Ecological momentary assessment of digital food and beverage marketing exposure and impact in young adults: A feasibility study.

Unhealthy food marketing is contributing to the obesity epidemic, but real-time insights into the mechanisms of this relationship are under-studied. Digital marketing is growing and following food and beverage (F&B) brands on social media is common, but measurement of exposure and impact of such marketing presents novel challenges. Thus, this study aimed to evaluate the feasibility of collecting data on exposure and impact of digital F&B marketing (DFM) using a smartphone-based ecological momentary assessment (EMA) methodology. We hypothesized that DFM-induced food cravings would vary based on whether (or not) participants engaged with F&B brands online. Participants were Singapore residents (n = 95, 21-40 years), recruited via telephone from an existing cohort. Participants were asked to upload screenshots of all sightings of online F&B marketing messages for seven days, and answer in-app contextual questions about sightings including whether any cravings were induced. Participants provided a total of 1310 uploads (median 9 per participant, Q1-Q3: 4-21) of F&B marketing messages, 27% of which were provided on Day 1, significantly more than on other days (P < 0.001). Followers of food/beverage brands on social media encountered 25.6 percentage points (95% CI 11.4, 39.7) more marketing messages that induced cravings than participants who were not followers. University education was also associated with more (18.1 percentage points; 95% CI 3.1, 33.1) encounters with marketing messages that induced cravings. It was practical and acceptable to participants to gather insights into digital F&B marketing exposure and impact using EMA in young adults, although a shorter study period is recommended in future studies. Followers of food and beverage brands on social media appear to be more prone to experience cravings after exposure to digital F&B marketing.

Content analysis of email marketing communications among online e-cigarette retailers.

INTRODUCTION: Online e-cigarette retailers use email communications to promote products directly to consumers, which may facilitate e-cigarette use. Little is known about the content of these emails. As such, this study collected emails from online e-cigarette retailers in California to conduct a content analysis. METHODS: This study included 13 online e-cigarette retailers in California using Yelp. To be included in the study, e-cigarette retailers needed a live website, physical retail location (i.e., vape shop), and e-cigarettes available for purchase online. The research team entered each website and signed up (if possible) for an email newsletter. Data were collected from the Gmail Application Programming Interface over a 1-year study period (11/01/21-11/01/22). Members of the research team coded emails for the presence of e-cigarettes, other products, flavors, marketing categories, and promotional activities, among other variables. RESULTS: 749 promotional emails (2.1 avg/per day) were received over the 1-year study period. Second-generation e-cigarettes (n=581, 77.6%) were the most observed product in emails followed by disposable e-cigarettes (n=391, 52.2%). The most common flavor profile was fruit/sweet/liquor (n=424, 56.6%). Emails included links to social media pages (n=366, 48.9%). Online coupons were found in 53.1% (n=398) of the emails. Age warnings were displayed in 8.0% (n=60) of the emails. CONCLUSIONS: E-cigarette retailers' emails promoted new products, flavors, and contained promotional discounts. Future research should examine the impact of exposure to such emails on e-cigarette-related attitudes and behaviors. IMPLICATIONS: Findings from this study may help inform prevention programs and interventions focused on increasing tobacco-related digital media literacy (i.e., evaluate tobacco advertising messages on digital media) among gender and ethnic minorities. Future research should examine if exposure to email marketing is causally linked with e-cigarette use among gender and ethnic minorities.

Dissemination Strategies for mHealth Apps: Systematic Review.

