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1 – 10 of over 14000Youngjee Ko, Hanyoung Kim, Youngji Seo, Jeong-Yeob Han, Hye Jin Yoon, Jongmin Lee and Ja Kyung Seo
Successful social marketing campaign to promote COVID-19 vaccination for the unvaccinated relies on increasing positive reactions but also reducing negative responses to…
Abstract
Purpose
Successful social marketing campaign to promote COVID-19 vaccination for the unvaccinated relies on increasing positive reactions but also reducing negative responses to persuasive messages. This study aims to investigate the relative effects of narrative vs non-narrative public service announcements (PSAs) promoting COVID-19 vaccination on both positive and negative reactions. Using social media as a tool for disseminating marketing campaigns provides a great opportunity to examine the effectiveness of narrative PSAs on vaccination intention, especially among unvaccinated young adults, who were the target audience of the social marketing. This study explores the role of empathy and psychological reactance as underlying mechanisms.
Design/methodology/approach
An experiment involving unvaccinated young adults was conducted with a one-factor, two-condition (message type: narrative vs non-narrative) design.
Findings
Results indicated that the narrative (vs non-narrative) PSAs led to greater empathy. While no direct effects of message type emerged on psychological reactance or vaccination intention, results of a serial multi-mediator model confirmed that empathy and psychological reactance mediated the effects of message type on vaccination intention.
Originality/value
The study extends the understanding of narrative persuasion by examining an underlying mechanism behind narrative persuasion in a COVID-19 PSA. This study provides empirical evidence of the important role of empathy in processing narrative PSAs. Moreover, the current study expands narrative persuasion’s applicability to COVID-19 vaccination intervention messages for unvaccinated young adults, highlighting the effectiveness of narrative persuasion as a social marketing communication tool.
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The purpose of this study was to shed light on how effective environmental corporate social responsibility (CSR) communication can be achieved through persuasive communication…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study was to shed light on how effective environmental corporate social responsibility (CSR) communication can be achieved through persuasive communication strategies using message framing.
Design/methodology/approach
This study conducted an online experimental study with a 2 (narrative: narrative or non-narrative) × 2 (framing: gain or loss) between-subjects design.
Findings
The findings showed that environmental CSR communication using narrative framing messages is most effective in creating strong CSR associations between a company and the environmental CSR domain and sharing the company's CSR information on supportive communication and advocating for the environmental campaign.
Originality/value
This study highlights the importance of a company's environmental CSR communication efforts using the right message format (narrative style) to increase its persuasive sequence from CSR evaluation to supportive behaviors, contributing to theoretical development in the research of environmental CSR communication. This study suggests that environmental CSR campaign managers should first formalize the company's environmental responsiveness by clearly establishing policies and practicing CSR performance that could result in a strong CSR association before asking their target publics to engage in pro-environmental activities.
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Ran Huang, Sejin Ha and Sun-Hwa Kim
This paper aims to investigate the effectiveness of social media communication in luxury brand advertising from a narrative persuasion perspective. Specific purposes are to…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to investigate the effectiveness of social media communication in luxury brand advertising from a narrative persuasion perspective. Specific purposes are to examine how characteristics of a message giver (i.e. comprehension fluency, imagery fluency) and message receiver (i.e. transportability, need for affect) influence the narrative persuasion process which further affects consumers’ subsequent responses (i.e. positive affect, brand social networking services [SNS] attitudes and intentions) within the luxury hotel industry.
Design/methodology/approach
An online survey was performed via Amazon MTurk. A total of 193 usable responses from SNS users were obtained. The structural equation modeling approach was used to test the proposed model.
Findings
Results show that comprehension fluency and imagery fluency as message-giver factors and transportability as a message-receiver factor positively affect narrative transportation. In addition, narrative transportation leads to positive affect, brand SNS attitudes and visit intentions, while positive affect also influences brand SNS attitudes and visit intentions. Furthermore, additional analyses indicate that narrative transportation mediates the effects of comprehension fluency on affect and brand SNS as well as the effects of transportability on positive affect, brand SNS attitude and visit intention.
Originality/value
Characteristics of a message giver and message receiver altogether are not well understood in the current literature. Empirical evidence in this study contributes to the social media marketing and brand advertising research fields.
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Sarah A. Geegan, Bobi Ivanov, Kimberly A. Parker, Stephen A. Rains and John A. Banas
Research is needed regarding how to influence young adults’ patterns of cell phone use while driving, amid social pressures to stay connected to their peers. Such insight could…
Abstract
Purpose
Research is needed regarding how to influence young adults’ patterns of cell phone use while driving, amid social pressures to stay connected to their peers. Such insight could form the basis of a social marketing campaign. This study aims to explore the potential of inoculation and narrative messages as strategies to protect (i.e. generate resistance against) negative attitudes toward texting and driving.
