Brand salience of OTC pharmaceuticals through package appearance

Abstract

PurposeThe changing health care market is affecting consumers who are now expected to take greater responsibility for their health. Their means for doing this include purchasing self‐medication and medical self‐service, which coincides neatly with an increase in the number of over‐the‐counter (OTC) pharmaceuticals. Additionally, OTC pharmaceuticals are progressively becoming available in a wider range of stores, where the pharmacists' knowledge of the OTC products is absent. This study aims to examine packaging as media that conveys the product message at the point of purchase, and to explore the impact of its extrinsic verbal and visual product cues.Design/methodology/approachAn exploratory conjoint analysis was conducted in Finland, the USA, and Ghana. In total, 89 respondents conducted conjoint tasks for two product types, i.e. a painkiller and sore throat medicine.FindingsThe results showed differences and similarities in the impact of the packaging product cues across Finland, the USA, and Ghana. Differences and similarities were also detected across the two different, but related, product types. The study found that the impact of product cues is contextual, varying across the samples and product types.Practical implicationsThe results are limited by the exploratory nature of the conjoint analysis. They highlight that medical marketers should recognize the varying impact of salient cues on consumers' product preferences and choices.Originality/valueThe study deals with a mostly unexplored issue and provides exploratory insights into the phenomenon.