Media and Message Effects on DTC Prescription Drug Print Advertising Awareness

Abstract

Despite various surveys of consumer attitudes toward direct-to-consumer (DTC) prescription drug advertising, little is known about the effectiveness of specific advertising campaigns. This article combines brand-level advertising awareness, media spending, and print advertising message strategy data to examine message effects on DTC prescription drug advertising awareness. The findings show that after controlling for media spending, several message strategies are associated with higher levels of advertising awareness. Prescriptions for DTC drug advertising campaign design and implications for future research are presented.