Attitudes Towards Television Commercials with an Underlying Health Claim

Bachelors thesis within Business Administration Authors: Tutor: Jnkping ; May 2011 Jasmine Hansson, Emilia Sundberg Olga Sasinovskaya

Bachelors Thesis in Business Administration Title: Attitudes Towards Television Commercials with an Underlying Health Claim Authors: Tutor: Date: Subject terms: Jasmine Hansson, Emilia Sundberg Olga Sasinovskaya 2011-05-23 Consumer behavior, Generation Y, university students, TV Commercials, health claims, attitudes, marketing messages in TV commercials, qualitative research, focus groups.

Abstract
Background: Health and eating healthy has become increasingly popular during the recent decades. On television, countless numbers of food commercials claim their products to be healthy, and fit good looking people propagate for the benefits of the products. At the same time, there are many studies showing these marketing messages to be highly misleading. Consequently, a great extent of existing research within this field treats the subject of consumers, children in particular, and television in relation to eating habits. However, in this study, we are not interested in confirming these facts; instead we focus on the attitudes that consumers have towards these marketing messages with underlying health claims shown in TV commercials. Today, many new types of communication channels exist, nevertheless, watching TV is an increasing activity, especially among young consumers. It was found that research including young adult consumers was scarce, why the segment of university students belonging to the generation Y was chosen for this study. The purpose of this thesis is to identify the attitudes that Swedish generation Y university students have towards TV commercials with underlying health claims. The aim is also to investigate why these consumers react to the commercials the way they do. In this thesis both a quantitative and a qualitative method was used, where the qualitative method was the most dominating. Thus, it can be considered a mixed methods approach. However, the quantitative part is dominating. For the empirical study we conducted tests where a number of persons in focus groups were exposed to different TV commercials, all with an underlying health claim. The respondents answered an ingroup questionnaire and thereafter during the group discussion they were asked to describe their reactions to the TV commercials. Finally, the respondents were also asked what factors they believed important to them when they consider buying a product. The Swedish generation Y university students presented a number of attitudes towards the chosen television commercials. The students did recognize the underlying health claims and furthermore indicated other factors noticed within the commercials. Also, we could see that factors such as memory, unconscious influence as well as positioning of the

Purpose:

Method:

Conclusion:

commercials had an influence on the attitudes. The results also specified that factors influencing these consumers in their purchasing decision, except the TV commercial itself, were; whether they had bought the product before, what family and friends used and recommended, as well as price and quality. The above features also had an influence on how these consumers reacted to the marketing messages. The study shows that the model of the emotional process by Holbrook and OShaughnessy (1984) could be followed. We furthermore built on Bagozzi et al.s (1999) classification of advertisements by introducing the multi message ad. To conclude, it can be stated that factors influencing these consumers attitudes of TV commercials with underlying health claims had different aspects and explanations, although common patterns could be seen.

Kandidatuppsats i Fretagsekonomi Titel: Attityder till TV-reklam med underliggande hlsobudskap Frfattare: Handledare: Datum: mnesord: Jasmine Hansson, Emilia Sundberg Olga Sasinovskaya 2011-05-23 konsumentbeteende, generation Y, universitetsstudenter, TVreklam, hlsopstenden, attityder, marknadsfringbudskap i TVreklam, kvalitativ forskning, fokusgrupper.

Sammanfattning
Bakgrund: Hlsa och att ta hlsosamt har blivit alltmer populrt under de senaste decennierna. P tv hvdar ett orkneligt antal reklaminslag fr matprodukter hur hlsosamma de r och vltrnade, snygga mnniskor propagerar fr frdelarna med produkterna. Samtidigt finns det mnga studier som visar att dessa reklambudskap r vilseledande. Fljaktligen handlar en stor del av forskningen i mnet om sambandet mellan konsumenter - i synnerhet barn, och TV i relation till matvanor. I denna studie r vi inte intresserade av att bekrfta dessa fakta, utan fokus r istllet inriktat p hur tittarna tolkar reklambudskap med underliggande hlsopstenden. Idag finns mnga nya typer av kommunikationskanaler, men trots det kar TV-tittandet, i synnerhet bland unga konsumenter. Forskning kring generation Y och deras syn p TV-reklam med underliggande hlsobudskap r hittills begrnsad. Syftet med denna uppsats r att identifiera de attityder som svenska universitetsstudenter tillhrande generation Y har gentemot TV reklam med underliggande hlsobudskap. Syftet r ocks att underska varfr dessa konsumenter tolkar reklamen som de gr. I rapporten anvndes bde kvalitativa och kvantitativa metoder, dr den kvalitativa var mest dominerande. Man kan drfr sga att en blandad metod anvndes fr att f fram bsta resultat. Fr den empiriska studien gjordes ett test dr ett antal personer i fyra fokus grupper fick se olika TV-reklaminslag, alla med ett underliggande hlsobudskap. Gruppmedlemmarna fick individuellt svara p ett antal frgor ur ett formulr och drefter i gruppen diskutera sina reaktioner p reklaminslagen. Hur dessa pverkade dem och vad de anser som viktigt nr de sjlva ska kpa en produkt var andra frgor som diskuterades. Det visade sig att reklaminslagen uppfattades p olika stt av studenterna i fokus grupperna. De identifierade de underliggande hlsobudskapen i reklamerna och ven andra uppfattningar om reklambudskapen kunde utlsas. Ur resultaten kan utlsas att faktorer ssom minne, undermedvetet inflytande och ven reklaminslagens position i frhllande till varandra var av vikt fr hur de uppfattades. Resultatet visar ocks att studenterna pverkades av mnga fler faktorer n sjlva reklamen i sig, exempelvis huruvida de kpt produkten innan, vad familj och vnner anvnde och rekommenderade, samt pris och kvalit. Dessa

Syfte:

Metod:

Slutsats:

faktorer pverkade ven hur studenterna tolkade reklammeddelandena. Dessutom visar vi hur Holbrook och OShaughnessys (1984) Model of the Emotional Process, stmmer verens med resultaten i denna studie. Vi bygger ven vidare p Bagozzi et al.s (1999) tv klassificeringar av reklam och introducerar en tredje; multimeddelande-reklam. Sammanfattningsvis kan konstateras att mnga olika faktorer pverkade dessa konsumenters attityder gentemot TV-reklam med underliggande hlsobudskap. Trots det kunde nd vissa gemensamma mnster utlsas.

Acknowledgements

Firstly, we would like to thank our supervisor Olga Sasinovskaya for the guidance and honest commitment during the process. We would also like to thank our fellow seminar students for their valuable feedback during seminar sessions. Finally, we would like to give a special thanks to our families and friends for the support and love during the writing process.

Jasmine Hansson

Emilia Sundberg

Jnkping International Business School 23 May 2011

Table of Contents
1 INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 2 BACKGROUND ......................................................................................................................... 1 PROBLEM DISCUSSION .............................................................................................................. 2 PURPOSE ............................................................................................................................... 2 RESEARCH QUESTIONS .............................................................................................................. 2 PERSPECTIVE ........................................................................................................................... 2 DELIMITATIONS ....................................................................................................................... 3 DEFINITIONS ........................................................................................................................... 4 STRUCTURE OF THE THESIS ......................................................................................................... 5

METHOD ................................................................................................................................. 6 2.1 QUALITATIVE RESEARCH ............................................................................................................ 6 2.2 MIXED METHODS RESEARCH ...................................................................................................... 7 2.3 INTERPRETIVIST APPROACH ......................................................................................................... 8 2.4 DATA COLLECTION ................................................................................................................... 8 2.5 FOCUS GROUPS ....................................................................................................................... 9 2.5.1 Pilot Study ................................................................................................................ 10 2.5.2 Sample of the Focus Groups...................................................................................... 10 2.5.3 Designing the Focus Groups & Interview Questions ................................................... 11 2.5.4 In-group Questionnaire............................................................................................. 12 2.6 DATA ANALYSIS ..................................................................................................................... 12 2.6.1 Transcriptions .......................................................................................................... 12 2.6.2 Video and Audio ....................................................................................................... 13 2.6.3 Language ................................................................................................................. 13 2.7 SAMPLE SELECTION DISCUSSION ................................................................................................ 13 2.7.1 The Generation Y ...................................................................................................... 14 2.7.2 Types of Health Claims ............................................................................................. 16 2.7.3 Chosen Products and TV Commercials....................................................................... 16 2.8 TRUSTWORTHINESS ................................................................................................................ 17 2.8.1 Credibility ................................................................................................................. 17 2.8.2 Transferability .......................................................................................................... 18 2.8.3 Dependability ........................................................................................................... 18 2.8.4 Conformability ......................................................................................................... 18 2.9 STRATEGIES TO GUARANTEE RESEARCH QUALITY............................................................................ 18 2.9.1 Triangulation............................................................................................................ 19 2.9.2 Reflexivity ................................................................................................................ 19

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK .................................................................................................. 20 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 3.9 3.10 MODEL OF THE EMOTIONAL PROCESS ......................................................................................... 20 MARKETING & EMOTIONS ....................................................................................................... 20 THE UNCONSCIOUS INFLUENCE ON CONSUMERS ............................................................................ 21 THE COMMERCIAL AND THE MEMORY ......................................................................................... 21 POSITIONING OF TELEVISION COMMERCIALS ................................................................................. 22 INFLUENCE OF FAMILY ON PURCHASING BEHAVIOR ......................................................................... 22 INFLUENCE OF PRICE & BRAND QUALITY ...................................................................................... 23 KNOWLEDGE ABOUT FOOD AND HEALTH IN COMMERCIALS .............................................................. 23 CRITIQUE TOWARDS HOW HEALTHY FOOD IS PORTRAYED IN COMMERCIALS.......................................... 24 CONCLUDING KEY CONCEPTS ................................................................................................ 25

EMPIRICAL FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS OF ATTITUDES ............................................................. 27 4.1 NOTICING THE UNDERLYING HEALTH CLAIM AND OTHER MESSAGES ................................................... 28 4.1.1 Alpro Soya Commercial............................................................................................. 28 4.1.2 Bregott Commercial ................................................................................................. 29 4.1.3 Cheerios Commercial ................................................................................................ 31

4.1.4 Pgen Commercial ................................................................................................... 32 4.2 SUMMARY OF ATTITUDES ......................................................................................................... 34 5 EMPIRICAL FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS OF WHY CONSUMERS ARE INFLUENCED ..................... 35 5.1 REASONS FOR CONSUMER REACTIONS ......................................................................................... 35 5.1.1 Model of the Emotional Process Applied in Practice .................................................. 35 5.1.2 Positive and Negative Emotions towards the Commercials ........................................ 35 5.1.3 The Multi Message Ad .............................................................................................. 36 5.1.4 The Unconscious Influence........................................................................................ 36 5.1.5 Remembering Information about the Commercials ................................................... 38 5.2 SIGNIFICANT INFLUENCES ON PURCHASING DECISIONS..................................................................... 38 5.2.1 Bought Before .......................................................................................................... 39 5.2.2 Influence of Friends and Family................................................................................. 40 5.2.3 Influence of the Commercial Itself ............................................................................. 41 5.2.4 Positioning of the Commercials ................................................................................. 42 5.2.5 Influence of Price & Quality ...................................................................................... 43 5.2.6 Knowledge of Food and Health in the Commercials ................................................... 44 6 7 CONCLUSION ......................................................................................................................... 45 DISCUSSION AND FURTHER RESEARCH .................................................................................. 48

LIST OF REFERENCES ....................................................................................................................... 50 APPENDICES ................................................................................................................................... 56 FOCUS GROUP QUESTIONNAIRE.......................................................................................................... 56 SUMMARIZED QUESTIONNAIRE RESULTS ............................................................................................... 58 FIGURES FIGURE 1-1 STRUCTURE OF THE THESIS ....................................................................................................................5 FIGURE 2-1 STRUCTURE OF FOCUS GROUPS ...........................................................................................................11 FIGURE 2-2 TYPE A HEALTH CLAIMS IN CHOSEN TV COMMERCIALS ..............................................................17 FIGURE 3-1 MODEL OF THE EMOTIONAL PROCESS ..............................................................................................20 FIGURE 4-1 HAVE YOU SEEN THE COMMERCIALS BEFORE?...............................................................................27 FIGURE 4-2 MENTIONED ATTRIBUTES: ALPRO SOYA ...........................................................................................28 FIGURE 4-3 MENTIONED ATTRIBUTES: BREGOTT.................................................................................................30 FIGURE 4-4 MENTIONED ATTRIBUTES: CHEERIOS................................................................................................32 FIGURE 4-5 MENTIONED ATTRIBUTES: PGEN .....................................................................................................33 FIGURE 5-1 HAVE YOU BOUGHT THE PRODUCT BEFORE? .................................................................................37 FIGURE 5-2 INFLUENCES TO BUY A PRODUCT.........................................................................................................39

1 Introduction
In this section, we will present an introduction and a background to the study as well as a related problem discussion. Further, the purpose followed by the chosen perspective will be introduced. Some delimitations are also presented and finally, definitions that are commonly used in the paper. Consumer behavior studies involve many different schools of thought, spanning from sociology and anthropology, to psychology and business studies, to name a few. Consumer Behavior is defined as the dynamic interaction of affect and cognition, behavior, and the environment by which human beings conduct the exchange aspects of their lives (American Marketing Association Dictionary, 2011). As marketing itself is a blend between these fields, this will also be the case in this paper. Theories about consumer behaviour and what drives the consumer in his/her buying decision have shifted through the decades. The rational choice perspective was for a long period dominant, looking upon the consumer as a human being making well thought out and logical decisions based on a given set of information. The dominating theories have changed several times since then and today different perspectives can be seen within consumer behaviour research. The so called experimental view has become popular during the past thirty years or so where the consumer is not driven by rationality; instead softer needs such as feelings, desire, hedonism as well as aesthetics are being focused on (Holbrook & Hirschman 1982). For this reason, various perspectives on consumer behaviour will be included in this paper. However, all theoretical paths cannot be followed.

