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Growing Number of Consumers Trust Online Resources Over Other Media for Researching Drug Treatment Information -- Prospectiv Survey Reveals

Posted on: Tuesday, 28 October 2008, 09:00 CDT

A recent online survey conducted by Prospectiv (http://www.prospectiv.com) gathering responses from 3,500 consumers revealed growing consumer reliance on online resources for researching health and drug treatment information. Eighty-three percent of consumers responding to Prospectiv's 2008 Pharmaceutical Online Resources Poll who said that they have previously used the Internet to research ailments and drug treatments also reported that online media is their most trusted and reliable resource for health-related information -- up from 75 percent when a similar Prospectiv survey was conducted in 2007.

Prospectiv (http://www.prospectiv.com), a provider of online customer acquisition solutions to leading consumer brands, is the owner of the online properties Eversave.com (http://www.eversave.com) and Healthier.com (http://www.healthier.com), and operates a lead generation platform used by publishers across the Web.

For additional information about Prospectiv's 2008 Pharmaceutical Online Resources Poll, previous Prospectiv pharmaceutical studies, data samples and polling methodology, please visit http://www.prospectiv.com/request_infoc.jsp.

Online Health Resources Draw Consumers

According to the survey, 74 percent of respondents have used the Internet to research ailment or drug treatment information. As reported, 83 percent said they rely on the Internet as their most trusted resource, followed by print media (11 percent) and broadcast media (5 percent).

Where do consumers go online and what are they looking for?

When respondents were asked where they conduct the majority of their online research:

 --  50 percent said they used general health-focused Web sites --  43 percent conduct research on specific ailment-focused sites --  5 percent rely on online communities --  Only 3 percent go to branded drug sites operated by pharmaceutical     companies      

Consumers conducting health and drug treatment research online said that they were looking for the following types of information:

 --  49 percent are seeking symptom information about a specific ailment or     condition --  29 percent want drug treatment information for specific ailments or     conditions --  22 percent look for tips for managing ailments and health conditions      

Consumers consistently favor health enewsletters

Prospectiv's 2008 poll confirms the findings of previous Prospectiv studies -- consumers overwhelmingly prefer enewsletters for receiving health, drug treatment and ailment information. Asked which online health resource they would be most likely to sign up for:

 --  60 percent would sign up for enewsletters --  25 percent would join email groups --  15 percent would prefer to join an online forum or community      

Even among the cohort of consumers who said they do not typically rely on online resources for health and drug treatment information, the majority of this group said they would prefer enewsletters (43 percent) for receiving health information in the future, followed by email groups (21 percent) and online forums/communities (36 percent).

Prospectiv's poll results also show that enewsletters play an important role for budget conscious consumers at a time when inflation is causing price increases across the board.

 --  87 percent of consumers polled said that they are concerned about the     continually escalating costs of medicines and prescription drug treatments     for their ailments --  82 percent would welcome receiving prescription drug vouchers and free     sample offers directly from pharmaceutical companies --  65 percent polled would prefer enewsletters for receiving prescription     vouchers and free samples, followed by joining email groups (18 percent) or     an online forum/community (17 percent)      

Consumer trust and online health resources

When asked additional questions regarding their online resources preferences, the cohort who said they did not prefer branded pharmaceutical company sites replied as follows:

 --  49 percent said that they didn't know about such sites --  38 percent reported a lack of trust in the company-run sites --  13 percent said that they don't find the pharmaceutical sites helpful      

The 2007 poll findings revealed that 31 percent of consumers expressed a lack of trust in pharmaceutical branded sites, revealing a 7 percent up-tick in consumer trust concerns this year.

Prospectiv's 2008 study also polled consumers about interactive online health resources such as email groups, forums, blogs and online communities. When asked which type of moderated interactive resource they would trust the most, consumers revealed the following:

 --  Online resources moderated by doctors (67 percent) --  Online resources moderated by pharmaceutical companies (6 percent) --  Online resources moderated by consumers (27 percent)      

"More people are relying on the Internet for their ailment and drug treatment research, and we've found this increasing year over year since Prospectiv began conducting these polls," said Jere Doyle, Prospectiv's President and CEO. "Based on the 2008 results and previous polls, pharmaceutical marketers seeking to reach consumers online should focus on enewsletters that provide information about ailment symptoms and drug treatments, in addition to offers for drug treatment savings and vouchers. Prospectiv's poll results also consistently show that pharmaceutical marketers should build and host ailment-focused Web sites that provide information about symptoms, drug treatment options and useful tips for managing ailments."

For additional information about Prospectiv's 2008 Pharmaceutical Online Resources Poll, previous Prospectiv pharmaceutical studies, data samples and polling methodology, please visit http://www.prospectiv.com/request_infoc.jsp

Prospectiv conducted the 2008 Pharmaceutical Online Resources Poll online, gathering responses from 3,500 consumers across the United States. The survey was conducted from October 10 to October 15, 2008.

About Prospectiv:

Prospectiv (http://www.prospectiv.com) is a pioneer in the lead generation industry and provides customer acquisition and email marketing solutions to leading consumer brands. The company specializes in finding, engaging and acquiring consumers interested in leading advertiser's brands and products and converting them to long-term profitable customers. Prospectiv generates more than 50 million pre-qualified leads per year on a pay-for-results basis for clients, including many Fortune 1000 companies such as Procter and Gamble, Wal-Mart, Pfizer, Disney, Nestle and Schering-Plough. Prospectiv operates several Web properties, including Eversave.com (http://www.eversave.com) and Healthier.com (http://www.healthier.com), and also provides leading publishers with a lead generation platform that creates a significant incremental revenue stream from their Web site traffic. Founded in 1999, Prospectiv is privately-held and is based in Wakefield, MA. For more information, please visit http://www.prospectiv.com.

About Prospectiv's Consumer Preference Index (CPI):

Prospectiv has access to millions of consumers through its online Web communities, Eversave.com and Healthier.com, as well as from its broad network of publishers. Prospectiv is able to compile insightful survey data from a diverse panel of consumers on a wide variety of topics relevant to advertisers and marketers. Prospectiv compiles this data using its advanced polling and survey technology across the Web.

SOURCE: Prospectiv

Source: MARKET WIRE

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