Healthcare and pharma ad spending is set to surpass $30 billion in 2024—a testament to the industry's rapid growth. This is no surprise since 77% of people are paying close attention to their health following the COVID-19 pandemic.
Healthcare and pharma brands have been thinking outside the box to reach consumers beyond typical digital channels such as websites and social media. Enter programmatic digital-out-of-home (prDOOH). Through prDOOH advertising, brands can reach consumers in pivotal moments for education and decision-making—think doctors’s offices, pharmacies, retailers, and more.
Advertising in the healthcare industry comes with many regulations, such as including Important Safety Information in pharmaceutical ads. Unlike direct-to-consumer advertising, prDOOH complies with regulatory requirements by leveraging a one-way communication format that doesn’t include clickable call-to-actions (CTAs), thus bypassing the typical issue digital ads face when linking to additional information. Additionally, DOOH adheres to HIPAA regulations by focusing on physical locations, such as pharmacies or waiting rooms, rather than targeting individuals directly, ensuring patient privacy remains protected.
All things considered, prDOOH is a smart choice when trying to reach healthcare providers (HCPs) and health-conscious consumers. With granular audience targeting, real-time optimization, and creative flexibility, DOOH offers unparalleled scalability for healthcare and pharma brands.
Deliver targeted healthcare campaigns with DOOH
Building audience personas helps brands identify their consumers' behavior, interests, and preferences. Whether it be patients or healthcare providers, GPS location data and demographic insights paint a picture of where consumers move throughout the day and the places they frequent the most. Digital screens strategically positioned in these locations serve targeted ads relevant to specific audiences.
For example, the following audiences are most likely to visit these locations:
- Medical professionals in their place of work (hospital, POC facility)
- Healthcare patients (doctor’s office, urgent care)
- Pharmacy shoppers (pharmacy and retail locations)
- Health and wellness advocates (gym, doctor’s office)
Screenverse supply-side platforms (SSP) such as Vistar Media, Place Exchange, and Broadsign provide abundant audience data through Epsilon, Crossix, and other data providers. By layering third-party data available in the marketplace and through Screenverse media partner's tenant data, we can target screens that serve advertisements to the following audiences:
- Healthcare professionals by practice (pediatrics, OB-GYN, surgeons, pharmacists, etc.)
- Parents with children under 12
- 55+ aging demographic
Screenverse pharmacy, point-of-care, and healthcare venues
Through a wealth of data, advertisers can reach audiences visiting locations relevant to the promoted products or services. For example, gym inventory is a must if your target includes health and fitness enthusiasts or avid runners. Our partner, Digital Revenue Systems (DRS), has screens throughout fitness centers, locker rooms, and entry and exit points. With an average gym session lasting over 1.5 hours, you can rest assured that your ad is viewed by each gym-goer multiple times, giving your brand unmatched visibility.
Pharmacies, doctor’s offices, and waiting rooms are prime locations for pharma brands to reach healthcare patients that align with the medication or product advertised. Screenverse Health connects with patients at the point of care, capturing their attention when they’re already in a health-focused mindset. After viewing a DOOH advertisement on these screens, 48% of patients asked their physician about the brand or product shown.
By layering third-party data with first-party data and utilizing contextually relevant locations, DOOH ensures premium ad placements for advertisers in the healthcare and pharma space. Whether you’re looking to target people who have been to the dentist in the last year or someone with poor health, we can pinpoint the exact screens these audiences interact with, maximizing the impact of your campaign.
Using data to inform your healthcare strategy
At the core of every marketing campaign is the data that inspired it, and advertising with prDOOH is no different. According to Nielsen Research, data-driven DOOH advertising can increase your sales by 93%. By leveraging real-time insights, advertisers can ensure their campaigns are not only timely but also highly relevant to their target audience.
Utilizing weather data to trigger certain ads is especially helpful for pharmaceutical brands promoting specific products based on location and weather. The creative and messaging can be updated to reflect certain temperatures, pollen counts, and even the latest epidemiological data.
Case study highlights
In 2023 Boehringer Ingelheim, a leading pharmaceutical brand, saw a +254% lift in positive brand image with its programmatic DOOH campaign. The intent was to increase in-store traffic for their new pet antiparasitic product, and they did so by targeting pet lovers on screens outside retail stores and inside malls. These numbers reinforce the impact that digital OOH has on consumer behavior.
This year, one of the largest pharmaceutical and biomedical companies ran two OOH campaigns during cold and flu season with Screeenverse partners Corner Media and Smartify Media, resulting in a significant brand lift. The case study results were equally impressive, with a 16.7% increase in brand favorability and an 11% increase in purchase intent. These results show the effectiveness of programmatic DOOH in driving meaningful engagement and delivering measurable outcomes for healthcare and pharmaceutical brands.
How to stand out in healthcare marketing
One of the most significant advantages of programmatic DOOH is the flexibility it provides for advertisers to adjust campaigns in real-time. Ad copy can also be tailored to specific screens in the venue types that are relevant for target audiences. For instance, advertisers can reach healthcare professionals in their place of work with digital screens in elevators, office lobbies, and more. Simply messaging such as, “Got a minute? Let’s talk about cold and flu season,” followed by a compelling promotion for your product, will resonate well with this engaged audience.
The future of healthcare advertising: DOOH
Programmatic DOOH empowers brands to connect with audiences where it matters most—capturing an HCP’s attention in a hospital elevator or reaching a patient in a pharmacy aisle.
With Screenverse, you can unlock the full potential of DOOH and create campaigns that engage, inform, and drive action. Ready to take the first step? Explore our point-of-care and pharmaceutical inventory on our website and start transforming your healthcare marketing strategy today.