Message Strategies Research Articles

Communication Strategies to Promote COVID-19 Vaccination Intention: How Effective are Source, Appeal, Framing, and Evidence Type Approaches?

ABSTRACT This systematic review analyzed the effectiveness of key persuasive strategies – source, appeal, framing, and evidence (SAFE) – on COVID-19 vaccination intention. Quantitative studies were searched in Web of Science, Scopus, and PubMed following the PRISMA guidelines. From the 61 studies that met inclusion criteria, source and framing are the most commonly applied SAFE strategies. However, source characteristics are a more consistent influence on vaccine intentions than message framing strategies, with expert sources and general practitioners emerging as the key sources contributing to greater vaccine intentions. In addition, a range of mediators and moderators influence the process through which SAFE message strategies impact vaccine intentions. Framing effects, in particular, are moderated by political identity, source characteristics, and vaccine perceptions. Tests of mediating processes highlight how health behavior judgments (e.g. perceived vaccine benefits, risks, trust in vaccination, perceived severity) and message response/perceptions (e.g. counterarguing, perceived similarity/empathy) operate as key intervening factors between SAFE message strategies and vaccine intentions. Overall, when practitioners apply various structural approaches (narrative elements, fear appeals, framing cues) to vaccine promotion campaigns, they should be cognizant of who is providing that appeal. Targeted populations may benefit most from different structural elements if they are integrated with sources that resonate with the audience.

A silver lining to a busted forecast? Building relationships after the storm through humanising messages

AbstractGrounded in the quiet weather communication typology, we conducted two between‐subjects experiments comparing humanising to organisational voice messages in predicting disaster organisation‐public relationships, publics' message passing intentions, and publics' community resilience perceptions in the U.S. tornado context. Study 1 examines these relationships in the missed event context, where a tornado was not forecasted, but occurred. Study 2 examines these relationships in the false alarm context, where a tornado was forecasted, but did not occur. Results show differing processes across the two studies, with Study 1 results showing direct message effects, but no indirect effects. Study 2 results show indirect effects of the experimental condition on the outcomes via perceptions of conversational human voice. The discussion extends the quiet weather communication typology by theorising how context influences message strategy effectiveness.

ONLINE ADVERTISING AND IT’S IMPACT ON CONSUMER BUYING BEHAVIOUR

Keeping in mind the ever-changing landscape of digital marketing, this study investigates the impact of online advertisements on customers' buying behaviors. The proliferation of online platforms and the increasing number of internet users present an opportunity for businesses to advertise to individuals. The fundamental objective of this research is to figure out how online advertising affects customers' emotions, decisions, and actions. This study synthesises existing literature, empirical data, and theoretical frameworks to investigate the many ways via which online advertising influences consumer behavior. The significance of targeted advertising in identifying and appealing to certain consumer demographics, the persuasive tactics employed by online ads, and the influence of social media endorsements and user-generated material on intents to purchase are all major aspects that are being investigated. The study's key findings indicate that online advertising significantly influences customers throughout the entire buying process, from first awareness and consideration through purchase and post-purchase actions. Customer engagement and brand memory can be enhanced through personalized and immersive advertising experiences made possible by the interactive nature of web platforms. Online content can be made more credible and trustworthy by adding social proof and peer endorsements. This, in turn, influences consumers' purchasing decisions. The ramifications of these results should be carefully considered by marketers and advertisers who wish to make the most of their advertising budgets and make the most of their online advertising strategies. By studying what makes people react to internet ads, businesses may refine their messaging, creative content, and targeting strategies. Because of this, they will be able to connect with their intended consumers and achieve their goals. Keywords: online advertising, consumer buying behavior, digital marketing, persuasive techniques, targeted advertising, social media endorsements, consumer engagement, purchase intentions.

