Physician Marketing 2025

Pharma Doctor Outreach Rises as D2C Drug Ads Face Scrutiny

Report by Rajiv Leventhal  | Oct 23, 2025
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Table of Contents
Executive Summary
With D2C drug advertising in flux, pharma must strengthen HCP outreach
Drugmakers must adapt to HCPs’ online behaviors and preferred channels for receiving medical information
Hyperefficient, digital-first strategies counteract declining HCP access
Recommendations for marketers
EMARKETER Interviews
Sources
Media Gallery
About This Report
With tighter rules looming for D2C drug ads, pharma must strengthen its marketing efforts to healthcare professionals (HCPs). Delivering data-driven outreach and credible clinical content on digital channels that physicians frequent will be key to sustaining drug awareness and prescriptions amid declining HCP access.
Topics
Digital Health
Healthcare Providers
B2B Marketing
United States
Table of Contents
Executive Summary
With D2C drug advertising in flux, pharma must strengthen HCP outreach
Drugmakers must adapt to HCPs’ online behaviors and preferred channels for receiving medical information
Hyperefficient, digital-first strategies counteract declining HCP access
Recommendations for marketers
EMARKETER Interviews
Sources
Media Gallery

Tougher D2C ad regulations will push pharma to rely more on doctors for patient drug education and prescription growth. This report examines how pharma marketers can more effectively use digital tools and channels to create credible engagement strategies that offset decreased consumer exposure.

Key Question: How are physician preferences for pharma content consumption evolving, and how can marketers use digital tools to better engage them?

Key Stat: Healthcare and pharma marketers will spend $2.11 billion on B2B digital ad spending in 2025, up 10.7% YoY, reaching $2.54 billion by 2027.

Healthcare & Pharma B2B Digital Ad Spend Will Grow Nearly 11% YoY in 2025 (billions in US healthcare and pharma B2B digital ad spending and % change, 2023-2027)
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    Table of Contents

    1. Executive Summary
    2. With D2C drug advertising in flux, pharma must strengthen HCP outreach
    3. Drugmakers must adapt to HCPs’ online behaviors and preferred channels for receiving medical information
    1. Hyperefficient, digital-first strategies counteract declining HCP access
    2. Recommendations for marketers
    3. EMARKETER Interviews
    1. Sources
    2. Media Gallery

    Charts in This Report

    Healthcare & Pharma B2B Digital Ad Spend Will Grow Nearly 11% YoY in 2025 (billions in US healthcare and pharma B2B digital ad spending and % change, 2023-2027)Medical Marketers Overwhelmingly Say Physicians Are Their Top Audience Segment
    Digital Sources Account for 84% of Physicians’ Weekly Medical Reading Time (% of total time spent per week reading medical content by US physicians, by channel, July 2025)US Physicians Find Walled-Garden Networks More Valuable Than Public Social Media Platforms (% of US physicians, Aug 2025)
    Physicians Want Industry-Sponsored Messages to Include Evidence-Based Research and Data (% of US* physicians, July 2024)Healthcare & Pharma B2B Digital Ad Spend Has More Than Tripled From Pre-Pandemic to 2025 (billions in US healthcare and pharma B2B digital ad spending and % change, 2019-2027)
    KOL/Influencer Posts Shifted 60% of Physicians’ Drug Views and 50% of Their Prescribing Choices (% of US physicians, on whether healthcare influencers* on social media changed their practice in the following ways, July 2024)

    Interviewed for This Report

    Ian Essling
    CMI Media Group
    Director, Audience Intelligence
    Interviewed September 30, 2025
    Manoj Hariharaputhiran
    ZoomRx
    Project Manager
    Interviewed September 15, 2025
    Jay Schwartz
    Indegene
    Vice President, Customer Engagement Omnichannel
    Interviewed October 3, 2025
    Sarah Tomalavage
    CMI Media Group
    Group Senior Vice President, Engagement Strategy
    Interviewed September 30, 2025

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    authors

    Rajiv Leventhal

    Contributors

    Beth Snyder Bulik
    Eleni Digalaki
    Nikolai Dineros
    Donte Gibson
    Senior Charts Editor
    Jennifer Pearson
    VP, Research
    Heather Sprung
    Senior Editor
    Emman Velasco
    Chart Editor
    Paul Verna
    VP, Content