Whilst not quite as common a phenomenon as they once were, End of Year(EOY) budgets can occasionally leave brand teams scrambling to figure out the best way to spend what’s remaining, or potentially risk having A&P spend reduced by a similar amount for the following year.

Traditionally, a brand team may have considered the option to “park” funds with an existing agency to put towards future work. Or, perhaps execute a last minute spend to procure media space, or even purchase re-prints of the latest published articles.

However, as digital marketing and media has evolved, so too has the pricing model, making some channels ideal candidates for EOY budget spend.

Specifically, many digital media channels now offer performance-based pricing models, often referred to as “pay-per-click” (PPC).  Here, fees are only incurred if and when a target HCP actively engages with the promoted content.

Typically, brands purchase a bundle of credits, and sponsored content is then promoted/targeted to specific audiences. When a target end-user clicks/taps/engages with that media, a credit is used. Google AdWords is one of the better known exponents of this type of model.

Whilst not ubiquitous in the healthcare or pharma vertical by any stretch (owing to the obvious regulatory complexities), opportunities for PPC campaigns still exist.

Most notably in Australia, platforms such as “Read the personalised digital medical journal” can now be leveraged by brand teams seeking maximum value from their remaining budgets.

The Read platform, which is used at least weekly by over 34,000 Australian HCPs enables pharma marketers to set up unique campaigns that leverage published research to support strategic messaging. 

The platform embeds those articles into target specialists’ reading lists. 

When a target specialist sees a promoted article, it is recorded as an impression – this incurs no charge and is what the industry is coming to refer to as a “free academic brand reminder”.

Only when a target specialist actually clicks/taps on a promoted article, is a one-time fee incurred.

With the added benefit of access to a bespoke analytics platform, promoted research campaigns in Read represent a viable, value-based and high-engagement solution for any sized EOY budget spend.

If you’d like to learn more about how promoted research campaigns can bolster your strategic messaging campaigns, reach out to steve.royle@swipehealth.com