Spotlight on a complex crisis spillover: A multi-organisational perspective on rebuilding trust and reducing distrust in the Australian banking industry

Recent crisis spillover research expands our understanding of the effects of crisis spillover on reputation, legitimacy, consumer attitudes and behaviours, as well as how organisations can respond to these types of crisis spillover events. However, there remains scant exploration of the impact of crisis spillover on trust and limited if any consideration of distrust as a separate and distinct concept from trust. In a crisis, trust is an important relationship outcome, and the present lack of empirical understanding of it in crisis spillover can limit future research and practice. Consequently, this study’s examination of message strategies that address both trust and distrust concerns, and in turn repair these key relational concepts, can address the current void in public relations theory. In addition, the research record provides limited insights into the strategies employed by multiple organisations with varied responsibility for crisis spillovers. To address these gaps in our understanding about complex crisis spillover, this study adopts associative network theory and extends its application via a case study approach focussing on the Australian banking industry. The findings contribute new knowledge to the crisis communication, trust repair and crisis spillover literature.

Kids SIPsmartER reduces sugar-sweetened beverages among Appalachian middle-school students and their caregivers: a cluster randomized controlled trial

BackgroundHigh consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) is a global health concern. Additionally, sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) consumption is disproportionately high among adolescents and adults in rural Appalachia. The primary study objective is to determine the intervention effects of Kids SIPsmartER on students’ SSB consumption. Secondary objectives focus on caregivers’ SSB consumption and secondary student and caregiver outcomes [e.g, body mass index (BMI), quality of life (QOL)].MethodsThis Type 1 hybrid, cluster randomized controlled trial includes 12 Appalachian middle schools (6 randomized to Kids SIPsmartER and 6 to control). Kids SIPsmartER is a 6-month, 12 lesson, multi-level, school-based, behavior and health literacy program aimed at reducing SSB among 7th grade middle school students. The program also incorporates a two-way text message strategy for caregivers. In this primary prevention intervention, all 7th grade students and their caregivers from participating schools were eligible to participate, regardless of baseline SSB consumption. Validated instruments were used to assess SSB behaviors and QOL. Height and weight were objectively measured in students and self-reported by caregivers. Analyses included modified two-part models with time fixed effects that controlled for relevant demographics and included school cluster robust standard errors.ResultsOf the 526 students and 220 caregivers, mean (SD) ages were 12.7 (0.5) and 40.6 (6.7) years, respectively. Students were 55% female. Caregivers were mostly female (95%) and White (93%); 25% had a high school education or less and 33% had an annual household income less than $50,000. Regardless of SSB intake at baseline and relative to control participants, SSB significantly decreased among students [-7.2 ounces/day (95% CI = -10.7, -3.7); p < 0.001, effect size (ES) = 0.35] and caregivers [-6.3 ounces/day (95% CI = -11.3, -1.3); p = 0.014, ES = 0.33]. Among students (42%) and caregivers (28%) who consumed > 24 SSB ounces/day at baseline (i.e., high consumers), the ES increased to 0.45 and 0.95, respectively. There were no significant effects for student or caregiver QOL indicators or objectively measured student BMI; however, caregiver self-reported BMI significantly decreased in the intervention versus control schools (p = 0.001).ConclusionsKids SIPsmartER was effective at reducing SSB consumption among students and their caregivers in the rural, medically underserved Appalachian region. Importantly, SSB effects were even stronger among students and caregivers who were high consumers at baseline.Trial registrationClincialtrials.gov: NCT03740113. Registered 14 November 2018– Retrospectively registered, https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03740113.