Design/methodology/approach
Using a three-phase experiment, the investigation explored the impact of different communication message strategies (i.e. inoculation, narrative, control) aimed at reducing texting while driving.
Findings
Results indicated that, for college students exposed to messages in support of texting and driving, inoculation messages were superior to both narrative and control messages. These findings can guide the development of strategic social marketing interventions.
Practical implications
Social marketing scholars and practitioners should consider weaving inoculation messages throughout social marketing campaigns focused on this important issue.
Originality/value
To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to evaluate and compare inoculation and narrative strategies in the context of texting and driving.
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Seyed Mehdi Sharifi, Mohammad Reza Jalilvand and Mohammad Reza Shakoorian Fard
The importance of effective public messages has been widely recognized during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. In particular, the role of news items and…
Abstract
Purpose
The importance of effective public messages has been widely recognized during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. In particular, the role of news items and interpersonal conversations for the acceptance of public health measures has been highlighted. The authors propose a conceptual model based on the existing literature on how to measure the degree of persuasion of news narratives in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors adopted a whole population approach, where the unit of analysis was the population of the media news about the COVID-19 pandemic. The authors selected a sample to develop and test their conceptual model. The sample size was n = 248. The questionnaire was distributed online using a non-probability convenience sampling plan. The authors used a pre-post pseudo-experimental design. Respondents answered questions about their attitude toward the COVID-19 pandemic. After watching a narrative news report on the same subject, they then answered questions designed to measure changes in their attitude. A structural equation model, the Sobel test and a paired samples t-test were used to test hypotheses.
Findings
The results showed that there is a significant relationship between narrative with transportation and empathy. There was also a positive and significant relationship between transportation and empathy with attitude and interpersonal talk. The relationship between transportation and self-referencing was also supported. Further, transportation and attitude mediated the relationships between narrative and interpersonal talk, self-referencing as well as empathy. A paired samples t-test revealed that attitudes were changed or reinforced before and after watching the narrative news report.
Originality/value
This paper contributes to the body of knowledge by identifying the outcomes of narrative persuasion during public health crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Xiaoting Xu, Mengqing Yang, Yuxiang Chris Zhao and Qinghua Zhu
Based on the examination of the roles of message framing and evidence type, this study made an analysis of the promotion methods of intention and information need towards HPV…
Abstract
Purpose
Based on the examination of the roles of message framing and evidence type, this study made an analysis of the promotion methods of intention and information need towards HPV vaccination.
Design/methodology/approach
The study conducted a 2 (gain-framed messages vs loss-framed messages) × 2 (statistical evidence vs narrative evidence) quasi-experimental design built upon theories of message framing and evidence type. This experiment recruited college students who were not vaccinated against HPV as participants. The analysis of variance (ANOVA), the analysis of covariance (ANCOVA), and the independent sample T-test were used to test the hypotheses.
Findings
The results (N = 300) indicate that (1) Loss-framed messages will lead to a more favorable intention towards HPV vaccination than gain-framed messages. (2) Statistical evidence will lead to a more explicit information need than narrative evidence. (3) Message framing and evidence type will interact and (a) for statistical evidence, loss-framed messages will lead to a more favorable intention towards HPV vaccination than gain-framed messages and (b) for narrative evidence, gain-framed messages will lead to a more favorable intention towards HPV vaccination than loss-framed messages. (4) Message framing and evidence type will interact and (a) for loss-framed messages, statistical evidence will stimulate more explicit information need of HPV vaccination than narrative evidence and (b) for gain-framed messages, narrative evidence will stimulate more explicit information need of HPV vaccination than statistical evidence.
Originality/value
This paper can help to further understand the important roles of message framing and evidence type in health behavior promotion. The study contributes to the literature on how health information can be well organized to serve the public health communication and further enhance the health information service.
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Jeanette Carlsson Hauff, Anders Carlander, Amelie Gamble, Tommy Gärling and Martin Holmen
The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether a narrative compared to a traditional fact-related format of financial information elicits more involved processing of such…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether a narrative compared to a traditional fact-related format of financial information elicits more involved processing of such information by consumers and therefore more informed choices of retirement savings.
Design/methodology/approach
A total of 394 undergraduates were recruited to three experiments. In Experiments 1 and 2 participants presented with information about a mutual fund were randomly assigned to one of four conditions (narrative format vs fact-related format crossed with optimistic vs pessimistic financial forecast). In both experiments dependent variables were positive affect, emotive response and purchase intention, and in Experiment 2 also scepticism about the information. Involvement and financial knowledge were furthermore measured in Experiment 2. In Experiment 3 information was presented about a savings account. Participants were randomly assigned to either a condition with a narrative or a fact-related information format. The dependent variables were the same as in Experiment 2.
Findings
The research finds support for that information about a financial message in a narrative format results in stronger positive affect, emotive response and purchase intention. No effect of scepticism toward the message is observed. Involvement and financial knowledge tend to interact with format. Mediation analyses support that positive affect induced by the narrative format impacts on emotive response which jointly with positive affect impacts on purchase intention.
