Indian pharma sector to opt for new age digital marketing, here’s why

Indian Pharmaceutical companies are now getting rid of the old school marketing techniques and are opting for the new technologies. This new technology comprises of scientific detailing to doctors, newer algorithms for better insight into issues etc.

Through digital marketing, there is an estimated rise of about 50% in the pharma industry’s marketing in the next two years and as per the report by Bengaluru-based market research firm Indegene, the mark might touch Rs 220 crore.

According to the report, mobile app and social media will be playing a crucial role in this growth.

This is going to be really helpful for India in catching up with the emerging tech savvy like China. “This will help India catch up with tech-savvy emerging markets peers like China, where nearly half the companies are expected to allocate more than a fifth of their marketing budget to digital marketing by 2018,” Gaurav Kapoor, executive vice president of Indegene told ET.

Indian pharma companies have already started switching to the new age digital marketing. Sun Pharma launched a mobile app called RespiTrack earlier this year for patient awareness on asthma and to ensure their adherence to treatment regimen.

Others like Abbott Healthcare see India as a ground for introducing tech innovations that can be replicated worldwide. It introduced several tools like Knowledge Genie, a heart and liver app and another one for vertigo exercises. Some of these build on augmented and virtual reality to engage with both doctors and patients.

"From an earlier product-specific detailing, the focus has now moved to scientific detailing. This digitization is also helping companies to gear up for the introduction of the proposed uniform code of pharmaceutical marketing practices,” an Abbott spokesperson told ET.

While, the pharma sector is all set for digitization, Indegine survey adds that the pharma companies, at present are facing a huge problem in implementing multi-channel marketing campaigns in India.

(image: Indiatimes)