Messaging and the bomb: public attitudes toward nuclear proliferation

ABSTRACT This paper presents findings from an original survey of US public attitudes toward nuclear proliferation issues to determine what types of elite messaging, if any, impact those attitudes. It considers two contemporary proliferation topics, the Iran nuclear deal and the AUKUS nuclear-powered-submarine initiative, making it among the first to gather data on how Americans view the trilateral security partnership among Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The findings demonstrate that elite messaging does impact attitudes toward proliferation issues, but that those effects vary across different issues. Various types of messaging impacted attitudes toward the Iran deal, whereas only messaging related to alliance considerations impacted attitudes toward the AUKUS initiative. Although the survey provides mixed results as to whether different types of messaging have distinct effects on proliferation attitudes, the findings further reveal that opposition to the Iran deal is particularly insensitive to messaging and that messaging does more to confuse than clarify public views on the AUKUS initiative. The survey results provide insight into the nature and pliability of Americans’ proliferation attitudes, with important implications for policy makers seeking to identify effective messaging strategies for engaging the public on future nuclear-proliferation policies.

Good Intentions Aside: Stereotype Threat in the Face of Media Strategies to Counter Age Bias.

The current study shifts the focus of research on media's role in facilitating and inhibiting self-stereotyping among the members of stigmatized groups. More specifically, this study proposes and tests a conceptual model explaining (un)intentional effects of a real-world anti-ageism social media campaign among stereotyped targets: Older workers. Drawing on an experiment among older Dutch adults (N = 649), we test the effects of two message strategies for reducing prejudice: the media-literacy and the counter stereotypical information strategy. The results show that exposure to content warnings as well as strong counter-stereotypical message (i.e., consisting of positive exemplars and the negation of generic age stereotypes) is powerful in inhibiting implicit stereotype endorsement, ultimately boosting favourable employability perceptions of older workers. By integrating insights from the parasocial content hypothesis and stereotype threat indications, we provide a nuanced understanding of how anti-bias campaigns impact stigmatized targets, and isolate reasons for the varied effectiveness of such interventions.

1085 Evaluating Different Message Strategies from the AASM “Count on Sleep” Campaign to Promote Awareness About OSA

1085 Evaluating Different Message Strategies from the AASM “Count on Sleep” Campaign to Promote Awareness About OSA

Framing Celebrity Scientists: How Chinese Media and Public Construct Celebrity-Based Risk Communication in Public Health Emergencies

ABSTRACT The impact of celebrities on public awareness in health communication has been proved to be significant, making it a possible approach for risk communication during public health emergencies. In the early stages of COVID-19, some Chinese medical experts engaged with the public and became “celebrity scientists.” It provides representative cases for studying celebrity-based risk communication approaches. With Dr. Wenhong Zhang as the primary case, this research investigates the construction process of celebrity scientists. Through semantic network analysis (SemNA) and other complementary methods, this study examines Dr. Zhang’s articles (n1 = 45), relevant news reports (n2 = 360), and public tweets (n3 = 12,933), in order to identify the main agendas of media, public and expert during the construction process of celebrity scientists, as well as their similarities and differences. The results reveal three categories in the narratives around the celebrity scientist, highlighting unbalanced focuses and preferences. Notably, the agendas of celebrity scientists, media outlets and the general public are more alike than different, and tend to converge over time. The simultaneous resonance of the media and public is also crucial in the construction of celebrity scientists, as well as specific incidents or turning points. These findings shed light on the application of celebrity-based risk communication approach in emergencies, providing guidance and discussion points for health messaging strategies as well.

Using social media surveys and interventions to address vaccine hesitancy in Saudi Arabia

Background: Countering COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy has been a challenge in Saudi Arabia, one of the countries affected most by the pandemic in the Eastern Mediterranean Region. Aims: To identify information needs, perceived benefits, concerns, trusted information sources, social norms, and predictors for COVID-19 vaccine uptake in Saudi Arabia and identify effective messaging strategies to increase vaccination intentions among the unvaccinated. Method: Between March and April 2021, we conducted an online cross-sectional survey (N = 2883), and in part, a randomized experiment for unvaccinated participants (n = 675) in Saudi Arabia using Facebook Ads and Messenger. Unvaccinated participants were randomly assigned to 1 of 5 message conditions and after message exposure, participants were asked if they planned to take the COVID-19 vaccine. Results: In total, 2883 adults participated in the survey. All message framings worked equally well, with no statistically significant difference between the arms. Approximately 80% of the participants across all message conditions said they intended to vaccinate. However, participants wanted to know more about the vaccines; about 35% wanted to know more about vaccine efficacy, 31.5% about safety, 26.8% about health authority’s recommendation, and 3.7% about where to get the vaccines. Health workers (61.4%) and scientists and epidemiologists (25.7%) were the most trusted sources. Others were family members (7.5%), community leaders (2.2%), religious leaders (1.6%), friends (1.4%), and celebrities and social media influencers (0.2%). Conclusion: Vaccine hesitancy can be overcome by understanding individuals’ decision-making processes and using effective risk communication targeted to their needs.

