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The purpose of this paper is to better understand the effectiveness of direct‐to‐consumer advertising (DTCA) by examining consumer perceptions of persuasive intent and informativeness associated with product‐claim and help‐seeking advertisements, respectively.

In three behavioral experiments, a total of 413 participants provided data on their behavioral intentions and attitudes towards DTCA.

Consumers perceived help‐seeking DTCA as being highly informative without persuasive intent, whereas they perceived product‐claim DTCA as having high‐persuasive intent with little informativeness. Help‐seeking (versus product‐claim) DTCA was more effective in generating stronger behavioral intention to seek treatment for the ailments advertised (i.e. clinical depression and migraine). Consumer perceptions of persuasive intent and informativeness of DTCA were the underlying mediators for this result.

The paper helps to resolve conflicting findings in the previous DTCA research by proposing and presenting evidence which suggests that the perceived persuasive intent and informativeness of the advertised message are two underlying constructs that drive DTCA effectiveness. Considering these two constructs in future research may provide a deeper understanding of how and why DTCA effectiveness varies across different types of DTCA.

The results provide useful information for pharmaceutical companies seeking to maximize DTCA effectiveness in increasing behavioral intention to seek treatment for an advertised disease. Considering the key findings, pharmaceutical companies may decide whether and to what extent to employ product‐claim or help‐seeing DTCA.

The paper is one of the first to comparatively examine consumer perceptions of the two different types of DTCA (product‐claim versus help‐seeking) in terms of their influence on behavioral intent to seek treatment for the advertised medical conditions.

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the differential effects of help-seeking and product-claim direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA) on consumers’ attitude toward the ad, intention to seek information and intention to see a doctor. This paper also seeks to examine the underlying mechanism of these effects and the moderating role of advertising literacy.

An online experiment was conducted with 130 adults who experienced narcolepsy symptoms and experimental stimuli promoting a fictitious drug for narcolepsy.

Help-seeking DTCA generated lower persuasion knowledge activation than product-claim DTCA, resulting in lower skepticism, more favorable attitude toward the ad and higher behavioral intentions. The effects of ad type were stronger among consumers with higher advertising literacy.

This is the first study that provides a thorough examination of the underlying mechanism of the differential effects of help-seeking vs product-claim DTCA as well as the roles of consumers’ advertising literacy on ad outcomes.

In order to improve the effectiveness of product‐claim direct‐to‐consumer advertising (DTCA), the current research examines the effect of a presentational element – the number of treatable symptoms for the advertised medical condition featured in the ad – on consumers' intentions to seek treatment.

Ninety‐five participants recruited at a mall in the northeastern US provided data on behavioral and attitudinal intentions regarding a product‐claim print DTCA for an antidepressant.

Featuring a high (vs low) number of symptoms improved the effectiveness of the product‐claim DTCA. Seeing more symptoms led to heightened perceptions of informativeness, lower persuasive intent, and higher intentions to discuss the advertised ailment and the advertised drug with the doctor. Perceptions of disease prevalence mediated this influence. The perceived impact of each symptom featured in the DTCA was controlled across experimental conditions.

This research contributes to the healthcare marketing literature by demonstrating how managing a presentational element in DTCA influences consumers' metacognitive processing of the health information and consequently their intentions to engage in health‐related behaviors.

Within the regulatory boundaries, pharmaceutical marketers may wish to increase the number of treatable symptoms to feature in their product‐claim DTCA in order to improve the effectiveness.

Within the regulatory boundaries, pharmaceutical marketers may wish to increase the number of treatable symptoms to feature in their product‐claim DTCA in order to improve the effectiveness.

This research builds on the extant literature of examining consumer perceptions of DTCA, and suggests a practical and metacognitive means to improve consumer perceptions to ultimately enhance DTCA effectiveness.

The purpose of this paper is to reflect on the development and progression of the International Journal of Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Marketing and include comments on its future direction.

The paper takes the approach of an essay format.

The journal has published key papers in pharmaceutical and healthcare research and continues to develop an interdisciplinary character with contributions from scholarly and practice‐oriented sources.

