The Peculiarities of the Impact of Rational, Emotional and Sensory Components of Advertising Appeal (Case Studies of Video Advertising of OTC Drugs)

The present Master’s thesis examines the rational, emotional and sensory components of an advertising appeal with a focus on commercials of otc-drugs. High levels of competition in the pharmaceutical market and the need for a complex impact on different levels of consumer perception make it necessary for companies to develop new approaches to the creation of commercials.An integrated approach to the study in hand does not only consider the rational and emotional components of advertising appeals, but also the sensory component, which is particularly significant for the pharmaceutical market.The purpose of the study is to identify features of the impact that the rational, emotional and sensory components found in commercials of OTC medicines has on consumers and to make recommendations as to how the influence of advertising messages can be optimised with the help of rational, emotional and sensory components.The empirical part of the study includes desk research into commercials of otc-medicines, expert interviews and a consumer poll of 212 respondents. The desk research covered 12 commercials from 4 different categories of OTC medicines. As a result, forms and features of how the components in question are displayed have been identified. The expert interviews with 10 experts have allowed me to discern different forms of how these components are displayed in the different categories to make recommendations as to how advertising communication can be enhanced. On the basis of the poll on each of the advertising appeals relevant to the study, communicative effects at the cognitive, affective and conative levels of influence have been identified.