Model-based development and testing of advertising messages – A comparative study of two campaign proposals based on the Meccas model and a conventional approach,

1. Traditionally the development of advertising messages has been based on “creative independence”, sometimes catalysed by inductively generated empirical data. Due to the recent intensified focus on advertising effectiveness, this state of affair is now beginning to change. 2. Implementing theoretically valid and comprehensible guidelines for message development potentially enhances the effects of advertising messages and improves the possibility of measuring such effects. Moreover, such guidelines also have potential implications for the managerial communication processes (client-agency and intra-agency) involved in the development of advertising messages. 3. The purpose of the study described in this paper is to compare the development and effects of two campaign proposals, with the common aim of increasing the consumption of apples among young Danes (18 to 35 years of age). One of the proposals is the result of an inductive-creative process, while the other is based on the MECCAS model, ie, means-end based data collection employing the laddering method and subsequent use of the guidelines for message development formulated in MECCAS. 4. The comparison involved target group communication effects as well as the efficiency of the managerial communication taking place in the message development process. The target group communication was assessed by pretesting the two campaign proposals (n=500). Linear structural Elam (Elaboration likelihood) models were estimated for both proposals. The managerial communication was studied by interviews with the advertising agency and client staff involved. The project is a joint venture of the Association of Danish Fruit Growers, Odense, Denmark, and the MAPP Centre, and is financed by EU funds. The advertising agency involved is Midtmarketing, Ikast, Denmark. 5. The main results of the managerial study was that the implementation of the MECCAS guidelines for message development led to better agency-client communication, which resulted in an improved common understanding of the objective of the campaign. The pretest showed that the MECCAS-based message compared to the conventionally developed message was perceived as more focused by the target group, stimulated central processing better, and was more effective in terms of self-reported buying intention.Concept and design in advertising; Advertising campaigns; Effects of advertising

The haven of the self-service store – A study of the fruit and vegetable department’s influence on customer attitudes towards food chain stores

As a result of the increased competition between self-service chains, retail managers try to strengthen store identity and customer loyalty to an increasing degree. In this respect a number of measures, as for example service management and direct marketing programmes, have been instigated. Most of these developments have concentrated on the peripheral spheres of the purchase decision situation. More recently retail managers have concentrated their efforts on the departments believed to be most important to customers’ overall shopping experience and attitudes towards the store. So far, academic studies of which departments are the most important ones to customer attitudes, and how these attitudes are influenced by department specific factors, have been scarce, however. Unlike most other departments of a self-service chain store, the fruit and vegetable department gives ample opportunity for differentiation and creation of store identity. This has been demonstrated by a few progressive retailers who changed the fruit and vegetable department into a haven* where the self-service customer gets an inspiring break from the stressful ventures in the aisles with pre-packed goods, which look alike in most self-service stores. With an outset in broad range theories of consumer choice and environmental psychology, this paper discusses a number of reasons why the fruit and vegetable department can be one of the keys to chain differentiation and creation of positive customer attitudes to the store. Also the paper describes the results of two empirical studies (a focus group and a survey), which explore customer-perceived quality dimensions of the fruit and vegetable department and the extent to which these dimensions influence customer attitudes towards the department and towards the store in general.Consumer behaviour; Buying behaviour; Self-service chain stores; Fruits; Vegetables

The acceptance of functional foods in Denmark, Finland and the United States: A study of consumers' conjoint evaluations of the qualities of functional foods and perceptions of general health factors and cultural values.

Functional foods is a relatively new concept covering food products enriched with various kinds of (natural) substances (eg vitamins, minerals or probiotic cultures) or modified so as to provide consumers with an additional physiological benefit presumed to prevent disease or promote health, without them having to change their eating habits fundamentally. 2. Health is one of the most important choice criteria, when consumers purchase food products. The fact that most health consequences of food are long term and therefore inaccessible at the time of purchase, the evaluation has to be based on nutritional information, eg health claims and other more accessible food qualities, eg taste, appearance, and processing method (when disclosed) which consumers may associate with health in one way or another. Consumers’ acceptance of functional foods therefore depends on the health information available as well as on their associations between wholesomeness and other qualities of functional foods. 3. Experience with functional foods introduced so far has disclosed national differences when it comes to consumer acceptance. One explanation may be that legislation on health claims varies across countries; another explanation may be differences in cultural values, which possibly lead to different associations between wholesomeness and other quality aspects, such as taste, convenience and method of processing. 4. Using conjoint analysis and survey questions (n=1500), the aim of the study presented in this paper is to investigate whether there are differences in the acceptance of functional foods in Denmark, Finland and the United States, and to which extent they are related to differences in consumers’ nutritional knowledge, health associations and cultural values. The general results of the study indicate that Finnish consumers accept functional foods more readily than do American and Danish consumers. In all three countries, however, the results also indicate that consumers are more positive towards enrichments with well-known nutritional effects and that the use of health claims, which are restricted by law in all three countries, has a potential, positive effect on the acceptance of functional foods.Consumer behaviour; evaluations; functional food; health factors; cultural values

