Marketing Forecast from Ad-ology

Ad-ology Research recently updated their Industry Marketing Insights report for Orthopedic Doctors.

One of the key points of contention in the current debate on a national health care program is whether the high cost of service will result in a federal agency being tasked with the decision to ‘pull the plug on Grandma’. In reality, consumers may find themselves financially stressed by the need to provide long-term care for older relatives who are not critically ill but just need extra assistance with the tasks of daily life. It’s not yet clear what type of health insurance program will come into effect but it’s a fair bet that long-term care costs may not fall under the national umbrella.

According to a new study by Scarborough Research, Mom and Dad are the leading sources for health advice; 63% of teens said that when they have questions about health and nutrition, they go to their parents/guardians for information. One half (50%) turn to the Internet. With regard to their role as future consumers, teens value an informative product website when making decisions about purchasing health related products such as vitamins or nutritional supplements. Fifty-six percent of teens indicated “informative websites” were very or somewhat important to their purchase decision.

Marketing by pharmaceutical companies dropped significantly in the first half of 2009. TNS Media Intelligence reports the overall drop was 7.8% while Nielsen says the drop was as much as 11.3% compared to the same period last year. This follows a 9% drop from $4.8 billion in 2007 to $4.4 billion in 2008.

Ad-ology Research recently updated their Industry Marketing Insights report for Alcohol and Substance Abuse Centers.

When retail health clinics first came onto the scene a few years ago, they handled consternation and complaints from the medical community by promising that they would treat simple illnesses such as ear aches and allow consumers to fill prescriptions at the on-site pharmacies. The walk-in nature of the clinics meant consumers would no longer have to wait hours to see a medical professional.