Pharmaceutical Sector Advertising in 2024: Trends, Insights & Regional Dominance

There have been huge transformations in the Indian pharmaceutical industry as well as in the MENA region, with brand media purchases being the most visible area of such changes. The competition is getting tougher, and so the marketers are reviewing their media mixes which involve the usage of the Internet, print, radio, and TV. They are looking for channels that are credible, specific and do not cost a fortune at the same time. Based on over 2,000 campaigns run by Excellent Publicity, plus data from TAM Media Research, this report sums up the big changes from 2024 and early 2025. It shows where ad money is going, which platforms got the most advertisers, and how top brands set up their presence, by time of day, and region. Pharma marketers can use these insights to create a practical media plan for the coming year, based on real data.

About Excellent Publicity

Excellent Publicity is based in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, and helps businesses grow through complete advertising solutions. They are good at media planning, online marketing, social media, influencer stuff, sports marketing, corporate gifts, and making creative content. They help brands turn their plans into real results. Excellent Publicity works with clients in big cities and smaller towns in India, as well as in the UAE. They are growing in the MENA region too. Their team includes over 150 experts, they have connections with over 50,000 vendors, and experience from 150,000 campaigns across several different areas. More than 3,000 clients have relied on them to plan and run their campaigns at scale.

Advertising Spend Trends: 2022 to 2024

Television: A Significant Pullback

TV spending for medicine ads has dropped a lot since 2022. This really sped up in 2023 and 2024 because companies moved their money to places where they could target people better and see exactly how well their ads did. TV still reaches tons of people and is really influential when everyone's watching, but it got too expensive for what you get, so a lot of brands tried other things.

Print: Renewed Confidence and Credibility

Print ad spending actually went up in 2024 compared to 2022. For health stuff, where it's important to give lots of details and build trust, print is still a great way to tell a story. You can control what people see, write longer messages, and really focus on certain areas. This is all good if brands need to teach people, make them feel secure, or get caregivers and doctors interested.

Radio: A Return to Growth

Radio has been gaining popularity more and more recently, notably in 2023 and 2024. It is a great medium to reach local populations, allows people to speak different languages, and costs less. Regularly, people listen to it when they are driving or working. Thus, if the medicine companies want to communicate with the public in a specific area or send reminders, radio is still a great option which is very economical, to get the message out.

Digital: The Center of Gravity

The internet remained the main channel for promotion of medicines. Its value soared in '23 as compared to '22 and remained robust in '24. Companies are allowed to target specific customer groups, easily connect with health-conscious individuals, organize workshops about their products, and quickly modify the ads. Besides, there is no other medium that provides a complete tracking system of how ads are performing over time, from the first impression to the final sale, thus making it easier for companies to wisely manage their money.

Preferred Media by Year

Back in 2022, TV was king in terms of grabbing people's attention. But fast forward to 2024, and digital and print media combined are where the action's at. TV's popularity dipped a bit since 2023, while print got a boost. Digital had the most advertisers over those three years, probably since it's easy for new companies to jump in, and bigger companies want to spread out from just using old-school media.

Advertiser Counts and Shifts

When it comes to drug companies advertising, digital had the most, beating out TV, print, and radio. Radio lost some advertisers since 2022, and TV did too, likely because companies are focusing their money on specific ad spots. Even though it's leveling out a bit, digital grew a little each year through 2024, which tells us it's still being adopted.

Top Advertisers and Competitive Dynamics

Television, 2024 and Early 2025

A couple of major international and Indian pharmaceutical firms conducted the bulk of the TV advertising in 2024. The most prominent spender was GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals, although there was some significant advertising by Ipca Laboratories as well. J and V Pharmacy became the top spender on television in early 2025 (January to March). Over fifteen companies were advertising then, so TV is still a choice for some, but maybe not everyone.

Interestingly, some brands only advertised on TV in 2024. It seems like for them, being seen during big TV shows is worth focusing their money on TV.

Print, 2024 and Early 2025

Mankind Pharma spent the most on print ads in 2024. MSN Laboratories and Sun Pharmaceutical moved up the list. Herbalife International India and Novartis India joined the top ten, meaning more companies are using print. But the top ten still did most of the spending, so it was pretty concentrated at the top. In early 2025, MSN Laboratories was number one in print. Over 120 companies advertised in print during that time. It shows print is still relevant, especially for local or specific language ads.

Radio, 2024 and Early 2025

GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals was the biggest spender on radio ads in 2024. With regard to India, Apollo Hospitals Enterprise and MSD Pharmaceutical were the ones who increased their radio presence the most. Novo Nordisk India and Micro Labs made it into the list of the top ten companies in terms of radio advertising during the year. Just like in other advertising platforms, most of the money was contributed by a handful of big companies. In early 2025, Pfizer was the biggest radio ads spender again. Moreover, there were over 30 advertisers on the platform running ads simultaneously. The year 2024 seemed to be the year of Radio Mirchi as the most popular station, while Red FM was the second most preferred. Both stations have a nationwide reach and at the same time try to engage local listeners.

Digital, 2024 and Early 2025

Serum Institute of India jumped to the top spot for online advertising in 2024. A couple of other names like Diverse Retails and MedPlus Health Services also stood out. As usual, most digital ad money came from the top ten. It’s typical in healthcare, where bigger companies keep a steady presence online. In early 2025, Apollo Hospitals Enterprise led in digital spending. A ton of different companies advertised digitally, including drug companies, diagnostic services, wellness brands, and health tech. Some companies only advertised online, including global pharma, health tech, as well as Ayurvedic and supplement brands. It shows that digital is useful for a wide range of businesses.

