Abstract
BackgroundLaunched in 2000, the truth campaign was one of the first health-related campaigns to embrace the building of a brand to further amplify its message, such as by building brand equity. Brand equity is an asset that represents the audience’s perception of the brand. Previous research supports that strong brand equity is associated with lower tobacco intentions and behaviors; however, brand equity and its change over time have not been studied as it relates to e-cigarettes. This study examines the effects of change in brand equity on e-cigarette attitudes, intentions, and behaviors among youth and young adults.MethodsThe sample (N = 6427) is from the Truth Longitudinal Cohort, a nationally representative, longitudinal cohort of youth and young adults, ages 15–24. Variables include brand equity tobacco scale, demographic characteristics, and e-cigarette use status. The outcomes included anti-e-cigarette attitudes, intentions to use e-cigarettes, and use of e-cigarettes. Multiple and logistic regression models determined the relationship between change in brand equity from respondents at Spring 2018 to Spring 2019 and respondent e-cigarette outcomes at Fall 2019. All models controlled for demographic characteristics and cigarette use.ResultsMean brand equity scores in Spring 2018 were significantly associated with greater anti-e-cigarette attitudes (β = 0.17, 95% CI: 0.15, 0.19), lower odds of intention to use (OR = 0.75, 95% CI: 0.66, 0.85), and lower odds of current use (OR = 0.81, 95% CI: 0.72, 0.92). Change in brand equity from Spring 2018 to Spring 2019 was significantly associated with greater anti-e-cigarette attitudes (β = 0.09, 95% CI: 0.06, 0.11) and lower odds of intention to use (OR = 0.79, 95% CI: 0.67, 0.93), but not associated with current use behaviors.ConclusionsStrengthening brand equity is an effective strategy for influencing anti-e-cigarette related attitudes and intentions, much like it is for anti-smoking campaigns. More research needs to be done on the relationship between change in brand equity and e-cigarette behavior to better understand how brand equity can be wielded to influence change in e-cigarette use behavior.
Highlights
Launched in 2000, the truth campaign was one of the first health-related campaigns to embrace the building of a brand to further amplify its message, such as by building brand equity
Study design Data were collected from The Truth Longitudinal Cohort (TLC), a US nationally representative address-based custom panel which began in April 2014 with a baseline sample of approximately 14,000 respondents at baseline
A total of N = 6427 participated in all three waves of data collection for this study: were aware of the truth brand in Spring 2018, responded to the truth brand items again in Spring 2019, and participated in the Fall 2019 data collection (Tables 1 and 2)
Summary
Launched in 2000, the truth campaign was one of the first health-related campaigns to embrace the building of a brand to further amplify its message, such as by building brand equity. This study examines the effects of change in brand equity on e-cigarette attitudes, intentions, and behaviors among youth and young adults. Due to the high use of e-cigarettes among youth and young adults, the health risks of e-cigarette use are being heavily studied. There are early indications that e-cigarettes containing nicotine can harm the immune system, cause inhalation of carcinogenic substances, and negatively affect respiratory health [2,3,4]. These negative health effects are a major cause for concern among youth and young adults
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