How advertisers create affinity between destinations and American and British audiences: towards a theoretical framework

The purpose of this paper is to propose a theoretical framework that explores how advertisers attempt to establish affinity between destinations and British and American audiences. The proposed framework consists of four spheres, five techniques, two message strategies and four means. This framework will be presented through a qualitative content analysis of 103 cases, selected from almost 2500 print advertisements and YouTube videos. The print advertisements were published in four major tourism magazines between 2007 and 2019. Besides the theoretical contribution, a study of audience affinity that analyses many cases might be helpful for marketers and policy makers, giving them ideas of how to reach and touch specific audiences.

Exploring the Effects of Instructional Message Strategies on Risk Perceptions and Behavioral Intentions: The Case of a Substandard Vaccine Incident

Extending the recent theorizing of the message-centric approach to instructional risk and crisis communication, this study identifies two distinct instructional strategies used by regulatory authorities and adopts a goal-attainment approach to measuring the effectiveness of both strategies in instructing nonscientific publics about impending risks. Specifically, we conducted a quasi-experiment immediately after a substandard vaccine incident in China to examine the differential effects of regulators’ instructional press releases on stakeholders’ risk perceptions and behavioral intentions. We found that the explanation-focused buffering strategy is significantly more effective in both heightening individuals’ cognitive risk perception and reducing their affective risk perception, while the personalization-focused bridging strategy shows more effectiveness in sustaining individuals’ intention to consume and positively evaluate domestic vaccines. Additionally, the findings highlight the need to tailor instructional message strategies to regulatory organizations’ ultimate goals of communication activities. Practical implications for government regulators and risk communicators are also discussed.

Understanding knowledge and perceptions of genome editing technologies: a textual analysis of major agricultural stakeholder groups

The promise of CRISPR-Cas9 (CRISPR) genomic editing applied to agriculture is promoted widely by scientists. We utilized textual analysis methods to compare perceptions of this innovation held by various stakeholder groups — scientists, policymakers, farmers, and the general public. Results reveal distinctions in the semantic structure and concepts emphasized across groups. Scientists and policymakers exhibited a high level of technical sophistication while emphasizing the potential societal benefits, while farmers and the general public focused on perceived personal benefits and familiarity with the issue. These results will aid development of message strategies bridging the gap between the scientific community and key publics.

Climate change and public perception. Citizens' proposals for better communication and involvement

This paper explains how a participative approach was used to collect first-hand citizens’ suggestions on how to improve science communication regarding Climate Change. A public consultation involving citizens from 5 different European countries revealed various perspectives concerning their communication preferences on scientific topics. Five main themes emerged following citizens' proposals for better communication and involvement: producer of information, medium, message strategies, audiences and areas of action and engagement.

Public diplomacy message strategy (Public Diplomacy) (see also public diplomacy approach)

The variable “public diplomacy message strategy” (or “public diplomacy approach”) refers to public diplomacy efforts in a given country in order to investigate how and with which goal public diplomacy is strategically communicated in the given context. The variable reflects the communication style of a specific actor (a politician, government, or country). Field of application/theoretical foundation: Analyses of public diplomacy message strategies or approaches mostly build on the taxonomy of public diplomacy (Cull, 2008) or the proposed categories of public diplomacy by Fitzpatrick (2010). References/combination with other methods of data collection: Public diplomacy message strategies can, in addition to content analysis, be analyzed by conducting interviews or surveys with public diplomacy actors, which allow validating the results from content analyses. Example study: Dodd & Collins (2017) Information on Dodd & Collins (2017) Authors: Dodd & Collins Research question/reseach interest: Comparison between public diplomacy approaches between Central Eastern European (not explicated) and Western countries (Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States) Object of analysis: Twitter content posted by 41 embassy accounts (not explicated) Time frame of analysis: March 2015 Information about variable Varible name/definition: Public diplomacy practices: Communication strategy Level of analysis: Tweet Values: Building on Cull’s (2008) taxonomy of public diplomacy: (1) Listening (attempts to collect and collate information about foreign publics and their opinions) (2) Advocacy (activities that promote the country’s policies or general interests among foreign publics) (3) Cultural (efforts to promote cultural resources and achievements of a country) (4) International (activities that involve sending national actors abroad or receiving international actors to strategically manage the international environment) (5) News (use of radio, television and digital media to inform and involve foreign audiences) (6) Other Scales: Nominal Reliability: Krippendorf’s alpha = .50 References Cull, N. J. (2008). Public Diplomacy: Taxonomies and Histories. The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 616(1), 31–54. Dodd, M. D., & Collins, S. J. (2017). Public relations message strategies and public diplomacy 2.0: An empirical analysis using Central-Eastern European and Western Embassy Twitter accounts. Public Relations Review, 43(2), 417–425. Fitzpatrick, K. (2010). The future of U.S. public diplomacy: An uncertain fate. Martinus Nijhoff/Brill.

‘It brings light to what you really put into your body’: a focus group study of reactions to messages about nicotine reduction in cigarettes

ObjectiveIn 2017, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced a proposed regulation to lower nicotine in cigarettes to minimally addictive levels to help smokers quit. We sought to explore effective message strategies communicating about nicotine reduction in cigarettes across the different key audiences that the regulation is most likely to influence.MethodsWe designed four types of messages: efficacy messages, risk messages, a message about alternative sources of nicotine and a compensation message. Sixteen virtual focus groups were conducted in Atlanta and San Francisco in April–May 2020. Data were analysed in NVivo 12.0 using a thematic analysis approach.FindingsExclusive smokers were receptive to both efficacy messages and risk messages. Dual users were the only group that was open to resorting to alternative sources of nicotine. Former smokers were critical of these messages as promoting the new kinds of cigarettes and potentially encouraging initiation and relapse of smoking. Non-smokers felt that efficacy messages downplayed the risks of smoking and did not scare people away from smoking. Presenting information that very low nicotine cigarettes (VLNCs) still contain harmful chemicals made smokers question continued smoking in the absence of nicotine and view VLNCs as harmful.ConclusionsMessages communicating about nicotine reduction in cigarettes might help to motivate smokers to quit and can correct the misperceptions that VLNCs are less harmful. The FDA should consider specific target audiences and use different messages that complement each other in communicating about this regulation.