By Craig Benner

While everyone in marketing is talking about new and potential privacy laws and the loss of certain signals, there are some who this impacts more than others. Arguably no vertical will be more affected by this than pharma and O-T-C medication marketers. Already limited on data use due to existing privacy constraints, this move will make it even more challenging for manufacturers to get the right meds into the hands of the right consumers. Alas, there is hope. One solution for these marketers is to lean into a privacy-safe   environment like out-of-home (OOH) advertising.

While many people might think of OOH as static billboards on a highway, it’s evolved to be much more dynamic than that, giving brands privacy-compliant but effective and noninvasive ways to reach consumers. For the health-related and pharmaceutical sectors, brands should be paying close attention to point-of-care (POC) advertising to reach patients. POC advertising is a specific type of OOH advertising that provides medical and pharmaceutical companies the ability to share messaging in health care settings, such as hospital waiting rooms, doctor’s offices, clinics, urgent care, etc.

POC advertising should be table stakes for chain drug stores and pharma marketers, and then expand out from there. Here’s why …

• It’s the right place at the right time — Do you remember the last time you were at the doctor’s office? How long were you in the waiting room? A 2018 study by Vitals determined patients wait for an average of 18 minutes for a physician. POC ads let brands take advantage of those long wait times at doctor’s offices by providing patients with materials to peruse while they are in the right mindset that will be perceived as actually helpful. How novel!

For pharmaceutical brands, by giving patients more information, they are better informed and able to talk to their health care providers about their care options. For chain drug stores, putting offers in these spaces will encourage patients to visit a nearby store for post-office care. If they need to fill a prescription, these marketers can show them how close the store is to the provider and how to get there.

• Pharma ads can be creepy and/or annoying in other channels — How often have you seen the same pharmaceutical commercial on your TV? Specifically, CTV with their frequency issues. If you’re like me, it’s too much, and it becomes annoying. Further, how do you feel when the ad is actually relevant to a medical condition you might have? Probably creeped out.

Advertising at a POC location is delivering the messaging in the right context that won’t feel invasive or creepy. In fact, it’s actually the most trusted source of health information.

• Expand across multiple OOH venue types and dynamic environments — While POC advertising is the most logical, relevant OOH application for this type of marketing, it’s not the only. Screens at pharmacies, grocery stores, wellness kiosks, EV charging stations in front of grocery/drug store locations, the possibilities are endless in the physical world.

Now add in dynamic creative optimization, and you can really tell a great story that will be impactful and effective. Want to reach Mom in front of the drug store with the allergy ad when pollen index is high, then reach her when she’s at the ear, nose and throat doctor? Want to reach Dad with the joint relief message when it’s sub 50 degrees and raining while he’s in the pharmacy, then again when he’s parking his car? All these are on offer with a well-thought-out OOH strategy.

• Digital screens means measurement — Traditionally, OOH advertising measurement has been lacking, which has restrained advertisers from investing in the channel. But those days are over. As OOH becomes increasingly digital and technology is being created to prove its value, advertisers can now understand the impact of OOH investments in near-real time — and with privacy compliance. This is a prescription for success for the pharmaceutical and retail drug store industries.

With digital OOH, health-related advertisers can interact with consumers in medical environments through techniques like QR codes, giving them more information while also being able to track scans.

Additionally, OOH vendors now can link exposed audiences across different data segments, if you know where to look. This means the exact same type of modeled prescription/O-T-C sales lift studies can be ­conducted.

 • Not just treating the symptoms — Today’s digital and traditional advertising can struggle to truly connect with consumers. In an overly complicated advertising ecosystem, media providers either cast too wide a net or feel intrusive to consumers. With OOH advertising, specifically POC, these marketers can reach consumers in the right mindset without being creepy and effectively measure the results. Advertising can be simple and without side effects, if we let it be.

Craig Benner is the founder and chief executive officer of ­Accretive.