1.1 Background
Consumers are constantly overwhelmed by different kinds of stimuli by marketing messages, often followed by an increasing amount of decisions that need to be taken (Ekstrm, 2010). When it comes to television advertisement the stimuli in the form of marketing messages are competing with each other on the consumers attention, both in the form of other commercials as well as the program itself (McClung, Park & Saur, 1985). McClung et al. (1985) state that the major intent of advertising is to influence brand attitude formation and choice by conveying to the consumer a specific concept regarding the market offering (p.351). Thus, from the marketers point of view, it is all about communicating the right message to the consumer. This needs to be done in an effective way in order to implement the brand image in his or her mind, hopefully becoming the brand of choice (McClung et al., 1985). However, today consumers are to a high extent aware and well informed when it comes to marketers advertising strategies. Young consumers in particular are not easily convinced (McCrindle, 2002) and marketers therefore constantly have to invent new ways of communicating with people, for instance through; Internet, mobile phones or outdoor happenings. The consumer segment studied within this paper can be regarded as belonging to the generation Y, in this case university students and the media of interest is the TV commercial, which can be considered as a rather traditional means of communication for marketing messages. However, TV is still in everymans home and young people are spending several hours a day watching television. According to McCrindle (2002) one quarter of factors that influence eighteen year olds comes from TV and movies, which shows the impact of this media on young consumers.

Food plays a crucial role in peoples life and according to Ippolito and Papparlardo (2002): Television is the primary medium used for food advertising (p. 26). Within previous research, studies establish a direct causal link between food advertising and unhealthy diets (Harris, Bargh & Brownell, 2009). As health aspects are used as a marketing strategy by companies, one must consider how and why people are affected and therefore theories are needed to fully understand the problem. Harris et al. (2009) also state that very little is known about the effects of advertizing on adolescents and adults compared to that of children as well as advertizing for calorie-dense, low-nutrient food. Thus, studying what attitudes young adult consumers have towards TV commercials promoting food, becomes rather interesting.

1.2 Problem Discussion

We found that prior studies within the field of consumer behavior in relation to underlying health messages portrayed in TV commercials were limited. Rather, research treated issues such as; negative health effects of TV commercials on children and adolescents as well as influence on their purchasing decisions (Kraak & Pelletier, 1998), or; nutritional content in products displayed in TV commercials (Resnik & Stern, 1977). Other studies concerned placement of the TV commercial within the pod (Coulter, 1998), or effects of repetitiveness of TV commercials (Gorn & Goldberg, 1980). Also, research concerned commercials directed to a specific segment of consumers, such as children (Story & French, 2004) and not to a more general public. In other words, prior studies dealt with evaluating the healthiness of products as well as the structure of commercials and not consumer attitudes of marketing messages. Furthermore, a large amount of the research focused on children rather than young adults or adults and no correlation between TV commercials and generation Y consumers could be seen.

1.3 Purpose
The purpose of this thesis is two folded; to identify the attitudes that Swedish university students belonging to the generation Y have towards TV commercials with underlying health claims. Also the purpose is to understand why these consumers react on the commercials the way they do.

1.4 Research Questions

1) Do consumers notice the underlying health claims in the chosen TV commercials? 2) What other messages do consumers notice within the chosen TV commercials? 3) What influences do consumers find important when considering making a purchase?

1.5 Perspective
Considerations were made when choosing the perspective in which this thesis is to be written. The perspective held in this thesis is from the point of view of the consumer. The reason for this is that it is the consumer reaction process that is of interest here. Marketers use different and sophisticated ways of catching the consumers attention, however it is the latter who ultimately decides whether to buy the product or not. The type of consumers that were chosen for this study was Swedish university students belonging to the generation Y. Further arguments for this choice can be seen in section 2.7.1.

One must also consider the fact that there are different types of TV commercials depending on the context, positioning and type of commercial. There are commercials that are shown separately, in a pod, or even sponsored by the program itself, all of which can affect the way the TV commercial is understood by the consumer. The perspective taken within this paper is the regular TV commercial shown in between p rograms, during the commercial break.

1.6 Delimitations
We have no intentions to generalize the qualitative information collected in this study for Sweden as a whole, but rather to analyze the findings within the targeted sample and connect these to existing theory within the field. Further, the aim is not to present a complete picture of issues related to the attitudes of consumers towards commercials, as no research can be fully complete. The intention is neither to decide whether a product is considered healthy or not, nor to give dietary recommendations, as we do not consider this matter relevant to the purpose of our study. Instead, our aim is to investigate what attitudes consumers of a specific segment have towards TV commercials with underlying health claims and what attributes they believe to be important when considering to buy a product.

1.7 Definitions
In this section concepts that are important to the understanding of this paper will be explained.

Attitudes
When discussing human behavior, social psychologists have used the concept of attitudes and there are many different definitions (Ajzen, 2005). However, according to Kothandapani, 1971), attitudes are defined by three interrelated components: an affective component involving feelings about an evaluation of the attitude object, a cognitive component involving beliefs about the object and a behavioral intentions component. This definition will be suitable for the present thesis, as the subject of study is how TV commercials affect consumers as well as their cognitions and furthermore how their behavior influences the final purchasing decision.

Generation Y
The generation Y is in marketing terms regarded as the generation born between the early 1980s and around 2000 (McCrindle, 2002). Advertisement and consumption is a natural part of their life which makes them rather critical towards marketing messages. Generation Ys are known to be well educated and are characterized for being: "brought up with lots of self-esteem, lots of activities and huge appreciation of what technology can provide for them in terms of improving efficiency" (Nazareth, 2007, p. 81). In this thesis, we have chosen Swedish university students who belong to the generation Y population group.

Health claims
According to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), health claims "describe a relationship between a food, food component, or dietary supplement ingredient, and reducing risk of a disease or health-related condition" (FDA, 2011). In this paper we use the term health claim when referring to the health messages stated within the chosen TV commercials of our study. These health claims are more or less clearly expressed and depend on how each consumer reacts to the commercial. A description the health claims we identified in each of the four TV commercial used in this study can be found in section 2.6.3

Purchase Decision
Purchase decision is a frequently used term in this thesis and can be described as a step within the consumer decision making process (Bettman, Johnson & Payne, 1991). The use of the term in this paper refers to the final decision that consumers take after considering their needs, desires and their influences. These decisions can be influenced both consciously as well as unconsciously.

1.8 Structure of the Thesis

The structure of the thesis is shown below:
1 Introduction

2 Method

3 Theoretical Framework

4 Empirical Findings & Analysis of Attitudes 4.1 Noticing the Health Claim and other Messages, RQ 1 & RQ 2

5 Empirical Findings & Analysis of Why Consumers are Influenced 5.1 & 5.2 Significant Influences on Purchasing Decisions, RQ 3 5.3 Summary of Influences on Purchasing Decisions

6 Conclusion

7 Discussion & Further Research

Figure 1-1 Structure of the Thesis The thesis opens with an introduction followed by the method and the theoretical framework. This nontraditional structure was chosen in order to formulate the purpose and furthermore create the research questions. When conducting the study, it was necessary to investigate the purpose through the method before building up a theoretical framework. Once we were able to identify exactly what was going to be investigated, the theoretical framework could be formulated based on the results found in the empirical study. The findings and analysis of this paper are combined for both parts of the two folded purpose. The reasoning behind this decision was that findings and analysis were very much interrelated and the separation of the two would only create repetitions. Furthermore, by combining findings and analysis, the purpose as well as the research questions could be answered more directly and hopefully this structure contributes to a better understanding for the reader. Some extensive parts of the analysis/findings sections are concluded with a summary to decrease confusion and to give a better overview. Finally, the thesis ends with a conclusion as well as a section for discussion and further research.

2 Method
This section will present the methods used as well as some of its pros and cons. Further, we will also discuss and argue why the methods have been chosen and describe how the empirical information was gathered and analyzed. Lastly, the issue of trustworthiness of this thesis will be discussed.

2.1 Qualitative Research

According to Daymon and Holloway (2011), the qualitative approach is more common than the quantitative approach within marketing communication studies. Bryman and Bell (2011) state that quantitative research strategies emphasize quantification whereas qualitative research strategies emphasize words when collecting and analyzing data. "Quantitative research tends to focus on the how it is, whereas qualitative research is more of an exploration of the why and thus the how it could be (Lillis, 2002, p.4). The qualitative research method is influenced by an interpretive way of viewing the world around us and is thus driven by meaning, understanding and exploration. The method allows the researcher to remain open through the process towards new findings that were not anticipated when the research began, as he or she is not in total control of the outcomes of the study (Daymon & Holloway, 2011). The idea of qualitative research is to study an issue within its specific setting and unique context and therefore conclusions can never be drawn in a general way. According to Cooper and Schindler (2011), qualitative research aims at understanding a problem through detailed description. The idea is not to reach some kind of common ruling truth, rather the researcher together with the participants that are being studied seek knowledge and understanding (Daymon & Holloway, 2011). Also, in qualitative research the researchers individual knowledge, mindset and experience affects the results to a high extent. There are numerous pros and cons of qualitative research. One weakness is the difficulty to establish generalizations from qualitative results; the study can seldom be applied to a population at large as it is context specific. Other weaknesses of qualitative research are lack of transparency of data and that the study can become too subjective (Daymon & Holloway, 2011). The positive sides of qualitative research are that it takes the specific context and its individuals into account. It strives to understand the world as it appears; complex and multifaceted; Qualitative researchers seek to uncover the views and meanings held by research participants (Daymon & Holloway, 2011, p. 7). Further, qualitative methods can measure softer values and thus give the researcher deeper information that can be valuable in some situations. According to Cooper and Schindler (2011) this is one reason why this method is increasing in popularity among business managers today. According to Daymon and Holloway (2011), other benefits with qualitative research are its holistic, processual and reflexive characteristics. In this study, our intention was to grasp the ideas and thoughts of consumers towards a set of TV commercials as well as to understand what influenced them when making certain decisions. Thus, it concerned gaining an understanding on a deeper level of individuals reflections and such data would be difficult to derive through quantitative methods. We aimed to see and hear the consumers reactions on the TV commercials that we re shown to

them and therefore qualitative data was needed in the form of focus groups. In this setting, the consumers could be studied and we could take other communication forms, such as facial expressions into account. Also, we believe that spontaneous reactions on the commercials would not be shown in a quantitative study. Therefore, the qualitative approach was regarded the most suitable when collecting data. However, there were reasons to believe that the qualitative method used would not give results that were completely satisfying and thus we decided to also use a quantitative method. This is explained in the below section.

2.2 Mixed Methods Research

One must take into account that research strategies could have interconnections;
It is common to describe qualitative research as concerned with the generation rather than the testing of theories. There are examples of studies in which qualitative research has been employed to test rather than to generate theories (Bryman & Bell, 2011, p.27).

These interconnections create a third research strategy called mixed methods research where both quantitative and qualitative methods are being used. In a study by Zamanou and Glaser (1994), it was found that they were able to combine "the specificity and accuracy of quantitative data with the ability to interpret idiosyncrasies and complex perceptions provided by qualitative analysis" (p.478). It was the use of the triangulated approach that helped them collect different types of data which other researchers in their field could not. These included factors such as values. Denzin (2009) suggests methodological triangulation which is commonly used in research of small scale and here more than two types of methods can be used. When both qualitative and quantitative methods are combined in one study this is called between method triangulation. A quantitative method, for instance a survey, can be used to substantiate qualitative findings of, let say, observations (Daymon & Holloway, 2011). Some researchers argue that that the mixed methods approach should not be used by undergraduate students due to its complexity (Daymon & Holloway, 2011); however we argue that there are valid motives for conducting our research this way. For instance, one reason for using the in-group questionnaires was to avoid the effect of heard behavior (Banerjee, 1992), which means that the answers of the participants are being affected by other group members. Further, in a group setting, there is a risk that one or a few individuals will become spokespersons for the whole group which might leave out opinions from other participants, creating biases. According to Daymon and Holloway (2011) focus group data is always produced by the group as a whole and one shall be aware of that the unique composition of the group affects the answers. We applied triangulation, where the results of the in-group questionnaires, which employ a quantitative method approach, were cross-checked with the quantitative data from the focus group discussions. Thus, the in-group questionnaires allowed us to obtain answers from each individual participant and in that way we could structure the answers in a more organized way and distinguish tendencies within those. At the same time, the qualitative data derived from the focus groups was needed in order to collect information that could not be obtained from the in-group questionnaires. This could for instance be gestures, 7

mimics, or spontaneous opinions or reactions. Therefore, though we used triangulation which is a form within the mixed methods approach, the in-group questionnaires can here be seen as a complement in order to obtain a fair view of the data. Thus, the main findings and analysis are focused on the results derived from the qualitative research. In addition, the mixed-methods approach used within this thesis might be considered as a light version and we are aware of the fact that the method is more complex than explained in this section and in the way applied in our study.

2.3 Interpretivist Approach

There are different approaches to research and the way researchers decide to study a certain subject. In this paper we have taken on the methodological view of interpretivism to justify the choice of a qualitative/mixed methods approach. Within interpretivism, focus does not lie on measurement but rather on meaning (Daymon & Holloway, 2011). Here, the researcher strives to understand a specific situation within a certain context, why results can seldom be generalized to a larger population. This is also why interpretivism is suitable in qualitative studies such as in this thesis. Researchers using the interpretivist approach argue that there is no single truth and they see the world as constantly changing. Therefore, results are never static and can have different meanings depending on context and viewer. Further, the interpretivist view has a subjective approach to research and the scholar sees him/herself as influencing the outcomes of the study (Daymon & Holloway, 2011). In this study we found the interpretivist approach to research the most suitable as the main method used was qualitative. Moreover, the aim was to investigate the meaning of a specific issue and not to measure it by purely quantitative tools. We wished to understand the context of the viewers and identify what attitudes they had towards the commercials and we were open to the possibility of many different results as the outcome of our study. However, even though interpretivism is characterized for being subjective, the intent was to stay as objective as possible in selecting methods and theories as well as when analyzing the data.

2.4 Data Collection

This section will explain two types of methods for data collection; primary and secondary data collection. For this study, both secondary and primary data collection were used. According to Crowther and Lancaster (2008); secondary data is data which has been collected previously by someone else, and consequently has been collected for a different purpose (p. 90). For this research, we used articles, books and the internet to find secondary data. Much of the literature searched was within consumer behavior and focused in areas of marketing, psychology, food, television as well as purchasing behavior. It is through this data that the theoretical framework had been developed. Crowther and Lancaster (2008) state that primary data can be closely related to methods and techniques of information collection. In this paper, the primary data collection methods that were used appeared in the form of focus groups as well as in-group questionnaires. These are further discussed in the sections below.

