Millennials and Gen Z are more likely to buy from brands that promote a healthy lifestyle than Baby Boomers, according to a report released by DirecTV Advertising Wednesday morning.
Compared to other surveyed generations, Millennials are “significantly more likely” to have a greater interest in their health than three years ago.
Nearly 60{1988d9d489508ec78ab74a3fa170fc3a0f353566b665413f00453621c0c8b81d} of Millennials are likely to buy from brands that promote a healthy lifestyle, well exceeding the 50{1988d9d489508ec78ab74a3fa170fc3a0f353566b665413f00453621c0c8b81d} of Gen Xers, 39{1988d9d489508ec78ab74a3fa170fc3a0f353566b665413f00453621c0c8b81d} of Gen Zers and 38{1988d9d489508ec78ab74a3fa170fc3a0f353566b665413f00453621c0c8b81d} of Boomers who said the same.
More than 40{1988d9d489508ec78ab74a3fa170fc3a0f353566b665413f00453621c0c8b81d} of Millennials stated they are more likely to watch ads for medicine or healthcare products. A majority of Millennials are also more interested in learning about healthcare innovations than they were in 2020.
When it comes to dealing with non-life-threatening health conditions like back pain or acne, Millennials are 54{1988d9d489508ec78ab74a3fa170fc3a0f353566b665413f00453621c0c8b81d} more likely to seek support. No other generation topped 50{1988d9d489508ec78ab74a3fa170fc3a0f353566b665413f00453621c0c8b81d} in terms of reporting that they would seek support.
Most Millennials and Gen Zers exercise regularly, prioritize their mental health and utilize telehealth services. Both generations also prefer to consume digital media but notably haven’t fully abandoned linear TV, an area where pharma brands have invested heavily over the years.
The survey offers best practices for how the pharma industry can connect with young consumers and make proper use of a “unique messaging opportunity.”
“It is important that advertisers meet these younger viewers wherever they are watching today. Pharma and healthcare advertisers, for which this audience will only grow in importance, must take a converged approach to their video buying,” the report stated.
Beyond examining the preferences of young consumers, the report looked into pharma brands and their approaches to advertising in the digital realm as well.
More than 80{1988d9d489508ec78ab74a3fa170fc3a0f353566b665413f00453621c0c8b81d} of pharma advertisers responded that they will consider addressable solutions across linear and connected TV (CTV) to extend the reach of their national campaigns in order to deliver hard-to-reach audiences.
Additionally, almost one-third of respondents said they are not “ideally set up” to buy effortlessly across linear and CTV given that these buying teams are siloed from one another.
The report suggested that these buying teams are likely to converge as pharma advertisers look to reach audiences on whatever screen they are consuming content on.
