Effects of Nature Values and Regulatory Fit of Message Framing on Message Evaluation and Actual Pro-Environmental Donations

Messages are often tailored to individual differences, as fit is believed to influence behavior. We examine the effects of regulatory fit (i.e., matching promotion/prevention message framing to people’s promotion/prevention orientation) and the priority that individuals attribute to nature values, on the evaluation of climate change messages and donations to pro-environmental charities. We measured participants’ ( n = 570) regulatory focus on ensuring positive outcomes (promotion) versus avoiding negative outcomes (prevention), and nature values. Participants evaluated a promotion- or prevention-framed text (highlighting ensuring the welfare of the environment or avoiding its destruction) and were then invited to donate part of their remuneration to pro-environmental or other charities. Participants who prioritized nature values evaluated the promotion-framed text more favorably the stronger their promotion focus was, but only endorsement of nature values predicted donations. This highlights the importance of measuring actual pro-environmental behavior, as positive message evaluations did not result in donations.

Language as a Tool for Disaster Mitigation Management: Analysis of Warning System Text in Language and Institutional Framework

This paper analyzes the pattern of earthquake mitigation messages using critical discourse analysis (CDA). It does so to seek the language patterns to understand how the texts represent earthquake mitigation procedures to target audiences. Materials and Method: Earthquake mitigation warning messages and infographics in offline and online public spaces were collected as data and analyzed using Fairclough’s framework. The texts that appeared in spaces like universities were too comprehensive, as emergency signs should be direct and straightforward. Other venues tended to focus on providing a persuasive and instructive message. Evaluation of the message should ensure that such messages are transparent and readable. Results: This paper’s findings can prevent unnecessary loss of life and property based on continuous disaster risk management through appropriate language usage in the mitigation warning system. Conclusion: It is hoped that society realizes the importance of warning messages. This is not only a sign for earthquake mitigation, but also a tool for communicating information regarding earthquakes and appropriate disaster emergency risk response.

A Cognitive-Emotional Model to Explain Message Framing Effects: Reducing Meat Consumption

We tested the plausibility of a cognitive-emotional model to understand the effects of messages framed in terms of gain, non-loss, non-gain, and loss, and related to the health consequences of red/processed meat consumption. A total of 544 Italian participants reported their attitude toward reduced red/processed meat consumption and intention to eat red/processed meat (time 1 questionnaire). One week later, participants were randomly assigned to four different message conditions: (a) gain messages focused on the positive health outcomes associated with low meat consumption; (b) non-loss messages focused on the avoided negative health outcomes associated with low meat consumption; (c) non-gain messages focused on the missed positive health outcomes associated with high meat consumption; (d) loss messages focused on the negative health outcomes associated with high meat consumption (message sending). After reading the messages, participants answered a series of questions regarding their emotional and cognitive reactions to the messages, their evaluation of the messages, and again their attitude and intention toward red/processed meat consumption (time 2 questionnaire). Comparing different multivariate linear models under the Bayesian approach, we selected the model with the highest plausibility conditioned to observed data. In this model, message-induced fear influenced systematic processing, which in turn positively influenced message evaluation and attitude, leading to reduced intention to consume red/processed meat. Vice versa, message-induced anger reduced systematic processing, which in turn negatively influenced message evaluation, and led to no effect on attitude and intention. The comparison among message conditions showed that gain and non-loss messages activated integrated emotional and cognitive processing of the health recommendation, while loss and non-gain messages mainly activated emotional shortcuts toward attitude and intention. Overall, these results advance our comprehension of the effects of message framing on receivers' attitudes and intentions.