BACKGROUND: Among the millions of mobile apps in existence, thousands fall under the category of mobile health (mHealth). Although the utility of mHealth apps has been demonstrated for disease diagnosis, treatment data management, and health promotion strategies, to be effective they must reach and be used by their target audience. An appropriate marketing strategy can ensure that apps reach potential users and potentially convert them to actual users. Such a strategy requires definitions of target end users, communication channels, and advertising content, as well as a timeline for effectively reaching and motivating end users to adopt and maintain engagement with the mHealth app. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to identify strategies and elements that ensure that end users adopt and remain engaged with mHealth apps. METHODS: A systematic search of the PubMed, PsycINFO, Scopus, and CINAHL databases was conducted for suitable studies published between January 1, 2018, and September 30, 2022. Two researchers independently screened studies for inclusion, extracted data, and assessed the risk of bias. The main outcome was dissemination strategies for mHealth apps. RESULTS: Of the 648 papers retrieved from the selected databases, only 10 (1.5%) met the inclusion criteria. The marketing strategies used in these studies to inform potential users of the existence of mHealth apps and motivate download included both paid and unpaid strategies and used various channels, including social media, emails, printed posters, and face-to-face communication. Most of the studies reported a combination of marketing concepts used to advertise their mHealth apps. Advertising messages included instructions on where and how to download and install the apps. In most of the studies (6/10, 60%), instructions were oriented toward how to use the apps and maintain engagement with a health intervention. The most frequently used paid marketing platform was Facebook Ads Manager (2/10, 20%). Advertising performance was influenced by many factors, including but not limited to advertising content. In 1 (10%) of the 10 studies, animated graphics generated the greatest number of clicks compared with other image types. The metrics used to assess marketing strategy effectiveness were number of downloads; nonuse rate; dropout rate; adherence rate; duration of app use; and app usability over days, weeks, or months. Additional indicators such as cost per click, cost per install, and clickthrough rate were mainly used to assess the cost-effectiveness of paid marketing campaigns. CONCLUSIONS: mHealth apps can be disseminated via paid and unpaid marketing strategies using various communication channels. The effects of these strategies are reflected in download numbers and user engagement with mHealth apps. Further research could provide guidance on a framework for disseminating mHealth apps and encouraging their routine use.

Exploring how IP marketing (media marketing) influences consumer shopping psychology through quantitative and empirical analysis.

As the concepts of intellectual property and media marketing have gained popularity, media marketing has gradually become an integral part of intellectual property marketing, and its use has become more widespread. However, the field of intellectual property marketing (media marketing) has become confused and faces challenges such as loss of uniqueness and weak consumer connections. Existing research efforts have focused on marketing strategies for branded intellectual property, but have neglected the important perspective of consumer psychology and behaviour. In this study, we use the AISAS model to segment digital marketing and delve into consumer psychology and behavioural factors that influence intellectual property marketing (media marketing). This exploration covers intellectual property content at the attention stage, intellectual property value at the interest stage, emotional trust at the search stage, mental consumption at the purchase stage and fan interaction at the sharing stage. We conducted a comprehensive analysis of the data using SPSS and AMOS, and integrated a consumer attitude questionnaire. The final findings confirm that intellectual property content, value, emotional trust, spiritual consumption and fan interaction all positively influence consumer psychology and behaviour. In addition, we make consumer-centric recommendations to extend the life cycle of intellectual property and promote sustainable brand development.

The Progressive Veterinary Practice.

Veterinary practices must be forward-thinking to effectively serve today's pet owners and move into the future. The progressive practice considers every aspect of a pet owner's journey, from searching for a veterinarian to paying their invoice, and seeks ways to improve their experience. Many tools and methods can be used to reach these goals, while also improving efficiency and veterinary team well-being. Digital tools and artificial intelligence in particular provide significant advances that allow veterinary practices to better serve and build relationships with their clients and patients.

Traditional Marketing Is Not Dead in Veterinary Practice.

Contrary to popular belief, not only is traditional marketing alive and well but also it is making a comeback. The right marketing mix typically includes a variety of both traditional and digital tactics. By understanding your practice's key differentiators and ideal client, you can target just the right combination of messages to thrive.

Social Media and Digital Marketing for Veterinary Practices.

This comprehensive article on digital marketing in veterinary medicine guides practice members through the process of developing an effective online presence. Focusing on strategic planning, it explores the importance of understanding the purpose and target audience when implementing a multimodal digital marketing strategy. Specific platforms, like Facebook, Instagram, and others, are examined, alongside email marketing, texting, online review platforms, Web sites, and search engine optimization. Paid digital advertising, content creation, tracking metrics, and streamlining marketing efforts for efficiency are discussed. This article equips veterinary practices with the necessary knowledge and tools to navigate the digital landscape and optimize marketing endeavors.

Digital Marketing and Fast-Food Intake in the UAE: The Role of Firm-Generated Content among Adult Consumers.

