The latest from OTC Perspectives

Ad & Media Spend Decline for OTC Brands in Q1-Q3 2009

According to TNS Media Intelligence data, advertising spending for the top 25 OTC brands is down 6% for Q1-Q3 2009 as compared to the same period last year. Meanwhile, total media spend is down 10%.  

This downswing in OTC spend reflects the general trend of declining ad spend for all advertising brands.  Just last week, Nielsen reported total advertising spend down 11.5% for the first nine months of 2009.  Interestingly, while OTC and total ad spend are down, DTC spending reached a 1% increase in Q3.  

The top five OTC brands for Q3 2009 are Zyrtec (McNeil Consumer Healthcare), Alli (GSK), Claritin (Schering-Plough), Hydroxycut (Muscletech), and Aleve (Bayer).   Nyquil, which claimed the number three spot in Q1, has fallen to to number 10 in Q3.  Zicam, Robitussin DM, Zicam, Slim Fast, Mucinex, Delsym, Nature Made, and DayQuil all drop out of the top 25.

Thermacare (Wyeth) and Nyquil (Procter & Gamble) have increased their ad spend significantly this year by $12 million and $13 million (261% and 109%), respectively, while brands such as Alli (GSK) and Zantac (Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals) have cut spending by $22 million and $10 million (26% and 36%, respectively.

The biggest ad spend decline comes from Claritin, the antihistamine produced by Schering-Plough (now owned by Merck).  Spending on the brand has deceased by 48% or $50 million.  Meanwhile, ad spend on Claritin-D has increased by 80% or $9 million.  It appears that Schering-Plough has cut spending on Claritin in lieu of increasing ad spend on the newer Claritin-D.

In terms of media spending, TV, print, radio, and outdoor spending are all down.  The exception to the downswing in media spending is Internet spending which is up 91%.