Isabell Koinig

Are pharmaceutical ads affording consumers a greater say in their health care? The evaluation and self-empowerment effects of different ad appeals in Brazil

ABSTRACT Given the pharmaceutical industrys immense global importance, drug manufacturers are currently spending approximately one third of sales revenues on marketing their products. A neglected area of inquiry is pharmaceutical marketings contribution to consumer empowerment. The present investigation proposes an Advertising-Empowerment-Model which was tested in Brazil, the most important pharmaceutical drug market in Latin America. The model includes ad-, product- and health-related variables. Based on survey data from 241 Brazilian subjects (non-student sample), the model received support for four different ad appeals (informative, emotional, mixed and CSR). Results indicate that the mixed appeal ad led to the highest degree of empowerment in all three empowerment categories (message empowerment, self-medication empowerment, and health empowerment) and was followed by the informative and emotional ad appeals. The CSR appeal obtained the overall lowest scores. Implications regarding the relevance of empowerment in international advertising are discussed. Additionally, limitations and directions for further research are addressed.

Positive or Negative Effects of Technology Enhancement for Brand Placements? Memory of Brand Placements in 2D, 3D, and 4D Movies

Brand placements in movies are common throughout the world. Within the last few years, 3D movie technology has experienced substantial growth in both cinemas and home entertainment. Furthermore, advanced cinemas also offer 4D experiences by adding scent, airflow or tactile stimuli to the 3D film. Based on the limited capacity model of information processing and the levels of processing effect theory, we conduct two studies to investigate how delivery modes of a 2D movie clip, compared to a 3D and a 4D (3D + scent) movie clip, influence recall and recognition of brands that are placed in either prominent or subtle ways. With regard to subtle placements, results from both studies demonstrate that the memory of subtle brand placements is negatively affected by the enhancement offered by 3D or 4D, as compared to 2D movies. With regard to prominent placements, results indicate that the memory of a highly prominent brand placement benefits from 3D, but not from 4D technology. This article addresses implications for research as well as for marketers and movie makers, while also outlining directions for further research.

Medienökonomie und Medienmanagement als Integrationsdisziplinen - Vom Objektbereich zur Heuristik ?

Werner Faulstich beginnt seinen Band Grundwissen Medien (2004) mit einem zentralen Satz, der die Rolle der Medien in der heutigen Zeit auserst treffend beschreibt: „Medien haben in unserer Gesellschaft als dominante Steuerungs- und Orientierungsinstanzen in allen Teilsystemen eine Schlusselrolle“. Nicht umsonst haben sich Begriffe wie „Informationsgesellschaft“, „Mediengesellschaft“ oder auch „Netzwerkgesellschaft“ (Castells 2001; 2002 und 2005) als zentrale und gangige Formulierungen herausgebildet. Auserdem sind sie als Versuch zu verstehen, die heutige (mediale) Gesellschaft in Worte zu fassen und den Zeitgeist eben dieser begrifflich zu fixieren (Karmasin 2005).

New Competencies for the Future: How Changes and Trends In Media Convergence Demand New Skills From The Workforce

Convergence is a ubiquitous phenomenon that cannot be imagined without as it has conquered daily and professional routines, leading to new forms of media and media usage. With changing media environments, also business demands and opportunities are constantly changing and in need for adaptation. Taking this convergent environment as a starting point, the book chapter at hand intends to examine how current as well as future trends and developments will affect business practices in general and firm’s management and staff in particular. In this context, change management provides some solutions to complex matters. Alterations in the domain of media and convergence management will concern various areas, such as technologies and organizational structures together with communication practices and will also require a rethinking of the current management profession. Not only will classical management competencies have to be expanded, but also new competencies will have to be fostered to fit the changing requirements of convergent (media) surroundings. These new skills particularly need to emerge in the realm of leadership, intercultural communication, and corporate social responsibility. Finally, both advantages and disadvantages of the new working environment will be investigated before concluding with potential ways of enabling companies’ workforce (both managers and staff) to remain up to date and competitive.