2.5 Focus Groups

Focus groups are a qualitative form of collecting data and can consist of approximately 5-9 participants (Edmunds, 1999). Furthermore, Edmunds (1999) states that in-depth understanding of the target's perspectives or opinions can be achieved through the use of focus groups. The moderators would guide the conversation of the focus group however participants are able to talk freely within the topic at hand. Focus groups are helpful in answering questions of how and, in particular, why people behave the way they do (FolchLyon & Trost, 1981, p .443). According to Daymon and Holloway (2011), interpretivist researchers generally use small samples of data; however, the results provide data of high quality. Advantages of using focus groups include the fact that they are easily coordinated, conducted and analyzed within a relatively short time period (Edmunds, 1999). In addition, the technique of collecting qualitative data through focus groups is also good as it gives the researcher the possibility to focus on concentrated amounts of data on precisely the topic of interest (Morgan, 1997). Groups of people are much more convenient to collect data from and at less cost than to interview individuals separately. In addition, when conducting focus groups, the researchers have direct interaction with respondents and are able to get fast clarification of the responses and to ask follow-up questions. This type of open response dialogue gives way to collecting large and rich amounts of data in the participants' own words (Stewart, Shamdasani & Rook, 2007). This in turn would help the researcher with obtaining deeper levels of meaning, make important connections and identify subtle nuances in expression and meaning (Stewart, Shamdasani & Rook, 2007). With this, the researchers are able to observe any nonverbal responses that may carry supplement information to the verbal responses participants have. Therefore, data analysis can be immediately started during and after group sessions and preliminary findings can be presented quickly. There are limitations to using focus groups which must be considered. The first disadvantage would have to be that the moderators play a significant role and their opinion can influence the respondents, leading to biased answers. To reduce such a bias in this study, we were careful in not expressing own opinions and minimized interventions as much as possible. In order to make sure that this also happened and to keep focus on the purpose of the focus group, a script was formed that the we could stick to during the sessions. Another limitation of using focus groups is the fact that participants may act and answer differently due to different factors such as; insecurity or even shyness. In order to decrease this bias, we assured participants that there were no right or wrong answers (Edmunds, 1999). Participants could thus speak freely and express their opinions without being judged. When using the discussion type empirical data collection, it is possible that decisions within the group will follow an occurrence called herd behavior. Herd behavior is a concept that explains how individuals in a group can act together without planned direction like the behavior that animals portray (Banerjee, 1992). In order to reduce the possibility for participants in focus groups to change their minds through following the crowd, we introduced in-group questionnaires that the participants would answer individually. This would reduce this bias, giving the researchers the original thoughts of participants. In 9

addition, such in-group questionnaires will aid the researchers in explaining why participants responded in a certain way during discussions (Edmunds, 1999). However, as the TV commercials were shown before the in-group questionnaires were carried out, we cannot guarantee that the respondents might have been influenced by each other in possible discussions and spontaneous comments taking place during the ongoing commercials. Another issue of focus groups when it comes to showing the participants TV commercials is that these situations are very much constructed and artificial in the way that they will never exactly resemble a situation where the participant sits at home, comfortably watching television. In that situation the viewer is probably more relaxed and is not paying as much attention to the commercial itself as she/he would when participating in a focus group. Therefore, attitudes towards the commercial within the focus groups might differ from how the consumer would see it in a real world situation. This is an issue that has to be taken into account when analyzing the results of the focus groups. Finally, the researchers can never be certain that all participants are telling the truth, however the benefits of using focus groups were more significant than the disadvantages and therefore we decided to use focus groups as a qualitative measure when collecting data for this study.

2.5.1 Pilot Study

Before conducting the final focus group discussions, a pilot study was run. This study took place in February 2011 with a group of 6 mixed gender participants; 3 male and 3 female. This study was conducted by one moderator and participants were peers at Jnkping University. The participants were not informed about the topic of the study beforehand which made the pilot study more plausible. The reasoning for the pilot study was to first test out the internal structure of the focus groups regarding when the in-group questionnaires should be introduced, when to show the commercials and such. Further, the pilot study enabled us to approximate the length of each session and finally also to test out the in-group questionnaires as well as the group discussion questions. This would aid us in indentifying any problematic areas. Within the pilot study we were also able to identify whether or not gender could be an issue when recognizing our findings and analysis of the data.

2.5.2

Sample of the Focus Groups

The subjects studied in the focus groups were students between the ages of 18-25 currently studying at Jnkping University. The arguments for why this segment was selected can be found in section 2.7.1. The focus groups were designed in the way that one consisted of only females and one of males solely. The reason for this was that possible gender differences could then be discovered. The other two focus groups entailed mixed females and males, where the intention was to find out the respondents opinions regardless of gender. Among the 24 participants within the conducted focus groups, the gender proportion was almost half. There were 13 females and 11 males. One must take note however that there is not an equal amount of participants within each focus group. The reason behind this is that there

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was no certainty that students would show up or keep their word in coming to help out with this study. Many stated that they would come but did not and others did not want to participate for other reasons. Therefore, the number of participants in each group was not controllable in this study due to lack of interest, lack of time as well as lack of resources. In the below chart, the composition of the focus groups is presented as well as the structure of the procedure. Figure 2-1 Structure of Focus Groups Focus Group 1 Females 9 persons 1) Commercial 2) Questionnaire 3) Discussion Focus Group 2 Males 6 persons 1) Commercial 2) Questionnaire 3) Discussion Focus Group 3 Mixed Gender 5 persons 1) Commercial 2) Questionnaire 3) Discussion Focus Group 4 Mixed Gender 4 persons 1) Commercial 2) Questionnaire 3) Discussion

2.5.3

Designing the Focus Groups & Interview Questions

The focus group sessions took place between March and April of 2011 and were conducted by one or two moderators. The focus group participants were chosen both randomly as well as among peers at Jnkping University. The only parameters taken into account when collecting the focus group members were gender and age as well as them being students enrolled at the university. To mitigate the issue of the situation being constructed and to encourage participants to voice their opinions during the sessions, it was ensured that the focus groups were held in a relaxed environment for all participants, within single group rooms on the university premises. The participants were able to sit at ease and were also served refreshments and snacks, which contributed to a calm and comfortable atmosphere. After initial instructions from the moderators were given, the participants were exposed to the four commercials in a row. After that, they were asked to fill out an individual in-group questionnaire, followed by a group discussion led by the moderators. The in-group questionnaires took participants approximately 20-30 minutes to answer in silence. The length of discussions was not set, however the four groups did discuss for approximately an hour each. Here, the participants were asked to describe their reactions to the TV commercials and what factors they believed to be important when making a purchase decision. As discussed before, the idea with the in-group questionnaires was to obtain answers from the respondents with as little group influence as possible. This would also help the respondent to gather his/her thoughts about the commercials and prepare for the group discussion. According to Cooper and Schindler (2011), interviews can be unstructured, semi-structured and structured. Structured interviews are those which follow a certain question order while the questions are still open-ended. Although this structure is not the most common within qualitative research the advantage of this is that the data becomes more comparable and answer variability is assumed to be real (Cooper & Schindler, 2011, p. 169). Further, unstructured and semi-structured interviews put high demands on the interviewers le vel of skillfulness and experience for the interview to become fruitful. In structured interviews, on the other hand, the interviewers neutrality is being kept (Cooper & Schindler, 2011).

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For the above reasons, and being aware of our limitations as students, we used the structured interview composition within the focus groups. At the same time, with all questions asked being open-ended, we could still keep the depth within the answers and extract an abundant amount of data from the participants. This means that we were able to add additional questions to the discussion if necessary and participants could answer freely.

2.5.4

In-group Questionnaire

Daymon and Holloway (2011) argue that focus groups can both be used as a method alone or in combination with other methods. Thus, in order to reduce the possibility for participants in focus groups to change their minds through herd behavior, we introduced in-group questionnaires which reduced this bias and gave the researchers the original thoughts of participants. In addition, such in-group questionnaires aided the researchers in explaining why participants responded in a certain way during discussions (Edmunds, 1999). The first part of the in-group questionnaire included questions such as how old the participants are, where they come from and their interests as well as if they have seen the commercial before and furthermore purchased the products. It is possible that such information can explain the reasons in which participants discussed the issues the way they did. In addition, the in-group questionnaire included some questions that were open-ended while some were closed. Other questions had limited amount of answers and some had examples that the respondent could choose from. The latter can however be seen as an open-ended question as participants were also given the opportunity to insert other answers in an other option. The in-group questionnaire that the participants had to answer individually included a question where they were to give three products attributes that they believed represented each commercial shown during the session. This idea was influenced by how Park and Young (1986) constructed their focus groups when investigating the influence of background music of TV commercials. The mentioning of three attributes forced the participants to recall and to summarize the most important (to him/her) features noticed in the commercial and give a hint on what was considered central to the consumer. The result of the in-group questionnaires were used to aid us in determining the results of the study. We were able to review the results by keeping information from the in-group questionnaires in mind.

2.6 Data Analysis

In this section we will explain how the raw data of the study was analyzed. The data analysis is divided into three sections, transcriptions, video and audio, and finally language.

2.6.1

Transcriptions

To conduct a qualitative analysis, focus group transcripts were carried out. These transcripts will not provide all feedback from respondents (Edmunds, 1999, p.93). This is because written transcripts do not express body language which is an important part of communication. However, with this said, exact quotations were helpful in identifying participants attitudes towards the products and TV commercials. 12

In addition to this, we constructed TV commercial transcripts which provided a description of the commercials that were used, expressing visually what exactly was shown. The idea of describing the content and message of each commercial was inspired by Park and Young (1986). The main analysis for this study was to identify the most frequently mentioned comments during the focus group discussions as well as in the in-group questionnaires and to evaluate these. Participants are kept anonymous, however, they are numbered according to which focus group they belonged to, who spoke first etcetera. We argue that it would not be of use to include all quotations from each participant and therefore we have carefully selected comments that represent the answers which were common and significant to the findings. Transcriptions are available upon request.

2.6.2

Video and Audio

To limit the bias in which not all feedback was provided through focus group transcripts, we decided to record all focus groups through video and audio recordings. In this way, we were able to see how the focus group participants moved, talked and acted towards each other as well as reacted to the discussion and questions. The purpose of using video transcriptions was not to analyze how and why participants use their body language, nor what their movements meant, but rather to examine the attitudes they had towards the TV commercials. Video recordings simplified in keeping track of the conversation to its fullest and to decrease participation of the moderators to a minimum.

2.6.3

Language

In this study, questionnaires and transcriptions were in English. Though all participants were Swedish, we argue that it was necessary to conduct the study in English to reduce any confusion in translations when writing the final paper. However, though English was used within questionnaires and transcriptions, participants were allowed to write and speak in their mother tongue if they were unable to express themselves in English. If and when participants had difficulty understanding the questions in English, we translated the questions into Swedish for their convenience. Therefore, when the questionnaires and transcriptions were collected and summarized, translations between Swedish and English were made and therefore there is the possibility of translation errors. However, we believe that letting participants express themselves in their mother tongue would allow them to feel more comfortable as well as give better exploratory answers. Also, it reduces biases in the way that the amount of misinterpretations of data is being reduced. Further, as we were two persons double-checking the answers, this also reduces the issue of bias problems.

2.7 Sample Selection Discussion

In this section, the selection of the sample will be further explained. The sample chosen for this study are Swedish University Students belonging to the generation Y. In addition, the underlying health claims as well as chosen products and TV commercials are further explained.

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2.7.1

The Generation Y

The segment we are focusing on in this study can be regarded as belonging to the generation Y. This is the generation born between approximately around 1982 and 2001 (McCrindle, 2002) and the group is often referred to mainly by marketers and future analysts (Persson, 2009). Their disposable income is higher than previous generations and they have been introduced to consumption earlier in life (Tomkins, 1999). The generation Y are exposed to a large number of advertisements in different forms and McCrindle (2002) states that by the age of eighteen, Australian teenagers have been exposed to around 500,000 TV commercials. On average, generation Ys watch television seven hours a day (Bakewell & Mitchell, 2003 in Nielsen Report on Television, 1995). Thus, generation Y consumers tend to have a different consumer behavior pattern than other generations before them (Bakewell & Mitchell 2003). As generation Ys are exposed to marketing messages to such a high extent, they are not easily convinced and this means that commercials have to stand out from the crowd to affect this generation (McCrindle, 2002). Further, McCrindle (2002) argues that generation Ys search for a bigger meaning in life and they wish to be included and accepted in a community. This generation is highly socially conscious (Cui, Trent, Sullivan, & Matiru, 2003). For generation Ys, shopping is not just a simple issue, it is more of a lifestyle where materialism and technology are seen as important factors affecting their consumer behavior (Bakewell & Mitchell, 2003, Ger & Belk, 1996, McCrindle, 2002). Also, generation Ys are users of social media and can thus easily search for backside stories about the products and brands they are being exposed to in commercials: Younger viewers are likely to be especially susceptible to advertising influence (Manasi, Tirodkar & Anjali Jain, 2003, p.441). Even though they might not be that easy to trick with marketing messages, we believe that they, as other consumers, to a high extent are affected by them. Although they do not mention generation Y, Trolle and Thorsens (2001) description of young adult consumers can be regarded as such. They present a population division in six phases of life that can be found in the table below;

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Table 2.1 Division of the population into phases of life 1.Dependents 2.Independents 3.Liberated 1: 20-30 years old 4.Parents: 30-55 years old Small Children living at home Older Children living at home Left home, experimenting, interested in exotic food, eat out often, a lot of fast food, drinking together means more than eating together. Responsible for a family, father is in charge of cooking, time is a scarce commodity, in everyday life only a small amount of time (15/20 minutes) is spent on food, at the weekend more time is spent on cooking. Large differences in this group, half have only secondary school education. For most, working life and leisure time are separated, woman is a housewife. Eat large meals ritually, rarely eat out privately, Younger group: treat themselves, make great demands. This group is growing rapidly. The group is also characterized by big differences. Many take care of themselves and have considerable needs. Other are dependent.

