No abstract

It has been hypothesized that consumers are more skeptical of health claims made in food ads than of health claims made on food labels. Therefore, the current research explores consumers' skepticism of health claims when the source of such claims is identified as a food ad or a food label. The study also examines whether consumers' beliefs are affected by nutrition information on food labels and whether health claims that have been challenged by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and by consumer groups are more likely to affect consumers' beliefs than are unchallenged health claims. The findings have implications for understanding the role of education in reducing consumer misperceptions of health claims.

With an increasingly competitive job market, this study focuses on what marketing educators can do to help students develop a sustainable competitive advantage. The authors conducted a survey of students, faculty, and recruiters to develop a better understanding of what skills and characteristics might be of value to each group of respondents and to ascertain where differences might exist across respondent groups. Although the basic skills (i.e., critical thinking, communication) recruiters seek have not changed much from previous studies, recruiters rated critical thinking skills, such as problem solving, much higher than either faculty or students. Graduates must be accountable and show the impact and rationale behind decisions. In other words, educators must continue to stress reading, writing, and “arith-metrics.” The lessons learned herein include ways to engage students, strengthen communication skills, incorporate skill development workshops, use professional speakers in marketing organizations, and promote services available outside the classroom as well as help students develop multiple skill sets in class. Educators should also encourage students to be open-minded, creative, and explore opportunities including internships and positions that may not be their current career choice. Finally, educators should discuss pros and cons of going straight through school or working before attending graduate school.

Social marketing initiatives that influence adolescents’ sexual behavior are critical given that adolescents are the most at-risk group for sexually transmitted diseases and unplanned and unwanted pregnancy. This study, involving 1343 middle school– and high school–aged students, explores relationships among several factors that potentially influence adolescents’ sexual knowledge, attitudes, and behavior. The authors examine the influence of several socialization agents, including parents, peers, and mass media. The results show that parental influence is the most consistent socialization agent across age groupings on all dependent variables studied. However, the relative influence of parents, peers, and media may vary between middle school– and high school–aged adolescents. The authors discuss implications for social marketing initiatives, public policy, and further research.

Cyber technology creates new shopping experiences for consumers and ways of searching for product information that are not possible in traditional advertising contexts. Telepresence, defined as the sense of being present in the remote environment, can simulate direct experience, and is useful for conceptualizing consumers’ experiences in computer-mediated environments. We focus on perceived telepresence in seeking to broaden our understanding of the effects of persuasive communications in the cyber environment. We examine effects of perceived telepresence on consumer responses such as attitude toward the ad, attitude toward the brand, and purchase intention, and also examine how these effects are moderated by consumer involvement. Hypotheses derived from a proposed conceptual model are tested via a laboratory experiment. Data is then analyzed with multi-sample structural analysis. Results show that perceived telepresence significantly affects consumer responses to online advertising and that involvement moderates these effects. Theoretical and managerial implications of the results are discussed.