Analyse Semio-Linguistique Des Emballages Et Etiquettes De Medicaments En Vente Libre : Cas D’etude De Nairobi

ABSTRACT

This is a case study of the Nairobi central business district. The key objective is to determine the semio-linguistic elements used in the packaging of over the counter medicines, their influence on the consumer and their interpretation by the consumer. This study provides a Kenyan perspective on the interpretation of semio-linguistic elements on the packaging of over the counter medicines and their relevance to the Kenyan consumer. The information provided in this study is therefore significant to the marketers of pharmaceutical products in Kenya. It provides relevant information in picking semio-linguistic elements that best represents the company image while communicating relevant information to the consumer thereby increasing sales of the product. We used two sampling techniques for this research. Purposive sampling technique was used to select pharmacies where 60 photos of packaging were taken. The 30 chemists in these pharmacies responded to the questionnaires for chemists. Stratified random sampling technique was used to identify respondents for the questionnaire and interview targeting consumers. 30 men and 30 women were selected to respond to the questionnaire. For the interview, 5 men and 5 women were chosen randomly. The research was carried out along the streets of Tom Mboya, Ronald Ngala and Mfangano in the central business district of Nairobi.

Two theories were used in this study: the theory of semiotics and the theory of social representation. The semiotic theory was useful in the analysis of the packaging on the photos taken at various pharmacies while the social representation theory was useful in the analysis of the interpretation of color by the consumer