Lessons for public health campaigns from analysing commercial food marketing success factors: a case study

Background: Commercial food marketing has considerably shaped consumer food choice behaviour. Meanwhile, public health campaigns for healthier eating have had limited impact to date. Social marketing suggests that successful commercial food marketing campaigns can provide useful lessons for public sector activities. The aim of the present study was to empirically identify food marketing success factors that, using the social marketing approach, could help improve public health campaigns to promote healthy eating. Methods: In this case-study analysis, 27 recent and successful commercial food and beverage marketing cases were purposively sampled from different European countries. The cases involved different consumer target groups, product categories, company sizes and marketing techniques. The analysis focused on cases of relatively healthy food types, and nutrition and health-related aspects in the communication related to the food. Visual as well as written material was gathered, complemented by semi-structured interviews with 12 food market trend experts and 19 representatives of food companies and advertising agencies. Success factors were identified by a group of experts who reached consensus through discussion structured by a card sorting method. Results: Six clusters of success factors emerged from the analysis and were labelled as “data and knowledge”, “emotions”, “endorsement”, “media”, “community” and “why and how”. Each cluster subsumes two or three success factors and is illustrated by examples. In total, 16 factors were identified. It is argued that the factors “nutritional evidence”, “trend awareness”, “vertical endorsement”, “simple naturalness” and “common values” are of particular importance in the communication of health with regard to food. Conclusions: The present study identified critical factors for the success of commercial food marketing campaigns related to the issue of nutrition and health, which are possibly transferable to the public health sector. Whether or not a particular factor contributes to future success depends on the specific context of use, the combination of factors and the environment. Consideration of the specific applicability of the success factors identified in this study during the design of marketing activities could benefit public sector food and health-related campaigns

MANUFACTURER AND RETAILER BRANDS IN FOOD RETAIL ASSORTMENTS Notes from a shopping trip across Europe

Food retailers present consumers with a complex market offering. They offer consumers an assortment of products sourced from numerous suppliers, along with various services within a retailer-controlled environment (Burt & Sparks 2002). Food retailers aim to offer an assortment of products and perform a variety of activities and services, which provide added value in the eyes of consumers (Burt 2000). In this connection, branding is becoming increasingly important, as food retailers develop their own brands within and across product categories. Many retailers are attempting to cultivate an overall brand identity in order to protect and identify their market offering (Burt & Sparks 2002). The assortment of products food retailers offer typically includes manufacturer brands, re-tailer brands and generic or unbranded products. In recent years, increasing competition in food retailing has made food retailers focus on whether they offer the "right" assort-ment to consumers. Under headings such as efficient consumer response (ECR) and cate-gory management (CM), retailers have been readjusting their assortments, delisting many brands that were deemed to be under-performing and including retailer branded products in an attempt to differentiate themselves by offering goods only available in their stores. Despite the importance of branding to retailers, the branding literature has focused on how manufacturers develop and maintain strong brands. Relatively little work has been done in the area of retail brands and even less about the interaction between retailer brands and manufacturer brands. In contrast, this paper develops a concept of retailer brand architecture, which captures that retailers typically offer an assortment of manu-facturer brands, retailer brands and generic products. In doing so we adapt the concept of brand architecture to a retail context. The concept of 'brand architecture', as originally developed by (Aaker & Joachimsthaler 2002), describes how the different brands used to market a range of products from the same manufacturer are related. The concept of brand architecture is based on the assumption that brands are not evaluated in isolation, but are placed in and evaluated within a broader context. This assumption is also important in a retail context. Consumers do not look at an isolated product or brand on the shelf. Their evaluation of the individual brand depends on the context; for instance, what other products are offered in the product category and in the retail outlet, previous experiences with the product or other products from the same manufacturer, as well as previous experiences with the retailer in question. In this paper, we take the concept of brand architecture and apply it to food retailers, con-ceptualising the brand architectures of food retailers as the portfolio of brands (gene-ric, retailer and manufacturer brands), which are included in the assortment of a retail concept (ie, a retail chain). In addition to developing a concept of 'retailer brand archi-tecture', we use this concept to investigate the brand architecture of a number of European food retailers in order to determine similarities and differences in brand architecture strategies. The paper is structured as follows: firstly, the concept of brand archi-tecture is presented. Secondly, the concept of brand architecture is applied to a retail setting and a number of other concepts important for understanding the brand architecture strategies of food retailers are introduced and discussed. Thirdly, the methodology used to investigate the brand architectures of European food retailers is discussed. Then, the findings from a shopping trip across Europe are presented. Finally, a discussion of the findings is provided and it is briefly considered how the findings of this study were used as input for a study of consumer perceptions of the brand architectures of food retailers. This subsequent study investigated whether consumers notice differences between the brand architectures of food retailers and how these are evaluatedNo keywords;

