Abstract
There are considerable differences in the marketing activities of pharmaceutical companies depending on whether their products are OTC drugs or medical drugs. It is advertising propaganda that plays an important role in the marketing agenda of OTC drugs.
This research, which is to examine the role of OTC drug advertising from the consumer point of view, has been carried out for the following reasons; 1) most of the advertising expenses of pharmaceutical companies are paid by TV commercials,2) the OTC drug market is being increasingly used,3)suppliers have become more conscious of OTC drug commercials, and 4) even though all the above events had been taken into account, it is still unknown what the role and effect of OTC drug commercials are. Moreover, the role of advertising when a consumer constructs a brand for a particular drug still requires further investigation.
I have examined my hypotheses based on the consumer information processing theory from the measurement of advertising effectiveness carried out before. These hypotheses were inspected using the concept of an emotional reaction and a cognitive reaction followed by a quantitative study using a questionnaire and a qualitative study by group interviews.
The outcome of the study has revealed the five points listed below.1) Positive emotional reaction from advertising will affect a consumer when he/she buys OTC drugs.2) A consumer will have a better impression from the advertising if he/she has bought the goods before.3) An emotional reaction will affect a cognitive reaction.4) It is the image of improving health that is important for OTC drug advertising.5) The consciousness toward OTC drug advertising will change depending on how consumers respond to it.
