Douglas Eadie

Corporate social responsibility in food retailing

Describes a study investigating the motivations of food retailers to engage in corporate socially responsible (CSR) activities. Focusing on confectionery retailing and merchandising, the study sought to establish the extent of CSR activities and the motivations for companies to act as they do. An audit of food retailers was first conducted to establish the nature and extent of CSR activities. This was followed by a series of in‐depth interviews with key decision makers in food retailing organisations, to reveal motivations behind their policies on confectionery retailing. The authors found the main motivations driving confectionery merchandising decisions to be space maximisation, profitability and customer pressure. While certain proactive companies recognised the benefits of being seen as a socially responsible company, none of the companies was driven primarily by philanthropic motivations.

Projective and enabling techniques explored

Explores the rationale for, and value of, using projective and enabling techniques in qualitative market research and in particular their application to researching “sensitive” issues. Defines these techniques and illustrates their usage through a case study of research conducted by the Centre for Social Marketing, University of Strathclyde. Concludes with a discussion focusing on the relevance, suitability and level of applicability of projective and enabling techniques to market research.

A qualitative study of older people's perceptions of ageing and exercise: the implications for health promotion

Older peoples perceptions of ageing and exercise were explored in this qualitative research project. Fifteen focus group discussions were con ducted in Scotland with older (55-75+) and younger (18-49) people, with the aim of investigating how ageing, health and exercise were conceptual ised and of exploring the factors which influence participation in physical activity. Differences between age groups were also examined. The findings demonstrate that many older people are unlikely to participate in exercise for its own sake, nor for health reasons; attempts to promote activity should stress instead the social rewards, and should use different strategies for those currently active and for those who take little or no exercise.

Branding: could it hold the key to future tobacco reduction policy?

The debate surrounding tobacco control has become increasingly polarised as the health and tobacco lobbies seek to influence tobacco policy. In recent times the main focus for debate has been the impact of tobacco advertising on under‐age smoking. However, with the proposed ban on tobacco advertising, this paper argues that branding may prove pivotal to re‐orienting thinking about how tobacco marketing continues to influence smoking initiation. Marketing theory asserts that creating demand for a product is dependent upon building a strong brand identity that concurs with the needs, values and lifestyles of the consumer. It is hypothesised that branding can function by affecting not only the way people perceive specific tobacco products but also their perceptions of smoking behaviour itself. Using branding to extend the debate in this way provides some useful insights into the role tobacco marketing might play in encouraging young people to start smoking. It is concluded that explanations for smoking initiation can be found, not by attempting to isolate the abilities of tobacco marketing and health policy to persuade young people to adopt one behaviour in favour of the other, but by examining how exposure to competing forces such as these during adolescence may conspire to brand smoking in a way that encourages young people to experiment with cigarettes. It is suggested that more significant advances in reducing smoking rates are likely to depend upon a willingness to confront the fundamental contradictions that are created by such competing forces.

Advertorial: Creative Solution or Last Resort?

In what is becoming an increasingly cluttered competitive environment, advertisers are being forced to identify alternative approaches with which to communicate their messages. This article focuses on one possible approach, the advertorial, a term typically used to describe a print advertisement where the execution, and in particular the copy, is in the editorial style of the host publication. Drawing on a preliminary review of the literature and an exploratory research study, comprising a press review and a series of in-depth interviews with practitioners, the article considers the profile of the press advertorial and advertising feature within the present advertising environment and their potential as an effective communication tool.

Net profits? Web site development and health improvement

The Internet has revolutionised information exchange. Its rapid connection of users and materials locally and globally make it an ideal health promotion medium, for both the public and professionals. However, the mechanisms through which it might contribute to health improvement are unclear. This paper provides an overview of Internet developments and presents findings from research carried out on behalf of the Health Education Board for Scotland, illustrating some of the assumptions implicit in using the Internet for health promotion. In the absence good evidence on the effects of delivering health promotion online, this paper argues that good practice requires greater responsiveness to user needs and circumstances at the planning stage, better quality assurance, more clearly defined indicators of “success” and the pathways to it, and more comprehensive evaluation of short‐ and long‐term impacts and outcomes.

Marketing of alcohol to young people: a comparison of the UK and Poland.

This paper takes an international perspective on the marketing of alcohol to young people by examining case studies of the marketing of alcohol in the UK and Poland. It is suggested that marketing is a powerful mechanism for attracting young consumers. The alcohol industry is an innovative industry able to use a wide variety of marketing tools to achieve success in the market-place. It is important to recognise that the marketing activities of the industry are becoming increasingly transnational and that policy response has to be equally transnational.

Researching communication approaches to heart disease prevention

TO develop an effective coronary heart disease (CHD) prevention initiative, the Health Education Board for Scotland considered it important to understand first the relevant issues when viewed from the consumer perspective. The Advertising Research Unit at the University of Strathclyde was commissioned to carry out the formative research for, and initial monitoring of, the initiative. This paper focuses on the communi cation research aspects of these formative stages and demonstrates the decision-making role a compre hensive research strategy can play in developing ef fective health communication programmes.

Effect of tobacco loyalty programmes on low-income smokers

The tobacco industry sustains itself in two ways: by maximizing the number of people who start smoking and by minimizing the number who stop. The health lobby has placed much emphasis upon understanding how the industry uses marketing techniques to recruit new smokers, particularly underage smokers; yet, given that it costs the industry less to keep existing customers than it does to find new ones, there is a strong case for expanding the scope of current investigations to establish the marketing techniques used to maintain the existing customer base. This study focuses on one such technique, the tobacco loyalty programme. It examines the impact of loyalty programmes on low-income smokers, since the evidence indicates that the cessation rates in this group are particularly low.

Smoking in disadvantaged communities: Assessing motivation and ability to quit

For several years, tobacco control organizations have advocated price manipulation by raising taxes on tobacco products as a strategy for promoting smoking cessation.Data from several countries have shown a direct correlation between price and consumption (e.g. European Bureau for action on Smoking Prevention, 1992; Townsend et al. 1994): when price rises, consumption decreases, and vice versa. Recent evidence suggests, however, that price rises may be ineffective among the poorest smokers (Marsh & McKay, 1994). The decreases in prevalence that have occurred in all other sections of the population have not occurred in the poorest groups, who continue to smoke at the same rate as 20 years ago (Figure 1).