In the contemporary digital marketing context, this study aimed to investigate the influence of firm-generated content and social media advertising on fast-food consumption patterns among the adult population. Utilizing a questionnaire distributed to customers of a restaurant in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates, convenience sampling was employed. The findings underscored a significant positive relationship between firm-generated content and social media engagement, as well as between the latter and online shopping behavior. However, it was determined that word of mouth did not significantly moderate the relationship between attitudes towards social media advertisements and fast-food consumption patterns. From a theoretical perspective, these results enrich the understanding of how digital dynamics shape consumer behavior in specific contexts. Practically speaking, they prompt a critical reflection on the ethics of marketing in promoting products potentially detrimental to health, urging both companies and policymakers to reconsider their strategies and regulations, respectively.

Health-Washing of Ultraprocessed Products on Instagram: Prevalence and Strategies in an Emerging Market.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the prevalence of health-related cues as part of the digital marketing of ultraprocessed foods on Instagram among food companies in Uruguay. METHODS: Cross-sectional exploratory study. All content posted by 118 Instagram accounts of companies promoting ultraprocessed foods in Uruguay over 6 months (from August 2020 to February 2021) was retrieved. The content of 1,893 Instagram posts was coded considering visual and textual cues conveying health-related associations. The number and percentage of posts, including cues within each category and theme, were calculated. RESULTS: More than half of all posts contained at least 1 visual or textual cue conveying health-related associations. Three main themes emerged: i) product composition, ii) healthy lifestyle, and iii) health and health benefits. The prevalence of health-related cues differed dramatically across product categories, ranging from 100% to 1.5%. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: Health-washing constitutes an integral part of the digital marketing of ultraprocessed foods on Instagram in Uruguay. The inclusion of health-related cues can potentially undermine public health efforts targeted at reducing consumption of these foods. These findings suggest that strict and comprehensive regulations on the digital marketing of such products are needed in policies promoting healthy eating habits globally.

Tourist behaviour: The role of digital marketing and social media.

Social media and its applications are a part of daily life in Turkey and the rest of the world. In 2022, about 80.7 % of Turkey's population (69.9 million people) spent an average of 8 h daily using the Internet, providing a significant opportunity to encourage and influence tourists' purchase intentions through social media. This study aims to determine the effects of digital marketing and social media on tourist behaviours in Turkey. This study proposes a comprehensive model for the antecedents of tourists' behavioural intentions in their destination selection that can be found in the tourist destination online content (TDOC). The quality and user-friendly accessibility of the online information provides essential clues that influence tourists' behavioural intentions (intention to visit the destination and eWOM). Tourists' level of satisfaction with their first destination visits and the digital marketing interaction channels through which they share their experiences may positively affect their repeat visits/other tourists' behavioural intentions. Therefore, this study investigates the mediator effect of satisfaction and digital marketing interactions on the behavioural intentions of tourists of Eastern origin during their destination selection. Data was collected from 264 structured questionnaires and analyzed using partial least squares structural equation (PLS-SEM) modelling. Findings show that tourists' TDOC perceptions directly affect their behavioural intentions and that tourist satisfaction has a mediator role in the relationship between tourists' TDOC perceptions and behavioural intentions. Also, the results show that satisfaction and digital marketing interactions are important determinants of the intention to visit a tourist destination and eWOM intentions. Understanding tourists' perspectives on destination choice is crucial for policy makers, businesses and marketers as it will help formulate appropriate strategies to increase destination visits. In this respect, it is recommended to develop strategies to encourage tourists to share their experiences and satisfaction levels through digital marketing channels by improving the quality of products and services. Finally, the population of this study is limited to Turkey, and future research can extend this study to countries with different cultures and make new contributions to the related literature.

ChatGPT's influence on customer experience in digital marketing: Investigating the moderating roles.

