Cornelia Pechmann

What to Convey in Antismoking Advertisements for Adolescents: The Use of Protection Motivation Theory to Identify Effective Message Themes

Antismoking advertising is increasingly used, but its message content is controversial. In an initial study in which adolescents coded 194 advertisements, the authors identified seven common message themes. Using protection motivation theory, the authors develop hypotheses regarding the message theme effects on cognitions and intentions and test them in an experiment involving 1667 adolescents. Three of the seven message themes increased adolescents’ nonsmoking intentions compared with a control; all did so by enhancing adolescents’ perceptions that smoking poses severe social disapproval risks. Other message themes increased health risk severity perceptions but were undermined by low perceived vulnerability.

The Impact of Regulatory Focus on Adolescents' Response to Antismoking Advertising Campaigns

The authors demonstrate that antismoking advertisements are the most persuasive when the viewers’ regulatory focus, the messages regulatory focus, and the message frame function synergistically. In two experiments, 1000 adolescents saw either antismoking advertising about smokings social consequences or control advertising in a television show. The authors find that for promotion-focused adolescents, a promotion-focused positively framed antismoking message is the most effective at persuading them not to smoke; for prevention-focused adolescents, a prevention-focused negatively framed antismoking message is the most effective. The enhanced ad effectiveness is mediated by message accessibility and diagnosticity.

Goal-Derived Categories and the Antecedents of Across-Category Consideration

We employ the concept of goal-derived categories and examine when and why consideration sets might include alternatives from different nominal product categories. An experiment in stimulus-based choice was conducted wherein subjects were given a large, heterogeneous set of alternatives and asked to form consideration sets. A key finding was that across-category consideration was high when there was either goal conflict (i.e., a single product category could not deliver on all salient goals) or goal ambiguity (i.e., a lack of salient goals). However, goal-conflict and goal-ambiguity subjects engaged in across-category consideration for different reasons. Goal-conflict subjects potentially could have prioritized goals and eliminated entire categories prior to forming consideration sets. Instead, they formed mixed consideration sets in the service of salient goals and postponed conflict resolution to the final choice stage. Goal-ambiguity subjects, on the other hand, considered alternatives from different categories because they were influenced by extrinsic cues (e.g., leading brand names). Implications are discussed for consideration set formation and product-market structure.

Twitter=quitter? An analysis of Twitter quit smoking social networks

Objective Widely popular, Twitter, a free social networking and micro-blogging service, offers potential for health promotion. This study examined the activity of Twitter quit smoking social network accounts. Design A cross‐sectional analysis identified 153 activated Twitter quit smoking accounts dating back to 2007 and examined recent account activity for the month of August 2010. Results The accounts had a median of 155 followers and 82 total tweets per account; 49% of accounts had >100 tweets. Posted content was largely inconsistent with clinical guidelines; 48% linked to commercial sites for quitting smoking and 43% had tweets on e‐cigarettes. In August 2010, 81 of the accounts (53%) were still active. Conclusions Though popular for building quit smoking social networks, many of the Twitter accounts were no longer active, and tweet content was largely inconsistent with clinical guidelines. Future research is needed to examine the effectiveness of Twitter for supporting smoking cessation.