Practical implications
The research suggests that a narrative message format may be used in marketing financial products to increase passive consumerś involvement.
Originality/value
The first demonstration of that a narrative format has an effect on processing of financial information.
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Zexin Ma, Xiaoli Nan, Yan Qin and Peiyuan Zhou
China and the USA are among the countries where depression is most prevalent. However, the treatment rate of depression is relatively low in these two countries. Negative…
Abstract
Purpose
China and the USA are among the countries where depression is most prevalent. However, the treatment rate of depression is relatively low in these two countries. Negative attitudes toward depression is one of the major contributor to the low-treatment rate. The purpose of this paper is to examine the use of narratives to promote positive attitudes toward depression in China and the USA. In addition, it examines that the psychological mechanisms underlying narrative persuasion in these two different cultural contexts.
Design/methodology/approach
An online survey was conducted in both China (n=84) and the USA (n=174). Participants were first asked to complete a short questionnaire about their demographic information and depressive symptoms. They were then asked to read a story featuring a college student with depression. After reading the message, participants completed another questionnaire measuring their attitudes toward depression, transportation (i.e. readers’ involvement with the story), and counterarguing (i.e. the generation of thoughts that dispute the persuasive argument).
Findings
Results from a multi-group analysis suggested that although narrative messages had similar persuasive effects for readers from different cultures, the relation between narrative transportation and counterarguing was different. For the US participants, the more they were transported to the story world, the less counter arguments they generated. However, transportation was not negatively associated with counterarguing for Chinese readers.
Practical implications
Findings provide implications for strategically using narrative persuasion to promote positive attitudes toward depression in different cultural contexts.
Originality/value
This study is the first to test the use of narratives to promote positive attitudes toward depression in different cultural contexts.
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Jasmin Schade, Yijing Wang and Anne-Marie van Prooijen
Corporate-NGO partnerships are gaining increasing importance as part of a company's CSR effort. This study aims to understand which communication tactics (CSR motive, CSR message…
Abstract
Purpose
Corporate-NGO partnerships are gaining increasing importance as part of a company's CSR effort. This study aims to understand which communication tactics (CSR motive, CSR message frame, CSR fit) lead to more positive consumer outcomes in the context of corporate-NGO partnerships, and whether consumer skepticism and consumer trust mediate the proposed relationships.
Design/methodology/approach
An online experiment was conducted (N = 298) to examine the theoretical predictions, involving a 2 (CSR motive: firm-serving/public-serving) x 2 (CSR message frame: narrative/expositive) x 2 (CSR fit: high/low) between-subjects design.
Findings
The results confirmed that consumer attitudes and electronic Word-of-Mouth (eWOM) can be affected by CSR motives and CSR fit. Also, CSR skepticism and consumer trust both mediate the relationship of CSR motives and consumer outcomes.
Practical implications
The results of this study make a strong case for expressing public-serving CSR motives and refraining from firm-serving CSR motives when communicating about a corporate-NGO partnership to consumers.
Originality/value
Focusing on the communication tactics of corporate-NGO partnerships extends existing literature by uncovering whether and how the factors driving effective communication in other CSR activities can be applied to the context of corporate-NGO partnerships.
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This study investigates the effect of consumers' brand attitude changes according to the fashion film type. Furthermore, it examines the psychological mechanism by engagement and…
Abstract
Purpose
This study investigates the effect of consumers' brand attitude changes according to the fashion film type. Furthermore, it examines the psychological mechanism by engagement and consumer fantasy proneness. This study is meaningful because it provides a more in-depth understanding of the use of fashion film as a means of consumer-oriented persuasion communication.
Design/methodology/approach
This research uses a 2(fashion film type: narrative vs non-narrative) × 2(consumer fantasy proneness: high vs low) mixed factorial design to test the hypotheses. ANOVA and the PROCESS macro mounted on SPSS was used to test hypotheses.
Findings
The group with high consumer fantasy proneness showed more changes in brand attitude when exposed to non-narrative than narrative fashion films, but the group with low consumer fantasy proneness showed no significant difference in brand attitude change according to the fashion film type. In addition, when consumer fantasy proneness is high, media and brand engagement for non-narrative fashion films increase sequentially, resulting in a greater change in brand attitude, whereas these psychological mechanisms do not work in groups with low consumer fantasy proneness.
Practical implications
Fashion brands should identify their respective target group when producing fashion films and choose differentiated narrative forms. In the case of pursuing a fantastic aesthetic value, the non-narrative type induces more attention and curiosity from consumers than the narrative type, which affects the feeling of a special bond or relevance with the brand.
Originality/value
This study has value in that it demonstrates the rationale for why a fashion brand needs to select a differentiated content structure according to the aesthetic value pursued when making a fashion film in branding work.
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