5.Liberated 2: 55 - ? years old

6.Old Age: 70 - ? years old

Group 3 - Liberated 1: 20-30 year olds in this population division is described as: there are problems with time and money and finds cooking healthy food difficult (p.63). This group is further characterized by the following: Left home, experimenting, interested in exotic food, eat out often, a lot of fast food, drinking together means more than eating together (Trolle & Thorsen, 2001, p.65). However, one shall bear in mind that generation Y is a consumer segment mostly enhanced by marketers and is thus a phenomenon difficult to proof scientifically. Naturally, there are diversities within this generation and as humans are different, all generation Ys are not characterized the way described in this section. The reason why students were selected because they are a fairly homogenous group of young people that have recently left home, have similar economic resources and are neither teenagers nor adults. Also, as limited research has been carried out on this segment we found it interesting and relevant for this study. Moreover, students can be seen as early adopters (Jones, 2002). Also, the reason for choosing Swedish university students solely was because we wished to avoid language biases, as almost all of the commercials shown in the study were in Swedish. The reason for selecting the generation Y was mainly because most students at universities belong to that generation. In addition, this segment of young adults have a high frequency of watching TV and other media and as they have been brought up with an extensive amount of marketing messages they are critical about what they see. Finally, as we both belong to this segment, it resulted natural to investigate a group that we are a part of and can relate to.

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2.7.2

Types of Health Claims

Below, we will explain the frames of the concept of health discussed within this thesis, as well as some issues concerning health claims. There are two types of health claims, Type A and Type B. Type A health claims in relation to diet, that is, claims which describe the link between a food product or a component in a food product and the entire diet, and the prevention or reduced risk of d isease (Trolle & Thorsen, 2001, p.53). Type B is broad in the fact that producers may claim for all beneficial health-related effects, or for reduced risk of disease, if the claim is well documented (Trolle & Thorsen, 2001, p.54). Williams (2005) studied consumer attitudes, reactions and purchase behavior changes towards health claims. He concluded that though more research is needed to fully understand the impact of health claims on choice as well as health, health claims can support improved nutrition awareness and better food choices (pp. 22-23). Roe, Levy, and Derby (1999) state however, that when health and nutrient claims were presented on products, consumers considered them more than if they were not presented. This is further supported by a study conducted by Kozup, Creyer and Burton (2003) in which their findings suggested that consumers are sensitive to and willing to use any available nutrition information when forming product evaluations (p. 31). However, there have been discussions around health claim regulation in accordance to the appearance of health claims on food labels. Ippolito and Mathios (1991) suggest that health claims have connections to not only dietary fiber but also other sicknesses, including the more severe such as cancer. In addition, Ippolito and Mathios (1991) research led to how health claims helped increase consumer awareness of diet-disease linkages.

2.7.3

Chosen Products and TV Commercials

In this research, we have chosen four products: milk, butter, cereal and bread. All these can be considered Type A health claim products as they claim to contain components which can be seen as healthy. At the same time, the chosen products have no complete and well documented evidences of being Type B (Trolle & Thorsen, 2001). We therefore consider all products shown within the TV commercials of this study clearly belonging to Type A health claims. Further, the four TV commercials were chosen specifically due to the fact that they are recent on Swedish Television at the moment. In addition to this, they are neither positioned in any specific pod nor shown in consideration to any program before or after the commercials. Furthermore, target group/s of the products was not considered here. The reasons for why we consider the TV commercials as belonging to a Type A health claim can be seen in the below chart.

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Figure 2-2 Type A Health Claims in Chosen TV Commercials Commercial Alpro Soya milk Type A Claims in Chosen TV Commercials A soya milk that signalizes that a healthy, balanced lifestyle can be associated with the product. A famous athlete looking fit, healthy and happy. Scenery with light colors and later a forest where the athlete is running. Text such as 100% vegetable protein, natural lactose free and nourishment from nature. A butter with less fat than previous products of the same category and brand. Slogan: A much lighter Bregott The commercial shows a lot of nature in the scenery. Main spokesperson is a calf running around in the field. Communicates nature, green landscapes, a free, healthy and happy animal. The cow represents the butter itself. A cereal that claims to be made out of whole grain oats. The producer guarantees that the product contains whole grains with a sign saying Nestls whole grain Guarantee. The commercial is cartoonish, with the slogan Give those Os a Go and is probably directed at younger consumers. Communicates fun, happiness, wellbeing after eating the product and that the whole family likes it. A light bread that is claimed to be as healthy as a dark bread. Therefore also children should prefer the product. Communicates freshness, healthiness, variety, novelty. No expressed health claims in text. Rather it is underlying as viewers should associate a dark bread with a healthy product.

Bregott Butter

Cheerios Cereal

Pgen Bread

2.8 Trustworthiness
We will in this part present the relevant issues of how to ensure quality of research as well as a why we believe this thesis lives up the requirements. It is of high importance to every researcher to ensure the quality of research and there are different views on how this shall be done. Lincoln and Guba (1985) suggest the alternative approach, where trustworthiness is being stressed. This approach is characteristic to interpretivist research and has become the most used within qualitative research today (Daymon & Holloway, 2011). There are four arguments attached to trustworthiness presented by Lincoln and Guba (1985); credibility, transferability, dependability and conformability. As the method used for this thesis is mainly based on qualitative research, these concepts were guiding us through the research process in order to reach trustworthiness.

2.8.1

Credibility

Credibility entails confirmation and support and highlights the issue whether theories used for the study are of high quality and relevant to it (Lincoln & Guba, 1985). Also, it is about whether the conclusions drawn from the obtained data can be regarded as credible.

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During the process of this thesis, the intent was to use theories and concepts that were regarded as trustworthy and relevant as well as of good quality. This issue increases the overall trustworthiness of the study.

2.8.2

Transferability

Lincoln and Guba (1985) question the issue of generalizability often associated with quantitative studies and they are critical towards the way in which population is seen here. Qualitative studies are most often conducted with a small sample of data and therefore the outcomes are not generalizable. Instead, Lincoln and Guba (1985) suggest transferability as an alternative, where researchers should present the type and amount of information about how the qualitative study was carried out, in order for the reader to judge whether the data can be transferable or not. To facilitate the issue of transferability of this study, we have described the process of how the qualitative data was gathered as well as enclosed the in-group questionnaire questions (although these can be seen as a qualitative method) as an appendix to this paper. This is a matter that can be regarded as increasing trustworthiness.

2.8.3

Dependability

Dependability is closely linked to credibility According to Lincoln and Guba (1985), dependability seeks means for taking into account both factors of instability and factors of phenomenal or design induced changes (p.299). This can be described as how the data collected have changed through time as well as how the researchers decisions have shifte d during the process. These factors have an influence in the outcome of the study and might lead to inconsistency. However, being aware of this matter, researchers can mitigate dependability factors through discussions and reflections. We argue that the issue of dependability has been taken into account during the study process and the fact that the research was conducted during a few months can decrease the negative influence of dependability. Further, many decisions have been made through the process, however none has profoundly changed the initial scope of this paper. This can be argued to further increase trustworthiness.

2.8.4

Conformability

Conformability suggests that findings and analysis should be connected to the data in a way that the reader can understand the study. Conformability also includes reducing biases of the researcher through for instance triangulation. The conformability criteria further highlights the importance of researchers to reflect about shortcomings and weaknesses of the study (Lincoln & Guba, 1985). In this paper we aimed to enhance trustworthiness further by including a discussion about the studys weaknesses and issues that could have been done differently. This can be seen in the conclusions part.

2.9 Strategies to Guarantee Research Quality

There are several techniques to obtain trustworthiness of research in a more practical sense. Lincoln and Guba (1985) suggest member checking, where the researchers interpretation of data is being verified by the individuals that have been studied. The aim is to reduce

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misinterpretations and to come as close as possible to the very core of the respondents own opinions. In our study, member checking was not carried out. However, all focus groups were video recorded and in this way the outcomes could be verified afterwards. This also means that all data reflects the exact words of the participants. We are aware that our individual interpretations will affect the final analysis of data; on the other hand we argue that video recording reduces biases and misinterpretations and increases trustworthiness of our paper.

2.9.1

Triangulation

Triangulation is another way of ensuring trustworthiness of research. As described earlier, in this study we used in-group questionnaires to confirm and enhance the data of focus groups, which can thus be seen as a between-methods approach of triangulation (Denzin, 2009). Thus, the use of this method can further increase trustworthiness of our research, as two different kinds of data collection methods were used, leading to the same results. In addition, the fact that we were two researchers that conducted this study, analyzed the results and came up to the same conclusions, also increases trustworthiness.

2.9.2

Reflexivity

Reflexivity is also a method of increasing quality and reliability of research where the researcher takes on a critical view on his/her own role both as a researcher and as an individual (Daymon & Holloway, 2011). It is about reflecting on your own influence on the process as a whole and how your perspective might filter the outcome. We believe that, although the aim was to stay objective, our own personal experiences and values, social and cultural backgrounds probably affected the interpretation of data and the fact that we, as well as the focus group participants, are students at the same university had an impact on the results in some way. However, we argue that being aware of this fact helped us to stay objective which increases the trustworthiness of our study.

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3 Theoretical Framework
In this section of the thesis we will present theories which will aid in analyzing the empirical findings, answering the presented research questions and the purpose. The theories presented concern different factors that influence consumers in relation to commercials.

3.1 Model of the Emotional Process

The consumers mind is complex and naturally very diverse due to a number of factors, such as; cultural and social background, personal preferences and mindset. Holbrook and OShaughnessy (1984) suggest the Model of the Emotional Process where the psychological-cognitive perspective on marketing is stressed. This model can be seen below: Personal Values

Message, Object Or Event

Cognitive Beliefs

Evaluations

Physiological Changes

Feelings

Desires

Expressive Behavior

Figure 3-1 Model of the Emotional Process (Holbrook & OShaughnessy, 1984). The model starts off with the message (being an object or an event) that reaches the consumer and is affected by his or her personal values and cognitive beliefs. This leads up to an evaluation caused by feelings and gives rise to psychological changes that also cause feelings, ultimately leading to desires and after that different kinds of expressive behaviors. The final outcome might be; for instance liking/disliking the message, or in other words the commercial. This model can be seen as the very basic structure behind the process of viewing of TV commercials.

3.2 Marketing & Emotions

Several scholars highlight the relationship between marketing and emotions. Holbrook and OShaughnessy (1984) stress the importance of taking emotions into account when studying advertising and present the Model of Emotional Process, discussed above. Bagozzi, Gopinath, and Nyer (1999) also emphasize this issue and describe emotions as a mental state of readiness that arises from cognitive appraisals of events or thoughts (p. 184). Further, Bagozzi et al. (1999) argue that emotions are always followed by different kinds of psychological responses, such as higher pulse and different facial expressions. Moreover, they state that consumers sense and express emotions in a conscious, deliberate 20

and purposive way, but also unconsciously, automatic and unreflective. Bagozzi et al. (1999) divide advertisements into two main groups: Thinking ads, where focus is put on utilitarian consequences of the use of a product or a service, or factual information. Feeling ads, where the intention is to enhance the emotion consumers will feel through using the product or service presented in the advertisement.

3.3 The Unconscious Influence on Consumers

Bargh (2002) presents a critical view on consumer behavior research, arguing that there is a notion among researchers that consumers are perfectly conscious about their buying behavior. Bargh (2002) claims that the focus is too heavily directed at notion and instead highlights the unconscious side of consumer behavior. Further, Bargh (2002) suggests two ways in which consumers are being unconsciously affected by marketing messages; subliminally, where the consumer is not aware of the effect on his/her mind, and supraliminally, where the consumer is aware of the influence but not to what extent. We know that TV commercials do work: The economic impact of TV advertising is substantial and documented (Krugman, 1965, p. 351). However, it is difficult to evaluate exactly to what extent TV commercials influence consumers and how that process looks like; We are faced then with the odd situation of knowing that advertising works but being unable to say how much and why (Krugman, 1965, p 351). Park and Young (1986) argue that the extent to which the viewer will be influenced by a commercial depends on the level of personal relevance of the content. This means that if the viewer finds the commercial relevant, he or she will dedicate more attention to the message and thus the level of influence will increase.

3.4 The Commercial and the Memory

Bagozzi et al. (1999) state that memory is important when discussing emotions and advertisement and that the mood state of the consumer affects the memory. For instance, a positive mood state will increase a persons ability to recall information. Du Plessis (2005) focuses on the function of the brain and its storage functions of what a person sees and experiences. Du Plessis (2005) also stresses the importance of memory in relation to commercials and claims that an advertisement needs to influence the memory in order for it to have an impact on the viewer at all. Moreover, Du Plessis (2005) argues that the length of the commercial is crucial: the longer the exposition of the commercial to the viewer, the higher is the probability of the consumer remembering the commercial. Further, whether a commercial will stay in a persons mind or not, depends on its length, intensity and frequency over time. At the same time, the commercial should not be too long, as the viewer can lose interest (DuPlessis, 2005). Krugman (1965) states that it takes four to ten seconds of a commercial for the viewer to decide whether to continue watching or not. Therefore, the beginning of the commercial needs to send out a positive message. On the other hand, Gorn and Goldberg (1980) stress the issue of viewers becoming annoyed and loosing attention when TV commercials are repeated frequently. Even though many TV commercials can be regarded as simple and silly, this is an issue that should not be dismissed as unimportant, as the

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triviality of commercials are important when trying to understand the influence of mass media on consumers (Krugman, 1965). Thus, a simple commercial does not mean that the consumer is not being affected.

3.5 Positioning of Television Commercials

Kraak and Pelletier (1998) state that Television commercials and prime-time programs have been identified as important influences on the types of food that children ask their parents to buy for them and the food they buy for themselves (p.18). Henderson and Kelly (2005) argue that Marketers decisions about which foods to promote and what positioning to use to promote them can have an impact positive or negative on public health, particularly given the evidence of the power of advertising to affect food choice (p.194). Resnik and Stern (1977) claim that In order for a commercial to be considered informative, it must permit a typical viewer to make a more intelligent buying decision after seeing the commercial than before seeing it (p.50). Thus, scholars stress the link between the recall of positive emotions in an advertisement and the success of it. TV commercials can also be affected by the TV programs in which they surround; Advertizing context typically has some positive or negative content that can trigger affective reactions (Coulter, 1998, p.41). One must also consider whether commercials are put within a pod or shown separately. A pod is a series of commercials streamed together in one. The positioning of a certain commercial can to a high extent influence the reaction that consumers may or may not have to it. For example, if a commercial is first in the pod sequence, this commercial may obtain more attention as it is the commercial which directly follows the program that the consumer was watching. The positive or negative feelings that the viewer has towards the program that was interrupted can thus be continued into the first TV commercial shown. Some scholars mention liking when discussing consumer psychology and behavior related to viewing of commercials (Berridge & Wienkelman, 2003; Murry, Lastovicka & Singh, 1992). Murry et al. (1992) investigated consumers liking emotions towards a television program with embedded commercials and highlight the importance of the specific context of the commercial within the pod. They could see that the most influential commercials were those first exposed in the pod as well as those that were processed in a more involving manner (2003, p. 449).