Television Genres, Time Bands, and Celebrity Impact

On TV, most pharmaceutical ads aired on general entertainment channels, with sports coming in second. News, movies, and music channels showed fewer ads. Most ads ran during prime time (6 PM to 10:59 PM), with the afternoon and night getting fewer spots. This makes sense because they want to get the most viewers with fewer ads. Celebrities still matter a lot in pharmaceutical ads. Most TV ads so far in 2024 used celebrities, and Amitabh Bachchan was the most popular. Having a celebrity helps people trust the product and remember the ad. This really helps over-the-counter and wellness products that people need to see as trustworthy.

Print: Zones, Publications, Formats, and Promotions

In 2024, the North zone spent the most on pharmaceutical print ads, with the West close behind. The South and East spent less. The Times of India had the most ads across all zones, showing it's still a top choice for pharma companies wanting to reach a lot of people and make a statement. Pretty much all print ads were in color. Most ads were inside the paper, while front and back pages had fewer. Only a few print ads were about promotions, and most of those were about discounts. This shows they prefer to build their brand and educate people, rather than just offer quick deals in print. Print ad activity was highest between September and December 2024. This is likely because of the holidays, winter health awareness campaigns, and brands trying to finish the year strong. More print ads ran on weekends, when more people are likely to read the paper.

Radio: Stations, Regions, and Daywise Patterns

Radio Mirchi was the top station for pharmaceutical advertisers in 2024, with Red FM second. Regionally, the North and South zones each accounted for roughly similar and leading portions of radio spends, followed by the West and East. Advertising on radio was primarily weekday heavy, complementing commuting and workday listening patterns. Monthly activity peaked between January and May 2024, suggesting a strong early-year presence likely tied to wellness resolutions, seasonal ailments, and brand relaunch cycles.

Digital: Publishers, Formats, and Temporal Trends

Among digital publishers, X ranked first by share, with Facebook close behind. Display formats dominated digital ad volumes in 2024, while video accounted for a smaller share of impressions. The mix reflects the continued reliance on high-reach banners, native placements, and performance display, alongside targeted video for education. Digital monthly activity rose sharply from June through December 2024, matching seasonal health moments, monsoon-related conditions, and festive shopping windows when wellness and immunity categories typically intensify. Daywise delivery was evenly distributed through the week, an outcome of algorithmic pacing and the always-on nature of digital campaigns.

Strategic Implications for Pharmaceutical Marketers

• Rebalance the media mix for precision and credibility
  Digital and print together offer a strong combination of targeting and trust. Digital drives scale and measurable outcomes, while print remains a high-credibility platform for nuanced education and regional depth.
• Use television with purpose
  Television can still deliver impact when concentrated in prime time and in high-affinity genres such as GEC and Sports. Consider TV for launches, national moments, and when celebrity endorsement supports brand authority.
• Invest in radio for cost-efficient regional reinforcement
  Radio is effective for localized messaging, trade support, and frequency building. Align copy with station language and audience profiles, and front-load weekday presence.
• Build longitudinal digital funnels
  Expand beyond short-term performance into always-on education. Combine upper-funnel reach (display and partnerships with major publishers) with mid-funnel content hubs and lower-funnel retargeting linked to pharmacy, e-commerce, or clinic actions.
• Localize intelligently
  Zone-wise differences in print and radio, and language-led TV programming, require regional creative variations. Tailor dosage forms, indications, and compliance messages to local healthcare contexts and seasonal patterns.
• Leverage credible ambassadors
  When regulation permits and category norms allow, considered use of well-matched celebrities or medical experts can amplify trust. Balance visibility with clear, compliant claims and transparent creativity.
• Measure beyond vanity metrics
  For digital, align KPIs to outcomes that matter: qualified leads, appointment bookings, refill reminders, or verified coupon redemptions. For broadcast and print, use call tracking, QR codes, and region-coded creatives to attribute impact.

Planning Guide for 2025

Channel selection

Prioritize digital and print as the backbone, with TV for big moments and radio for reinforcement. Maintain flexibility to shift budgets around seasonal disease windows, brand launches, and regulatory announcements.

Creative architecture

Develop a system of assets that ladder from awareness to action. Use long-form explainers and print advertorials for complex messages, short video and banners for scale, and radio for reminders. Keep claims precise and compliant.

Publisher partnerships

On digital, negotiate integrated packages with top social publishers and health platforms that blend display, sponsored content, and audience extensions. In print, pair front-page pulses with sustained inside-page presence for continuity. In radio, leverage RJ integrations and health shows for higher engagement.

Measurement

Adopt a mixed measurement model: media mix modeling to understand macro effects, incrementality testing for targeted digital cohorts, and geo-controlled experiments for broadcast and print. Ensure creative testing is part of every plan.

How Excellent Publicity Can Help

Excellent Publicity helps drug brands with their entire marketing campaigns, from start to finish. They mix what they know about the market with their know-how in different channels to make plans that get results but still follow the rules. They do things like plan and buy ads on TV, in newspapers, on the radio, and online. They also handle influencer campaigns, social media, create ads, and keep track of how things are going using analytics. So, if you are getting ready for a drug campaign across a state or the whole country, this agency can turn all of that into a plan you can actually use. Basically, they help you figure out who to talk to, where to put your ads, how much to spend, when to show them, and even make different ads. Since they know tons of people in India and the UAE, they can do both big and small ad campaigns that hit the right audience.

Call to Action

If you want a strong ad plan that uses different ways to reach people and matches your brand, the time of year, and where you're advertising, hit up Excellent Publicity