Health Communication: A Discussion of North American and European Views on Sustainable Health in the Digital Age

Following the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, the UN’s third goal is meant to “ensure health lives and promote well-being for all at all ages” (UN 2017). Thus health is closely linked to sustainability. While progress has been made over the past decades, which have seen an increase in life expectancy and a success in combatting several diseases (e.g., children’s diseases such as measles or adult diseases such as HIV and malaria), new health issues have emerged and need to be addressed. In this context, communication is of uttermost relevance. Broadly speaking, health communication refers to “any type of human communication whose content is concerned with health” (Rogers, J Health Commun 1:15–23, 1996) and can be directed at both individuals and organizations with the goal of preventing illness and fostering health (Thompson et al., The Routledge handbook of health communication, 2nd edn. Routledge, New York, 2011). As a multifaceted and multidisciplinary approach, health communication draws from and combines influences from different theoretical backgrounds and disciplines, such as education, sociology, (mass) communication, anthropology, psychology, and social sciences (WHO, Health and sustainable development. Key health trends. Available via WHO. http://www.who.int/mediacentre/events/HSD_Plaq_02.2_Gb_def1.pdf. Accessed 20 Dec 2017, 2003; Institute of Medicine, Health literacy: a prescription to end confusion. Available via The National Academies of Sciences Engineering Medicine. http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=10883. Accessed 11 Apr 2016, 2003; Bernhardt, Am J Public Health 94:2051–2053, 2004). Health communication – regardless of the form it takes (e.g., policies, patient-provider interactions, community projects, public service announcements, or advertising) – is concerned with “influencing, engaging and supporting individuals, communities, health professionals, special groups, policy makers and the public to champion, introduce, adopt, or sustain a behavior, practice or policy that will ultimately improve health outcomes” (Schiavo, Health communication: from theory to practice. Wiley, San Francisco, 2007). As such, it needs to be perceived as “a part of everyday life” (du Pre, Communicating about health: current issues and perspectives. Mayfield Publishing Company, Mountain View, 2000). Since health communication occurs in the health communication environment (Schiavo, Health communication: from theory to practice, 2nd edn. Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, 2014), which is composed of four main domains, namely: (1) health audience; (2) recommended health behavior, service, or product; (3) social environment; and (4) political environment, it takes place on various levels (societal, institutional, and individual) which need to be studied in order to provide a comprehensible and complete picture of the subject area. The present contribution seeks to highlight the contribution of the different disciplines to effective health communication, outline changes in the health communication environment, as well as carve out future challenges that are brought about by changes in demographics, disease treatment, and communication patterns. A special focus will be put on gender-specific and digital health communication. In conclusion, limitations and directions for future research are addressed.

The Role of CSR Communication in Master’s Degree Curricula Throughout Europe: Universities’ Roles as Digital Communities in Preparing Students for Future Challenges

Concerns for social and environmental engagements on behalf of businesses are on the rise globally; as a result, the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has evolved from an obligation (‘doing good to look good’) to a strategy (‘doing well and doing good’) (Nussbaum 2009). Moreover, CSR communication has to be made part of companies’ strategy Hence, skills related to their proper handling in the digital work- and marketplace need to be imparted by educational institutions. Universities are herein perceived as digital communities as they increasingly connect with their stakeholders via the Internet, where they also distribute information on their academic programs. The study at hand is concerned with analyzing the extent to which post-secondary educational institutions in 22 countries have started to integrate aspects of social and environmental communication into their Master’s degree programs. Online content of programs from various academic disciplines and subject areas was investigated by use of a qualitative analysis. The study of CSR (communication) outlined herein attempts to carve out the current status of CSR in education across national borders before offering suggestions for future development to universities in their roles as digital communities.

“For Risks and Side Effects, Ask Your Doctor or Pharmacist.” Cross-Cultural Consumer Responses to Pharmaceutical Advertising Regulation – Evidence from Brazil, Germany and the US

According to the IMS Institute for Health, the global pharmaceutical market is expected to increase to USD 1.2 trillion in 2017 due to an aging population, unhealthy eating habits and lifestyles, as well as the increasing incidence of chronic diseases across the entire global population (Business Wire, 2013). The majority of investigations conducted to date have predominantly focused on direct-to-consumer prescription drug advertising (DTCA) (see e.g. Menon et al., 2004; Herzenstein et al., 2004; Huh et al, 2005). Apart from a very small number of investigations, research on consumer attitudes towards non-prescription drug advertising is limited (e.g., Main et al. 2004, DeLorme et al. 2010, Huh et al. 2015), while the majority of publications has predominantly focused on direct-to-consumer prescription drug advertising (DTCA) (see e.g. Cheong and Kim, 2014).

