ABSTRACT
Today, the Internet is a mainstream tool for consumer information search. For many consumers, the Internet is the first place to turn to when they need information about news, products, shopping, and health. Health information search is one of the most popular online activities. According to a recent report, 76% of U.S. adults go online to search for health information (Harris Interactive, 2010). The Internet is an optimal channel for disseminating health-related information because it provides high accessibility, privacy, immediacy, and a wide range of information in unlimited space (Bischoff & Kelley, 1999). Consumers prefer the anonymity offered by the Internet especially for seeking information about certain drugs or discussing embarrassing illnesses with others (Spain, Siegel, & Ramsey, 2001). With a growing number of consumers going online for health information, advertisers marketing healthcare products are increasing investments in online advertising including websites, banners, email advertising, and advergames (Miley & Thomaselli, 2009) (see Figures 19.1 and 19.2). Despite the growing popularity and importance of online advertising for healthcare products, little is known about the impact and role of healthcare product advertising in consumers’ healthcare decision making. To advance our knowledge of online advertising for healthcare products and to help develop a theoretical model for examining effects of such advertising, this chapter discusses unique characteristics of online healthcare product advertising, proposes the trust construct as a key element in theory-building, and presents an empirical study testing the role of trust in consumers’ interactions with and responses to pharmaceutical advertising websites. Applying the definition of online interactive advertising suggested by Leckenby and Li (2000), we define online healthcare product advertising as “paid and unpaid presentation and promotion of healthcare products by an identified sponsor through online media involving mutual action between consumers and producers.” Considering the interactive nature of online advertising, it is imperative for research examining the online health-advertising phenomenon to shift
from the traditional paradigm focusing on recipients and message effects on them to a new paradigm focusing on users and their use of and interaction with messages (Lievrouw & Livingstone, 2006). Thus, the primary focus of this chapter is on how consumers perceive and use healthcare product advertising as one of many types of information sources online, rather than only on influence of advertising on consumers’ brand awareness, attitude, and behaviors. Among the various advertising components outlined in Figure 1.1 of Chapter 1, this chapter covers the role of advertising in the public health and policy domains with particular focus on non-traditional forms of advertising for healthcare products.