Internal Branding: Role of a Co-Created Corporate Event Message

To improve the effectiveness of corporate events, organizational leaders and meeting planners are increasingly looking for new approaches to involve attendees in active participation and cocreation of desired outcomes. The aim of this study was to examine how a co-created message delivered during the corporate event served the role of effective internal brand communication. Signaling theory and service-dominant logic were the foundation for the research framework, supporting the argument that if value was co-created during the corporate event, it positively influences the goals established by event organizers. Research was conducted using online selfadministered questionnaires collected from 235 employees of a US-based hotel chain, attendees of the annual corporate event. Results revealed that when a strong corporate message was evaluated as co-creation it positively affected attendees’ internal word-of-mouth (iWOM) intention and perceptions of the brand’s competitive service advantage. Message strength was influenced by attendees’ views of leadership authenticity. Repeat event attendees’ message evaluation was affected by leadership authenticity continuity, while first-time attendees’ evaluation was influenced by leadership authenticity uniqueness. The study introduced and tested a novel framework focused on the effectiveness of event messaging based on co-created value appraisal. It is one of the first studies to focus on annual corporate events as an effective tool for co-created corporate communication. Managers should strategically utilize corporate event messaging delivered by authentic leaders to empower employees as ambassadors of the brand and focus on the importance of message strength to co-create value between the organization and employees.

The effects of scandalization in political news messages on political trust and message evaluation

Recent decades have seen an increase in the frequency of ‘scandalization’ in political news, a practice in which journalists try to persuade the public that there is a scandal, sometimes by exaggerating the importance of minor mistakes or improprieties. At the moment, little is known about the effects of this practice on news consumers. In this study, we investigated the effects of scandalization on news consumers’ evaluations of the politician involved in the scandal, as well as the news message itself. We expected that such responses would be contingent on the perceived severity of the alleged transgression. We conducted an experiment in which we randomized participants (128 undergraduate students at a Dutch university) into a 2(mild versus severe transgression) X 2(scandalization versus control) between participants design. The results showed that, in the mild transgression condition, a scandalizing message caused participants to perceive the alleged events as less serious than a control message, and that scandalization resulted in lower levels of perceived message appropriateness and message trust. No effects of scandalization were found in the severe transgression condition. We conclude that scandalization does not inevitably lead to lower levels of political trust and increased political cynicism. It can, however, lead to lower levels of trust in news reporting when the transgression is seen as mild.

Reliable, valid and efficient evaluation of media messages

Purpose In the field of public relations and communication management, message evaluation has been one of the starting points for evaluation and measurement research at least since the 1970s. Reliable and valid message evaluation has a central role in message effects research and campaign design in other disciplines as well as communication science. The purpose of this paper is to offer a message testing protocol to efficiently acquire valid and reliable message evaluation data. Design/methodology/approach A message testing protocol is described in terms of how to conceptualize and evaluate the content and format of messages, in terms of procedures for acquiring and testing messages and in terms of using efficient, reliable and valid measures of perceived message effectiveness (PME) and perceived argument strength (PAS). The evidence supporting the reliability and validity of PME and PAS measures is reviewed. Findings The message testing protocol developed and reported is an efficient, reliable and valid approach for testing large numbers of messages. Research limitations/implications Researchers’ ability to select candidate messages for subsequent deeper testing, for various types of communication campaigns, and for research in theory testing contexts is facilitated. Avoiding the limitations of using a single instance of a message to represent a category (also known as the case-category confound) is reduced. Practical implications Communication campaign designers are armed with tools to assess messages and campaign concepts quickly and efficiently, reducing pre-testing time and resources while identifying “best-in-show” examples and prototypes. Originality/value Message structures are conceptualized in terms of content and format features using theoretically driven constructs. Measures of PAS and PME are reviewed for their reliability, construct and predictive validity, finding that the measures are acceptable surrogates for actual effectiveness for a wide variety of messages and applications. Coupled with procedures that reduce confounding by randomly nesting messages within respondents and respondents to messages, the measures used and protocol deployed offer an efficient and utilitarian approach to message testing and modeling.

The impact of sharing brand messages: How message, sender and receiver characteristics influence brand attitudes and information diffusion on Social Networking Sites

Social Networking Sites (SNSs) not only enable users to read or create content about brands, but also to easily pass along this content using information diffusion mechanisms such as retweeting or sharing. While these capabilities can be optimal for viral marketing, little is known, however, about how reading brand messages passed along by SNS contacts influences online brand communication outcomes. Results of a survey with active SNS users indicate that (1) message evaluation, (2) the relationship with the sender, and (3) the receiver’s opinion leadership and opinion-seeking levels influence not only the receiver’s intention to pass along the message further, but also his or her attitude towards the brand. The implications of these findings are discussed, including how these capabilities brought on by SNSs change the brand-consumer relationship online.