Analisis Strategi Komunikasi Pemasaran @Ninetysixvintages Pada Media Sosial Instagram

This study aims to determine the marketing communication strategy of @Ninetysixvintage through Instagram social media to support sales. This research uses a qualitative approach. A qualitative approach is a research method that focuses on an in-depth understanding of human phenomena, including in this case, marketing communication strategies on Instagram social media. This method involves data collection that is descriptive and narrative, with the aim of exploring a deeper understanding of the research subject. The results of this study are the message strategy and media strategy used by @Ninetysixvintages in their marketing communication on the Instagram social media platform. The applied communication strategy involves various aspects, including information content and creative. In terms of information content, @Ninetysixvintages focuses on delivering information about the product and its characteristics. While in terms of creative messaging on the Instagram platform, @Ninetysixvintages divides it into rational and emotional elements seen in their posts. In addition, there are also media usage strategies implemented by @Ninetysixvintages, including media selection and target market identification. In an effective marketing communication effort on the Instagram social media platform, @Ninetysixvintages utilizes various features such as followers and following, captions, interaction in the form of likes and comments, tagging, the use of hashtags, Instastory, live broadcasts, and direct messages to support the marketing communication strategy they implement.

Improving Emergency Response: An In-Depth Analysis of an ITS-G5 Messaging Strategy for Bus Blockage Emergencies at Level Crossings

Improving Emergency Response: An In-Depth Analysis of an ITS-G5 Messaging Strategy for Bus Blockage Emergencies at Level Crossings

Healthcare provider Communication and Data-Informed Message Strategies for Encouraging Older Adults to Stay up to Date on COVID-19 Vaccination.

Older adults are a high in risk of severe COVID-19 disease outcomes and experience "vaccine hesitancy." Guided by health communication models such as the Reasoned Action Approach and the Extended Parallel Process Model, online surveys designed to inform statewide public health communication efforts were administered in West Virginia, a primarily rural and fully Appalachian state, in Winter 2021 (n = 272) and Fall 2022 (n = 248). Adults ages 50+ years (N = 520) reported attitudes, intentions, and behaviors regarding COVID-19 vaccination and their related patient-provider communication. Vaccine usefulness/safety, perceived effectiveness, and subjective norms predicted behavior while perceived severity, efficacy, and usefulness/safety predicted intention to get a booster, specifically the updated Fall 2022 Omicron (bivalent) booster. As patient-provider communication (which a minority reported receiving) was a strong predictor of behavioral outcomes, characteristics of effective healthcare provider communication and considerations for public message construction are discussed.

Organization Sustainability Communication by Fashion Brands: A Qualitative Analysis of Messaging and Engagement on Facebook and Instagram

Sustainability is a broad concept and sustainable consumption includes using products and services that not only meet consumer needs but also minimizes the use of natural resources. Brands use social media (SM) to engage with consumers as it enables the brand to build an emotional connection, hence a great platform to provide sustainability related messaging. Thus, using consumers’ online brand-related activities (COBRA) as the theoretical framework, the purpose of this study was to develop an understanding of how sustainable brands utilize SM platforms for organization sustainability communication. Instagram and Facebook were selected for their high-frequency usage and five sustainable fashion brands were evaluated. Seven hundred and twenty-seven sustainability-related posts and 66,821 comments were analyzed using a qualitative content analysis approach, an established and credible methodology. Three months of SM posts were compiled and examined. Data was coded systematically as deemed appropriate based on the qualitative content analysis approach and resulted in 20 sub-themes across eight thematic categories. The findings of this study provide implications for enhancing stakeholder engagement through (1) content strategy (e.g. video content in sustainability messaging), (2) imagery (e.g. the use of lifestyle content and influencers), and (3) messaging strategy (e.g. educational posts that provide insight into brands’ sustainability initiatives).

