The dimensions of prescription drug brand personality as identified by consumers

Abstract

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to describe the development and validation of a two-dimensional scale measuring prescription drug brand personality as identified by consumers. Design/methodology/approach – A total of 483 US respondents rated a subset of 15 well-known prescription medications on 22 different personality traits. A total of 2,245 individual brand evaluations were generated and subsequently analyzed using exploratory factor analysis. Findings – The findings revealed that consumers are in fact able to attribute human personality traits to prescription drugs. A stable and generalizable two-dimensional (competence and innovativeness) scale was established: the Prescription Brand Personality Scale (PBPS). Research limitations/implications – The “stacked” data structure required to aggregate data across subjects discounts the variation between brands and subjects. The brands included in the study are relatively few compared to consumer brands. Practical implications – This research has important implications for the expansion of pharmaceutical branding strategies and demonstrates the potential of using brand personality as an effective positioning and differentiation tool. Originality/value – This is the first study to investigate the existence of prescription drug brand personalities as perceived by consumers as well as the development of the PBPS, specifically for prescription drug brands. The findings have important implications for the development of innovative marketing strategies, and this study lays the groundwork for further investigation into the antecedents and consequences of prescription drug brand personality.

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