ChatGPT is an artificial intelligence model intended for conversational purposes that has grown in popularity in digital marketing, offering organizations a vital tool for engaging with clients and enhancing their marketing efforts. The main objective of this research is to investigate the impact of ChatGPT on the customer experience in digital marketing. Additionally, the study intends to investigate the moderating impacts of business type and technology familiarity and comfort on the customer experience. Furthermore, the research explores the moderating roles of gender, age, and education level. The data for this study were collected electronically from 394 clients who have interacted with ChatGPT in digital marketing using an open-access questionnaire. The results support the significance of the moderating role of (Familiarity and Comfort with Technology, Business Type, Age, and Education level on the relation between customer experience with ChatGPT and overall satisfaction with digital marketing, while Gender is not supported. This article's findings are intended to contribute to the current literature on the use of conversational AI models in digital marketing and customer experience, providing insights and recommendations for future research.

International business in the digital age: Global strategies in a world of national institutions.

Digital technologies are changing how businesses strategize and organize internationally. They not only enable cost reduction in businesses crossing national boundaries but also enable novel types of products and business models. Yet, barriers to cross-border businesses persist or even re-emerge, such that the study of international business remains important in the digital age, but may have to shift focus. We argue that businesses operating internationally develop digital business strategies that are interdependent with their internationalization strategies. In doing so, they have to account for differences across national contexts including informal institutions, formal institutions, and resource endowments. We offer a conceptual framework linking external and internal antecedents to digital business and internationalization strategies. We focus in particular on three digital strategies: owning digital platforms, participating in digital platforms, and transforming traditional businesses for the digital world. On this basis, we discuss the contributions of the papers in this special issue and conclude by outlining an agenda for future research.

Les technologies numériques modifient la manière dont les entreprises élaborent leurs stratégies et s'organisent au niveau international. Elles permettent non seulement de réduire des coûts des entreprises transfrontalières, mais aussi de créer de nouveaux modèles économiques et types de produits. Pourtant, les obstacles aux entreprises transfrontalières persistent, voire réapparaissent, de sorte que la recherche en affaires internationales reste importante à l'ère du numérique, mais doit peut-être changer d'orientation. Nous argumentons que les entreprises opérant au niveau international développent des stratégies d'entreprise numériques qui sont interdépendantes de leurs stratégies d'internationalisation. Ce faisant, elles doivent tenir compte des différences entre les contextes nationaux, incluant les institutions informelles, les institutions formelles et les dotations en ressources. Nous proposons un cadre conceptuel reliant les antécédents externes et internes aux stratégies d'entreprise numériques et d'internationalisation. Nous nous focalisons en particulier sur trois stratégies numériques : posséder des plateformes numériques, participer à des plateformes numériques et transformer des affaires traditionnelles pour le monde numérique. Sur cette base, nous discutons les contributions des articles de ce numéro spécial, et concluons notre article en esquissant un programme de recherches futures.

Las tecnologías digitales están cambiando la forma en que las empresas formulan estrategias y se organizan internacionalmente. Estas no sólo permiten reducir costos en las empresas que cruzan las fronteras nacionales, sino que también habilitan tipos de productos y modelos de negocio novedosos. Con todo, las barreras a las empresas transfronterizas persisten o incluso vuelven a surgir, de modo que el estudio de los negocios internacionales sigue siendo importante en la era digital, pero puede que tenga un cambio de perspectiva. Sostenemos que las empresas que operan internacionalmente desarrollan estrategias de negocio digitales que son interdependientes de sus estrategias de internacionalización. Al hacerlo, deben tener en cuenta las diferencias entre los contextos nacionales, incluidas las instituciones informales, las instituciones formales y el patrimonio de recursos. Ofrecemos un marco conceptual que vincula los antecedentes externos e internos de las estrategias de negocio digital y de internacionalización. Nos centramos en particular en tres estrategias digitales: poseer plataformas digitales, participar en plataformas digitales y transformar los negocios tradicionales para el mundo digital. Sobre esta base, discutimos las contribuciones de los artículos de este número especial y concluimos esquematizando una agenda para futuras investigaciones.

