Effects of Characters on Parents' Perceptions of Breakfast Cereals

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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Purpose: To test how the presence of characters on breakfast cereals affects parents' perceptions and purchase intentions for their children. Participants:  1,000 parents of children ages 2-12 Procedures: After completing a screener and reviewing a consent form, participants will complete two unrelated experimental studies. Participants will then move on to this study, where they will be randomized into conditions and view three breakfast cereal box images, with or without characters. They will then be asked a series of questions about their children and their perceptions about the breakfast cereals

Detailed Description
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The use of characters, such as cartoons, is a prolific form of child-oriented marketing and may have particularly persuasive power in children. Parents and caregivers - who make most food purchases for children - are also persuaded by child-oriented marketing practices. The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of characters on parents' perceptions and purchase intentions of a breakfast cereal product. Setting: This is an online study using Qualtrics. Recruitment: Participants will be recruited by Qualtrics panel company, a survey research firm through which participants are recruited voluntarily. Informed Consent: Participants will read a written consent document that includes information about the study's purpose, expectations, and possible risks and benefits. Participants will acknowledge that they have read and agreed to the terms by clicking forward. Randomization: Participants will be randomly assigned to one of two groups: 1.) control (breakfast cereal boxes with no characters) or 2.) characters (breakfast cereal boxes with a brand and at least one licensed character). Participants will view three brands (Frosted Flakes, Apple Jacks, Froot Loops). Assessment: Using an online platform (Qualtrics), participants will complete an eligibility screener prior to the first experiment. They will then complete two unrelated experimental studies before beginning the current study. Participants will then be randomized into a condition and shown an image of the three cereal brands in random order. After each brand exposure, participants will be asked to respond to a series of questions measuring the following constructs: purchase intentions, perceived healthfulness, and perceived child appeal. After viewing all three brands and answering the aforementioned questions, participants will be queried on their perceptions of their child's perceived food-fussiness. Demographic information, such as age, gender, race/ethnicity, education, and income will be gathered at the end of the study.

Official Title
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Effects of Characters on Parents' Perceptions of Breakfast Cereals

Conditions
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Obesity

Intervention / Treatment
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* Other: No Character Control
* Other: Experimental Characters


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: Age 18 or older Parent or guardian of at least one child between the ages of 2-12 Exclusion Criteria: <18 years old is not the parent or guardian of a child between the ages of 2-12

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 18 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Design Details

Primary Purpose: Prevention
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: None (Open Label)


Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Other: No Character Control<br>Participants will view images of three breakfast cereals (Frosted Flakes, Apple Jacks, Froot Loops) containing no characters. | Other: No Character Control<br>* Participants will view images of three breakfast cereals (Frosted Flakes, Apple Jacks, Froot Loops) containing no characters.<br>|
| Experimental: Character<br>Participants will view images of three breakfast cereals (Frosted Flakes, Apple Jacks, Froot Loops) containing their respective brand characters (e.g., Tony the Tiger) and a licensed character recently featured on these cereal brands (e.g., Buzz Lightyear). | Other: Experimental Characters<br>* Participants will view images of three breakfast cereals (Frosted Flakes, Apple Jacks, Froot Loops) containing their respective brand characters (e.g., Tony the Tiger) and a licensed character recently featured on these cereal brands (e.g., Buzz Lightyear).<br>|

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Purchase intentions | The primary outcome will be purchase intentions, measured using the following item: How likely would you be to buy this cereal to your [age]-year-old child in the next month? using a 5-point likert-style response scale ranging from not at all likely (1) to extremely likely (5). | During  15 minute online survey | 

Secondary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Perceived healthfulness | Perceived healthfulness will be measured using the following item: How healthy or unhealthy would it be for your [age] year old child to eat this cereal every day? with a 5-point likert-style response scale ranging from very unhealthy(1) to very healthy.(5) | During  15 minute online survey | 
| Perceived child appeal | Perceived child appeal will be measured using three items adapted from previous research. Item 1: How much do you think your child would enjoy eating this cereal? (5-point likert scale, ranging from not at all (1) to a great deal (5)) Item 2: How much do you think your [age]-year-old child would like the taste of this cereal? (5-point likert scale, ranging from not at all (1) to a great deal (5)) Item 3: How much do you think your [age]-year-old child would want to eat this cereal? (5-point likert scale, ranging from not at all (1) to a great deal (5)) | During  15 minute online survey |