CMI Media Group’s Lauren Stearley: Pharma Advertising Is More Innovative Than Its Reputation Suggests
Mention pharma advertising and most people picture a TV spot rattling off horrific side effects. But that perception misses most of what actually happens in the category and why these spots might be more genuinely compelling to the viewers these brands are trying to reach.
“When working in pharma advertising, you can multiply the learning times two. We’re learning about not only the technological advancements in ad tech, but the advancements in science, which new treatments are approved by the FDA, which new indications are approved, what is the mechanism of action,” Lauren Stearley, director of programmatic at CMI Media Group, told Beet.TV editorial director Lisa Granatstein. “We work with scientists every day. It’s kind of amazing.”
That knowledge exchange between advertising expertise and scientific expertise is, in Stearley’s view, what makes the category genuinely rewarding beyond its technical complexity.
Arming health care professionals
The biggest misconception Stearley encounters is that health care professionals (HCP) marketing tells doctors what to prescribe. The actual goal is more modest and more defensible.
“What we are trying to do is arm HCPs with the information they need to make treatment decisions. We want that decision to remain between the HCP and the patient. We are just trying to make sure that they have a more informed decision,” Stearley said.
That information covers new indications, mechanisms of drug delivery, and competitive differentiation; that’s the clinical context that a busy practitioner might not otherwise encounter.
Regulation builds its own ecosystem
Regulation in pharma advertising is often framed as a constraint on innovation. Stearley sees it differently. The category has developed its own data assets, inventory, channels, reporting infrastructure, and even DSPs built specifically around healthcare advertising.
“We have an entire marketing ecosystem that is different than any other vertical in the advertising industry. When we’re innovating, we’re trying to select any of those four things and how they fit the goals best for our advertiser, but doing it in a privacy safe way,” Stearley said.
Real-time signals complement static target lists
HCP targeting has historically relied on static target lists built by client data science teams. Those remain important. But the signal set available today is significantly richer, spanning site browsing behavior, endemic behavior, claims data, search signals, and conference attendance.
“If you have a static target list, we can tell you this HCP was just researching our condition on this website and they’re looking for information in that moment, therefore we want to serve them an ad in that moment,” Stearley said. “We really have come a long way in terms of what signals are available.”
AI synthesizes those signals to identify not just which HCPs matter to a brand but which ones are most receptive at any given time.
CTV moves from test to cornerstone
Connected TV’s addressability, measurability, and frequency management capabilities have made it essential rather than experimental in pharma campaigns. Results from Stearley’s own accounts this year made the case clearly.
“We ran omnichannel campaigns and we found that CTV when added to display had the most profound effect on writing behavior,” Stearley said. “CTV isn’t just something we’re testing anymore. It’s one of the most important tools in our toolbox.”
You’re watching “Code and Craft: Redefining Creativity for Performance”, a Beet.TV Leadership Series, presented by Equativ For more videos from this summit, please visit this page.
Mention pharma advertising and most people picture a TV spot rattling off horrific side effects. But that perception misses most of what actually happens in the category and why these spots might be more genuinely compelling to the viewers these brands are trying to reach.
“When working in pharma advertising, you can multiply the learning times two. We’re learning about not only the technological advancements in ad tech, but the advancements in science, which new treatments are approved by the FDA, which new indications are approved, what is the mechanism of action,” Lauren Stearley, director of programmatic at CMI Media Group, told Beet.TV editorial director Lisa Granatstein. “We work with scientists every day. It’s kind of amazing.”
That knowledge exchange between advertising expertise and scientific expertise is, in Stearley’s view, what makes the category genuinely rewarding beyond its technical complexity.
Arming health care professionals
The biggest misconception Stearley encounters is that health care professionals (HCP) marketing tells doctors what to prescribe. The actual goal is more modest and more defensible.
“What we are trying to do is arm HCPs with the information they need to make treatment decisions. We want that decision to remain between the HCP and the patient. We are just trying to make sure that they have a more informed decision,” Stearley said.
That information covers new indications, mechanisms of drug delivery, and competitive differentiation; that’s the clinical context that a busy practitioner might not otherwise encounter.
Regulation builds its own ecosystem
Regulation in pharma advertising is often framed as a constraint on innovation. Stearley sees it differently. The category has developed its own data assets, inventory, channels, reporting infrastructure, and even DSPs built specifically around healthcare advertising.
“We have an entire marketing ecosystem that is different than any other vertical in the advertising industry. When we’re innovating, we’re trying to select any of those four things and how they fit the goals best for our advertiser, but doing it in a privacy safe way,” Stearley said.
Real-time signals complement static target lists
HCP targeting has historically relied on static target lists built by client data science teams. Those remain important. But the signal set available today is significantly richer, spanning site browsing behavior, endemic behavior, claims data, search signals, and conference attendance.
“If you have a static target list, we can tell you this HCP was just researching our condition on this website and they’re looking for information in that moment, therefore we want to serve them an ad in that moment,” Stearley said. “We really have come a long way in terms of what signals are available.”
AI synthesizes those signals to identify not just which HCPs matter to a brand but which ones are most receptive at any given time.
CTV moves from test to cornerstone
Connected TV’s addressability, measurability, and frequency management capabilities have made it essential rather than experimental in pharma campaigns. Results from Stearley’s own accounts this year made the case clearly.
“We ran omnichannel campaigns and we found that CTV when added to display had the most profound effect on writing behavior,” Stearley said. “CTV isn’t just something we’re testing anymore. It’s one of the most important tools in our toolbox.”
You’re watching “Code and Craft: Redefining Creativity for Performance”, a Beet.TV Leadership Series, presented by Equativ For more videos from this summit, please visit this page.