Exploring antecedents of attitudes and skepticism towards pharmaceutical advertising and inter-attitudinal and inter-skepticism consistency on three levels: an international study

Abstract Given the increasing relevance of over-the-counter (OTC) drugs to individuals’ health and well-being, this study explores whether selected health variables, as well as consumers’ attitudes and skepticism towards advertising in general, influence their attitudes and skepticism towards pharmaceutical advertising. It extends previous research by building on the theory of inter-attitudinal consistency, examining how three different levels of attitudes and skepticism are interrelated. A field study was conducted on three continents (727 subjects; non-student sample). Results reveal that consumer attitudes and skepticism towards advertising in general, influence attitudes and skepticism towards pharmaceutical advertising in particular, which positively impact the attitudes and skepticism towards four different ad appeal types. The study extends the theory of inter-attitudinal consistency to inter-skepticism consistency. Results further indicate that attitudes and skepticism towards advertising in general can be considered as key antecedents, but that several additional health-related factors also influence consumers’ attitudes and skepticism towards pharmaceutical advertising. Moreover, attitudes and skepticism towards advertising in general, towards pharmaceutical advertising, as well as towards specific pharmaceutical ads, are negatively related. Reasons explaining these results are addressed, as are study limitations and implications for future research.

Memory of Brand Placements in 2D, 3D, and 4D Movie Clips: An Abstract

We analyze recall and recognition of subtle and prominent brand placements that are placed in 2D, 3D, and 4D movie clips. In the 4D movie clip, the 3D film is enhanced with a product related ambient scent that is dispensed synchronized with the appearance of a prominent brand placement. Based on two cognitive theoretical approaches (limited cognitive capacity models of information processing, levels-of-processing effect theory), we address the research question whether brand placements in the movies gain or suffer from appearances in 2D versus 3D versus 4D movies. We report data from two independent studies with different movie clips and different subtle and prominent brand placements. In both studies, a 3 (2D, 3D, 4D movie clip) × 2 (subtle placement, prominent placement) experimental design was used, with technology being a between subject factor and placement prominence a within subject factor. Implications for researchers, advertisers, and the movie industry are derived. Finally, we address limitations and point out directions for future research.

Health Communication and Integrated Corporate Social Responsibility

Health communication has experienced a revival in the twenty-first century, which has been labeled the “health communication renaissance”. At the same time, public concern regarding social causes is on the rise. In response, pharmaceutical marketers have begun to publicly proclaim their support for social and environmental causes. Due to declining public trust in their products as well as their commercial messages for these products, together with increasing legal restrictions, pharmaceutical marketers are being forced to rethink their business and promotional strategies. Consumers’ roles have changed as well; today’s “new consumers” are more skeptical and demanding, renowned for rewarding corporations for their sustainable and future-oriented projects, while punishing those who fail to engage in them. This chapter examines whether corporate social responsibility (CSR) appeals—defined as socially and/or environmentally-oriented efforts promoted as part of corporations’ advertising messages—present a fruitful strategy for the health communication field in general, and for pharmaceutical manufacturers in particular. To this end, two studies are presented here, which investigate how integrated promotional CSR messages are utilized and perceived in a cross-cultural setting. Results indicate that (1) to date, social and green appeals do not constitute a dominant message appeal category in the pharmaceutical industry, and, (2) while CSR appeals in pharmaceutical ads resonated with consumers in the U.S. and Brazil, they were looked upon less favorably by German respondents. This suggests that pharmaceutical marketers intending to incorporate CSR appeals in their commercial messages should tailor such messages to the respective country. In conclusion, limitations are addressed and suggestions for further research are provided.