Meat-ing expectations? The influence of plate materials on consumer perceptions of novel mycoprotein

Alternative proteins have gained significant interest as useful adjuncts to facilitate the dietary transition towards more sustainable diets. However, negative consumer perceptions of these products hinder their widespread acceptance and adoption. With emerging research uncovering the role of multisensory factors in consumer perceptions and preferences, manipulating the materials of plates used to serve alternative proteins may help to address these concerns. This within-subject study investigated the influence of a natural material (banana leaf) and a synthetic material (stainless steel) on consumers’ perceptions and preference for mycoprotein. Specifically, perceived product naturalness, healthfulness and tastiness were assessed. Results demonstrated a significant favourable influence of a natural material on consumer perceptions of mycoprotein, compared to a synthetic material (all ps < 0.05). However, differences in preferences were not observed (p =.292). This suggests that other multisensory factors (e.g., product taste and mouthfeel) may play a more important role in consumer preferences for such products. Additionally, having a baseline preference for mycoprotein appeared to moderate the differences in ratings for perceived naturalness of mycoprotein (p <.001). Overall, these findings highlight the role of plate materials in consumer perceptions of mycoprotein and offer valuable insights to potentially develop more effective messaging strategies for these products.

STRATEGI PENYAMPAIAN PESAN DAKWAH PADA MEDIA SOSIAL

The Da'wah message is the message that the da'i wants to convey to the mad'u which is an important element in da'wah activities. Various media can be used to carry out da'wah, such as Tik Tok. One of the platforms that is widely used by people today. One of them is Husain Basyaiban with the Tik Tok account @kadamsidik00, which discusses Islamic values ​​and da'wah messages packaged in a way that is easy to understand. This research uses qualitative research. Researchers used content analysis on the @kadamsidik00 account. These data are processed and analyzed to identify strategies for delivering da'wah messages and supporting and inhibiting factors that influence the effectiveness of the da'wah message strategies delivered. Based on the results of this research, it was found that the @kadamsidik00 account used various strategies in conveying da'wah messages on Tik Tok. One of them is the use of creative content that attracts attention, as well as the ability to follow popular trends on Tik Tok to maximize audience reach. Apart from that, interaction with followers through comments and responses is also an important part of this account's strategy. Researchers also found several significant supporting factors in the strategy of conveying da'wah messages on Tik Tok social media by the account @kadamsidik00. These factors include the ability to create creative and attention-grabbing content, adaptation to popular trends, active interaction with followers, and the popularity of accounts that can expand the reach of preaching messages. However, there are also inhibiting factors that need to be considered. Limits on the duration of content on Tik Tok, competition with other viral content, and the risk of the da'wah message being distorted can become obstacles in conveying the da'wah message effectively. Apart from that, the importance of understanding the target audience more precisely and the risk of exposure to negative content also needs to be considered.

Mental health messages on TikTok: Analysing the use of emotional appeals in health-related #EduTok videos

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate how health educators use emotional appeals on the social media site TikTok to promote well-being, engage audiences and reduce mental health stigma. Design/Method: Our research team conducted a quantitative content analysis of 400 TikTok videos centred on health education. We evaluated the frequency of mental health content compared with general health education content and associated views, engagement and use of emotional appeals. Results: Mental health content frequently appeared in #EduTok health videos and earned significantly greater reach than general health content. However, videos discussing mental health earned less engagement and relied less on emotional appeals. Mental health content mainly relied on affiliation, hope and sorrow message appeals, although the presence of these appeals did not significantly affect engagement. General health content utilised personal stories, expert credentials and emotional appeals more frequently than mental health content. Conclusion: Evidence from this research suggests that mental health educational content underperforms general health videos and underutilises emotional appeals on TikTok. Health educators must critically analyse and adjust message strategies to enhance audience reception, taking note of success across health topics. We discuss the implications for how practitioners can use TikTok to reduce stigma and promote positive mental health with emotionally engaging content, especially among young audiences.