The paper provides a contemporary appraisal of the status and positioning of the journal.

This study aims to examine how experience with mental illness influences perceptions of stigma and realism in a specific direct-to-consumer advertisement (DTCA) for bipolar depression.

An online survey had participants watch a 90 s advertisement for a prescription bipolar depression drug and then answer 24 questions about stigma, mental illness experience and the realism of the portrayals in the advertisement.

Findings show that people who identify as having experience with mental illness tend to see the ad as more stigmatizing and less realistic. Additionally, people who expressed more stigmatizing beliefs also tended to see more stigma present in the ad. Finally, the study reconfirms conclusions of previous research that people who have experience with mental health conditions possess fewer stigmatizing beliefs overall regarding mental illness.

The sample population, while diverse in age and somewhat diverse in location, were highly educated, suggesting that they were not representative of the general population. Future studies may want to use more representative samples. A more nuanced approach to understanding experience is needed. While the sample in this study was purposively derived from communities with a higher rate of mental illness, a comprehensive experience scale to measure degrees of experience with mental illness would enhance understanding of this construct. Researchers may also want to look more deeply into the emotional responses of consumers who view these ads. To develop a greater understanding of the trajectory of DTCA, studies of online advertising for psychiatric drugs are needed.

The results of the study suggest that respondents with experience with mental illness may find ads that sell psychiatric medications unrealistic. This study presents the topic of realism in DTCA as an important construct for determining how consumers may perceive portrayals of disorders.

The fact that people who have experience with mental illness found the Latuda ad to be generally unrealistic suggests that DTCA may be failing to represent mental illness in a way that demonstrates care for patients. Additionally, this research confirms that people who have had exposure to and experience with mental illness tend to hold less stigmatizing beliefs, (Link and Cullen, 1986; Corrigan et al., 2001; Angermeyer et al., 2004) a finding which supports the continuing project of increasing mental health literacy and awareness in the general population.

This study investigates the reactions of people who identify as having some experience with mental illness to see if they accept the portrayals of mental illness in DTCA or resist them by challenging their realism or identifying stigmatizing elements.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the current trend of pharmaceutical direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA) in the USA and its effect to patients, physicians and drug utilization. The DTCA of pharmaceutical firms is defined as an attempt of pharmaceutical companies to advertise product directly to patients.

The methodology used is literature review complemented with a semi-structured interview.

Pharmaceutical DTCA showed a reduction in total spending, whereas the online channel experienced growth. DTCA affected the physician–patient relationship and patient satisfaction. Patients who received medication associated with DTCA showed higher satisfaction. DTCA of second-line drugs resulted in an increase of first-line drug utilization. Benefits of pharmaceutical DTCA include enhancing appropriate drug utilization and increasing awareness. DTCA might cause harm by interfering with physician’s decisions regarding drug choice.

Limitations include limited available information of DTCA spending from pharmaceutical companies and lack of quantitative data on the effect of pharmaceutical DTCA. In addition, DTCA is sometimes affected by research bias.

Improvement in the physician–patient relationship and patient satisfaction, as well as in the quality of care provided may be demonstrated.

Pharmaceutical firms using DTCA marketing advertisement methodologies can increase awareness of underdiagnosed conditions and affect medication costs and the utilization of appropriate drug utilization.

Review highlights current relationships between DTCA, patients, physicians and drug utilization to explore the effects DTCA on consumers.

The purpose of this paper is to explore ethical issues related to pharmaceutical marketers’ social media efforts including the prevalence and forms of direct-to-consumer web 2.0 advertising (eDTCA) and corporate social responsibility (CSR) messages across social networking sites (SNSs). One goal is to determine if these eDTCA posts comply with draft guidelines issued by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Content analysis of ten pharmaceutical marketers’ SNS posts documented the frequency and types of posts devoted to eDTCA, drug risks and benefits, CSR, and other purposes.

eDTCA represents about 35 percent of all pharmaceutical firm SNS posts and primarily communicates help-seeking messages via Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. Firms also promote their ethical image through CSR-related posts. These posts primarily highlight employee-focussed and community-focussed initiatives. Analysis of consumer behavior in response to each post shows that eDTCA affects only liking of YouTube videos, but CSR increases behavior responses on all SNSs except LinkedIn.

