The Evolution of Point of Purchase: New Opportunities for Brands to Reach Patients and Prescribers

The year 2020 became a catalyst for change in a number of verticals including healthcare and retail. For many years, the two supported one another in retail pharmacy chains, however, these environments proved to be quite stagnant until Covid-19 swept across the world. As a result of the novel disease, retail healthcare emerged and has become a powerhouse of connection across digital and in-store environments.

The evolution started with urgent care clinics and retail medicine recognizing the need for individuals to stay connected to healthcare professionals through digital means. With store closures and in-person visits no longer accessible, telemedicine reinvented traditional and more common styles of treatment.

Retail Giants Enter the Healthcare Arena

Over the last four years, major retailers have made strides in their presence in the healthcare ecosystem. Amazon has purchased several healthcare companies in PillPack, One Medical, and opened their own pharmacy, Amazon Pharmacy. Others such as Walmart, CVS, and Walgreens have opened digital services to pharma, co-promoting products and generating awareness among patients. Retailer investments over this time have amassed $10B, a number which continues to grow.

In recognition of the fact that this evolution was on the horizon, CMI Media Group developed its Point of Purchase offering. Point of Purchase is the focus of utilizing retail and ‘extended retail’ operations, such as urgent care clinics, to generate awareness of Rx product solutions. The team utilizes an omnidynamic or ‘phygital’ approach encompassing digital and in-store tactics to ensure that patients and HCPs alike understand treatment options and have a comprehensive understanding of the products available to them. The team’s focus is to draw connection between these two cohorts and aim to increase access, drive more interaction between the HCP and the patient, and provide resources to both parties. The ultimate goa is o positive treatments and outcomes.

New Marketing Approaches in Retail Healthcare

Within retail marketing the mechanisms of action regarding channel mix opportunities are very similar to the tried-and-true practices that many digital agencies use today including programmatic, display, search, social for digital and shelf-talkers, screens, and in-store kiosks. While these are not revolutionary means of marketing, the ability to replicate these channels within retail environments is new to the pharma vertical.

As marketing methods begin to accommodate the needs of pharma more and more, many third parties have stepped forward and emerged in the space, opening additional channels. Since 2022, CMI’s Point of Purchase department has explored leveraging store data and targeting   to execute push messaging, email, digital out of home, and mobile wellness units, creating innovative and creative approaches to communication.

The approach, however, is what makes retail marketing different than going direct. Partnership opens the opportunity for exclusive audiences and inventory. Through working with retail partners, clients gain access to first-party audiences that are a part of the retailer’s loyalty program, as well as the opportunity to market on the retailer domain homepage and relevant category pages. This access allows for greater reach, increased visibility, and avoids the overlap that can occur running multiple campaigns against the same audience. Many scenarios in these types of partnerships focus on co-branded efforts. In social media, in particular, the retailer will post the content from their handle. This creates brand recognition and acts upon brand loyalty when the retailer’s loyalty member already has a connection with the media, leading to greater engagement and increased actions.

Direct Signaling of Healthcare Professionals (HCPs)

As with many innovative practices comes pushback in utilizing retail marketing when it comes to targeting and audience building. We recognize that HCPs are not always wearing a lab coat, something we call ‘Blue Jeans Moments’. Through partnership, CMI Media Group has developed a methodology that will allow for direct signaling of HCPs in the retail environment, both online and in-store. Channels across the environment from programmatic and social to digital out of home and more will be open to directly targeting HCPs while layering on retail data to show shopper behavior, category level purchases, and foot traffic in and around store locations. This is a first-to-pharma output that allows for marketing to blur the line between HCP and patient, targeting the HCP directly and layering audiences that meet a brand’s targeting criteria for relevant disease states.

Challenges and Future Outlook

This is just the beginning. The evolution of pharma is just on its upward climb to its peak. Retail pharmacy chains are facing significant challenges including profit losses on several Rx products, staffing shortages, increased hourly wages, and stores that are too big and don’t sell enough product in the front-of-store to keep doors open. While there was a resurgence of in-person interaction across verticals, the need to have a digital presence is a must coming out of the pandemic. There is a need across numerous geographies where patients don’t have access. There is a need for further resources between filling the first script and incremental refills. As CMI continues to partner with these major retailers, the focus of its Point of Purchase department is to drive innovation, creating bridges where they are needed through awareness-based marketing approaches in this space. The retail clinic market continues to grow and will surpass $2.8B this year. This growth will only continue through new approaches, new channels, and increased investments in media across both patient and HCP targets, reaching over $6B by 2030. In response, agencies and clients alike should look to dive into the deep end and deliver in these spaces to achieve that same growth.

This article was written by Jacob Harrison, Director, Point of Purchase – Department Lead

To learn more about CMI Media Group’s Point of Purchase offering, click HERE or email connect@cmimediagroup.com