3.6 Influence of Family on Purchasing Behavior

Moschis (1985) claims that there has been too much focus on the influence of mass media on consumer behavior. Instead he stresses the interpersonal communication among family members, mainly the consumer patterns that parents transfer to their children both directly and indirectly. Further, other crucial sources for shaping consumer behavior other than mass media and family, Moschis (1987), and Churchill and Moschis (1979) mention peers and school. Ward (1974) also claims that a persons consumer behavior is b eing shaped during adolescence. When looking at the household, Julander (1989) states the following:
At the heart of the decision process for food lies the general problem for households to produce meals; two to three meals per day, year after year. Not only that, these meals

22

should satisfy the needs and wants of all members of the household. A missing product can ruin a meal and being out of stock can strongly affect the satisfaction of the household members. These decisions not only are highly frequent but also extremely important for the general welfare of the household (Julander, 1989, p. 2).

According to Kraak and Pelletier (1998), previous research shows that the two main environmental influences on a childs purchase decision are family and televis ion, even though many other exist. Kraak and Pelletier (1998) stress the issue of family influence on health aspects, stating that; the family has been identified as one of the most influential environmental factors affecting food- and nutrition-related decisions and behavior (p.16). Food purchasing behavior is not only influenced through the parents but also through the children themselves. Story and French (2004) state that there are strong arguments that children exposed to food advertisements will favor advertised food products with a higher frequency compared to children that have not seen such ads. It has been discovered that nearly 50 percent of parents believe that meal and grocery choices and restaurant selection are influenced by their children (Kraak & Pelletier, 1998, p.17). Furthermore, Kraak and Pelletier (1998) also state that parents are two to three times more likely to name a child not themselves- as the family expert for selection of fast food, snack food, restaurants and new breakfast cereals (p.17).

3.7 Influence of Price & Brand Quality

Prior research shows a relationship between quality and price (Lichtenstein & Burton, 1989; Caves & Greene, 1996; Rao & Monroe, 1989). Della Bitta, Monroe and McGinnis (1981) argue that one purpose of sale advertisements is to enhance the shoppers perceptions of value and to increase their interest in the product or brand (p.424). Della Bitta et al. (1981) claim that the promotion of a lower price can create two decision problems for the seller. These include how much to reduce the price and how to communicate the fact that price has been lowered (p. 416). They continue by stating that the first, how much to reduce the price, creates two other concerns. The first would be if the price is only reduced by a little bit, consumers would perceive the change as insignificant and it would therefore not affect their purchase decision. Secondly, if the reduction is too large, consumers would react to the change as if something was wrong with the product which would in turn make the consumer question the quality.

3.8 Knowledge about Food and Health in Commercials

According to Bhaskaran & Hardley (2002) the societal changes affect consumers attitudes and consumer behavior towards food; convenience and lifestyle factors would increase the consumption of food: The fast pace of work and social schedules are leading ever more short cuts in cooking and food consumption and it could be that consumers are looking more and more to functional foods to make up for nutritional deficiency in their diets (p. 603). Knowledge about food does not have to be the familiarity of a product but also the possibility to use products within daily eating routines. Knowledge does not always have to include knowing nutritional content of products but also what they look like and how they should be prepared. According to Julander (1984), there are dimensions for classification of product groups. These include dimensions such as storability, purchase frequency and 23

impulse consumption attractivity. Storability refers to that homes nowadays are equipped with better technology such as freezers and therefore techniques in production are offered to freeze products to make them easier to store. Purchase frequency refers to how often a product is part of the shopping process. A high frequency means that products are part of basic supplies and are thus bought regularly. These basic supplies are then seen as products that should be of interest to consumers to buy at a reduced price. Impulse consumption attractivity refers to products with the intention to tempt consumers to more consumption due to their availability. These are products often seen at the checkout counters such as ice cream and candy. All these factors are also taken into consideration when using products in daily eating routines. There is also knowledge that can be viewed as negative knowledge (Holmberg, 1996). This knowledge might be a products harmfulness to health, or how the overall handling and production of a product can affect quality. When it pertains to specific household members, negative knowledge can be seen as allergies to substances that must be avoided or persons that need to be treated with special attention when it comes to food, such as vegetarians.

3.9 Critique towards how Healthy Food is Portrayed in Commercials

Henderson and Kelly (2005) argue that; food companies play a role in countering the increase in obesity by creating more healthful foods and explicitly promoting the foods on the basis of weight-friendly nutritional properties, such as being low in fat, low in calories, or otherwise contributing to a healthful diet (p. 192). In their study of food advertising in TV commercials, Lank, Vickery, Cotugna and Shade (1992), found health and nutrition to be a powerful selling factor, which can be seen as an indicator of consumers increasing interest in fitness and diets. However, Lank et al. (1992) noticed that 43% of the investigated food commercials that described the products as healthy in various ways were actually food with high content of sugar and low nutritional qualities. Lank et al. conclude that while commercial messages are promoting health, those messages may be incomplete, confusing, or incompatible with the product they are advertising (p. 383). Henderson and Kelly (2005) are heading at the same conclusion and point out that: Less is known about the types of nutritional claims that appear on television, the most important medium used for food advertizing (p.192). Thus, it is not an easy task for consumers to determine whether the product showed in a TV commercial actually is as healthy as it claims to be. The market for healthy food is certainly a profitable business opportunity for companies and many are therefore tempted to stretch the truth a bit. Bhaskaran and Hardley (2002) state that manufacturers are useful conduits for information on diet and health, however consumers seem to be skeptical of manufacturer claims. Within their research, they found that; younger consumers in particular indicated that price, taste and promotional offers influenced their buying decision and their switch to functional food was only if they had decided to buy a health product (Bhaskaran & Hardley, 2002).

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3.10 Concluding Key Concepts

In this section we will present a short conclusion emphasizing the key concepts that have been reviewed in the theoretical framework and furthermore indicate their relationship to the purpose and research questions. In order to answer the first part of the two folded purpose and furthermore the first two research questions, understanding what shapes consumers attitudes towards the marketing message is important. The consumer is each day exposed to a large amount of different forms of advertisements competing on the consumers attention (Ekstrm, 2010, McClung et al. 1985), leading to interpretations and finally decisions taken depending on the messages they receive. This process, known as the Model of the Emotional Process, is influenced by factors such as the consumers values and beliefs. The final decision can be whether to buy a product or not (Holbrook & OShaughnessy, 1984). Researchers enhance that emotions should be taken into account when studying advertising (Bagozzi et al, 1999). Further, Bagozzi et al (1999) state that emotions are followed by psychological responses as well as facial expressions and they further divide commercials into two groups; thinking ads and feeling ads. Emotions can evoke positive or negative feelings towards the commercial. Positive feelings are crucial for the consumers liking of the product, which in turn can affect the purchasing decision (Krugman, 1965, Coulter, 1998). However, though consumers may be affected by marketing messages within television commercials, the extent to which they are influenced can be conscious as well as unconscious which again can also affect their considerations to purchase a product or not (Bargh, 2002). Further, Bargh (2002) suggest two ways in which consumers are affected unconsciously; subliminally and supraliminally. Memory is also an important factor to take into account when studying emotions and advertising as recalling information can affect the way consumers view the advertisement or the product in the store. For the advertisement to fulfill its purpose, the viewers memory must be influenced to have some sort of impact and frequency is here imperative (Bagozzi et al, 1999; Du Plessis, 2005). However, if repeated too frequently, consumers might react in a negative way, becoming annoyed (Gorn and Goldberg 1980). The length of the commercial was also taken into consideration in relation to recalling information in prior research (Du Plessis, 2005). Du Plessis (2005) argues that the longer the exposition of the commercial, the higher probability of remembrance. In order answer the second part of the two folded purpose and furthermore to answer the last two research questions, influencing factors on purchasing behavior were taken into account. A number of factors could be seen. Within previous research, the positioning of the television commercial was taken into account (Henderson & Kelly, 2005). For instance, surrounding television commercials can affect the way in which the commercial is positively or negatively seen. Also, it must be taken into account whether the commercials are within a pod or shown separately. The influence of family on purchasing behavior was also seen in the theories. Purchasing behavior for food has been shown to be influenced through parents as well as children (Moschis, 1985). It is further supported that children who are exposed to food advertisements would be more in favor of the products shown in those commercials rather

25

than non advertised products (Story and French, 2004). Ward (1974) claimes that the adolescence is an important stage in life for shaping of consumer behavior. Researchers (Lichtenstein & Burton, 1989; Caves & Greene, 1996; Rao & Monroe, 1989) state that there is a relationship between quality and price. Marketers have two decision problems when it comes to promoting products at a lower price. The first is that if the price is reduced slightly, the consumer may not see the change as important and therefore there would be little to no change in their purchasing decisions. The second decision problem is that if price is being reduced significantly, the consumer would wonder whether there is something wrong with the product and therefore question quality. The concept of knowledge about food and health in commercials can affect the way consumers view on them. There are two mentioned types of knowledge; positive and negative. Positive knowledge includes familiarity with the product and possible use of it, whereas negative knowledge includes a products possible harmfulness on health, suc h as food that must be avoided due to allergies or other reasons. Furthermore, Julander (1984) presents dimensions for classification of product groups including storability, purchase frequency and impulse consumption attractivity. These can all have an effect on whether or not consumers would purchase the product advertised or not. In previous research there has been critique towards the role of food and nutrition portrayed in television commercials (Henderson & Kelly, 2005; Bhaskaran & Hardley, 2002). It is said that food companies play a role in the increase of obesity and furthermore the promotion of healthy food has become more popular. Since health and nutrition have become a powerful selling factor, determining whether a product advertised is healthy or not is a difficult task for consumers (Lank, Vikery, Cotugna & Shade, 1992).

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4 Empirical Findings and Analysis of Attitudes

This section of the thesis includes the empirical findings and analysis of the first part of the two-folded purpose; to identify the attitudes that Swedish generation Y university students have towards television commercials with underlying health claims. In order to do so, there is a short introduction followed by answers to the first two research questions in section 4.1; Noticing the Underlying Health Claim and other messages. Firstly, one question asked in the in-group questionnaires was whether the participant had seen the four commercials before. The results indicate that the students were familiar with the chosen commercials and therefore it is possible to analyze the data collected to understand their attitudes towards the material. This is shown in the below graph;
80% 70% % of participants 60%

50%
40% 30% 20% yes no

10%
0% Alpro Soya Bregott Cheerios Pgen

Shown Commericals

Figure 4-1 Have You Seen the Commercials Before? According to the results, for both Bregott and Pgen, 18 out of 24 participants had seen these commericals before. As for the Cheerios commerical, only 10 out of 24 contestants recognized it. Furthermore, the distribution of viewers that had or had not seen the Alpro Soya commerical before was more equally dispensed compared to the other commercials. Du Plessis (2005) highlights the importance of frequency (number of times of exposure) for a viewer to remember a commercial. It is possible that this factor had an influence on the results here. For instance, the less recognized commercial, the one for Cheerios, was only being shown at cable TV channels which not all consumers have access to. This can be compared with the other three commercials that were all shown on a channel that is included in the normal TV supply for households. This issue might have affected the times the focus group participants had been exposed to the given commercials and thus also their attitudes towards of the messages.

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4.1 Noticing the Underlying Health Claim and Other Messages

This subsection deals with the first two research questions; do consumers notice the underlying health claim in the chosen TV commercials? And what other messages do consumers notice? This subsection is divided into the four chosen TV commercials to separate the findings and analysis of each individual commercial. The research questions together with the purpose will be answered through presentation and analysis of the findings from both the focus group discussions as well as the in-group questionnaires.

4.1.1

Alpro Soya Commercial

Concerning Alpro Soya, as seen in Figure 4.1, this commercial had been seen previously by 13 out of 24 participants. The results show that participants faced difficulties in identifying and understanding the message of this commercial in comparison to the other commercials. One respondent expressed confusion by stating; the thing is that the bad part of the commercial is that they communicate many messages but they dont really tell you what exac tly they are selling for product (Group 3, Person 3). However, in other discussions participants felt that the meaning of the commercial was to portray the product as healthy; I would agree more with that they want to show the product as healthyand then you should go and buy it (Group 2, Person 6). In the in-group questionnaires, descriptive words such as healthy and nature were used when describing the attributes participants noticed in the commercial. These also were very much influenced by the text shown within the commercial. The most mentioned attributes by the participants related to Alpro Soya are shown below.
25 Number of Participants 20 15 10 5 0 Healthy Famous Person Text in Commerical Nature Light 10 / 24 7 /24 4 / 24 5 / 24 2 / 24

Most Mentioned Attributes

Figure 4-2 Mentioned Attributes: Alpro Soya With these findings, we can draw the conclusion that consumers noticed that there was an underlying health claim in the Alpro Soya commercial by describing the product presented as being healthy as well as having features such as nature and exercise. To further support this, in a focus group discussion, one participant stated; As a customer, I will think that if I drink that I will be healthy and super fit (Group 1, Person 4). Here, the participant explained the connection between the Alpro Soya product and an interest in being healthy and fit.

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Thus, we can see that this attitude supports Lank et al. (1992) who state that health and nutrition are powerful selling factors. In discussions, consumers spoke of how they disliked the commercial. Comments included statements in which they would not buy the product because of the TV commercial itself. However, the in-group questionnaires show that 11 of 24 participants had bought the product before. In this, one can conclude that the students, despite the disliking of the commercial, bought the product anyway. This can indicate an unconscious supraliminal influence as consumers seemed to be aware of the effect of the commercials but not to what extent (Bargh, 2002). This too had been directly discussed by participants; I think that the commercials do influence us more than we care to think that they do (Group 3, Person 2). Yes, definitely, like unconsciously (Group 3, Person 2). I think we want to believe that we are not influenced but we are anyway in some way or form (Group 3, Person 5). You do recognize the products when you are at the store and you get that information from somewhere like the commercials on TV (Group 3, Person 2). Furthermore, their expression of dislike towards the TV commercials had a strong correlation with the famous person who was the spokesperson in the Alpro Soya commercial. The use of the famous person gave way to many interpretations of the true meaning of the commercial; She seemed quite fake (Group 3, Person 1) She didnt feel very truthful (Group 3, Person 2) as though she was just reading off a script or something (Group 3, Person 1) In another discussion, the content of fat was brought up when speaking of the meaning of the commercial; I think that they want people to like stick to their product even if they want to lose weightbecause then you might consider to like try something else but now you dont have to (Group 1, Person 1). In the example, the participant interprets the companys message as wanting them to increase brand loyalty with their consumers through reaching to those who want to lose weight. However, discussions did indicate that the use of a famous person was not always positive; to sell a product that should be healthyor goodbecause they use a famous person (Group 4, Person 3). which would give more credibility to the productshe wouldnt lie (Group 4, Person 4). Again, the participants interpret the message as being healthy; however, the use of the famous person left participants re-thinking of the tactic the company was using to promote their product. This therefore supports Bhaskaran and Hardley (2002) who state that though manufacturers are useful conduits for information on diet and health, consumers are skeptical of claims that they make.

