Objectives: One of the most distinctive features of digital advertising lies in its reliance on two-way interaction. Unlike traditional one-way television advertising, digital advertising enhances message comprehension and effectiveness through active engagement between businesses and consumers. Digital advertising encompasses the use of diverse digital media tools, including internet-based platforms, social networks, mobile communication channels, and electronic content distributed across the web. It is employed to complement conventional marketing activities, aiming to influence customer awareness and decision-making while reducing post-purchase cognitive dissonance. By adopting analytical and creative approaches, digital advertising seeks to strengthen the impact of marketing strategies. This study was conducted with the primary objective of designing and validating an interactive model of digital advertising in the pharmaceutical industry during the post-COVID era, a period marked by rapid digital transformation and heightened reliance on online communication.
Methods: The research was carried out in two phases. In the qualitative phase, a grounded theory approach was adopted. Data were collected through structured interview protocols with 18 experts from the pharmaceutical industry. The interviews provided rich insights into the drivers, challenges, and opportunities of digital advertising in this sector. The validity and reliability of the qualitative data were confirmed at satisfactory levels, leading to the development of a preliminary conceptual model. In the quantitative phase, the proposed model was tested and validated with the participation of 534 pharmaceutical users. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was employed using SmartPLS software to examine the relationships among variables. The quantitative analysis confirmed that the measurement instruments used in both phases demonstrated strong validity and reliability, ensuring the robustness of the findings.
Findings: The results highlight that the success of digital advertising in the post-COVID era depends on several prerequisites, including driving events, informational inputs, market trends, market characteristics, and market capacity. The key components of digital advertising identified in this study include content creation, message customization, message representation, utilization of digital media, validation, media management, audience segmentation strategies, and target audience management. Quantitative analysis further confirmed that these prerequisites and environmental factors, through action–reaction strategies, determine the outcomes of digital advertising in three major categories: functional, social, and unintended. The causal chain begins with environmental and data-driven prerequisites, proceeds through organizational strategies of action and reaction, and ultimately generates tangible functional and social outcomes. Functional outcomes include enhanced customer trust, increased sales, and improved customer retention. Social outcomes encompass time and cost savings as well as positive environmental impacts. However, unintended consequences, such as personal data disclosure or the proliferation of spam messages, emphasize the importance of risk management and privacy protection.
Conclusion: This study demonstrates that successful digital advertising design requires careful alignment among environmental prerequisites, audience characteristics, and organizational strategies of action and reaction. When properly managed, digital advertising can significantly enhance business performance, strengthen social influence, and mitigate unintended consequences. The multidimensional outcomes of digital advertising highlight its dual role: as a driver of organizational growth and as a contributor to broader social and environmental benefits. At the same time, the risks associated with privacy and information security necessitate proactive management and adherence to ethical standards. Overall, the findings provide a practical and validated framework for optimizing digital advertising in the pharmaceutical industry, offering both theoretical contributions to and actionable insights for practitioners seeking to navigate the complexities of the post-COVID digital landscape.