Transformative consumer research for personal and collective well-being

M. Csikszentmihalyi, Foreword: Consuming and Evolving. Part 1: Declaring and Projecting Transformative Consumer Research D.G. Mick, S. Pettigrew, C. Pechmann, J.L. Ozanne, The Origins, Qualities, and Envisionments of Transformative Consumer Research. A.R. Andreasen, M.E. Goldberg, M.J. Sirgy, Foundational Research on Consumer Welfare: Opportunities for a Transformative Consumer Research Agenda. B. Wansink, Activism Research: Designing Transformative Lab and Field Studies. J.L. Ozanne, E.M. Fischer, Sensitizing Principles and Practices Central to Social Change Methodologies. Part 2: Economic and Social Issues M. Viswanathan, Conducting Transformative Consumer Research: Lessons Learned in Moving from Basic Research to Transformative Impact in Subsistence Markets. C.J. Shultz II, S.J. Shapiro,Transformative Consumer Research in Developing Economies: Perspectives, Trends, and Reflections from the Field. J.A. Rosa, S. Geiger-Oneta, A. Barrios Fajardo, Hope and Innovativeness: Transformative Factors for Subsistence Consumer Merchants. J.D. Williams, G.R. Henderson, Discrimination and Injustice in the Marketplace: They Come in All Sizes, Shapes, and Colors. Part 3: Technological Edges D.L. Hoffman, Internet Indispensability, Online Social Capital, and Consumer Well-Being. R.V. Kozinets, F.M. Belz, P. McDonagh, Social Media for Social Change: A TCR Perspective. T.P. Novak, Quality of Virtual Life. Part 4: Materialism and the Environment J.E. Burroughs, A. Rindfleisch, What Welfare? On the Definition and Domain of Transformative Consumer Research and the Foundational Role of Materialism. P. McDonagh, S. Dobscha, A. Prothero, Sustainable Consumption and Production: Challenges for Transformative Consumer Research. W. Kilbourne, J. Mittelstaedt, From Profligacy to Sustainability: Can We Get There from Here? Transforming the Ideology of Consumption. Part 5: Enhancing Health S. A. Grier, E.S. Moore, Tackling the Childhood Obesity Epidemic: An Opportunity for Transformative Consumer Research. K.G. Grunert, L.E. Bolton, M.M. Raats, Processing and Acting upon Nutrition Labeling on Food: The State of Knowledge and New Directions for Transformative Consumer Research. C. Pechmann, A. Biglan, J.W. Grube, C. Cody, Transformative Consumer Research for Addressing Tobacco and Alcohol Consumption. M. Fishbein, S. E. Middlestadt, Using Behavioral Theory to Transform Consumers and Their Environment to Prevent the Spread of Sexually Transmitted Infections. Part 6: Consumer Finances G. Loewenstein, C.E. Cryder, S. Benartzi, A. Previtero, Addition by Division: Partitioning Real Accounts for Financial Well-Being. D. Soman, A. Cheema, E.Y. Chan, Understanding Consumer Psychology to Avoid Abuse of Credit Cards. P.A. Keller, A. Lusardi, Employee Retirement Savings: What We Know and What We Are Discovering for Helping People to Prepare for Life after Work. Part 7: Other Risky Behaviors and At-Risk Consumers R.J. Faber, K.D. Vohs, A Model of Self-Regulation: Insights for Impulsive and Compulsive Problems with Eating and Buying. J. Cotte, K.A. LaTour, Gambling Beliefs vs. Reality: Implications for Transformative Public Policy. J.M. Albright, Porn 2.0: The Libidinal Economy and the Consumption of Desire in the Digital Age. A. Litt, D.M. Pirouz, B. Shiv, Neuroscience and Addictive Consumption. S. Menzel Baker, M. Mason, Toward a Process Theory of Consumer Vulnerability and Resiliency: Illuminating Its Transformative Potential. S. Pettigrew, G. Moschis, Consumer Well-Being in Later Life. Part 8: Family Matters R.J. Prinz, Effective Parenting to Prevent Adverse Outcomes and Promote Child Well-Being at a Population Level. A.M. Epp, L.L. Price, Family Time in Consumer Culture: Implications for Transformative Consumer Research. Part 9: Enriching Behaviors and Virtues R. Belk, R. Llamas, The Nature and Effects of Sharing in Consumer Behavior. S.R. Maddi, Resilience and Consumer Behavior for Higher Quality of Life. D.G. Mick, B. Schwartz, Can Consumers Be Wise? Aristotle Speaks to the 21st Century. Part 10: Epilogue D.R. Lehmann, R.P. Hill, Epilogue to Transformative Consumer Research: Suggestions for the Future.In this chapter, we will give a brief introduction to the current practice of nutrition labeling in the USA and the EU. We will then address the question of how nutrition labeling affects consumer behavior, reviewing extant research and proposing an agenda for future research. Our discussion will focus on the effects of nutrition labeling that occur via their impact on consumer behavior. Labeling may also have effects on the supply side: For example, as labeling makes certain nutritional properties of a product more visible, new product development and product reformulation may take place to create positive nutritional profiles. Such effects, while potentially very important from a public health perspective, will not be addressed in this chapter (see Moorman, 1998 and Moorman, Du & Mela, 2005 for investigation of such effects).

