"About That with Carl Mayer:" Eleanor Carey (Episode 12: New Regulations in Pharma Advertising)

About Eleanor CareyEleanor Carey is a Media Strategist at AMS where she develops datadriven media plans that help brands maximize the value of their investments She specializes in identifying and reaching the right audiences ensuring robust measurement frameworks are in place and translating insights into actionable strategy Eleanor leads highlevel planning that balances current performance with whatamp8217s nextamp8212testing new channels approaches and opportunities for growth With a strong understanding of both traditional and digital landscapes she brings a thoughtful forwardlooking perspective to every campaignCarl Mayer Ask your doctor or medical professional if About That is right for you Am I even allowed to say that I don39t know FDA regulations are a lot to go through Fine print obtuse language legalese Luckily somebody dove into it all and came back telling us what we need to know And that somebody is Eleanor CareyEleanor is a key part of AMSamp8217s Strategy Research and Planning team She39s also published a couple of articles recently about changes in pharmaceutical marketing regulations Eleanor thank you for coming by About ThatEleanor Carey Thank you for having meCM Now there have been a lot of changes going on and they39re in the articles that we39ve linked to But before we even get into that how did things look prior to thisEC Yeah So to talk about the changes that have recently been happening we need to go back to the late 90s when the FDA issued clearance for what we know now is direct to consumer advertising And those advertising regulations were pretty much for traditional media types TV spots print ads full web pages static web pages and a lots changed since the 90s what those regulations look like for the direct to consumer ads It was the advertisements that we know with someone gardening or someone playing and hugging their grandchild with the music And it39s all uplifting Then it39s punctuated by heavy risks and disclaimersSo like I said a lot39s changed media types have changed and regulation is kind of starting to catch up But we39re very far from those adsCM You39re right the media landscape of the 90s is unrecognizable when you compare it to where we are today So things definitely did need to change What are some specific things that did changeEC Yeah On September 9th of 2025 the White House issued a memo And essentially right now pharma marketing is coming to a head We39re seeing stricter regulation on directtoconsumer ads political pressure on GLP one GLP ones telemedicine the price of prescription drugs It39s all kind of coming to a head Brands are actually we saw pharma marketing budgets drop a bit But I would argue that it39s not because it39s going anywhere It39s a recalibration moment where people are deciding how to move forward under these new regulationsInstead of you know brands asking themselves how do we fit the required language into this ad Regulators and frankly the public is asking is the communication from this pharma brand genuinely clear balanced and helpful in the world right now with like algorithmic targeting and bidding on keywordsWhat does that look like Why am I getting served the ad and not my peer You know there39s no like required language or anything in the copy that39s a lot more nuanced on the channels like influencer marketing and short form video and keyword bidding So stricter scrutinyCM So given this recalibration and the stricter scrutiny and all the new rules how can pharmaceutical marketers adhere to those rules work within those guardrails and still have an effective campaignEC Yeah It39s easy to view regulations as a constraint on what your work but I would argue it39s an opportunity for marketersI think 3 things to do First is to design excuse me yes design for transparency and not compliance So don39t be reactive to these new regulations but be proactive Display clearly the key benefits and risks central next to each other equal size on your website Do modules of like patient health information They can fill out formsAnd that leads me to the second Secondly redefine what success looks like So in addition to reach and traffic to your website success could look like does a patient fill out the risk form Does that risk form fill out lead to a patient then being well informed and reach out to schedule an appointment with their clinicianThirdly run a 90 day test and learn sprint Ship some of the traditional TV dollars or evaluate where you can in your budget and ship some dollars into measurable CTV and digital video Test out creative Test essentially imagine what it could be like in the future and prepare in the now That could be you know a huge differentiator for brands if and when stricter regulation comesCM The most recent article published in pharmaphorum called Pharmaamp8217s Search Loophole Is A Preview Of What Comes Next A great article It covers a lot So yeah I encourage everybody to read it It39s linked hereBut what are some of the Iamp8217ll let you explain They are using search as a loopholeEC Yes yes And by loophole I don39t mean that as like you know slap them on the wrist or anything It39s a loophole without any judgment you know It39s just that regulation FDA regulation hasn39t caught up to modern ad channels The research is extensive It39s very interesting Weamp8217ll link it in the article like Carl saidBut yeah brands can essentially bid on keywords that are not for their FDA approved use for their drug And because they39re not making a claim for example Ozempic can bid on weight loss can bid on weight loss competitor brands They39re not even though it39s a diabetes medication they39re not making a claim necessarily in the messaging but they can bid on those keywords and appear alongside inquiriesI think this is interesting because you know with AI and conversational AI beginning to test ads you know what does the next generation of search look like I believe it39s going to shift targeting and how brands target can accomplish what messaging can39tSo even if they can39t appear even though certain brands can39t appear in certain conversations traditionally in like the messaging sense there are ways to target intentbased targeting when consumers are you know very engaged and they can appear alongside it I think it39s very interesting and it39ll be I39m curious what that looks like as new ad channels continue to monetizeCM You got to kind of admire it I mean every time there39s a new ruleEC Hey hatamp8217s offCM AbsolutelyEC Respect Eleanor laughsCM Well thank you Eleanor Carey for being here todayEC Thank youCM On About That and thank you guys for watching We39ll see you next timeClick here to view previous episodesPosted at MediaVillage through the Thought Leadership selfpublishing platformClick the social buttons to share this story with colleagues and friendsThe opinions expressed here are the author39s views and do not necessarily represent the views of 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"About That with Carl Mayer:" Eleanor Carey (Episode 12: New Regulations in Pharma Advertising)

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