Toward a Recipe for Deep versus Surface Level Tailoring: Mixed-Methods Validation of Message Features to Reduce Sugary Beverage Consumption

Targeted marketing contributes to the overconsumption of sugary beverages, which contributes to obesity and diabetes disparities among African American and Latino populations in the U.S. Health communicators can similarly use culturally tailored messages to decrease sugary beverage consumption among...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of health communication 2022-04, Vol.27 (4), p.211-221
Main Authors: Zhou, Mi, Ramírez, A. Susana, Chittamuru, Deepti
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
African Americans
Audiences
Beverages
Consumption
Content analysis
Diabetes
Drinks
Ethnic groups
Ethnicity
Gender
Health disparities
Health Education - methods
Humans
Marketing
Minority groups
Mixed methods research
Nutrition
Nutrition education
Obesity
Obesity - prevention & control
Personality tests
Race
Sugars
Surveys and Questionnaires
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Summary:Targeted marketing contributes to the overconsumption of sugary beverages, which contributes to obesity and diabetes disparities among African American and Latino populations in the U.S. Health communicators can similarly use culturally tailored messages to decrease sugary beverage consumption among these groups, yet the specific strategies to operationalize cultural tailoring-the message components essential for such tailoring-are ill-described. We sought to identify and validate authentically created, culturally tailored messages using a multiple step mixed-methods approach. First, we used a snowball approach to identify nutrition education messages targeting ethnic minorities about reducing sugary beverage consumption (N = 85). Via content analysis, we assessed message features (character gender and race/ethnicity), level of change of the appeal (individual or social), and level of cultural tailoring (surface level tailoring in the form of matching character gender and race/ethnicity with target audience versus deep structural tailoring in the form of appealing to values is an effective message strategy). The highest-rated videos were then validated by a sample of the target audience using a quantitative survey and qualitative comments (N = 76). The results inform theorizing on message tailoring and provide a validated pool of culturally relevant messages intended both to reduce intentions to consume sugary beverages and to engage in social change actions.
ISSN:1081-0730
1087-0415
DOI:10.1080/10810730.2022.2089301