Tecnologias digitais estão mudando como empresas criam estratégias e se organizam internacionalmente. Elas não apenas permitem a redução de custos em negócios que cruzam fronteiras nacionais, mas também permitem novos tipos de produtos e modelos de negócio. No entanto, barreiras para negócios transfronteiriços persistem ou até ressurgem, de modo que o estudo sobre negócios internacionais continua importante na era digital, mas pode precisar mudar o foco. Argumentamos que empresas que operam internacionalmente desenvolvem estratégias de negócios digitais que são interdependentes de suas estratégias de internacionalização. Ao fazê-lo, devem considerar diferenças entre contextos nacionais, incluindo instituições informais, instituições formais e dotações de recursos. Oferecemos um modelo conceptual que liga antecedentes externos e internos aos negócios digitais e às estratégias de internacionalização. Focamos particularmente em três estratégias digitais: possuir plataformas digitais, participar em plataformas digitais e transformar negócios tradicionais para o mundo digital. Com base nisso, discutimos as contribuições dos artigos nesta edição especial e concluímos delineando uma agenda para pesquisas futuras.

Assessment of the general public's knowledge of atrial fibrillation through social media: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Early detection and timely treatment of atrial fibrillation (AF) remains pivotal to preventing AF-related complications. Public involvement in recognising potential AF symptoms and managing AF is vital for early detection and treatment of AF. OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study is to assess the general public's knowledge of AF using an online survey, disseminated via social media. METHODS: A cross-sectional online survey of the general public was conducted between November to December 2021. The survey's URL was shared on National University Heart Centre, Singapore's official Facebook page. Digital marketing strategies were employed to recruit members of the public. The 27-item survey assessed public's knowledge across five domains: basic information about AF, risk factors of AF, detection of AF, prevention of AF, and management of AF. RESULTS: The survey involved 620 participants. Approximately two-thirds were between the ages 21 to 40 years (64.5%), female (60%) and had at least a degree (64.7%) as their highest level of education. Participants obtained a mean percentage score of 63.3 ± 26.0 for their AF knowledge. One-way ANOVA was done to examine the associations between the participants' characteristics and their knowledge of AF. There were no statistically significant differences in the AF knowledge scores across the various sociodemographic subgroups. CONCLUSIONS: Members of the public recruited from Facebook and via digital marketing had moderately good knowledge of AF. However, public awareness pertaining to preventing AF has potential for improvement. The utility of social media in reaching the general public was illustrated through this study.

Reducing Student Exposure to Digital Food and Beverage Marketing: Policy and Practice Recommendations.

Digital marketing of unhealthy foods and beverages to children and adolescents is pervasive, highly effective, undermines healthy eating, and contributes to health inequities. Expanded use of electronic devices and remote learning during the COVID-19 pandemic has increased the urgency for policy interventions to limit digital food marketing in schools and on school-issued devices. The US Department of Agriculture provides little guidance to schools for how to address digital food marketing. Federal and state privacy protections for children are inadequate. Considering these policy gaps, state and local education authorities can incorporate strategies to reduce digital food marketing into school policies for: content filtering on school networks and on school-issued devices; digital instructional materials; student-owned device use during lunch; and school use of social media to communicate with parents and students. Model policy language is provided. These policy approaches can leverage existing policy mechanisms to address digital food marketing from a variety of sources.

Digital marketing of commercial breastmilk substitutes and baby foods: strategies, and recommendations for its regulation in Mexico.

BACKGROUND: Parents are exposed to breastmilk substitutes and baby foods marketing on the internet and social media, which hinders adequate breastfeeding and complementary feeding. This study identifies digital marketing strategies for breastmilk substitutes, specifically commercial milk formula and baby foods used by the industry to influence infant and young children's feeding practices in Mexico and proposes regulatory recommendations that can be useful for similar countries. METHODS: Qualitative study based on the CLICK monitoring framework developed by the World Health Organization, adapted for digital marketing of commercial milk formula and baby foods. Semi-structured interviews (n = 53) with key actors were conducted between November 2020 and March 2021, and used grounded theory for the analysis and interpretation with the MAXQDA 20 software. RESULTS: Commercial milk formula and baby food companies use digital media to contact and persuade parents to use their products by sending electronic newsletters with advertising. Companies hire influencers to market their products because there is no regulation prohibiting the advertisement of breastmilk substitutes on social media, and promote formula among health professionals inviting them to participate in sponsored webinars on infant nutrition, ignoring conflict of interest and the International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes. Parents trust formula and baby food advertisements, which use emotional messages and health and nutrition claims to encourage their consumption. Health professionals consider that claims contribute to the indiscriminate use of formula, and some actors propose the use of plain packaging for these products. CONCLUSIONS: Breastmilk substitutes companies promote their products in digital media using unethical strategies that fail to comply with the International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes. They generate strong conflicts of interest with health professionals, taking advantage of legal framework gaps and the lack of monitoring and effective sanctions for non-compliers. Updating the legal framework and monitoring compliance, including digital media, is urgently needed to protect children's right to breastfeeding, healthy nutrition and life, and the rights of women to health and informed decision-making.

