This creates demand for alternative targeting strategies that comply with federal regulations. Because of these internal and external limitations on the use of digital media, pharma advertisers need to think outside the box, weighing different options that go beyond the traditional heavy reliance on endemic, i.e., health-related content. Given the right approach and mix of tactics, brand safety, targeting at scale and consumer privacy can all peacefully coexist within the context of a holistic digital marketing strategy.


6eMarketer, US Behaviorally Targeted Online Advertising Spending, 2008-2014, January 2010

Strict federal regulation will continue to challenge the industrys advertising practices

Pharma brands need to work with ad technology and inventory partners in

order to succeed on the compliance and advertising fronts

Health-related content should be augmented with non- health content for scale and efficiencies

Brand safety will continue to be defined by the ad industry and by brand. Its imperative that pharma brands seek technologies that deliver monitoring and customization on both the site and page level

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Campaign Data

CONTEXTWEB analyzed performance on more than 300 million impressions across 20 pharmaceutical advertisers using campaign data from the CONTEXTWEB platform throughout Q4 of 2010.

Long-Tail Classification

In order to benchmark the performance of ads on short-tail and long-tail domains, each site was classified according to its total Internet reach. Classification was based on the proxy of the comScore 250, a unique reach categorization of the top 250 ad-supported web domains, per comScores May 2010 Key Measures Report.

Brand Safety

CONTEXTWEB operates on a safety continuum to provide safe and appropriate content at scale and was one of the first companies to become compliant with the IAB Quality Assurance Guidelines. Every publisher that applies to be on the CONTEXTWEB platform must go through a stringent verification process before it can be cleared for selling inventory. There is a 10% acceptance rate for publishers applying to be on the CONTEXTWEB platform. As ads are served, the technology screens every page for inappropriate content, which is instantly blocked. Along with this comes the ability to customize content blocking by eliminating specified keywords. Learning from our real-time process optimizes our ability to exclude highly flagged publishers from the platform.


METHODOLOGY

CONTEXTWEB is a leading integrated digital media services company that delivers consistent, measurable online ad performance on hundreds of millions of real-time impressions every day. CONTEXTWEB layers online and offline audience data with highly relevant content in order to deliver unique audiences at scale. Its patented page-level contextual technology delivers brand-safe environments and ranks among the top 20 ad-supported properties, according to comScore. CONTEXTWEB counts among its clients Fortune 500 companies in pharmaceuticals, automotive and consumer goods, among others. Investors in CONTEXTWEB include leading venture capital firms Draper Fisher Jurvetson (DFJ), DFJ Gotham Ventures, DFJ New England, Updata Partners and Investor Growth Capital. CONTEXTWEB is headquartered in New York with offices across the country and in the UK.

For more information, please visit contextweb.com.


22 Cortlandt Street, NY, NY 10007 tel: 212.679.1412 fax: 917-591-5143 www.contextweb.com

ABOUT CONTEXTWEB

Documents

Context Web Pharma Study Posting