Complete Guide: Lawful, Compliant Marketing for Doctors, Pharmacies, Drugs & Chemical Industries

In this complete and up-to-date guide, with technical basis and authority references, such as the FDA and ANVISA, Amanda shares ideas, insights, rules, guidelines and necessary precautions when broadcasting commercials, promoting products/services and in the artistic creation of videos and commercials for physicians, doctors, medicines, drugs, devices, therapies, healthcare providers and products from the chemical and pharmaceutical industry.

Amanda de Andrade is a voice professional specialized in Medical, Health and the Pharmaceutical Industry and has been serving doctors, clinics, engineers, technicians, laboratories, chemical facilities and renowned corporations in the pharmaceutical industry, such as Pfizer, Johnson&Johnson, Kimberly Klark, NovoNordisk, GSK, Boehringer Ingelheim and many others, for the last 10 years.

Follow the Index below to discover the main mistakes in advertisements for medicines, medical devices and healthcare professionals and understand what is allowed or prohibited in Medical and Pharmaceutical Advertising in Brazil - and sometimes, in the US too.

If you have any questions when developing a video, script, 2D or 3D animation, training or pharmaceutical voiceover (for example, a commercial, an explanatory video or an educational material) about Medicine, Drugs, Pharmacy, Chemical Products or Health, talk to Amanda.

📋Marketing & Advertising for Doctors, Professionals and the Pharmaceutical Industry

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1. What is Medical or Pharmaceutical Marketing?

2. What are the Types of Medical or Pharma-chemical Advertising?

3. What is Marketing Consulting for Doctors?

4. Why Make Commercials about Health?

5. What are the Types of Videos for the Pharmaceutical Industry?

6. Is There Regulation for Advertising in the Medical and Pharmaceutical Areas in Brazil?

7. What are the Brazilian Rules for Drug & Medication Advertising ?

8. What is Fair Balance in the US?

9. What are the Legal Consequences of Pharmaceutical and Medical Marketing in Brasil?

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1. What is Medical and Pharmaceutical Marketing?

Medical and Pharmaceutical Marketing is the process of mapping and analyzing the market, strategizing communication and commercial initiatives/campaigns to facilitate and/or increase the sale of products and services for professionals, industries, labs and companies in the health, wellbeing and wellness sector.

Differences between Medical and Pharmaceutical Marketing

Marketing	Medical Marketing	Pharmaceutical Marketing
Target audience	Patients and health professionals	Health professionals, clinics, end consumers and pharmacies
Objective	Attract and retain patients	Promote and sell health-related products
Focus	Relationship and trust with the patient	Information and awareness about products and therapies
Regulation	Conselho Federal de Medicina (CFM) standards and medical ethics	Anvisa regulations and health agencies (and even FDA's)

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2. What are the Types of Medical or Pharma-chemical Advertising?

Within the Pharmaceutical or Medical Marketing Action Plan Action, there are several types of written, visual or sound materials/assets (images, commercial or educational videos, videos intended to be used as paid advertisements...) or points of contact (business cards, banners, events, fairs, webinars...) that should be used within the general Marketing plan and are some of the several options that can be part of the Marketing strategy of companies and health professionals:

• Creation and distribution of materials to promote a new drug to educate Doctors and Veterinarians to choose to use and prescribe this new medicine;

• Broadcasting of a TV commercial for an analgesic that can be sold without a prescription - OTC, for end consumers;

• YouTubeShorts, Instagram Reels and other videos to promote a Doctor's service and encourage appointment scheduling;

• Webinars, meetings, interviews and participation in important events in the Medical Industry;

• Corporate and Institutional Videos of a Pharmaceutical Laboratory to consolidate the company's Mission and Values before the public, shareholders and employees;

• among many other types of content.

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3. What is Medical Marketing Consulting?

Marketing Consulting for Doctors is the outsourced service provided to healthcare professionals for planning, supporting, monitoring, producing and executing the Marketing strategy, that is, communication and promotion in the healthcare sector, with the aim of informing, educating and influencing consumption decisions of potential and current customers (patients, consumers, healthcare professionals, hospitals, clinics and pharmacies).

Hiring a consultant, multimedia professional specialized in advertising for healthcare clients or expert medical narrator is very important, considering:

• The complexity of pharmaceutical (ANVISA) and medical (CFM¹) marketing regulations;

• The intricacies and technical knowledge required to communicate something complex in a simple way (medical terminology);

• The subtleties and nuances arising from the emotional and delicate health situations of the target audience;

• The fierce competition and variety of service providers, products and equipment in the healthcare sector;

• The speed and precision required in the creation and delivery of medical videos and voiceovers.

To be a leader in the industry and the niche, it is essential to find a multimedia professional (script/video/sound/voice) who is professional, agile, precise, creative, educated, has a professional voice and multimedia/visual studio and is specialized in medical and pharmaceutical content.

Unlike independent healthcare professionals and smaller companies, large corporations, laboratories, clinics and hospitals have an internal department to take care of marketing planning and execution. It is very common for these large companies to develop the technical part of their advertising action plans internally and then hire video/sound production companies, medical voice-over artists and narrators and pharmaceutical marketing agencies for the creative and artistic assets, which needs to be developed with attention to the subtleties of psychology, emotional intelligence and human care when approaching delicate and important topics.

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4. Why make Healthcare Commercials?

The objectives of commercials or actions to promote health campaigns or medical products and services are varied, depending for who the creative or marketing agency creates the content.

Doctors, clinics, health insurance companies and hospitals:

1. attract new patients and retain current patients;
2. strengthen personal or corporate brand;
3. increase visibility in the market;
4. increase the market share served by services/products;
5. improve people's experience and perception of the quality of services/products;
6. establish a relationship of trust between the health professional and the patient;
7. educate current and future patients.

