IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v17y2020i2p449-d307061.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

“It’s Just Addictive People That Make Addictive Videos” : Children’s Understanding of and Attitudes towards Influencer Marketing of Food and Beverages by YouTube Video Bloggers

Author

Listed:
  • Anna Elizabeth Coates

    (Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 7ZA, UK)

  • Charlotte Alice Hardman

    (Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 7ZA, UK)

  • Jason Christian Grovenor Halford

    (Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 7ZA, UK)

  • Paul Christiansen

    (Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 7ZA, UK)

  • Emma Jane Boyland

    (Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 7ZA, UK)

Abstract

Exposure to influencer marketing of foods and beverages high in fat, sugar, and/or salt (HFSS) increases children’s immediate intake. This study qualitatively explored children’s understanding of, and attitudes towards, this marketing, to elucidate potential mechanisms through which exposure affects behavior. In six focus groups ( n = 4) children (10–11 years) were shown a YouTube video featuring influencer marketing of an HFSS product. Inductive thematic analysis identified six themes from children’s discussions of this marketing: (1) YouTubers fill a gap in children’s lives, (2) the accessibility of YouTubers increases children’s understanding of their actions, (3) influencer marketing impacts all—the influencer, the brand, and the viewer, (4) attitudes towards influencer marketing are most affected by a YouTuber’s familiarity, (5) YouTuber influencer marketing is effective because they are not ‘strangers’, (6) children feel able to resist influencer marketing of HFSS products. Children had an understanding of the persuasive intent of this marketing, and although most were sceptical, familiar YouTubers elicited particularly sympathetic attitudes. Children felt affected by influencer marketing of HFSS products, but believed they were able to resist it. Beyond theoretical insight, this study adds to the growing body of evidence to suggest children’s exposure to HFSS influencer marketing should be reduced.