Sustainable messaging strategies and consumer food waste: The congruence effect between message framing and state anxiety

Food waste has emerged as a significant global concern, exacerbated by the consistent rise in waste despite numerous attempts to mitigate it. As crucial information disseminators, food retailers and restaurants possess the potential to significantly impact consumers' food-saving behavior through meticulous design and effective dissemination of informational messaging strategies. Based on the Limited Capacity model of Motivated Mediated Message Processing, this study attempts to develop a conceptual model to assess the impact of message framing strategies on consumers' food saving intention, considering their varying levels of state anxiety. Three experiments were conducted to verify the hypotheses. The results revealed a matching effect between message framing and state anxiety on food savings. When businesses utilize sustainable advertisements to encourage food savings, approach-framed messages are more effective among consumers with heightened state anxiety, whereas avoidance framing demonstrates superior effectiveness among those with lower levels of state anxiety. Additionally, evaluative self-reactions mediate these matching effects, and memory efficacy plays a significant moderating role. The findings facilitate marketers in the proper employment of targeted message framing strategies based on consumers' varying levels of anxiety to prevent food waste.

Trust in Tobacco Control

Sexual and gender minority (SGM) groups experience nicotine and tobacco (NT) related inequities that persist despite reductions in NT use across the general population. Research suggests that institutional trust has important implications for how public health policies are received by various publics, yet few studies have explored trust in tobacco control institutions, especially among SGM communities. Analysing narrative data from open-ended interviews with 100 young adults in California who currently or formerly smoked tobacco and identify in ways that classify them as SGM, we examine participants’ perceptions of tobacco control efforts in relation to characteristics of trustworthy institutions. Our findings suggest that trust in tobacco control institutions may be compromised by some of the tactics used to denormalize NT use, abstinence-only approaches to NT-related messaging and policymaking, and distrust of the broader establishment of which tobacco control is perceived to be a part. Highlighting unintended consequences of some current mainstream approaches to tobacco control, these findings are important to consider in the development of community-informed messaging strategies and policy interventions to address tobacco-related inequities among SGM populations.

(De)Legitimation in Policy Transfer and Branding: A Dialogical View of the Romanian Covid-19 Vaccination Policy

With the growth of marketing’s influence extending from the commercial domain into governance strategy, public health branding and promotional communication relating to the Covid-19 vaccine were essential for national authorities trying to transfer the WHO communication strategy and vaccine policies to their domestic contexts while maintaining public trust. This study explores the role of (de)legitimation in the Covid-19 vaccine communication (#ROVaccinare/ROVaccination) policy transfer and branding conducted by the Romanian government on Facebook. Adopting a top-down and bottom-up approach to the meaning-making process of the message strategy promotion, we employed a mixed-methods approach. We drew on categorizations of message tailoring related to health communication and operationalizations of discursive (de)legitimation. The main findings showed a preference for rationalization legitimation through the usage of fact-based posts and a clear integration of authorization and narrativization into the message strategy promotion of the ROVaccination page. However, despite the prevalence of fact-based posts, legitimation through personal and medical stories was a positive predictor of engagement, unlike legitimation through facts. The bottom-up approach revealed polarized attitudes towards healthcare professionals as sources of the campaign, the Romanian medical system, and past and present vaccination. The dominance of polarization in online users’ comments emphasizes their role as agents of conversion, contesting either the message sources employed in the campaign or other commenters as personal authorities.