get.” [Editor’s Note: TargetCast is now Assembly and
Minichini is now managing partner.]
Team Chemistry’s Evans also describes mobile investment as marginal. “The reason it hasn’t gotten more
traction is that the industry as a whole hasn’t deployed a lot of mobile-optimized programs,” he said.
Paid search advertising makes up the majority of mobile investment. The Search Agency reported that by
the end of 2013, more than 26% of the health industry’s paid search click share was coming from smartphones and tablets.
Search has proven highly effective for marketers with
mobile-optimized search programs. For example,
Matsen said 60% of those who visited the Cleveland
Clinic’s website used smartphones or tablets to do so.
“By making sure these programs worked for [our mobile users], we improved not only the volume of clicks
but, more importantly, the number of people making
appointments through links,” he said.
On the mobile display front, health-related ads often
follow a seasonal pattern. Mollie Spilman, executive
vice president of global sales and operations at mobile
ad network Millennial Media, said she sees cyclical
upticks in mobile spending by pharma companies
during the flu season, allergy season and at other
times of the year. In Q3 2013 alone, Millennial Media
reported that pharma ads on its network grew 744%,
the highest of any industry during that time period.
The category finished out the year with a 139% year-over-year increase, putting it below other industries
but;still;among;the;top;six;worldwide.;•
Victoria Petrock is
Principal Analyst,
Industries, for eMarketer.
She leads the company’s
analysis and coverage
of digital marketing topics and trends in
vertical industries, including healthcare/
pharma, automotive, financial services, tech/
telecom, travel and media & entertainment.
Victoria produces forecasts, reports, webinars
and other in-depth content about digital
advertising, social media, eCommerce, mobile,
marketing technology and other emerging
topics.
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