4.1.2

Bregott Commercial

When discussing the Bregott commercial, participants indicated that they noticed a direct health claim. In the in-group questionnaires, descriptive words such as cute, fun, and happy were used when describing what they thought of the commercial. However, the 29

most mentioned words within all in-group questionnaires were; calf, butter and nature. This can be seen in the chart below.
25 Number of Participants 20 15 10 5 0 15 / 24 10 / 24

9 / 24

3 / 24

2 / 24

2 / 24

Calf

Butter

Nature

less fat

music

summer

Most Mentioned Attributes

Figure 4-3 Mentioned Attributes: Bregott However, the focus group members agreed that the alternate meaning of the Bregott commercial was to introduce a new product. Bottom line I think is that they want to introduce a new tasteor tastebut like a new product in their lineanother alternative of butter. You dont have to always buy that specific type of Bregott butter since there are alternatives now like the Bregott mindre [less] (Group 3, Person 5). In this statement, the participant highlights the message of the commercial showing a new product within the Bregott product range. Furthermore the participant states that there are alternatives to that specific brand of butter. This finding was interesting to the study as the participant did not compare nor mention other brands of butter but rather compared the Bregott mindre [less] to other types of Bregott butter. This can show the influence this brand has on the viewer. In this study, there were positive reactions to the Bregott commercial from all groups. In a focus group discussion, a participant related the calf in the commercial and the butter being a light butter; that it is light butter. It was a calf instead of a cow (Group 3, Person 1). In this way, the consumer related the product to the main character, the calf. Another participant also mentioned the relation he had with the traditional use of the cows in the Bregott commercial and cows in general on television; I felt that Bregott has always had the same kind of commercials with their cows for many many yearsand it works for themI meanevery time I see a cow on TV, I am reminded and think of Bregott. (Group 2, Person 4). This finding supports Gorn and Goldbergs (1980) study in which repetitiveness of TV commercials can affect how consumers interpret marketing messages and here, the marketers goal of conveying the right message to the consumer is being fulfilled (McClung, Park and Saur, 1985). 30

As all participants were Swedes, born and raised in Sweden, this may have affected their view of this commercial due to the fact that Bregott has been using the same concept for many years. Of 24 participants, only 4 had not seen the commercial before. Therefore, one can state that the viewers may have been influenced by the marketing message of Bregott for a long period by growing up with it. This may in turn increase brand recognition for participants, which means they will quickly recognize the product and what it wants to communicate. It can also be that the Bregott commercial does not need as many exposures to the viewers as the other commercials, as the brand was already built up in the participants mind. This can explain the high recognition of the commercial within the focus groups. All this supports the argument by Park and Young (1986) where they state the extent to which the viewer will be influenced depends on the level of personal relevance of the content.

4.1.3

Cheerios Commercial

The relation between the product and its characters can also be seen in discussions about the Cheerios commercial. Participants expressed their dislike of the marketing message which the company was portraying. For example, one participant stated that; I think that one was directed to childrenI dont like thatI hate when it is funny figures and stuff and they are like ahhhh gestures like the little figures in the commercial imitates (Group 1, Person 1). Here, the participant disagreed with the marketing message as being direct to children. This opinion was agreed upon by all focus group members. For instance, below is an extract of a discussion held in the second focus group; I think they are trying to get at children so the children in turn will bug their parents to buy it for them (Group 2, Person 3). I have to agreeit seems like the commercial is for or rather to children. .. (Group 2, Person 4). I also have to agree therethey make the cereal look good for children and they would want them.. (Group 2, Person 3). From this, our findings support the fact that consumers are affected by the messages that companies portray through the TV commercials, whether they are positive or negative. From discussions, the findings indicate that marketers are highly aware that children are a large influence in the purchasing behavior of families and therefore they direct their marketing messages towards children. This in turn would support Kraak and Pellitiers (1998) argument in which the child would be the family expert for selection of new breakfast cereals. This further supports Story and French (2004) when stating that children who are exposed to such food commercials would be more likely to favor the product in comparison to those that are not shown. This was not the only message identified by the focus groups. In addition to the commercial being directed at children, they also claimed that the commercial had some underlying health message. For example, a participant stated that; I felt that the commercial was focused on portraying that the cereal is something healthy for childrenor rather for children to believe that it is healthy for them (Group 3, Person 4). Again, the message identified by participants was the underlying health claim. However, when asked to state three attributes, participants named family and the figures as being the attributes they remembered the most from the commercial. The most mentioned attributes for the Cheerios commercial can be seen below. 31

25 Number of Participants 20

15 10
5 0 5 / 24 6/ 24 3/ 24 3/ 24 5/ 24

2/ 24 2/ 24

1/ 24 1/ 24 1/ 24

Most Mentioned Attributes

Figure 4-4 Mentioned Attributes: Cheerios Thus, according to the comments within the focus groups, participants noticed and commented on the underlying health claim. Nevertheless, this did not show when mentioning product attributes related to the commercial, while instead the notion that the products was directed at children was more dominant.

4.1.4

Pgen Commercial

Concerning the Pgen commercial, participants agreed upon that the meaning was that of the health claim. The most mentioned attributes for the Pgen commercial can be seen in the chart below.

32

25 Number of Participants 20 15 10 5 0 8 /24 8/24 4/24 7/24

5/24 2/24

4/24

Most Mentioned Attributes

Figure 4-5 Mentioned Attributes: Pgen All groups agreed that the commercial portrayed a product which was presented as a white bread that is dark. One participant declared that; they just want to show customers what their bread goes formany dont like dark bread but want the same fiberso their bread gives that to them. (Group 2, Person 4). This finding indicates that the marketing message was clear to the viewers and that the company had communicated clearly what message they wanted the consumers to have. McClung, Park and Saur (1985), state that communicating the right message to the consumer must be performed effectively to implement the brand image. However; participants in this study were also concerned with the sugar content of the product itself. they are trying to say thatwell, we all know that white bread is not as healthy as dark bread. (Group 1, Person 9). well not as healthythere is less sugar in white bread than dark (Group 1, Person 5). dark bread has more fiber and better nutrients than white (Group 1, Person 7). well if you read the packaging it is not like that (Group 1, Person 5). white bread has less fat as well but the thing is that the fat that wheat bread has is actually healthy (Group 1, Person 2). Consequently, the results show that participants did notice the underlying health claim and found that the main message for the Pgen commercial was to promote a new alternative within the brands product range. However, within the issue of health claims, participants also expressed their concern for other products within the Pgen brand. The health claim within this commercial, as well as the other three, support Henderson and Kellys (2005) argument in which food companies promote food on the basis of weight-friendly nutritional properties (p.192).

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4.2 Summary of Attitudes

This subsection is a summary of the most important data from the above section. It will answer the first two research questions and finally answer the first part of the two-folded purpose. The meaning of this summary is to provide a better overview of the presented attitudes. From the findings and analysis of the attitudes indicated through the in-group questionnaires as well as the focus group discussions, the participants found that all commercials presented the products as healthy, which means that they noticed that there was an underlying health claim. When discussing the Alpro Soya commercial, the message of the commercial was not as direct and participants reacted negatively towards the commercial. Participants expressed their dislike towards the message and stated that they would not buy the product because of the commercial itself. This dislike was also directed towards the use of a famous person. This was seen by the participants as a way for the company to increase credibility of the brand and product. Thus, the students indicated negative attitudes towards this tactic behid the commercial. However, despite the disliking of it, results show that 11 out of 24 participants still made a purchasing decision to buy the product shown in the commercial. In this, the unconscious influence on the consumer can be seen. When discussing the Bregott commercial, the message was more direct in that participants felt that the product shown was healthy and made with natural ingredients due to the scene with the calf and an open field. Participants also mentioned that the secondary message of the commercial was that the company wished to introduce a new product into their product line. Participants also noticed a relationship between picture and text and reacted positively towards the commercial. However, with this said, caution was taken when analyzing the data for this commercial. Many participants mentioned that Bregott has been communicating the same concept for many years and this could in turn affect the outcome of attitudes towards the commercial. As repetitiveness (Du Plessis, 2005) is an important factor for remembrance of a commercial, seeing similar commercials from the Bregott brand, might have thus influenced the viewers in our study. Concerning the Cheerios commercial, participants did also here notice the underlying health claim. However, the main issue discussed in the focus groups was instead the disliking towards the commercial as being directed towards children and this was mainly noticed in the characters in the commercial. This finding supports the fact that marketers are aware that children are influencing house hold purchasing decisions and therefore use this as a selling tactic. Finally, when discussing the Pgen commercial, the underlying health claim was the only message identified by the participants; a white bread that contains as much fiber as a dark bread and therefore being qualified as healthy. However, many participants expressed their concern not for the specific product in the commercial but of the general product lines of Pgen which they believed containing excessive amounts of sugar.

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5 Empirical Findings and Analysis of Why Consumers are Influenced

This section of the thesis includes the empirical findings and analysis of the second part of the two-folded purpose; why do these consumers react on the TV commercials the way they do? In order to do so, the section is divided into two sub-sections; section 5.1; Reasons for Consumer Reactions, and finally section 5.2; Significant Influences on Purchasing Decisions. The latter subsection corresponds to the last research question. The purpose as well as the research question will be answered through presentation and analysis of the findings from both the focus group discussions as well as the in-group questionnaires.

5.1 Reasons for Consumer Reactions

This subsection deals with the second part of the two-folded purpose; to investigate why consumers react to the TV commercials the way they do.

5.1.1

Model of the Emotional Process Applied in Practice

The model of the emotional process presented Holbrook and OShaughnessy (1984) can be seen as the very basic procedure of what occurs when a consumer is being exposed to some sort of advertisement. This model suggests that the way in which consumers will evaluate what they see depends on personal values and cognitive beliefs which give rise to feelings. The model of the emotional process further suggests that the feelings result in different kinds of expressive behaviors, such as liking or disliking of the product. In our research we could see that the ways in which viewers reacted to the given commercials were depending on these factors. For instance, their attitudes were conducted by what they considered healthy; what they believed as annoying as well as what they deemed to be accepted when it comes to marketing towards children. Thus, their reactions towards the commercials evoked feelings. Another example is the reaction of joy that was noticed in relation to the Bregott commercial, or the irritated comments shown towards the other three commercials presented. Therefore, we can argue that emotions are an important factor in how consumers evaluate marketing messages and the results show that the students in our focus groups reacted according to Holbrook and OShaughnessys (1984) model of the emotional process.

5.1.2

Positive and Negative Emotions towards the Commercials

Coulter (1998) mentions the importance of commercials to evoke positive emotions among viewers. Bagozzi et al. (1999) state that emotions are always followed by facial expressions and other psychological responses. This can be noticed in the reactions focus group participants showed towards the commercials. For instance, as mentioned before, when seeing the Bregott commercial, viewers laughed and smiled and gave positive comments about what was seen (the calf running around in a green field). Thus, this commercial had a positive impact among the participants which contributed to their liking of it and possibly also of the product itself. Further, negative feelings could be seen in how participants expressed their disliking of, for instance, the Alpro Soya and the Pgen commercials. The feelings towards the commercials were clearly conveyed by participants as an influence on whether or not they would further purchase the product. An example of this is when participants discussed their disliking of the Alpro Soya commercial to the point in which a participant stated that they would not purchase the product because of the commercial. However, it cannot be shown within this study whether the disliking of some of the 35

commercials also would result in a total refusal to buy the product, or whether this was only an occasional opinion expressed during the focus group sessions. The in-group questionnaires, however, show that regardless of the expressed disliking of the Alpro Soya commercial during the focus group sessions, many participants stated that they did buy the product.

5.1.3

The Multi Message Ad

Bagozzi et al. (1999) present thinking ads, where focus lies on information given about the commercial, as well as feeling ads, where the emotion related to the product is enhanced. However, we argue that TV commercials cannot solely be either or and hence a third type of ad is suggested here. This will be called the multi message ad in which both thinking and feeling characteristics can be included in the commercial. Below, the four commercials will be classified according to the above theories: Alpro Soya: Here, abundant information was given about the product qualities; however, at the same time the commercial sought to convey a healthy, natural feeling. This, we argue, qualifies it as a multi message ad. Begott: This commercial conveyed mainly emotions, as hardly any product information was given, except the product name itself and the fact that it had been newly launched. However, nothing is mentioned about the products qualities such as; fat content or ingredients. This makes it a purely a feeling ad. Cheerios: In this commercial there was not much product information either, except that the product was made out of whole grain. The main purpose seemed to be to evoke certain emotions through the cartoon characters. Therefore, this too is a feeling ad. However, participants saw the tactic in which companies were using children as a focus and therefore the cartoon way of portraying the product can be a thinking ad. Hence, this commercial can be seen as a multi message ad. Pgen: Here, almost no specific product information was given, except that about the bread being white, yet with the qualities of dark bread. Instead, the intent seemed to be that of giving a feeling of home baked, freshness and quality communicated through scenery and characters. Hence, we suggest that this commercial is a feeling ad. Classifying the chosen commercials according to Bagozzi et al. (1999) as well as our own additional definition, the multi message ad, further clarifies the aim of the marketing messages of the commercials to the reader. Moreover, these classifications further proves the relation between emotions and marketing as well as the importance of advertisement to trigger emotional reactions among consumers.