Key Success Factors in Health-related Food Marketing: A Case Study Approach

Every now and then, astonishing success stories can be observed on the food market. Many of the recent examples make reference to health characteristics and arguments. In order to analyse the possibly underlying success factors, an empirical case study approach was chosen. 27 successful European Union food marketing cases were purposively sampled from the database of renowned marketing effectiveness awards as well as following a series of food market expert interviews. Success factors were analyzed in a two-step approach, first for each case and then in a case-by-case comparison structured with a card sorting method. Six groups of success factors emerged from the analysis and named "data and knowledge", "emotions", "endorsement", "media", "community" and "why and how". Several success factors appeared to be of specific importance for the issue of health characteristics and arguments. It is concluded that considering the applicability of these case derived success factors might be a recommendable way of improving food marketing campaigns, especially when referencing to health in the communication.Health Economics and Policy, Marketing,

СИСТЕМНЫЙ АНАЛИЗ ОСНОВНЫХ ТЕНДЕНЦИЙ В РАЗВИТИИ АДАПТИВНЫХ МЕТОДОВ УПРАВЛЕНИЯ ТРАНСПОРТНЫМИ ПОТОКАМИ

Adaptive algorithms, which current traffic systems are based on, exist for many decades. Information technologies have developed significantly over this period and it makes more relevant their application in the field of transport. This paper analyses modern trends in the development of adaptive traffic flow control methods. Reviewed the most perspective directions in the field of intelligent transport systems, such as high-speed wireless communication between vehicles and road infrastructure based on such technologies as DSRC and WAVE, traffic jams prediction having such features as traffic flow information, congestion, velocity of vehicles using machine learning, fuzzy logic rules and genetic algorithms, application of driver assistance systems to increase vehicle’s autonomy. Advantages of such technologies in safety, efficiency and usability of transport are shown. Described multi-agent approach, which uses V2I-communication between vehicles and intersection controller to improve efficiency of control due to more complete traffic flow information and possibility to give orders to separate vehicles. Presented number of algorithms which use such approach to create new generation of adaptive transport systems.Алгоритмы адаптивного управления, применяющиеся на сегодняшний день, существуют уже несколько десятилетий. За это время интенсивное развитие получили информационные технологии и сегодня все более актуальным является их применение в сфере транспорта. В статье анализируются современные тенденции развития адаптивных методов управления транспортными потоками. Выполнен обзор наиболее перспективных направлений в сфере интеллектуальных транспортных систем, таких как высокоскоростное беспроводное взаимодействие автомобилей друг с другом и с дорожной инфраструктурой, основанное на использовании технологий DSRC и WAVE, прогнозирование заторов по признакам, включающим информацию о дорожном потоке, степени занятости дороги, скоростях транспортных средств, с помощью методов машинного обучения, правил нечеткой логики и генетических алгоритмов, внедрение систем содействия водителю для повышения автономности транспортных средств. Приведены преимущества, предоставляемые этими технологиями, для повышения безопасности, эффективности и удобства использования транспорта. Описан мультиагентный подход, использующий V2I-взаимодействие между автомобилями и контроллером перекрестка для повышения эффективности управления за счет более полной информации о транспортном потоке и возможности отдавать команды отдельным автомобилям через сообщения. Представлен ряд алгоритмов, использующих этот подход для создания нового поколения адаптивных транспортных систем