5 Facts for Pharma Marketers about Adults with Year-Round Allergies

by Jayne Krahn

Almost 35 million U.S. adults suffer from year-round allergies, according to Kantar Media’s 2013 MARS OTC/DTC Study. More than 63% have been professionally diagnosed and the majority of these adults say they are treating their condition.

Here are five ways adults with year-round allergies differ from the general population, according to the study.

1. Adults with year-round allergies are more likely to value health info from the Internet compared to all U.S. adults. They are also 42% more likely to value drug company websites and 35% more likely to value other health websites, like WebMD.com.
2. These adults like to save money on their medications. They are 29% more likely to say they've used a savings offer when receiving or filling a prescription in the last year.
3. They may not be very loyal to the medications they’re currently taking. In the last 12 months, adults with year-round allergies were almost 80% more likely to switch to a different brand after seeing a healthcare advertisement
4. These adults are also slightly more likely to be magazine readers and 32% of them read Home Services publications. They're also 31% more likely than all U.S. adults to watch talk/conversation TV programs, like Dr. Phil or Ellen.
5. Adults with year-round allergies are 28% more likely than all adults to say they research treatment options on their own and then ask their doctor about them.

Using data from this study can help agencies and marketers understand ailment sufferers, treatment and how to best reach them. For more information about accessing full study results, contact us here.

Kantar Media’s MARS OTC/DTC Study helps agencies, marketers and media make better healthcare media and marketing decisions. It ties multimedia consumption to medical ailments, pharma brands, attitudes and opinions about healthcare and many other data points. A large sample of about 20,000 respondents provides stable and reliable information across categories and brands. Gain insights into category and product usage for 500+ OTC and Rx remedies, detailed information for 70 health conditions, including treatment options and much more.