5.1.4

The Unconscious Influence

Other than the direct responses towards specific elements of the TV commercials, the issue of focus group participants becoming annoyed with certain commercials also confirms Barghs (2002) statement of consumers coming unconsciously affected by commercials. Bargh (2002) suggests that viewers are influenced subliminally (unconsciously) and

36

supraliminally (aware but not to what extent) and both factors can be seen in the data results. For instance, one comment by a focus group participant can be seen as an example of a supraliminal influence; For those things that you feel that you just pick up and explore yourselfIm sure that you unconsciously get that information that that product is good to buy because of something like a TV commercial or something (Group 4, Person 3). This statement directly expresses the fact that participants felt they are unconsciously influenced but is unsure by what or to what extent. However, results indicated that the subliminal influence by commercials were also present. This can be seen in that participants disliked some commercials while at the same time they still reported that they had bought the related products. This is further supported by the in-group questionnaires where the students in one question indicated whether they had bought the product before or not. For the Alpro Soya commercial this is specifically significant as many participants expressed a dislike of the commercial while they seemed to buy the product anyhow. The same situation can be seen regarding the Pgen commercial. This is showed in the graph below;
80%
70% % of participants 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% Alpro Soya Bregott Cheerios Pgen

yes
no

Shown Commericals

Figure 5-1 Have You Bought the Product Before? However, the reasons for participants stating that they did not like the commercial while at the same time buying the product can be due to various reasons; for instance, the products related to the commercials can all be seen as belonging to the category of frequently purchased products (Julander, 1984), which means that participants might buy them regardless of their opinions on the commercials. When it comes to the Pgen commercial, the reason why many participants stated that they had bought the product before can be due to that they associated the commercial with any Pgen bread and not the specific product related to the commercial. With Pgen being a well known brand in Sweden and bread being a frequently purchased product among consumers, this can explain the results in the above figure. not. The bought before concept will be further presented and analyzed in section 5.2.1.

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5.1.5

Remembering Information about the Commercials

One can also tell from the in-group questionnaires that participants seemed to find it difficult remembering information given about the commercials. This was noticed by the moderators when the students where to describe three product attributes associated with each of the four commercials. In some cases, participants only gave one or two answers per commercial. Bagozzi et al. (1999) indicate that memory is important when discussing emotions and advertisements and that positive emotions related to a commercial will increase the recall of it. The results of this study do not show the direct influence of the consumers mood state to their memory the TV commercials. However, memory could have influenced the participants in different ways. Du Plessis (2005) argues that length, intensity and frequency over time are factors influencing the recall of a commercial. When it comes to the frequency factor, it is possible that the viewers would have presented a better recall if the commercials had been exposed to them many times within the focus groups which could have led to a higher response in numbering of product attributes. The recall can also depend on how many times they had seen the commercial before or when they saw it the last time. The difficulty to remember the commercials could also be due to that the amount of information given within the commercials was too extensive to process in such a short time. It is possible that, in a normal setting, consumers only remember the product name and a vague picture of the commercial. Within the focus groups however, they were asked to remember four commercials in a row in short time and after only one exposure. With this in mind, one can question the level of effectiveness of the amount of product information given in commercials. However, such conclusions cannot be drawn from this study why further research would be needed.

5.2 Significant Influences on Purchasing Decisions

This subsection deals with the third research question; what influences do consumers find important when considering making a purchase? The section starts with an introduction and is then divided into the main influences the focus group participants deemed as significant. The research question will be answered through presentation and analysis of the findings from both the focus group discussions as well as the in-group questionnaires. The results indicate that environmental factors influence consumers when they consider buying a product. These environmental factors include; whether they purchased the product before, the influence of friends and family, product dimensions, the influence of TV commercials, as well as the influence of price and quality. From the in-group questionnaire, the main influences are quantified in the below chart:

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Number of Participants

25 20 15 10 5 0

20/24
16/24 12/24 7/24 3/24 2/24 1/24 1/24 1/24

Mentioned Influneces

Figure 5-2 Influences to buy a product The factors mentioned by participants from the in-group questionnaire as well as discussions are more closely analyzed below.

5.2.1 Bought Before

The largest part of the participants indicated that what influences them the most when making a purchasing decision was that they had the product before (See Figure 5.2). This in itself was difficult to analyze as the reasons behind this decision is not mentioned in the empirical study. However, within discussions, participants thought that they were influenced by some sort of unconscious reasoning leading to a purchase. For example; Not only the commercials themselves but that you readLike if you read that it is something healthy then probably you unconsciously remember that that product is healthy and you buy it (Group 3, Person 2). Yeah, like when you read in a newspaper or a magazine and it promotes the product as being healthy (Group 3, Person 1). In this example, participants discussed that they unconsciously remember products through what they read in newspapers and/or magazines, which influences them to make a purchase of that product. Here, again, the participants were aware of the type of unconscious influence on their buying habits that Bargh (2002) suggests and is named supraliminal unconsciousness. A second discussion also brought up unconscious memory; For those things that you feel that you just pick up and explore yourselfIm sure that you unconsciously get that information that that product is good to buy because of something like a TV commercial or something (Group 4, Person 3). In another discussion, participants discuss the influences of family and friends as important when buying food products; That is really difficultI mean, it depends on the products you are talking aboutif it was electronics so its all about the hype and what is popular now and the features it holds and the price and thatWith

39

more food products, then you kind of think automatically from where you come fromlike family, friends or that (Group 4, Person 4). The influence of friends, family and the like will be analyzed further in the next section. As discussed before, Julander (1984) present three specific product dimensions; storability, purchase frequency and impulse consumption attractivity. The only product dimension mentioned by the participants was purchase frequency in which participants presented the products as being a staple product. This discussion is shown below: For meits all about the price, ease of use, and just the fact that it is a staple product (Group 2, Person 2). What do you mean by staple product? (Group 2, Person 3). as inwelllike its a product that you usually need or use everydaylike bread is something I have for breakfast everyday so I always have to repurchase itand if I have to repurchase that product again and again, I want a good product that is available to me and furthermore something of good price (Group 2, Person 2). With this in mind, participants rule out the fact that the products shown in the chosen TV commercials were neither products that they store for a long time nor products they would buy on impulse. Therefore when classifying the product group of the commercials, participants classified them as having purchase frequency. This also means that Julanders (1984) theory of classifications of product dimensions appears in the data and is relevant to take into account when analyzing commercials.

5.2.2

Influence of Friends and Family

According to the results of the questionnaires (See Figure 5.2), friends and family were the second and third most influential attributes when making purchasing decisions. When discussing the matter during the focus group discussions, participants expressed that when it came to food products, they would rely on what parents have bought for them in the past. A student expressed her own experience with milk; and sometimes it has to do with the habits within your familyI always had the same milk.my mom always bought the same milk so if they would have that milk here.. they dont have that milk herebut if they did have that milk here, I would buy it because that is the milk that I know (Group 1, Person 3). In another focus group discussion, a participant highlighted the importance of family as well as recommendations from friends; I still think that friends and family are huge influences because t hey are the people you trust and would take advice and recommendations fromThey want to give you a good product and they wouldnt recommend something that they dont think is good (Group 3, Person 2). Friends were also taken up in another focus group discussion. In my case, I use to live with friends and they always had for example Bregott butter and had great combinationsso it tasted goodSo technically I guess Bregott was recommended to me by my friend (Group 2, Person 3). The above quotations underline the importance of influence of habits within the family, trust towards friends, as well as recommendations as influencing purchasing decisions. The 40

results from the obtained data thus confirm Moschis statements (1985) when arguing that family is an important factor influencing consumer behavior and also Moschis (1987); and Churchill and Moschis (1979) who highlight friends as another imperative influential factor. Furthermore, the students in our study are all in a phase in life where they fairly recently started to shape their own life and thus consumption patterns. Living away from home with new friends and in new environments, they now have to form their own opinions on what food products to buy. Thus, the students are both going back to what their parents used to buy as well as being open to influences and recommendations from friends. All this also support Ward (1974), who argues that consumer behavior is being shaped during the adolescence.

5.2.3

Influence of the Commercial Itself

According to the in-group questionnaires, only 3 of 24 participants indicated the TV commercial itself as an influence on their purchases and this was discussed solely in one focus group; I think that the commercials do influence us more than we care to think that they do (Group 3, Person 2). Yes, definitely, like unconsciously (Group 3, Person 1). Yeah, well I think we want to believe that we are not influenced but we ar e anyway in some way or form (Group 3, Person 5). Like you do recognize the products when you are at the store and you get that information from somewhere like the commercials on TV (Group 3, Person 2). Another participant agreed by stating; True, but I mean, it all comes down to what tactics companies use to try to make sure their consumer target group recognizes in some way or another, conscious or unconscious, their products (Group 4, Person 4). Thus, participants accepted the fact that commercials do influence them unconsciously even though it may be that they do not want to believe that they do. As Kruger (1965) highlights; commercials affect us although we do not know how and to what extent. However, one participant had a good defense for the use of commercials by companies; I think that commercials are quite important because companies are trying to just show that they are there and what they have to offer. Good or bad commercial (Group 3, Person 3). Therefore, though influenced by the messages of TV commercials, the commercials themselves would not always lead to a purchase. Even so, participants did realize that, whether good or bad, companies use TV commercials to portray some sort of marketing message. In the same light, another discussion was brought up where participants stated that they would not buy the Alpro Soya product just because of the commercial. I dont think that I would buy soya milk just because of the way the product is shown (Group 2, Person 2). In many of the group discussions, participants expressed their irritation towards the famous person in the Alpro Soya commercial. Participants expressed the use of a famous person as being negative and though the intention, according to participants, was to create credibility, it gave an opposite effect: to sell a product that should be healthy. Or goodbecause they use a famous person (Group 4, Person 3).

41

which would give more credibility to the productshe wouldnt liebut the use of a famous person is yeahI dont know (Group 4, Person 4). Another focus group member stated that; when I saw her face I was kind of likeeh. Cant be bothered. It was a cheap tactic of the company (Group 4, Person 4). Thus, even though a number of students in the focus groups regarded some of the commercials as stupid and simple in that they expressed a disliking of them, it does not mean they were not affected by the marketing message. As Kruger (1965) highlights, there is a point in commercials being trivial when conveying a marketing message and regardless of simplicity and silliness, people are still affected by the advertisement. In the Alpro Soya case, however, some bought the product anyway. The Cheerios and the Pgen commercials evoked similar negative feelings. On the other hand, the Bregott commercial can be seen as fairly simple with only one setting and one character. Nevertheless, this commercial was the one evoking most positive reactions from the participants.

5.2.4 Positioning of the Commercials

Murry et al. (1992) stress that the specific positioning of a commercial within the pod is crucial to how the viewer perceives it. As mentioned in the method of this paper, the commercials in the study were shown on their own, one after another. The order was chosen alphabetically: Alpro Soya, Bregott, Cheerios, and finally Pgen. One can state that the commercials were put into a pod and therefore the positioning of them could have an effect on the participants attitudes. The commercials were not shown before nor after any TV program and therefore the effect of this was not visible in the results. According to results of the in-group questionnaire, participants stated that the Cheerios commercial was directed to or for children (see Figure 4.4) whereas the agreed meaning of the Pgen commercial was to introduce a white bread that is presented as dark (see Figure 4.5). However, discussions show that there may have been some cross contamination of the results between the Cheerios commercial and the Pgen commercial. I felt that the [Cheerios]commercial was focused on portraying that the cereal is something healthy for childrenor rather for children to believe that it is healthy for them (Group 3, Person 4). was that it was a light but dark breada light bread that is healthysomething good for the parents to buy to their childrenin general, for those who want to eat more healthy (Group 3, Person 1). Well, I think that most children would want white bread so it is a good commercial to let children have more healthy bread without it looking like dark bread (Group 3, Person 3). We can see that participants interpreted not only the Cheerios but also the Pgen commercial as directed towards children. Although, they were not referring specifically to the child in the Pgen commercial, some seemed to believe that it was directed to children. Therefore, one can draw the conclusion that these participants were continuing their thoughts from the Cheerios commercial, which all agreed was more focused on children.

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5.2.5

Influence of Price & Quality

Price was considered the fourth most influential attribute to whether or not the student would consider to buy a product with 7 of focus group participants stating this (See Figure 5.1). However, in group discussions, the presentation of price was not mentioned. Rather, participants expressed that while in the food store, they would choose the cheapest alternative. I usually buy the cheapest productand then if I dont find it, I buy the other product (Group 1, Person 4). Like the next cheapest. (Group 1, Person 2). Participants reacted on perceived savings and the value for money rather than reduced, special or discounted prices; I also feel that price is a huge influenceI would want a good quality product for a good price. (Group 2, Person 3). Della Bitta, Monroe and McGinnis (1981) state that promotion of a lower price creates decision problems for the seller which in turn affects the consumer. According to the results of this study, there is a relationship between price and quality as students did bring up the fact that a low price can lead to questioning of the quality of that product. Participants stated that a large reduction in price would make them associate the quality of the product as negative and therefore instead choose the next cheapest alternative: usually it is the same quality unless it is something you know is completely trash but it is cheap then I am not going to buy that onebut I will still buy the next cheapest (Group 1, Person 2). Further, some participants discussed their frustration towards the use of higher pricing to indicate better value or quality: It is of course that you are influenced by price as wellYou have to know what it coststhat I get irritated though, is that I feel cheated when two similar products have completely different pricesthat irritates me (Group 4, Person 4). That is understandable () if you think that two similar products and one is more expensive, then you are buying the product brand and not only the product itselfso in a way you are not being cheatedI mean, it is what the environment makes the product as you buy the more expensive product because of () societyor the people around you () and not what you personally feel is better between the two products. The products can have the same amount of content and just have different packaging, but because of the brand you would buy the more expensive (Group 4, Person 3). In this discussion, the view of the latter participant was that a product was more expensive because the consumer is buying not only the product but also the brand. The participant believed this to depend on influences from other people as well as the society as a whole. In another discussion, participants called more expensive products luxury products. A participant considered Bregott as luxurious as it was not the cheapest on the market, why she bought it only for special occasions; Some of the products I buy are like luxury products () I like Bregottso like buying Bregott is kind of like a luxury product because it kind of is expensive compared to other butters (Group 1, Person 7). In another discussion, a participant agreed with this point of view; Quality is probably something I too would feel influences me to buy a product from time to timeI would want something that was made with lovelike the Pgen commercial states 43

baked with love. (Group 2, Person 2). From these results, one can see that price, brand recognition as well as influences of the society or people around the consumers, have an influence on their purchasing behavior and are furthermore interconnected.

