Healthcare Ads Drive Action Among People With A Diagnosed Condition

by Marketing Charts

US adults are increasingly looking for health information online – to the extent that half say the internet is the first source they go to when researching health and wellness, according to data released by Kantar Media from its 2018 MARS Consumer Health Study.

Given the increasing amount of time spent online with smartphones, the devices are also playing a growing role in health research. An estimated 22.9 million adults will use a smartphone to research or read reviews on treatment this year, according to Kantar Media’s study, a figure that would represent more than twice the number from 2015 (10.9 million).

This phenomenon has also been noted by Adobe, which in a recent study revealed that the majority (57%) of traffic to consumer health information sites comes from mobile devices, including almost half (48%) from smartphones.

4 in 10 Exposed to Healthcare Advertising; Most Take Action

As a result of the growing use of the internet – and mobile devices – for health research, consumers are being exposed to healthcare advertising.

Specifically, per Kantar Media’s data, 2 in 5 people who have been diagnosed with a condition have seen or heard healthcare advertising on the internet or on a mobile device in the past year.

Most appear to have taken an action as a result of the advertising, too: 60% have done so in response to advertising on a mobile device; and 55% in response to ads on the internet. By comparison, fewer (42%) have taken some action as a result of seeing a healthcare ad on TV.