Anti-smoking advertising campaigns targeting youth: case studies from USA and Canada

OBJECTIVE To assist in planning anti-smoking advertising that targets youth. Using five US state campaigns, one US research study, and a Canadian initiative as exemplars, an attempt is made to explain why certain advertising campaigns have been more cost effective than others in terms of reducing adolescent smoking prevalence. Several factors which prior research and theory suggest may be important to cost effectiveness are examined. Specifically, three variables pertaining to the advertising message (content, consistency, and clarity) and two variables related to the advertising execution or style (age of spokesperson and depiction of smoking behaviour) are studied. DESIGN A case study approach has been combined with supplemental data collection and analysis. To assess campaign effects, published articles and surveys of adolescent smoking prevalence in campaign versus control (non-campaign) locations were utilised. Adolescent subjects provided supplemental data on the advertising message variables. Trained adults content analysed each advertisement to assess the executional variables. SUBJECTS A total of 1128 seventh grade (age 12–13 years) and 10th grade (age 15–16 years) students participated in the supplemental data collection effort. RESULTS An anti-smoking advertising campaign initiated by Vermont researchers was found to be the most cost effective in that it significantly reduced adolescent smoking prevalence at a low per capita cost. Next in order of cost effectiveness were California, Massachusetts, and Florida because behavioural outcomes were inconsistent across time and/or grades. California was ranked higher than the other two because it spent less per capita. Minnesota and Canada were ineffective at reducing adolescent smoking prevalence, and no comparison outcome data were available for Arizona. Four factors were found to be associated with increased cost effectiveness: (1) a greater use of message content that prior research suggests is efficacious with youth; (2) a more concentrated use of a single efficacious message; (3) an avoidance of unclear messages; and (4) an increased use of youthful spokespeople that adolescents could more readily identify with. No indication was found that depictions of smoking undermined campaign effectiveness by inadvertently implying that smoking was prevalent. CONCLUSIONS The highly cost effective Vermont campaign can be used as a model for future efforts. It is estimated that 79% of the Vermont advertisements conveyed efficacious messages, 58% concentrated on a single efficacious message, 70% showed youthful spokespeople, and only 4% contained unclear messages. The results suggest that, in the less effective campaigns, as few as 25% of the advertisements contained messages that prior research indicates should be efficacious with youth, as few as 10% of the advertisements focused on one efficacious message, and up to 32% of the advertisements lacked clearcut messages.

Planning an effective anti-smoking mass media campaign targeting adolescents.

This article addresses the following issues: Can an anti-smoking campaign that depends largely on mass media vehicles effectively reduce adolescent tobacco use? Why is an integrated campaign recommended and what are the steps in designing such a campaign? How should the campaign be evaluated? Specific topics include recommended campaign expenditures, target audience identification, selection of persuasive message content, executional (stylistic) considerations, media buying decisions, the use of focus group research and advertising copy-testing research, and outcome evaluations. It is concluded that comprehensive strategic planning and extensive research at all phases of the campaign are essential to success.

A Comparison of Health Communication Models: Risk Learning Versus Stereotype Priming

Health communication research and practice have been strongly influenced by the protection motivation theory (Rogers, 1975, 1983), the health belief model (Becker, Haefner, Kasl, et al., 1977; Becker, Haefner, & Maiman, 1977; Rosenstock, 1974), and similar conceptualizations. I refer to these as risk learning models because the goal is to teach new information about health risks and the behaviors that will minimize those risks. These models have garnered a substantial amount of empirical support and are apparently quite useful to practitioners (Conner & Norman, 1996). The goal of this article is to describe a less familiar, but complementary, approach to persuading people to avoid risky behaviors, which I will refer to as the stereotype priming model (Bargh, 1989; Bargh, Chen, & Burrows, 1996; Bargh, Raymond, Pryor, & Strack, 1995). The goal is to make salient preexisting social stereotypes about people who do or do not behave as advocated. The stereotype priming model posits that the stereotypes that we possess regarding the personality traits of groups of people (e.g., smokers, drunk drivers, marijuana users, people with suntans) to a large extent govern our behavior. In this view, it is sometimes useful to capitalize on and reinforce preexisting stereotypes in order to encourage healthy, and/or discourage unhealthy, behaviors. This article reviews the traditional risk learning models and evidence that supports them, provides corresponding information for the stereotype priming model, compares and contrasts the models, and discusses how the stereotype priming model might be used to design health communications campaigns.