5.2.6

Knowledge of Food and Health in the Commercials

The knowledge of food was to a great extent discussed in the focus groups. Knowledge of food can be divided into two parts; positive and negative knowledge (Holmberg, 1996). When discussing the Alpro Soya commercial, negative knowledge could be seen when participants were discussing health issues as well as lactose intolerance; if you are allergic to milk like I had to drink it (Group 1, Person 5). but that is not the same thing as being healthy (Group 1, Person 1). In the case of Alpro Soya, participants argued that if they did not like soya milk, they would not drink it. However, those members of the focus groups with lactose intolerance stated that Alpro Soya was the most available to them; I am lactose intolerant so I need to drink soya milkand Alpro Soya is the one that is most available for me. (Group 2, Person 1). With this, discussions followed regarding the meaning of the commercial; [the meaning of the Alpro Soya commercial is] to broaden their market beyond lactose intolerant peopleto people who want to be healthy (Group 2, Person 7). Here, group members disagreed on whether the meaning had to do with broadening the companys market beyond lactose intolerant consumers or to promote the product as being healthy. As can be seen in Henderson and Kelly (2005) as well as Lank et al. (1992), it is not easy for consumers to distinguish from a commercial whether a product is actually healthy or not, as many products are not as healthy as they claim to be. In consideration of positive knowledge, other discussants stressed the health aspect of the commercials and more specifically of the products themselves; I also do think about nutrition wiselike there are products in my cabinet that I know I bought because of the nutrition content (Group 1, Person 3). Another example of this is; Well I can also say the health aspect sometimes gets meI mean, sometimes I just want something with less fat or more fiber (Group 2, Person 6). Such statements indicate that discussants were aware of the nutritional content of products and what they look for when choosing products in the store. This too was brought up in discussions about the Alpro Soya commercial; I felt I was fat and probably should start training again. (Group 3, Person 3). These findings support Lank et al.s (1992) statement that health and nutrition is a powerful selling factor. The findings further support Bhaskaran & Hardley (2002) in their opinion that health can be a factor influencing young people to switch to functional food.

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6 Conclusion
This section will summarize the final output from the analysis and fulfill the two-folded purpose; firstly to understand what attitudes Swedish generation Y university students have towards TV commercials with underlying health claims and secondly; to identify why they react the way they do. The first part of the two-folded purpose included research question number one and two of this study. The first concerned whether the generation Y consumers noticed the underlying health claims in the given television commercials. According to the findings, the participants noticed the underlying health claims and furthermore were able to state what attributes within the commercials made them react to the messages. In the Alpro Soya commercial, the nature, the text in the commercial and the use of a fit famous person all contributed to the health message according to participants. In the Bregott commercial, the health claim was seen as more direct in which the nature, use of a calf running around in the field, indicated that the health message was given through the portrayal of a healthy product. The Cheerios commercial was not as clear as the Bregott commercial however, as consumers seemed to use their previous knowledge of the brand and the ingredients to discuss the nutritional value of the product being perceived as healthy (whole grain). Finally, the Pgen commercial was also understood by the students as containing an underlying health claim in that the bread is a white, yet with as much fiber as a dark. Therefore, the generation Y students did indicate that they noticed an underlying health claim in all the chosen TV commercials. The second research question included in the first part of the two-folded purpose concerned what other messages consumers noticed within the TV commercials. Except the health claim, findings indicate that the participants did also notice other messages. Firstly, for all of the commercials, they agreed on that the overall main aim was to promote and sell a product. This clearly shows that the participants were well aware of the true purpose of advertising. Further, regarding the Alpro Soya commercial, the use of a famous person to enhance product qualities was seen as another significant issue. In the Bregott commercial, students perceived the message as also being to introduce a new product within the assortment of the company. Further, as for the Cheerios commercial, participants highlighted that they believed the product to be directed towards children. Finally, in the Pgen commercial, the focus group members discussed sugar content within Pgen bread in general and also here connected the message as being focused on children. Concerning classification of the chosen commercials, though Bagozzi et al. (1999) have introduced thinking ads and feeling ads, we argue that there is also a third category that can be named multi message ads. Some of the commercials within the study can be regarded as such, as these are both aiming at communicating a certain feeling about the product and the brand, while at the same time providing information about the product qualities. We claim that the Alpro Soya commercial is an example of a multi message ad. The second part of the two-folded purpose focused on why the focus group participants reacted to the marketing messages of the given commercials the way they did. This also included the last research question which concerned the influences participants found important when making a purchase. Firstly, when applying the model of the emotional process (Holbrook and OShaughnessy, 1984) on this study, one can see that it goes in line with how participants reacted on the commercials, mainly through their emotional 45

responses. Both positive and negative emotional reactions were noticed. For instance, the Bregott commercial evoked positive feelings that made participants smile and laugh. On the contrary, the Alpro Soya and the Pgen commercials gave rise to more negative reactions such as comments about the characters within the advertisements. The emotions seemed to also influence whether the participants would buy the products or not. However, even though participants expressed disliking towards, for instance, the Alpro Soya commercial, the in-group questionnaire results revealed that many had bought the product before. This can be an example of a subliminal unconscious influence (Bargh, 2002). On the other hand, from the focus group discussions we can tell that participants seemed to be to some extent aware that they are affected by TV commercials, but not to what extent. This issue can be regarded as the other type of unconscious influence presented by Bargh (2002), called the supraliminal influence. One reason why there was a negative response to some commercials during the focus group sessions, while the in-group questionnaires showed the opposite, can be due to the fact that the products can be seen as belonging to the category of frequently purchased products (Julander, 1984). This in turn means that participants would buy them regardless of their opinion on the commercials. When it comes to the importance of memory in relation to commercials (Bagozzi et al., 1999; Du Plessis, 2005), we can see that the participants had difficulties remembering when asked to mention three product attributes to describe the commercials. Here, frequency as mentioned by Du Plessis (2005) as imperative to memory can have had an impact on the results. Participants were exposed to the commercials only once and as it is not known when and how many times they had seen them before, this could have affected their remembrance of the content. One can also question how much, in a normal setting, a viewer actually remembers of the amount of information given in a commercial and therefore the content of an advertisement could be questioned. Regarding the last research question; what influences the participants when they consider buying a product, several factors where mentioned in the focus groups as well as in the ingroup questionnaires. However, the most common where; bought before, family and friends, the commercial itself as well as price and quality. These results also aided in continue answering the last part of the two-folded purpose; why do these consumers react the way they do to the commercials? Family and friends as important influential factors stated by the participants clearly confirms Moschis (1985) who enhances these two as imperative for the formation of consumer behavior. The most prioritized influence that the Swedish generation Y university students pointed out was bought the product before factor as influential on purchasing decisions. This can be divided into two findings; the first is that the students were able to state that they had bought the product before, however they were unable to indicate why they bought the did it in the first place. Secondly; in the bought before factor, students were most probably influenced by other factors, such as family and friends, which were the two second and third most prioritized influences. The study showed that the importance of family in purchasing decisions indicated influence of family habits, and that of friends where related to trust on others recommendations. The importance of friends recommendations as the second most influential factor, indicates the phase in life where the students find themselves currently; they fairly recently left home and they are now shaping their own

46

purchasing behavior. This finding can support Ward (1974) in his argument that consumption patterns are being shaped during the adolescence. Our study shows that price was also an influential factor on purchasing decisions among the participants and there was a clear link between price and quality as well as price and brand recognition. Brand recognition was also further related to the influences of the society, family and/or friends. As for the influence of the TV commercials themselves, participants felt TV commercials had some influence on the consideration of a purchase, but not to what extent. The least prioritized influence on the students purchasing decisions included product dimensions such as availability and popularity. The products of interest within this paper were milk, cereal, bread and butter; which can be seen as having a low storability factor, high frequency and little to no impulse consumption attractivity. Hence, all these products can be regarded as frequently purchased products. Also, from theories it was noticed that the positioning of the commercials within the pod had an impact on how it would be perceived by viewers (Murry et al., 1992). When it comes to our study, commercials where shown alphabetically directly after one another. Hence, we could notice a possible influence and cross-contamination between the Cheerios and the Pgen commercial, as both where perceived as being directed to children. To conclude, we can state that attitudes towards commercials can vary, however the students in this study seemed to all have clearly identified the underlying health claims and coincided in several other issues, such as positive and negative reactions on features within the commercials. Though this study was conducted on Swedish generation Y students, the results show that much of the findings fall in line with research done on children and young adults. Furthermore the study was not focused on gender however the findings indicate that gender was not an issue. Regarding why the consumers reacted the way they did on the commercials, also here a common pattern could be seen. However, the reasons are complex and multifaceted and this study has probably only revealed a small part of the whole spectra of factors and their interrelation.

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7 Discussion and Further Research

This section presents implications for marketers and advertisers based on the current study as well as recommendations for further research. Even though prior research focused mainly on children and on television in relation to eating habits and health issues, such as obesity, the findings of this study fell in line with previous research despite the use of another population group, more specifically that of generation Y university students. Further, the focus of the study on attitudes towards TV commercials with underlying health claims can hopefully make some new contributions to the research field. The findings of this study can be relevant to marketers and advertisers as it concerns consumers attitudes of how products are being portrayed in commercials as well as how they are being influenced by these commercials. Some of the most imperative implications for marketers and advertisers based on this research are presented in this section. The most significant implication is that marketers and advertisers should be cautious in what marketing messages they portray in television commercials, as these can evoke strong feelings of liking or disliking among viewers. Our study used generation Y university students which was a group limited in prior research. This segment seems to be rather critical towards what is communicated within the commercial and a disliking reaction could in the worst case result in lost future consumers. Issues such as directing the commercial towards children or using the credibility of famous persons to promote the product evoked strong negative emotions and reactions among the participants in our study. Although the commercials that gave rise to such feelings might not have been directed to generation Y consumers, marketers should not underestimate the impact of this segment on targeted consumers. This is mainly because generation Y consumers are users of the latest means of communications, such as social media and can easily spread their opinions through the Internet. It is thus imperative for marketers and advertisers to be aware of the fine line between a positive and negative marketing message. Further, as seen in the results of the study, viewers had difficulties remembering the commercials, although they had been displayed to them recently. One can thus question how much, in a normal setting, a viewer actually remembers of the amount of information given in a commercial and therefore the content and extensiveness of an advertisement could be questioned. This is an issue that can be imperative to marketers in future campaigns, however, the above statement needs to be further supported scientifically, why additional research is needed here. When conducting this study, we found that some fields needed further research. For instance; student culture and generation Y consumers seem to differ from other groups. Therefore, studies of other consumer segments could reveal differences and similarities in the attitudes that consumers have towards TV commercials with underlying health claims. It would also be interesting to conduct a study where focus groups participants have a more cultural diverse background, although Swedish speaking. This would reveal whether and how attitudes towards the TV commercials differ depending on the consumers cultural context.

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Furthermore, we used TV commercials with underlying type A health claims. Firstly, the attitudes we received for these TV commercials might be different if other commercials were chosen or other health claims. To come to a more trustworthy conclusion, different marketing channels, other products, and other TV commercials as well as other health claims could be investigated. Also, it could be appealing to further explore the impact on the given TV commercials of the environment surrounding the TV commercial within the pod. In this study, the gender issue was not relevant as we could not see any differences within our data. However, one cannot leave out the possibility of gender influence if research would be conducted within a different setting and with another consumer segment. Differences could possibly be discovered through extensive in-depth interviews and larger samples of quantitative studies. It could also be of interest for future research to further explore consumer buying behavior of participants within the focus groups. Issues that could be addressed are for instance; how health claims influence decisions within the food store, or; to what extent the consumers interests and daily life have an impact on the influence of the commercials. In addition, to further understand how factors influence consumers in their buying behavior, one could go deeper into the interrelations within the family and how consumer behavior is shaped there. Also, as influence of friends seems to be an imperative factor for generation Y students, studying how peers can affect their buying behavior could be investigated further, for instance through observations or in-depth interviews. To conclude, it is reasonable to assume that consumer behavior and preferences are not static and can change over time, both due to a persons social situation as well as external influence such as peers and work place. Therefore, a study comparing consumers buying behavior through time could also be of interest.

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References

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Appendix

Appendices
Focus Group Questionnaire
Age: Sex: Male Occupation, Education: Place of Birth: Nationality: Interests: Female

Have you seen the following commercials before? 1) Alpro Soya Yes No 2) Bregott Yes No 3) Cheerios Yes No 4) Pgen Yes No Name 3 attributes (product benefits) that are presented in each commercial. (This includes that you see, hear or read in the commercials) Alpro Soya: Bregott: 1 1 2 2 3 3 Cheerios: Pgen: 1 1 2 2 3 3 What do you think of the commercial? 1) Alpro Soya 2) Bregott 3) Cheerios 4) Pgen Have you bought any of the products? (X the boxes of the ones you have!) 1) Alpro Soya 2) Bregott butter 3) Cheerios 4) Pgen bread If you have bought any of the products, why did you buy them? 1) Alpro Soya 2) Bregott Butter 3) Cheerios 4) Pgen bread What do you think is the meaning of this commercial? 1) Alpro Soya 2) Bregott Butter 3) Cheerios 56

Appendix

4) Pgen bread What kind of feeling did you get when you watched the commercial? 1) Alpro Soya 2) Bregott Butter 3) Cheerios 4) Pgen bread What usually influences you to buy a certain product? The commercial itself Bought the product before Your friend(s) recommended it Your family usually buys it/recommends it Other: ______________________________________________________

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Appendix

Summarized Questionnaire Results

Age Range: 19-25 Sex: 11 Males, 13 Females Occupation: All Students studying at Jnkping University Nationality: All Swedes Interests: Females: Music, clothes, travelling, nature, golf, hunting, movies, food, friends, painting, swimming, books Males: Computers, IT, Programming, gaming, nature, food, friends Mixed 1: dance, bball, sailing, skiing, exercising, food, reading, travel Mixed 2: photography, travel, training, friends, movies Have you seen the following commercials before? Of 24 participants, 13 have seen the Alpro Soya commercial, 11 have not 18 have seen the Bregott commercial, 6 have not 10 have seen the Cheerios commercial, 14 have not 18 have seen the Pgen commercial, 5 have not Similar attributes that were mentioned by all focus groups include: Alpro Soya: 10 Healthy 7 Sayings within the commercial: Nurture from nature, balanced lifestyle, makes you want to run 5 Nature 4 Famous person Bregott: 15 Calf 10 Nature 9 Butter (new type of butter, Bregott Mindre (*less) Cheerios: 5 Family 6 Cartoon figures Pgen: 7 Bread 4 Healthy Of 24 participants: 16 have bought Bregott butter 13 have bought Pgen bread 11 have bought Alpro Soya 7 have bought Cheerios

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