FARMACIA, 2017, Vol. 65, 2 317 ORIGINAL ARTICLE ONLINE INSTRUMENTS USED IN PHARMACEUTICAL MARKETING ANDRA-VICTORIA RADU 1 *, ALEXANDRU VIRGIL TASCU 2 , IVONA STOICA 3 , ANAMARIA CATALINA RADU 2 , VICTOR LORIN PURCAREA 1 1 “Carol Davila” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 8 Eroii Sanitari Boulevard, 050474, Bucharest, Romania 2 Bucharest University of Economic Studies, Faculty of Marketing, 6 Romană Square, District 1, 010374, Bucharest, Romania 3 “Dimitrie Cantemir” Christian University, Faculty of Marketing, 176 Splaiul Unirii, 030134, Bucharest, Romania *corresponding author: andra352002@yahoo.com Manuscript received: August 2016 Abstract Internet and IT&C (information and communications technologies) such Web, multimedia are transforming the pharmaceutical market in a continuously developing dynamic market. In relation to the intended goals, the online marketing plan may consist in online advertising, direct e-mail, designing websites and e-distribution applications usage, also considering a particular characteristic of this field, in the sense that, the pharmaceutical industry does not produce drugs that can be picked out by the patients as they like, in this case, the decision to purchase being influenced by several factors. Google AdWords is a tool which allows companies to advertise on Google and on its partner website network. But, besides SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and AdWords, there are also other topical techniques by which a pharmaceutical product can be promoted online. Rezumat Internetul și tehnologiile informației și comunicațiilor IT&C precum tehnologia Web, multimedia, transformă piața farmaceutică într-un mediu dinamic. Planul de marketing online, în raport cu obiectivele urmărite, poate fi compus din publicitate online, direct e-mail, proiectarea website-urilor și utilizarea aplicațiilor de distribuție economică, ținând totodată seama de o particularitate a acestui domeniu, în sensul în care, industria farmaceutică nu produce medicamente care pot fi alese de către pacienți după bunul plac, în acest caz, decizia de cumpărare fiind influențată de mai mulți factori. Google AdWords este un instrument care permite firmelor să își facă publicitate pe Google şi în reţeaua sa de site-uri web partenere. Dar pe lângă SEO (Search Engine Optimization) și AdWords există și alte tehnici de actualitate prin care un produs farmaceutic poate fi promovat online. Keywords: pharmaceutical marketing, online instruments, online communication Introduction Pharmaceutical medicine is the scientific medical discipline that deals with discovery, development, assessment, recording, monitoring and medical aspects of marketing the medicinal products for the benefit of the patients and the health condition of the community. “A combination of new medical technology and new information technology means that public health needs can now be identified and addressed in a way they could not in previous generations” [6]. The pharmaceutical market consists in the aggregate consumers and distributors interested in the exchange of a pharmaceutical product or service. The economic agent, based on its activity focused on fulfilment the identified needs for medicinal products and pharmaceutical services, intends, through marketing actions, to achieve the objectives and maximize the profit of the organisation. At the same time, although the pharmaceutical sector suffers by various regulations and restrictions with regard to the advertisement message, the marketing activities maintain the commercial content and approach [4, 9]. Because it contains highly specialized pharmaceutical services provided by specialized personnel in the field, the pharmaceutical marketing has a more extended meaning than the marketing of medicinal products, the focus being on the pharmaceutical care services provided to the patient. In the last few years, the pharmaceutical industry has been greatly expanded, showing it increased importance both in our country and at European level. The implications of the pharmaceutical industry in the medical field have led many experts to turn their attention to this area and to observe how the communicational activity has the ability to influence patients [12]. On the other hand, strong competition in this field and the diversification of patients’ needs and desires have led many companies operating in this industry to carve its new strategy to take into account the purchasing of smaller companies or merging with them [2].