Consumer obesity salience and body satisfaction : an investigation into the impact of individual differences on the effectiveness of social advertising messages

Abstract

The marketing of social causes has received significantly less theoretical and applied research relative to profit-oriented marketing, despite a resurgence in recent years. With an increasing need by governing bodies to deliver effective marketing messages to promote various forms of social change, the need for social marketing research is greater than ever (Andreasen 1995). This thesis utilises the key public health issue of obesity to elucidate the nuances associated with social marketing, with a particular focus on the impact that social advertising messages have on encouraging intentions to live a healthier life. With the ever increasing incidence of obesity-related illness, death and cost to society (Benson et al. 1980; Kotler and Roberto 1989; Mokdad et al. 2003; Mokdad et al. 2004), the context of obesity is pertinent for social marketing academics and practitioners alike. This thesis investigates how consumers react differently toward advertising cues, depending on how salient individual characteristics are as part of their psyche. It is shown that ephemeral states of awareness about one’s body size, or Obesity Salience, coupled with the variable states of liking about one’s body image, or Body Satisfaction, affect an individual’s behavioural intentions when presented with advertising messages that encourage healthy living. This study aims to identify, using causal lab experimentation, how marketers can not only better understand the effects that individual differences have on consumer perceptions towards presented social marketing programmes, but also how to target social marketing strategies in order to maximise favourable behavioural intentions.