A Digital Health Initiative (COVIDsmart) for Remote Data Collection and Study of COVID-19's Impact on the State of Virginia: Prospective Cohort Study.

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic has affected people's lives beyond severe and long-term physical health symptoms. Social distancing and quarantine have led to adverse mental health outcomes. COVID-19-induced economic setbacks have also likely exacerbated the psychological distress affecting broader aspects of physical and mental well-being. Remote digital health studies can provide information about the pandemic's socioeconomic, mental, and physical impact. COVIDsmart was a collaborative effort to deploy a complex digital health research study to understand the impact of the pandemic on diverse populations. We describe how digital tools were used to capture the effects of the pandemic on the overall well-being of diverse communities across large geographical areas within the state of Virginia. OBJECTIVE: The aim is to describe the digital recruitment strategies and data collection tools applied in the COVIDsmart study and share the preliminary study results. METHODS: COVIDsmart conducted digital recruitment, e-Consent, and survey collection through a Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act-compliant digital health platform. This is an alternative to the traditional in-person recruitment and onboarding method used for studies. Participants in Virginia were actively recruited over 3 months using widespread digital marketing strategies. Six months of data were collected remotely on participant demographics, COVID-19 clinical parameters, health perceptions, mental and physical health, resilience, vaccination status, education or work functioning, social or family functioning, and economic impact. Data were collected using validated questionnaires or surveys, completed in a cyclical fashion and reviewed by an expert panel. To retain a high level of engagement throughout the study, participants were incentivized to stay enrolled and complete more surveys to further their chances of receiving a monthly gift card and one of multiple grand prizes. RESULTS: Virtual recruitment demonstrated relatively high rates of interest in Virginia (N=3737), and 782 (21.1%) consented to participate in the study. The most successful recruitment technique was the effective use of newsletters or emails (n=326, 41.7%). The primary reason for contributing as a study participant was advancing research (n=625, 79.9%), followed by the need to give back to their community (n=507, 64.8%). Incentives were only reported as a reason among 21% (n=164) of the consented participants. Overall, the primary reason for contributing as a study participant was attributed to altruism at 88.6% (n=693). CONCLUSIONS: The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the need for digital transformation in research. COVIDsmart is a statewide prospective cohort to study the impact of COVID-19 on Virginians' social, physical, and mental health. The study design, project management, and collaborative efforts led to the development of effective digital recruitment, enrollment, and data collection strategies to evaluate the pandemic's effects on a large, diverse population. These findings may inform effective recruitment techniques across diverse communities and participants' interest in remote digital health studies.

Prevalence of food and beverage brands in "made-for-kids" child-influencer YouTube videos: 2019-2020.

BACKGROUND: Child health experts raise numerous concerns about the negative effects of children's exposure to unhealthy digital food marketing, including advertising and branded product placements on child-oriented videos. OBJECTIVES: YouTube banned food advertising on "made-for-kids" channels in 2020, but research is needed to assess food-related appearances on increasingly popular child-influencer videos. METHODS: Content analysis examined a sample of videos (n = 400) uploaded in 2019-2020 by popular child-influencers on YouTube "made-for-kids" channels. We identified and coded all branded and non-branded food-related appearances (i.e., food, beverages, restaurants), ads, promotions, and sponsorship disclosures, and compared 2019 to 2020. RESULTS: Two-thirds of videos (n = 260) had at least one food-related appearance, including branded product appearances (n = 153), other brand appearances (n = 60), and non-branded food-related appearances (n = 203). Branded products appeared 592 times (M = 3.9/video), including candy brands (42% of appearances) and sweet/salty snacks, sugary drinks, and ice cream (32% combined). Total food-related appearances did not change (2019-2020), but candy brand appearances increased significantly. Videos with non-branded healthy food category appearances also increased, but 70% also showed unhealthy branded and/or unbranded foods. Just one video disclosed a food-brand sponsorship. CONCLUSIONS: Additional policies are needed to protect young children from potential exposure to unhealthy branded foods on popular YouTube child-influencer channels.

