US Healthcare and Pharma Digital Ad Spending 2020

Pandemic Brings Health Concerns to the Forefront, Sustaining Digital Growth

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About This Report
Digital ad spending in the US healthcare and pharmaceutical industry will grow by 14.2% to reach $9.53 billion in 2020. Growth is being fueled by ads related to COVID-19, including public service announcements, medical supplies and telemedicine.

Executive Summary

In 2020, spending on digital advertising in the healthcare and pharma industry will grow by 14.2% to reach $9.53 billion, making it the fastest-growing industry after computing products and consumer electronics (which will grow 18.0% this year).

What’s driving overall healthcare and pharma digital ad spending growth?

Dollars are being spent on advertising related to COVID-19, as public health organizations and private medical institutions raised awareness around testing, safety measures, and other pandemic-related information. The crisis also led to an influx of marketing around medical supplies, consumer adoption of telemedicine, and regional advertising for reopening doctor’s offices and medical clinics.

What is healthcare and pharma’s share of total US digital ad spending?

Healthcare and pharma will make up 7.1% of all US digital ad spending, which is much smaller than top spenders like retail (21.0%) and financial services (14.6%), but larger than entertainment (5.2%), media (4.7%), and travel (2.4%).

Which ad format is growing the fastest?

Spending on display will grow 15.7% in 2020, reaching $4.04 billion, making it the fastest-growing format in healthcare and pharma. However, 55.6% of digital spending will go toward search, compared with 42.4% going toward display.

How much is spent on mobile compared with desktop?

While the majority of healthcare and pharma’s digital spending goes toward mobile (57.5%), this vertical spends below the average for all industries (which is 68.0%). Healthcare and pharma’s share of spending allocated to desktop/laptop is higher than average, at 42.5% this year.

WHAT’S IN THIS REPORT? This report details our annual forecast of US healthcare and pharma digital ad spending. It includes a comprehensive overview of total digital ad spending, as well as estimates by channel, device, and format.

KEY STAT: The US healthcare and pharma industry will spend $9.53 billion on digital advertising this year, up 14.2% from 2019.

Here’s what’s in the full report

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21expert perspectives

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Table of Contents

  1. Executive Summary
  2. US Healthcare and Pharma Digital Ad Spending Outlook
  3. Ad Spending by Device
  1. Ad Spending by Format
  2. Key Takeaways
  3. Insider Intelligence Interviews
  1. Read Next
  2. Sources
  3. Media Gallery

Interviewed for This Report

Dave Antonelli
Sling TV
Dish Media Director
Interviewed June 12, 2020
Arsen Avakian
Cooler Screens
Co-Founder and CEO
Interviewed June 17, 2020
Danielle Cravatt
VDX.tv
Senior Vice President, Client Partnerships
Interviewed June 8, 2020
Klarn DePalma
MNI Targeted Media
Executive Vice President
Interviewed June 3, 2020
Stephani Estes
Cramer-Krasselt
Senior Vice President and Executive Director, Media
Interviewed June 8, 2020
Doug Grumet
AMP Agency
Senior Vice President, Media
Interviewed June 9, 2020
Kunal Gupta
Polar
Founder and CEO
Interviewed June 4, 2020
Cheryl Huckabay
The Richards Group
Managing Principal, Media
Interviewed June 15, 2020
Jennifer Kohl
VMLY&R
Senior Vice President and Executive Director, Integrated Media
Interviewed June 10, 2020
Todd Krizelman
MediaRadar
Founder and CEO
Interviewed June 4, 2020
James Malins
Amobee
General Manager, Cross-Channel Strategic Solutions
Interviewed June 25, 2020
Japhia Mangan
Adlucent
Senior Account Director
Interviewed June 12, 2020
Mike Menkes
Analytic Partners
Senior Vice President
Interviewed June 9, 2020
Jon Morgenstern
VaynerMedia
Senior Vice President and Head of Investment
Interviewed June 18, 2020
Frost Prioleau
Simpli.fi
CEO
Interviewed June 3, 2020
Jon Schulz
Viant Technology
CMO
Interviewed June 10, 2020
Scott Symonds
AKQA Media
Managing Partner, Media
Interviewed June 16, 2020
Jeremy Tate
DWA, a Merkle Company
Senior Vice President, General Manager
Interviewed June 4, 2020
Vanessa Vignon
Ubisoft Entertainment
President, Audience, Acquisition, and Management
Interviewed June 23, 2020
April Weeks
Centro
Executive Vice President, Media Services and Operations
Interviewed June 15, 2020
Brian Wieser
GroupM
Global President, Business Intelligence
Interviewed June 26, 2020

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authors

Blake Droesch

Contributors

Oscar Orozco
Senior Forecasting Analyst