Abstract

Brand love is an emotional relationship established between consumers and their preferred brands. Its various positive consequences, including loyalty, paying price premiums, and positive word-of-mouth, have been leveraged in the fast-moving consumer goods industry. Regardless of its great potential in optimizing patient journeys, it has not yet been leveraged in the prescription drug industry. This research aims to enhance patients’ long-term involvement with branded drugs by extending brand love into the pharmaceutical industry. A two-step mixed methodology study was utilized to explore the phenomenon. Study I qualitatively analyzed patients’ reviews from social media platforms using the content analysis software Voyant Tools and provided a general understanding of patients’ overall emotions toward their prescription drugs. Study II quantitively confirmed the main dimensions of the phenomenon through a survey (N=363) and using Exploratory Factor Analysis. The qualitative results confirmed the presence of prescription drug brand love and explored its main variables, while the quantitative survey identified three main dimensions characterizing prescription drug brand love: trust, information-exchange, and accessibility. Additionally, Study II yielded 11 validated items describing the phenomenon. The findings equip industry professionals with significant insights aiming to optimize branded medication’s marketing strategies. This research offers a preliminary understanding of the phenomenon and identifies its general topology, leaving immense opportunities for future researchers to expand upon.
Keywords: brand love, prescription drug brands, efficacy, trust, tolerability, information exchange, pharmaceutical marketing.