Development of a Twitter-Based Intervention for Smoking Cessation that Encourages High-Quality Social Media Interactions via Automessages

Background The medical field seeks to use social media to deliver health interventions, for example, to provide low-cost, self-directed, online self-help groups. However, engagement in online groups is often low and the informational content may be poor. Objective The specific study aims were to explore if sending automessages to online self-help groups encouraged engagement and to see if overall or specific types of engagement related to abstinence. Methods We conducted a Stage I Early Therapy Development Trial of a novel social media intervention for smoking cessation called Tweet2Quit that was delivered online over closed, 20-person quit-smoking groups on Twitter in 100 days. Social media such as Twitter traditionally involves non-directed peer-to-peer exchanges, but our hybrid social media intervention sought to increase and direct such exchanges by sending out two types of autocommunications daily: (1) an “automessage” that encouraged group discussion on an evidence-based cessation-related or community-building topic, and (2) individualized “autofeedback” to each participant on their past 24-hour tweeting. The intervention was purposefully designed without an expert group facilitator and with full automation to ensure low cost, easy implementation, and broad scalability. This purely Web-based trial examined two online quit-smoking groups with 20 members each. Participants were adult smokers who were interested in quitting and were recruited using Google AdWords. Participants’ tweets were counted and content coded, distinguishing between responses to the intervention’s automessages and spontaneous tweets. In addition, smoking abstinence was assessed at 7 days, 30 days, and 60 days post quit date. Statistical models assessed how tweeting related to abstinence. Results Combining the two groups, 78% (31/40) of the members sent at least one tweet; and on average, each member sent 72 tweets during the 100-day period. The automessage-suggested discussion topics and participants’ responses to those daily automessages were related in terms of their content (r=.75, P=.012). Responses to automessages contributed 22.78% (653/2867) of the total tweets; 77.22% (2214/2867) were spontaneous. Overall tweeting related only marginally to abstinence (OR 1.03, P=.086). However, specific tweet content related to abstinence including tweets about setting of a quit date or use of nicotine patches (OR 1.52, P=.024), countering of roadblocks to quitting (OR 1.76, P=.008) and expressions of confidence about quitting (OR 1.71, SE 0.42, P=.032). Questionable, that is, non-evidence-based, information about quitting did not relate to abstinence (OR 1.12, P=.278). Conclusions A hybrid social media intervention that combines traditional online social support with daily automessages appears to hold promise for smoking cessation. This hybrid approach capitalizes on social media’s spontaneous real-time peer-to-peer exchanges but supplements this with daily automessages that group members respond to, bolstering and sustaining the social network and directing the information content. Highly engaging, this approach should be studied further. Trial Registration Clinicaltrials.gov NCT01602536; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01602536 (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/6WGbt0o1K)

Navigating the Central Tensions in Research on At-Risk Consumers: Challenges and Opportunities

A perennial problem in social marketing and public policy is the plight of at-risk consumers. The authors define at-risk consumers as marketplace participants who, because of historical or personal circumstances or disabilities, may be harmed by marketers’ practices or may be unable or unwilling to take full advantage of marketplace opportunities. This definition refers to either objective reality or perceptions. Early research focused on consumers who were at risk because they were poor, ethnic or racial minorities, immigrants, women, or elderly. Todays researchers also study consumers who are at risk because they are from religious minorities, disabled, illiterate, homeless, indigent, lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender. The authors identify four tensions affecting research on and policy and marketing applications for at-risk populations: the value of focusing on (1) vulnerabilities versus strengths, (2) radical versus marginal change, (3) targeting versus nontargeting, and (4) encouraging knowledgeable versus naive consumers. They conclude with a discussion of the significance of including at-risk consumers as full marketplace participants and identify future research directions.