MIAMI — The pharmaceutical industry has long treated television advertising with affection – big budgets, elaborate productions, and a stubborn attachment to linear broadcasts. But the economics of reaching patients and healthcare professionals are shifting dramatically.
Connected TV offers pharma marketers something linear never could: the ability to adjust targeting, frequency, and creative in real time while measuring downstream effects across the entire media mix. Yet some think too many brands still treat CTV as merely a supplement to their traditional buys rather than a strategic lever in its own right.
“I honestly don’t think brands are recognizing that enough and I think they need to take more advantage of that and plan,” said Andrew Miller, EVP, digital activation, CMI Media Group, in this video interview with Beet.TV at POSSIBLE 2026.
The cost equation is changing
Linear television has dominated pharmaceutical advertising for decades, commanding enormous budgets and requiring lengthy creative development cycles. The rigidity of that model is increasingly at odds with how modern marketers need to operate.
“Linear budgets tend to be very large. The creative takes a long time to build and create. And then it’s kind of hard to manipulate that in a lot of ways,” Miller said. “CTV gives you a lot more flexibility.”
That flexibility extends beyond mere cost savings. Advertisers can repurpose CTV creative across multiple platforms, whether deploying it programmatically or through streaming engagements. The shift comes as U.S. CTV upfront ad spending is projected to reach $17.73 billion in 2026, surpassing primetime linear TV upfront spending for the first time, according to eMarketer.
Creative freedom unlocks new possibilities
The production requirements for linear television advertising have traditionally been onerous – expensive shoots, professional actors, and rigid format specifications. CTV operates under different rules entirely.
“You can have a 90 second spot, a 60 second spot, a 15 second spot, you can chop it up,” Miller explained. “It doesn’t need to be actors, it could be animation, it could be a bunch of different things. So there’s a lot more flexibility, a lot more freedom, because it is different.”
That creative latitude has practical implications for how pharma brands approach audience segmentation.
CMI Media Group is a full-service media agency dedicated exclusively to the healthcare, pharmaceutical, and life sciences industries. Part of WPP
Miller noted that CMI Media Group has seen success repurposing creative originally designed for healthcare professionals to reach patients and consumers directly. “Sometimes it will work for a separate audience as long as the message is clear and the brand is represented in the right way,” he said.
Measurement drives optimization
For an industry built on clinical precision, pharmaceutical marketing has historically operated with surprisingly imprecise measurement tools. Linear television’s attribution challenges have frustrated marketers seeking to connect advertising exposure to patient outcomes.
“Linear can be difficult to measure,” Miller said. “CTV gives you the metrics to allow you to optimize more in real time and really get the most out of your campaigns.”
The ability to track engagement data as it arrives allows marketers to adjust their approach mid-campaign rather than waiting for post-mortem analysis. This capability aligns with broader industry trends toward measurement maturity and AI-driven optimization that are reshaping the CTV landscape.
The halo effect demands planning
Perhaps the most underutilized aspect of CTV advertising is its influence on other marketing channels. When a connected TV campaign runs in market, it creates ripple effects across search, social media, and other touchpoints that many brands fail to anticipate or measure.
“When you have a CTV buy in market, you know there’s going to be a halo effect,” Miller said. “What’s happening? Are you seeing an increase in search? Are you seeing an increase in social presence? And then what do you do for your omnichannel strategy in response to that?”
CMI Media Group has been expanding its global footprint to better serve pharmaceutical clients navigating these complexities. The agency established a strategic hub in
You’re watching “From Data to Decisions: Precision Marketing for More Meaningful Health Connections”, a Beet.TV Leadership Series at POSSIBLE 2026, presented by DeepIntent. For more videos from this summit, please visit this page.