Non-face emojis in digital marketing: Effects, contingencies, and strategic recommendations.

Non-face (NF) emojis are increasingly used to complement or substitute words in digital marketing messages, yet the effects, mechanisms, and contingencies of this communication strategy remain underexplored. In a large-scale longitudinal study of Airbnb listings, we show that NF emojis (vs. simple text) lead to an increase in eWOM volume, an effect we replicate experimentally. This effect is qualified by important boundary conditions whose underlying mechanisms are investigated in two additional experimental studies. At the message level, using multiple substitutive (vs. complementary) NF emojis reduces message evaluations and eWOM volume due to reduced processing fluency. At the source level, seller quality further moderates the interaction between emoji function and emoji number: for premium sellers, using multiple NF emojis reduces message evaluations and eWOM volume irrespective of their function due to reduced perceptions of competence. We distill these findings into detailed managerial guidelines for using NF emojis in digital marketing. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11747-022-00917-z.

User engagement with a popular food brand before, during and after a multi-day interactive marketing campaign on a popular live streaming platform.

OBJECTIVE: To assess viewer engagement of a food advertising campaign on the live streaming platform Twitch.tv, a social media platform that allows creators to live stream content and communicate with their audience in real time. DESIGN: Observational analysis of chat comments across the Twitch platform containing the word 'Wendy's' or 'Wendys' during a 5-day ad campaign compared with two 5-day non-campaign time periods. Comments were categorised as positive, negative or neutral in how their sentiment pertained to the brand Wendy's. SETTING: Twitch chatrooms. PARTICIPANTS: None. RESULTS: There were significantly more chatroom messages related to the Wendy's brand during the campaign period. When considering all messages, the proportion of messages was statistically different (x2 = 1417·41, P < 0·001) across time periods, with a higher proportion of neutral and positive messages and a lower proportion of negative messages during the campaign compared with the comparison periods. Additionally, the proportion of negative messages following the campaign was lower than before the campaign. When considering only positive and negative messages, the proportion of messages was statistically different (x2 = 366·38, P < 0·001) across each time period with a higher proportion of positive messages and a lower proportion of negative messages during the campaign when compared with the other time periods. Additionally, there was a higher proportion of positive messages and a lower portion of negative messages following the campaign when compared with before the campaign. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates the impact and sustained impact of a fast-food brand ad campaign on brand engagement on the live streaming platform Twitch.

Digital culturally tailored marketing for enrolling Latino participants in a web-based registry: Baseline metrics from the Brain Health Registry.

INTRODUCTION: This culturally tailored enrollment effort aims to determine the feasibility of enrolling 5000 older Latino adults from California into the Brain Health Registries (BHR) over 2.25 years. METHODS: This paper describes (1) the development and deployment of culturally tailored BHR websites and digital ads, in collaboration with a Latino community science partnership board and a marketing company; (2) an interim feasibility analysis of the enrollment efforts and numbers, and participant characteristics (primary aim); as well as (3) an exploration of module completion and a preliminary efficacy evaluation of the culturally tailored digital efforts compared to BHR's standard non-culturally tailored efforts (secondary aim). RESULTS: In 12.5 months, 3603 older Latino adults were enrolled (71% of the total California Latino BHR initiative enrollment goal). Completion of all BHR modules was low (6%). DISCUSSION: Targeted ad placement, culturally tailored enrollment messaging, and culturally tailored BHR websites increased enrollment of Latino participants in BHR, but did not translate to increased module completion. HIGHLIGHTS: Culturally tailored social marketing and website improvements were implemented. The efforts enrolled 5662 Latino individuals in 12.5 months. The number of Latino Brain Health Registry (BHR) participants increased by 122.7%. We failed to adequately enroll female Latinos and Latinos with lower education. Future work will evaluate effects of a newly released Spanish-language BHR website.