Suggested Citation

  • Anna Elizabeth Coates & Charlotte Alice Hardman & Jason Christian Grovenor Halford & Paul Christiansen & Emma Jane Boyland, 2020. "“It’s Just Addictive People That Make Addictive Videos” : Children’s Understanding of and Attitudes towards Influencer Marketing of Food and Beverages by YouTube Video Bloggers," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(2), pages 1-18, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:17:y:2020:i:2:p:449-:d:307061
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/2/449/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/2/449/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Friestad, Marian & Wright, Peter, 1994. "The Persuasion Knowledge Model: How People Cope with Persuasion Attempts," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 21(1), pages 1-31, June.
    2. Hsu, Hsuan Yu & Tsou, Hung-Tai, 2011. "Understanding customer experiences in online blog environments," International Journal of Information Management, Elsevier, vol. 31(6), pages 510-523.
    3. van Reijmersdal, Eva A. & Rozendaal, Esther & Buijzen, Moniek, 2012. "Effects of Prominence, Involvement, and Persuasion Knowledge on Children's Cognitive and Affective Responses to Advergames," Journal of Interactive Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 26(1), pages 33-42.
    4. Kristine de Valck & Roberts V. Kozinets & Andrea C. Wojnicki & Sarah J.S. Wilner, 2010. "Networked Narratives: Understanding Word-of-Mouth Marketing in Online Communities," Post-Print hal-00458424, HAL.
    5. Lee, Jung Eun & Watkins, Brandi, 2016. "YouTube vloggers' influence on consumer luxury brand perceptions and intentions," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 69(12), pages 5753-5760.
    6. Sally Dunlop & Becky Freeman & Sandra C. Jones, 2016. "Marketing to Youth in the Digital Age: The Promotion of Unhealthy Products and Health Promoting Behaviours on Social Media," Media and Communication, Cogitatio Press, vol. 4(3), pages 35-49.
    7. Bridget Kelly & Emma Boyland & Lesley King & Adrian Bauman & Kathy Chapman & Clare Hughes, 2019. "Children’s Exposure to Television Food Advertising Contributes to Strong Brand Attachments," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(13), pages 1-14, July.
    8. Mardon, Rebecca & Molesworth, Mike & Grigore, Georgiana, 2018. "YouTube Beauty Gurus and the emotional labour of tribal entrepreneurship," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 92(C), pages 443-454.
    9. Johannes Knoll & Jörg Matthes, 2017. "The effectiveness of celebrity endorsements: a meta-analysis," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 45(1), pages 55-75, January.
    10. John, Deborah Roedder, 1999. "Consumer Socialization of Children: A Retrospective Look at Twenty-Five Years of Research," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 26(3), pages 183-213, December.
    11. Edward F. McQuarrie & Jessica Miller & Barbara J. Phillips, 2013. "The Megaphone Effect: Taste and Audience in Fashion Blogging," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 40(1), pages 136-158.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Christoph F. Wiedenroth & Verena Otter, 2022. "Can new healthy luxury food products accelerate short food supply chain formation via social media marketing in high-income countries?," Agricultural and Food Economics, Springer;Italian Society of Agricultural Economics (SIDEA), vol. 10(1), pages 1-30, December.
    2. Christina Sabbagh & Emma Boyland & Catherine Hankey & Alison Parrett, 2020. "Analysing Credibility of UK Social Media Influencers’ Weight-Management Blogs: A Pilot Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(23), pages 1-17, December.
    3. Tina Bartelmeß & Jasmin Godemann, 2022. "Exploring the Linkages of Digital Food Communication and Analog Food Behavior: A Scoping Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(15), pages 1-17, July.
    4. Carolin V. Zorell, 2022. "Central Persons in Sustainable (Food) Consumption," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(5), pages 1-17, March.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Singh, Jaywant & Crisafulli, Benedetta & Quamina, La Toya & Xue, Melanie Tao, 2020. "‘To trust or not to trust’: The impact of social media influencers on the reputation of corporate brands in crisis," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 119(C), pages 464-480.
    2. van Reijmersdal, Eva A. & Rozendaal, Esther & Hudders, Liselot & Vanwesenbeeck, Ini & Cauberghe, Veroline & van Berlo, Zeph M.C., 2020. "Effects of Disclosing Influencer Marketing in Videos: An Eye Tracking Study Among Children in Early Adolescence," Journal of Interactive Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 94-106.
    3. De Jans, Steffi & Hudders, Liselot, 2020. "Disclosure of Vlog Advertising Targeted to Children," Journal of Interactive Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 1-19.
    4. Audrezet, Alice & de Kerviler, Gwarlann & Guidry Moulard, Julie, 2020. "Authenticity under threat: When social media influencers need to go beyond self-presentation," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 117(C), pages 557-569.
    5. Li Chen & Yajie Yan & Andrew N. Smith, 2023. "What drives digital engagement with sponsored videos? An investigation of video influencers’ authenticity management strategies," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 51(1), pages 198-221, January.
    6. Jong Yoon Lee & Jae Hee Park & Jong Woo Jun, 2019. "Brand Webtoon as Sustainable Advertising in Korean Consumers: A Focus on Hierarchical Relationships," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(5), pages 1-10, March.
    7. Eun Ah Ryu & EunKyoung Han, 2021. "Social Media Influencer’s Reputation: Developing and Validating a Multidimensional Scale," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-18, January.
    8. Aleti, Torgeir & Pallant, Jason I. & Tuan, Annamaria & van Laer, Tom, 2019. "Tweeting with the Stars: Automated Text Analysis of the Effect of Celebrity Social Media Communications on Consumer Word of Mouth," Journal of Interactive Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 17-32.
    9. van Reijmersdal, Eva A. & Rozendaal, Esther & Buijzen, Moniek, 2012. "Effects of Prominence, Involvement, and Persuasion Knowledge on Children's Cognitive and Affective Responses to Advergames," Journal of Interactive Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 26(1), pages 33-42.
    10. Farivar, Samira & Wang, Fang & Yuan, Yufei, 2021. "Opinion leadership vs. para-social relationship: Key factors in influencer marketing," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 59(C).
    11. Delia Cristina Balaban & Meda Mucundorfeanu & Larisa Ioana Mureșan, 2022. "Adolescents’ Understanding of the Model of Sponsored Content of Social Media Influencer Instagram Stories," Media and Communication, Cogitatio Press, vol. 10(1), pages 305-316.
    12. Yann Verhellen & Caroline Oates & Patrick Pelsmacker & Nathalie Dens, 2014. "Children’s Responses to Traditional Versus Hybrid Advertising Formats: The Moderating Role of Persuasion Knowledge," Journal of Consumer Policy, Springer, vol. 37(2), pages 235-255, June.
    13. Christoph F. Wiedenroth & Verena Otter, 2022. "Can new healthy luxury food products accelerate short food supply chain formation via social media marketing in high-income countries?," Agricultural and Food Economics, Springer;Italian Society of Agricultural Economics (SIDEA), vol. 10(1), pages 1-30, December.
    14. Weismueller, Jason & Harrigan, Paul & Wang, Shasha & Soutar, Geoffrey N., 2020. "Influencer endorsements: How advertising disclosure and source credibility affect consumer purchase intention on social media," Australasian marketing journal, Elsevier, vol. 28(4), pages 160-170.
    15. da Fonseca, André Luís A. & Campos, Roberta D., 2021. "The cultural intertwining of consumption and entrepreneurship: A selective review of qualitative studies," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 135(C), pages 149-162.
    16. Aw, Eugene Cheng-Xi & Chuah, Stephanie Hui-Wen, 2021. "“Stop the unattainable ideal for an ordinary me!” fostering parasocial relationships with social media influencers: The role of self-discrepancy," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 132(C), pages 146-157.
    17. Pyle, Martin A. & Smith, Andrew N. & Chevtchouk, Yanina, 2021. "In eWOM we trust: Using naïve theories to understand consumer trust in a complex eWOM marketspace," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 122(C), pages 145-158.
    18. Hautz, Julia & Füller, Johann & Hutter, Katja & Thürridl, Carina, 2014. "Let Users Generate Your Video Ads? The Impact of Video Source and Quality on Consumers' Perceptions and Intended Behaviors," Journal of Interactive Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 28(1), pages 1-15.
    19. Yana R. Avramova & Patrick De Pelsmacker & Nathalie Dens, 2018. "How reading in a foreign versus native language moderates the impact of repetition-induced brand placement prominence on placement responses," Journal of Brand Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 25(6), pages 500-518, November.
    20. Halder, Deepa & Pradhan, Debasis & Roy Chaudhuri, Himadri, 2021. "Forty-five years of celebrity credibility and endorsement literature: Review and learnings," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 125(C), pages 397-415.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:17:y:2020:i:2:p:449-:d:307061. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.