Incorporating “Health” into Promotional Messages for Apples

Abstract

To gain further insight into consumer purchase motivation for fruits and vegetables, a hierarchical value map pertaining to dessert apples was derived. This suggested that purchase motivation was driven primarily by health considerations. Information from the hierarchical value map was used to develop three print advertising strategies for a new (hypothetical) apple variety in accord with the MECCAS framework (Means-End Conceptualization of the Components of Advertising Strategy). The way consumers perceived the information communicated in the different strategies was explored using in-depth interviews. Consumers' attitudinal responses to the three strategies were also monitored. The outcome of these explorations suggested that advertising communicating means-end chain information of differential content and structure resulted in different brand attitudes.

Key Words:

• Fruit
• health
• purchase motives
• laddering
• MECCAS model

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Halliday J. H. Macfie

Halliday J. H. MacFie is Director of a small company providing courses in sensory, consumer and market research and statistics, and he is Visiting Professor to the Department of Food and Agricultural Economics at the University of Reading (UK) and former director to the Institute of Food Research (UK) (Email: [email protected]).