The devastation of New Orleans as a result of Hurricane Katrina presents an opportunity and an obligation to examine the human and social factors that influenced the nation's response to this disaster. Lessons from Katrina suggest that a social marketing approach to disaster management could increase the likelihood of positive outcomes for individuals and communities when a disaster strikes. The authors propose an integrated approach to effective risk communications that encourages selfprotective behaviors.Deirdre T. Guion is Assistant Professor of Marketing, Haub School of Business, Saint Joseph's University (e-mail: dguion@sju.edu). Debra L. Scammon is Emma Eccles Jones Professor of Marketing, David Eccles School of Business, University of Utah (e-mail: mktdls@ business.utah.edu). Aberdeen Leila Borders is Assistant Professor of Marketing, University of New Orleans (e-mail: aborders@uno.edu). This article is dedicated to the memory of Derek F. Ridge and all the others who weathered the storm but did not survive its aftermath. For centuries, catastrophic events were considered "acts of God" beyond the control of human decision makers. Today, there is widespread agreement that though natural disasters cannot be controlled, their impact can be managed. The traditional model of disaster management (Mileti 1999) recognizes that disasters evolve through time. Mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery are identified as explicit phases that differ with regard to the management efforts that are required to deal with disasters. For 50 years, this model has served as the basis for disaster management practice and has guided research on experiences with disasters. Through the focused efforts of social science researchers, a wealth of information about disasters and their management has been amassed.Despite the diversity of perspectives represented in the research, little of it has drawn from the field of marketing. What can marketing offer? Because of marketing's focus on the needs of consumers, we contend that a social marketing perspective could shift focus in disaster management from the needs of emergency management personnel to the needs of people whom they are charged with assisting. To put people's needs first, though, emergency managers need a deeper understanding of the perspectives of individuals in various subgroups of the population, particularly with regard to how they perceive and respond to risks.Disasters are both sociological and political events, and though hurricanes and earthquakes are acts of nature, the disasters resulting from these events are social in origin (Tierney, Lindell, and Perry 2001). This study examines the human and sociological realities of area residents as they prepared for and responded to the events surrounding Hurricane Katrina. In this article, we apply a classic four-phase model of emergency management (Mileti 1999) to analyze the factors that affect people's preparedness for and response to disasters. Critical analysis of the human and organizational response to Katrina ...

Parents of small children regularly face challenges that are new to them, creating uncertainties and stress that complicate their decisionmaking processes. In this vulnerable state, parents may be susceptible to emotional appeals in advertisements in ways that influence their knowledge formation, food choices, and perceptions of self. In this study, we use a combination of content analysis and interviews to examine the use of emotional appeals, particularly guilt and fear, in food ads and how parents respond to them. We find that guilt is more frequently used in ads that target parents than has been shown for other audiences, and that parents often express negative self-images and coping strategies when viewing them.

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The 2002 implementation of the National Organic standard and development of the USDA organic seal gave food advertisers a new tool with which to communicate food characteristics to consumers. Based principally on farm and manufacturing practices, the standard offers consumers an expansion of their food choices. Parents of young children have been shown to have particular interest in organic food. Using parent-targeted magazine-based food ads, this paper explores how organic has been promoted, how its advertising strategy compares to that for conventional foods, and whether organic food has been appropriately differentiated from conventional foods such that the USDA organic seal carries a significant and unique meaning to both consumers and the food industry. The content analysis shows that the period following the implementation of the National Organic Program exhibits a general upward trend in usage of health-related cues but minimal increase in use of terms associated with the "organic" ideal. A direct comparison of organic and non-organic food ads shows that there has been little leakage of terminology related to "organic" into mainstream food advertising strategy. Most importantly, we find that "organic" is intermixed with health cues, contributing to the often-found consumer perception that "organic" means "healthier," and suggesting that the goals of the NOP to offer consumers a clear definition and a way to reduce confusion have not been met in advertising strategy.

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