Patient Influencers: The Next Frontier in Direct-to-Consumer Pharmaceutical Marketing

Willis, Erin; Delbaere, Marjorie

doi:10.2196/29422

Cited by 25 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 71 publications

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“…Future research should also explore the role of social media and emerging technologies for pharmaceutical marketing. Willis and Delbaere (2022), for instance, encourage a research agenda on patient influencers on social media. Will these influencers create trustworthy connections with patients or further fuel skepticism?…”

Section: Possible Approaches To Reshaping Strategymentioning

confidence: 99%

Practitioner Perspectives on Key Challenges in Pharmaceutical Marketing and Future Research Opportunities

Morgan¹,

Zane²

2022

Journal of Public Policy & Marketing

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This article offers marketing and public policy researchers and professionals a peek into pharmaceutical marketing from the practitioner’s perspective. Through an interview process with eight active pharmaceutical marketing managers and medical doctors, the authors highlight some of the most pressing challenges facing pharmaceutical marketing practitioners today. Three key themes are identified, including facing strongly-rooted negative patient perceptions of the pharmaceutical industry, the need to communicate overwhelming amounts of complicated information to patients and physicians, and breaking away from a stale promotional model. The authors briefly summarize the practitioners’ views on each topic, highlight relevant findings from marketing and public policy literatures, and most importantly, offer avenues for future research to help address these challenges.

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Section: Possible Approaches To Reshaping Strategymentioning

confidence: 99%

Practitioner Perspectives on Key Challenges in Pharmaceutical Marketing and Future Research Opportunities

Morgan¹,

Zane²

2022

Journal of Public Policy & Marketing

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“…3 An analogous system has emerged in which motivated companies for consumer medical products and devices create patient influencers. 4 These individuals may allow pharmaceutical entities to find loopholes around current laws controlling DTCA. Moreover, patient-to-patient promotion of a brand may engender more consumer trust and willingness to listen than direct company advertising campaigns.…”

Section: Invited Commentarymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the food industry, it has been demonstrated that child social media influencers generate millions of impressions for unhealthy food and beverage brands . An analogous system has emerged in which motivated companies for consumer medical products and devices create patient influencers . These individuals may allow pharmaceutical entities to find loopholes around current laws controlling DTCA.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Current Digital Direct-to-Consumer Advertising—The Tip of the Iceberg

Sridhar

2022

JAMA Ophthalmol

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“…One such category that has long been thriving but only recently noticed by marketers is that of “patient influencers” [ 7 ]. Health Union defines patient influencers as “the most visible and trusted health consumers.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Communicating Health Literacy on Prescription Medications on Social Media: In-depth Interviews With “Patient Influencers”

Willis¹,

Friedel²,

Heisten³

et al. 2023

J Med Internet Res

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Background Historically, pharmaceutical companies have struggled with trust and brand reputation among key stakeholders and have adopted innovative marketing strategies to reach patients directly and rebuild those relationships. Social media influencers are a popular strategy to influence younger demographics, including Generation Z and millennials. It is common for social media influencers to work in paid partnerships with brands; this is a multibillion-dollar industry. Long have patients been active in online health communities and social media platforms such as Twitter and Instagram, but in recent years, pharmaceutical marketers have noticed the power of patient persuasion and begun to leverage “patient influencers” in brand campaigns. Objective This study aimed to explore how patient influencers communicate health literacy on pharmaceutical medications on social media to their communities of followers. Methods A total of 26 in-depth interviews were conducted with patient influencers using a snowball sampling technique. This study is part of a larger project using an interview guide that included a range of topics such as social media practices, logistics of being an influencer, considerations for brand partnerships, and views on the ethical nature of patient influencers. The constructs of the Health Belief Model were used in this study’s data analysis: perceived susceptibility, perceived severity, perceived benefits, perceived barriers, cues to action, and self-efficacy. This study was approved by the institutional review board of the University of Colorado and adhered to ethical standards in interview practice. Results As patient influencers are a new phenomenon, it was our goal to identify how health literacy on prescription medications and pharmaceuticals is being communicated on social media. Using the constructs of the Health Belief Model to guide the analysis, 3 themes were identified: understanding disease through experience, staying informed on the science or field, and suggesting that physicians know best. Conclusions Patients are actively exchanging health information on social media channels and connecting with other patients who share similar diagnoses. Patient influencers share their knowledge and experience in efforts to help other patients learn about disease self-management and improve their quality of life. Similar to traditional direct-to-consumer advertising, the phenomenon of patient influencers raises ethical questions that need more investigation. In a way, patient influencers are health education agents who may also share prescription medication or pharmaceutical information. They can break down complex health information based on expertise and experience and mitigate the loneliness and isolation that other patients may feel without the support of a community.

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Patient Influencers: The Next Frontier in Direct-to-Consumer Pharmaceutical Marketing

Cited by 25 publications

References 71 publications

Practitioner Perspectives on Key Challenges in Pharmaceutical Marketing and Future Research Opportunities

Practitioner Perspectives on Key Challenges in Pharmaceutical Marketing and Future Research Opportunities

Current Digital Direct-to-Consumer Advertising—The Tip of the Iceberg

Communicating Health Literacy on Prescription Medications on Social Media: In-depth Interviews With “Patient Influencers”

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