Why a Single Pro-Environmental Appeal Works to Promote Behavioral Change On Social Media, One Tip versus Many Is More Effective for Nongreen Consumers

Authors

Matthew Pittman, University of Tennessee, KnoxvilleFollow
Tyler Milfeld, Villanova
Kibum Youn, University of Tennessee, Knoxville

Files

Description

Some brands, not-for-profit organizations, and social media influencers post tips to encourage prosocial behaviors. This is particularly prevalent in the context of environmental sustainability. Through a series of three studies, including a field experiment using a real brand to investigate click-through rates and cost per click, this research finds that a single green tip (versus many tips) enhances brand attitudes among consumers with low environmental concern. By contrast, the number of tips is less consequential for consumers with high environmental concern. Perceived brand authenticity is the mediating mechanism behind the effect. These findings hold across different product categories and different manipulations for the number of tips.

DOI

DOI: 10.2501/JAR-2024-001

Publication Date

2023

Publisher

Journal of Advertising Research

Keywords

Green Marketing, Advertising Message Strategy, Environmentalism

Disciplines

Advertising and Promotion Management | Business and Corporate Communications | Marketing

Recommended Citation

Pittman, Matthew; Milfeld, Tyler; and Youn, Kibum, "Why a Single Pro-Environmental Appeal Works to Promote Behavioral Change On Social Media, One Tip versus Many Is More Effective for Nongreen Consumers" (2023). Purpose Project. 5.
https://trace.tennessee.edu/utpurposeproject/5