Despite absence of final guidance, pharmaceutical marketers seem to abide by FDA draft social media guidance. In line with the FDA’s draft fair-balance regulations, almost all product-claim eDTCA posts state both benefit and risk information. Nevertheless, the FDA should issue final eDTCA guidance without delay consistent with traditional media direct-to-consumer advertising guidance. This should benefit consumers through consistency with their existing advertising literacy competencies.

The study represents an initial attempt to document ethical issues in the current state-of-the-practice of pharmaceutical social media marketing related to eDTCA and CSR.

This study has four objectives. First is to investigate and compare the immediate and carryover effects of four pharmaceutical marketing tools (prescriber detailing, medical events, journal ads and direct-to-consumer advertising [DTCA]) on sales. Based on the effect comparisons, the second objective is to determine whether advertising tools that are more compatible with prescriber’s behavior have superior impact on sales. Third is to examine empirical support for the argument that advertising directly to consumers, as a market follower versus leader, has a backfiring effect. Finally, this paper aims to assess the magnitude of variance in sales as a function of each advertising tool.

Data on unit sales and spending (on DTCA, journal ads, events and detailing) ranging 84 months are obtained for six prescription-only cholesterol-reducing brands. First, linearity is checked. Second, evolution versus stationarity is tested by applying the unit-root test. Third, potential endogeneity among variables is assessed with granger causality. Fourth, vector autoregressive model (VAR) that accounts for endogeneity and dynamic interactions is specified. Intercept, seasons and market share are added into the model specification as exogenous variables. Fifth, VAR with akaike selected lags and generalized impulse response are conducted. Finally, sales variance is decomposed with forecast error variance decomposition and Cholesky ordering.

A 10% increase on detailing or journal ads spending brought an immediate (one month) negative effect on sales in a market leader, whereas that same increase is insignificant in a market follower. A 10% increase on DTCA (vs detailing) spending led to a negative (vs positive) carryover effect for the market follower, giving empirical support to the backfiring effect of DTCA and partial evidentiary support suggested about prescriber friendly advertising. However, DTCA induces a larger short term and longer carryover effect in a market leader, with seven times more effect on sales than what detailing does. In addition, it explains 50% of the variation in sales.

The model applied captures extensive dynamics; hence, findings are robust. The analysis considered comparison in terms of prescriber friendly (vs not) advertising tools and brand market status and thus can make managers rethink strategy of advertising budget allocations. This study also introduced a new look onto DTCA and hence challenges the traditional thought held on consumer advertising response.

Celebrex became the first of a new class of drugs known as COX‐2 selective non‐steroidal anti‐inflammatory drugs. It improves treatment for arthritis sufferers without compromising the protective lining of the stomach. The purpose of this paper is to illustrate how direct‐to‐consumer advertising (DTCA) of prescription medicines can be used to rebuild faith in the cyclooxygenase‐2 (COX‐2) product category.

The case is developed using published sources and no input is required from company representatives. The presentation style follows the classic comprehensive case format used in postgraduate teaching programmes.

Business executives and strategic marketing students would benefit from a discussion on how external environmental factors can suddenly impose a review of marketing strategy. The reader learns how management addresses the business dilemma using DTCA.

A blockbuster rival drug Vioxx is withdrawn due to cardiovascular (CV) health safety concerns. A resulting dominant market situation soon becomes a business dilemma. The Federal Drug Administration calls for a “black box” warning label on Celebrex, the most serious type of warning.

The implications are that having a product in a class of its own is not enough. It highlights the need to communicate to different audiences, to both the medical profession and the end‐user. Getting doctors to recommend the medicine and pulling the product through the channel by stimulating patient demand after a health scare are paramount.

This is the first pharmaceutical business case where the withdrawal of a rival product leaves the dominant competitor in a monopoly situation. Contrary to expectation, market share plummets despite the absence of competition.