Want in on a little secret? Consumers love digital audio. Thanks to a +34% increase in the consumption of digital audio1, 214M Americans are now listening to digital audio monthly1, a number that’s more than doubled since 20121. Translation? 3 out of every 4 Americans (75% of the U.S. 12+ population) listen to digital audio1. Today’s consumers are hyper-connected. The average U.S. household owns 22 connected devices2. The unbeatable combination of personalised digital music, entertainment, and podcast content, plus the ability to listen across a vast array of CES devices, has contributed to an all-time high in the amount of time consumers spend listening to digital audio – almost FIVE hours per day1. And that’s at a time when Americans are spending 39% less time with T.V. and 26% less time with AM/FM radio daily (since 2012)4.
SXM MEDIA AUDIENCE RESEARCH: PHARMA INDUSTRY
As digital audio continues to rise, so do the options for pharma marketers. SXM Media’s dynamic portfolio of streaming (Pandora, SoundCloud), satellite (Sirius XM) and podcasts reaches the important audiences that pharma marketers want.
Our one-of-a-kind audience research study gives valuable insights into our audience’s actions, behaviours, and attitudes across various factors. It encompasses all SXM Media platforms across a broad range of audience cohorts. These insights are uniquely valuable and help us inform pharma marketers of specific audiences that can be most intelligently optimized for the best possible campaign outcomes.
Here are just three very brief and general takeaways for DTC marketers:
EARBUDS AND HEADPHONES ARE THE NEW POC FOR OUR AUDIENCES:
The connection our listeners have at key moments for pharma is undeniable. 8 in every ten listeners4 are listening to the audio on the way to or from their HCPs, waiting for their HCPs, and during their morning and evening routines4 (typically the times when patients are in the habit of taking their R.X.s). This digital audio connection is significant across a wide spectrum of audience demographics: 78% of our A55+ listeners are listening to audio in these key pharma moments4, while 3 out of 4 listeners aged 65+ are doing the same4 85% of our podcast listeners are leaning into audio content at these significant moments4. Our highest level of audio consumption at these designated times is our older Gen Z female audience: 94% of Women 18-24 listen to audio at key pharma moments4. Without a doubt, regarding digital audio, SXM Media platforms are highly viable channels for the pharma brand’s connection with consumers at extremely appropriate moments.
OUR AUDIENCE IS HIGHLY VOCAL WITH THEIR HCPs
What’s extremely significant is the degree to which our audiences are very comfortable expressing their opinions on prescriptions to their HCPs. This is exactly what DTC marketers hope for. Our research found that regardless of age, we have a very comfortable audience voicing their opinions about prescription medicines to their doctors (71% of all adult listeners, 70% of Adults 35-54 listeners, and 76% of Adults 55+ and 65+ say they’re comfortable vocalizing their opinions on R.X.s with their HCPs)4. What’s also worth noting is that a higher percentage of our African American listeners (80%)4 are comfortable voicing their opinions with their HCPs about R.X.s. Additionally, this high audience vocality rate with doctors about prescriptions is very consistent across all of our SXM Media platforms: 74% for SoundCloud’s audience, 74% for Podcast listeners, and Sirius XM’s audience at 73%4.
SOCIAL MEDIA IS NOT A TRUSTED SOURCE OF MEDICAL TREATMENT INFORMATION
Our listeners are self-educators when it comes to pharmaceuticals. Not only are 68% of them researching prescriptions they think they need and reviewing the side effects of those R.X.s, but they’re taking these actions BEFORE conversing with their doctors4. It’s also very important to note what our listeners are not doing – using social channels for information about treatments for an illness or medical condition. Only 4% of our overall audience uses social media for that purpose, which means 96% of our listeners are NOT using social media for that type of information4. This huge, scalable audience doesn’t choose to self-educate on medical conditions or pharma via social media.
A LASTING IMPRESSION FOR PHARMA
A recent study found that digital audio on our platform had a long-lasting impact on memory, with brand impressions lasting up to four months after the initial flight5, which was 36% more of an impression than T.V. and 49% more than AM/FM radio5. Our audience research illustrates how our audiences are connected to audio at significant moments for pharma, that our audience is highly vocal with their HCPs regarding prescriptions, and that our listeners cannot be reached or educated on treatments for illnesses or medical conditions via social media. Our pharma research data can help us inform strategy and tactics to help make your pharma campaign success a reality.