Is brand image instability a measurement artifact? If brand images are indeed unstable, then not only are private companies wasting their money on image campaigns but also government organisations are wasting public money on brand image campaigns such as the many conducted by the Australian Tourism Commission overseas, and by local governments, such as "Wollongong - city of innovation." Wouldn't you like to know whether your money is being well spent? A reasonably definitive assessment of the wo ....Is brand image instability a measurement artifact? If brand images are indeed unstable, then not only are private companies wasting their money on image campaigns but also government organisations are wasting public money on brand image campaigns such as the many conducted by the Australian Tourism Commission overseas, and by local governments, such as "Wollongong - city of innovation." Wouldn't you like to know whether your money is being well spent? A reasonably definitive assessment of the worthwhileness of public-funded brand image campaigns will be the main national and community benefit of this research. Read moreRead less
Measuring children's responsiveness to food advertising. This will be the first study, in Australia or elsewhere, that concurrently examines food promotions across a range of child-targeted media, in real-time, and investigates the way that these commercial messages are attended to, interpreted, and responded to by young people. This project will assist us in developing appropriate regulatory and social marketing responses to non-television advertising to children, will have valuable flow-on eff ....Measuring children's responsiveness to food advertising. This will be the first study, in Australia or elsewhere, that concurrently examines food promotions across a range of child-targeted media, in real-time, and investigates the way that these commercial messages are attended to, interpreted, and responded to by young people. This project will assist us in developing appropriate regulatory and social marketing responses to non-television advertising to children, will have valuable flow-on effects for measuring the effects of advertising of other types of products, and via other media, and will place Australia at the forefront of research in this area.Read moreRead less
The boomerang effect of rumour denials: An attributional analysis. Rumours can have many harmful consequences. They may lead to damaged reputations, reduced morale, panic, stress and loss of interpersonal trust. Furthermore, they are very hard to manage. A simple denial of a rumour can often result in increased belief in the rumour. This boomerang effect makes it very difficult to combat harmful rumours. The proposed research applies causal attribution theory to explain the causes behind the boo ....The boomerang effect of rumour denials: An attributional analysis. Rumours can have many harmful consequences. They may lead to damaged reputations, reduced morale, panic, stress and loss of interpersonal trust. Furthermore, they are very hard to manage. A simple denial of a rumour can often result in increased belief in the rumour. This boomerang effect makes it very difficult to combat harmful rumours. The proposed research applies causal attribution theory to explain the causes behind the boomerang effect. It uses a combination of laboratory and field experiments and aims to develop and test strategies to overcome this effect.Read moreRead less
Evidence-based community standards for ethics in advertising. The primary social benefit of this project is the development of evidence-based standards representing community views on acceptable practices in advertising, providing a basis on which to lobby for improvements in regulation. Such improvements will contribute to the ability of consumers to make informed choices about product purchase and behaviour change. This project also has economic benefit for commercial and social advertisers in ....Evidence-based community standards for ethics in advertising. The primary social benefit of this project is the development of evidence-based standards representing community views on acceptable practices in advertising, providing a basis on which to lobby for improvements in regulation. Such improvements will contribute to the ability of consumers to make informed choices about product purchase and behaviour change. This project also has economic benefit for commercial and social advertisers in Australia, enabling them to: pre-test potential advertisements to ensure that they comply with community standards; develop advertisements which are better suited to their target audience(s); better forecast the effects of appeals on advertising outcomes; and reduce complaints to the ASB and other bodies.Read moreRead less
Using advertising to negatively reconstruct memories of risky and high-risk drinking amongst Australia's youth : a new intervention strategy. The NHMRC recognises alcohol-related problems as one of Australia's most serious health problems. Binge-drinking in particular is endemic amongst the population, especially youth, with such behaviour resulting in enormous economic, social and emotional costs to our nation. This study works towards reducing binge drinking amongst youth by assisting the de ....Using advertising to negatively reconstruct memories of risky and high-risk drinking amongst Australia's youth : a new intervention strategy. The NHMRC recognises alcohol-related problems as one of Australia's most serious health problems. Binge-drinking in particular is endemic amongst the population, especially youth, with such behaviour resulting in enormous economic, social and emotional costs to our nation. This study works towards reducing binge drinking amongst youth by assisting the development of more effective counter-advertising campaigns that make young people's memories of binge-drinking less enjoyable & more unpleasant. It also assists relevant advertising regulators & key decision-makers to take action to ensure that alcohol ads do not spawn primarily attractive memories of binge-drinking experiences.Read moreRead less