Branded Websites Are the Most Effective Online Marketing Tactic for Pharmaceutical Marketers, Comscore Study Finds

Online Advertising Also Has a Significant Impact on Brand Awareness and Favorability for Both Patients and Prospects

RESTON, VA, July 23, 2008 – Comscore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, in conjunction with pharmaceutical marketing consultancy Evolution Road, today released results from the second annual study: e-Marketing Effectiveness Benchmarks for the Pharmaceutical Industry, which is designed to help pharmaceutical marketers assess the success of their online marketing activities.

The study evaluated the impact of banner ads, search marketing, and visits to a brand Web site on a brand’s awareness, favorability and sales results among both patients and prospects. The study found that getting a patient to visit a branded Web site is the most effective form of online pharmaceutical marketing, with an incremental patient adherence rate nearly 20 percentage points higher than among those who did not visit the Web site and an incremental new start rate for prospects nearly 5 percentage points higher than the control. Meanwhile, exposure to, and interaction with, online ads also improved adherence rates among existing patients. Patient’s exposed to an ad showed a 4.0-point lift in adherence and patients who interacted with an ad exhibited a 9.5-point lift.

Using Comscore’s one million person U.S. panel to passively observe behavior, with an overlay of survey questions to gather perceptions about the brand, the benchmarks study summarizes the performance of 32 individual studies involving more than 10 prescription brands.

* defined as interactive digital media.

“The most effective online marketing tool for both patients and prospects is the brand’s Web site. It’s important to realize, though, that visits to a brand Web site are achieved through the use of a variety of offline and online tactics, such as online banner ads, search and offline advertising,” said Bridget O’Toole, Comscore executive vice president. “This is why it is essential for marketers to develop fully-integrated campaigns that not only raise awareness and educate consumers but that also drive visitation to a site.”

Online Advertising Improves Brand Awareness and Favorability

Although brand Web sites are the most effective online marketing tactic, there is also a positive result from online advertising. The study found that exposure to, or interaction with, banner ads yields an incremental lift in brand awareness and favorability among existing and prospective patients. For prospects, exposure-only to an ad had a significant impact on both aided and unaided brand awareness, with increases of 5.1 and 5.7 percentage points, respectively. An even greater incremental lift in aided awareness (9.4 points) and unaided awareness (7.7 points) was achieved when consumers interacted with a rich media ad.

* defined as interactive digital media.

To request a copy of the study: e-Marketing Effectiveness Benchmarks for the Pharmaceutical Industry (2008 Release) or for more information on Comscore Pharmaceutical Solutions, please visit www.comscore.com/request/pharma_benchmarks.asp.

About Comscore Pharmaceutical Solutions
Comscore Pharmaceutical Solutions delivers in-depth information needed to understand the impact that brand, condition-specific, and health Web sites have on consumers’ brand awareness, conversion, and patient compliance. Comscore’s products deliver actionable insight to help refine consumer profiles, identify key alliances, optimize interactive marketing initiatives, benchmark against the competition and accurately measure the ROI of Web site and online marketing programs.

About Comscore
Comscore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR) is a global leader in measuring the digital world. For more information, please visit www.comscore.com/boilerplate.

About Evolution Road
Evolution Road is a marketing innovation consultancy focused on helping brands leverage digital channels to drive their business. For more information, please visit www.evolutionroad.com.