Drug firms get ad results p.45

Pharmaceutical companies are cashing in on ads that target older consumers.
According to a new survey, interviews with 2,965 older consumers found 92% saw or heard ads for prescription drugs, 35% spoke to their primary care physician about it, and 33% said chatting with their doctor led to a purchase.
"Bingo," says William Burkart, a spokesman for Age Wave Impact, an Emeryville, Calif.-based marketing firm that specializes in targeting older customers and sponsored the survey. "There's gold to be mined, and the pharmaceutical companies not only know it, they're acting on it."
Drug ad spending already surpasses beer ad spending, says Burkart, and is expected to reach $7 billion annually over the next half-dozen years. "This really speaks to the appropriateness of this type of marketing."
While the ads may generate sales, some doctors contend marketing medicine directly may prompt some people to demand and sometimes get drugs that are unwise or excessive.
Of those surveyed who were prompted to ask a doctor about a drug by an ad, 28% saw the ad on TV, 26% in a magazine, and 18% in a newspaper.
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