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How COVID-19 has affected healthcare and biotech marketing spend

By July 16, 2020May 27th, 2022No Comments

In just a short six month period, our world has changed in drastic ways in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Staying inside and working from home has become the new normal for those of us that have been lucky enough to have job security through this time. 

Parents have had to learn how to become a classroom teacher and everyone has had to navigate through the challenges brought on by the virus. There is no doubt that the coronavirus has affected nearly every industry in more ways than one, including the marketing world. 

Overall demand has been affected by 50% on average

Experts at Orbit Media Studios (in partnership with Drew McLellan of the Agency Management Institute) conducted a research report all about how COVID-19 has affected marketing agencies and services demand. 

After asking the broad question of whether or not the agency interviewees have seen an increase or decrease in the demand for their business services, more than half reported a negative impact, but they noticed an uptick on the upside. Apparently, one-third of agencies reported a positive business impact from COVID-19.

Demand for services COVID-19

Most B2B healthcare-related sectors increase marketing spend during the pandemic

At Clarity Quest, we have actually seen increased demand for most services and recently expanded our team. This is a typical scenario. We have the highest revenue when the economy is slightly negative because companies furlough in-house staff but still need to fill the pipeline. 

We’re also lucky to be positioned in the health IT services and medical device sectors. The only area we’ve seen weakening demand is in biomaterials used by pharma primary researchers.  

Marketing services and ad spend for medical devices, medical services, healthcare software, and pharmaceutical manufacturing services are all up significantly.  

trends marketing spend jan-june 2020

Campaign mixes are changing too

Marketers are turning to virtual events, webinars, and videos as in-person conferences continue to be canceled into 2021.  NewsCred polled marketers across industries, but we are seeing the same trends in healthcare and biotech.  There is also increased demand for hybrid deliverables, such as virtual events with pre-recorded videos.

NewsCred 2020

Copyright 2020 NewsCred

Chris Slocumb

Author Chris Slocumb

Chris is the founder and president of Clarity Quest Marketing, where she has the best job on the planet leading a talented group of marketers helping healthcare and technology companies grow revenues and visibility. To learn more about Chris' experiences and qualifications, visit our leadership team page.

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