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Description
Direct-to-Consumer advertising is marketing of pharmaceutical products aimed at consumers rather than healthcare professionals. Pharmaceutical firms spend millions of dollars on direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising to promote their products. The focus of this paper is to study reactions among people exposed to an ad to help firms prioritize their marketing efforts and aid them in their ad placement decisions. The television was successful for years at reaching target audiences. However, media usage is constantly evolving and marketing dollars are being shifted away from traditional channels. Studying reactions among people exposed to an ad will help firms identify segments that are more or less responsive. This information will help firms select the best media ads shown be shown on based on information regarding the segment's media usage. If a consumer segment is more responsive, then firms can make better decisions regarding channels or times ads should be shown at. On the other hand, if a segment is less responsive, firms may need to consider different techniques to persuade them. Since media usage varies by demographic characteristics, the purpose of the study is to evaluate reactions to an ad among people of different demographics to provide clues to firms regarding profitable advertisement placement decisions. One of the goals of promotional activities directed toward consumers is to affect the choice of prescription by altering a patient's preference and knowledge. Since prior research has found that Blacks show positive attitudes toward DTCA, I explore the relationship between race and the likelihood of requesting a change in treatment among respondents exposed to an ad. Multiple regression analysis suggests that there is a significant relationship between the likelihood of requesting a change in treatment and race after controlling for other characteristics. In particular, Blacks are more likely to request a change in treatment when compared to Whites and Hispanics, and Black females are more likely to request a change in treatment than Black males. To conclude, I discuss the implications of sample selection bias and omitted variable bias on the interpretation of the results and make suggestions for future research.
