Evaluating values-based message frames for type 2 diabetes prevention among Facebook audiences: Divergent values or...

Area of Science:

• Public Health Communication
• Social Marketing
• Health Behavior Change

Background:

• Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is a growing epidemic requiring a shift from medical to social problem framing.
• Public health campaigns can leverage social problem framing to drive policy, systems, and environmental change.
• Understanding audience segmentation is crucial for effective health communication strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify the most effective message frames for a type 2 diabetes (T2D) prevention campaign on Facebook.
• To examine the variation in effectiveness of ad message frames across different audience segments.
• To determine if common values can be tapped to create a unified movement against the T2D epidemic.

Main Methods:

• Six parallel quasi-experiments were conducted with 203,156 participants across 6 distinct audience segments on Facebook.
• Participants were exposed to 7 of 11 possible values-based ad frames (10-15 word appeals).
• Ad engagement was measured by video views, link clicks, and donations, with audience segmentation based on birth month.

Main Results:

• Contrary to the hypothesis, ad frame effectiveness showed remarkable consistency across all target audiences.
• Highly effective frames included Entertainment and Emotional Appeal, Defiance Against Authority Appeal, and Second-Hand Smoke/Environmental Appeal.
• Common-Enemy/War-Metaphor Appeal was also moderately effective across segments.

Conclusions:

• A set of common values exists that public health communication can utilize to foster an inclusive movement against the T2D epidemic.
• Effective communication strategies should focus on policy, systems, and environmental approaches.
• Findings suggest that a unified message can transcend audience segmentation in public health campaigns.