Laboratories, Pharmaceutical Industry, Pharmacies and Factories:

1. to promote and sell medicines, supplements and medical equipment: to end consumers; or to prescribers (doctors, veterinarians, hospitals, clinics and nutritionists)
2. to inform and raise awareness among the specialist public (doctors, scientists, veterinarians, nurses, technicians...) about the benefits and characteristics of these products;
3. to educate about the use of chemical substances and medical devices;
4. to build and strengthen relationships: with stakeholders, investors and shareholders; or with doctors, prescribers and pharmacies.
5. to inspire trust and reinforce the commitment to ensuring compliance with health regulations, such as those of Anvisa.

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5. What are the Types of Videos for the Pharmaceutical and Medical Industry?

The 6 main types of videos in the pharmaceutical-chemical industry are:

• TYPE 1: Internal Training and Courses;

• TYPE 2: Product Presentations and User Manuals;

• TYPE 3: Corporate and Institutional Videos for Employees, Shareholders and Stakeholders;

• TYPE 4: Patient/Community Education and Awareness Campaigns (Private or Public Initiative);

• TYPE 5: Paid Media Commercials;

• TYPE 6: Specializations and Advanced Education for Medical Students and Health Professionals.

Type 1: Doctor Dubbing for Boehringer Ingelheim Virtual Reality eLearning

Type 2: Medical Equipment/Device Presentation - Cardinal Health Kendall SCD Smartflow

Type 2: Medical Compression Device Complete User Manual - CH Kendall SCDS

Type 3: COVID-19 Pandemic Data Presentation Video for Shareholders, Managers, and Board of Directors - Microsoft

Type 3: Scientific Study - OralB IO9

Type 3: Corporate Video for Fair / Congress / Medical Event - ProGenesis

Type 3: SPANISH - Corporate Video for Medical Congress - ProGenesis

Type 3: Pharmaceutical Marketing Video on Medication Options for Psychiatry Patients - Pfizer

Type 4: ENGLISH - Pink Collective Project / Cancer Pink October - Pfizer

Type 4: Medical Dubbing for GSK Meningitis Documentaries

Type 6: Medical Webinar on IVF - ProGenesis

Type 6: Explanatory Videos on Anatomy and Histology for College Students - KenHub

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6. Is there regulation of pharmaceutical marketing and advertising in the medical field in Brazil?

Yes, Brazil has regulations for pharmaceutical marketing, aiming at a Fair Balance. ANVISA, the regulatory agency, plays a fundamental role in this process, defining standards and monitoring the marketing practices of pharmaceutical companies.

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7. What are the Rules for Advertising Medication?

ANVISA establishes standards and guidelines for advertising and promoting medications², seeking to ensure that the information transmitted to consumers is clear, accurate and ethical. The objective is to prevent advertising campaigns from misleading or using incorrect information to promote the sale of medications.

Key points of the regulation:

• Accurate and clear information:

  • Advertising must present true information about the medication, including its side effects and contraindications.

• Responsible promotion:

  • Advertising must be done responsibly, avoiding inducing improper use or exaggerating the properties of the medicine.

• Ethics:

  • Marketing practices must be transparent and avoid manipulating or exploiting consumers.

• Supervision:

  • ANVISA carries out inspections and can impose sanctions on companies that do not follow the established standards.

• Examples of regulated practices:

  • Advertising of medicines must be approved by ANVISA before being broadcast.

  • Advertising of continuous-use medicines must inform about the risks of prolonged use.

  • Advertising of generic medicines must ensure that the information is clear and does not lead to misinterpretation.

In summary, Brazil has a regulatory system for pharmaceutical marketing that aims to guarantee consumer protection and the responsible promotion of medicines. ANVISA plays a crucial role in monitoring and enforcing these standards.

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8. What is Fair Balance in the US?

Fair Balance, in short, refers to the ethical principle and responsibility of the pharmaceutical company to provide a reasonable balance of negative and positive information about a drug in advertisements presented directly to the end consumer.

According to the FDA³:

The law requires that advertisements presenting pharmaceutical products and drugs present a "fair balance" of information about the drug's risks compared with information about the drug's benefits. This means that the content and presentation of a drug's most important risks must be reasonably similar to the content and presentation of its benefits.

This does not mean that equal space must be given to risks and benefits in print advertisements, or equal time to risks and benefits in radio, TV, internet or social media advertisements. The amount of time or space needed to present fair and balanced information about risks will depend on the drug's risks and how both the benefits and risks are presented.

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9. What are the Legal Impacts of Medical Marketing in Brazil?

Despite regulation, the pharmaceutical market is large and complex, with several players and communication channels. Digital marketing and the influence of celebrities and influencers also require attention and constant monitoring to ensure consumer protection.

According to the STJ, there are limits to ANVISA's regulatory action⁴, but even so, failure to comply with pharmaceutical marketing guidelines and rules may result in penalties, ranging from fines, suspension of commercials, suspension of drug sales to indictment, investigation, conviction and suspension of commercial activities.

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Take advantage of the experience of a multimedia and voice-over professional specializing in Medical-Pharma Multimedia Production & Narration. Pfizer, GSK, J&J, Boehringer Ingelheim and Novo Nordisk trust Amanda with their medical videos and technical-scientific voice-overs/narrations in Brazilian Portuguese, English and Spanish.

References and Authoritative Sources

Footnotes

1. Medical Advertising Manual - CFM and CRMs ↩

2. ANVISA - Basic Rules of Pharmaceutical Advertising ↩

3. What does "Fair Balance" mean in Drug Advertising? ↩

4. ABRADILAN - Drug advertising and limits of regulatory action Anvisa ↩

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