Clinical trial NCT05639335: Effects of Characters on Parents' Perceptions of Breakfast Cereals
Official title: Effects of Characters on Parents' Perceptions of Breakfast Cereals
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Phase: NA
Conditions: Obesity
Lead sponsor: University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
Sponsor class: OTHER
First posted: 2022-12-06
Enrollment: 1017
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 18
Standard ages: ADULT
OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: yes
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: PARALLEL
Primary purpose: PREVENTION

Brief summary: 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: 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.

Eligibility criteria: 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

Primary outcomes:
measure: Purchase intentions
timeFrame: During ~15 minute online survey
Secondary outcomes:
measure: Perceived healthfulness
timeFrame: During ~15 minute online survey
measure: Perceived child appeal
timeFrame: During ~15 minute online survey
Other outcomes:
measure: Past week cereal consumption
timeFrame: During ~15 minute online survey
measure: Perceived child food fussiness
timeFrame: During ~15 minute online survey
Locations:
city: Chapel Hill
country: United States
facility: University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill
state: North Carolina
Study officials:
affiliation: UNC-Chapel Hill
name: Marissa G Hall, PhD
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References:
citation: Hall MG, Lazard AJ, Grummon AH, Mendel JR, Taillie LS. The impact of front-of-package claims, fruit images, and health warnings on consumers' perceptions of sugar-sweetened fruit drinks: Three randomized experiments. Prev Med. 2020 Mar;132:105998. doi: 10.1016/j.ypmed.2020.105998. Epub 2020 Jan 23.
citation: Liem DG, Zandstra LH. Children's liking and wanting of snack products: Influence of shape and flavour. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act. 2009 Jul 2;6:38. doi: 10.1186/1479-5868-6-38.
citation: Dial LA, Musher-Eizenman DR. Power of packaging: Evaluations of packaged fruits and vegetables by school-age children in the U.S. Appetite. 2020 May 1;148:104591. doi: 10.1016/j.appet.2020.104591. Epub 2020 Jan 9.
citation: Wardle J, Guthrie CA, Sanderson S, Rapoport L. Development of the Children's Eating Behaviour Questionnaire. J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 2001 Oct;42(7):963-70. doi: 10.1111/1469-7610.00792.