Young Adult Responses to Peer Crowd-Based Targeting in E-cigarette Advertisements: An Experimental Study

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Marketing Science
• Behavioral Science

Background:

• E-cigarette advertisements frequently employ psychographic targeting, aligning with specific lifestyles, attitudes, and values.
• Young adults who do not currently use tobacco and nicotine products are particularly vulnerable to these targeted advertisements.
• This susceptibility may lead to the initiation of e-cigarette use in individuals who would otherwise have a lower likelihood of using such products.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the impact of psychographically targeted e-cigarette advertisements on young adults.
• To determine if matching advertisements to peer crowd affiliations enhances advertising effectiveness.
• To assess young adults' attitudes toward e-cigarette use in response to targeted advertising.

Main Methods:

• Recruited 2100 young adults (18-29 years) from five distinct peer crowds.
• Randomly assigned participants to view e-cigarette ads matching or mismatching their peer crowd.
• Assessed advertising effectiveness using Likert-type and semantic differential scales, and self-reported attitudes toward e-cigarette use.

Main Results:

• No overall significant effect of peer crowd matching was found.
• Significant interaction effects showed matching ads were rated higher among non-tobacco users and the 'Mainstream' peer crowd.
• Advertisements featuring 'Mainstream' characters generally received higher ratings than others.

Conclusions:

• Peer crowd-based targeting can enhance e-cigarette advertisement effectiveness, potentially increasing initiation among non-users.
• Stricter marketing regulations are necessary to mitigate the impact of targeted advertising on vulnerable young adults.
• Further research is needed to explore the efficacy of peer crowd-tailored anti-tobacco messaging.