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In the United States, more than 110,000 restaurants permanently closed due to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet many restaurants remained open, albeit under very different operating conditions. In light of evolving mandates and consumers' COVID-19 risk perceptions, restaurants faced the challenging task of determining how to communicate COVID-19 protective practices. Recommended COVID-19 protective messages varied and were dependent on whether restaurants offered indoor dining, takeout, or delivery options. Drawing from U.S. government recommendations and persuasion theory, two studies examine the direct and mediation effects of protective messaging advertised by restaurants on patronage intentions and consider consumer levels of concern about the virus as a moderator. Serial moderated mediation results indicate that communicating protective measures for takeout and patio dining services appeared to be most effective during this pandemic. Moreover, results extend to protective messages presented as both primary advertisement claims and voluntary disclosures footnoted at the bottom of an advertisement. Results have implications for restaurants that offer multiple dining options and provide useful consumer communication protection options for the present and future pandemics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Crowdsourcing has emerged as a preferred data collection methodology for advertising and social science researchers because these samples avoid the higher costs associated with professional panel data. Yet, there are ongoing concerns about data quality for online sources. This research examines differences in data quality for an advertising experiment across five popular online data sources, including professional panels and crowdsourced platforms. Effects of underlying mechanisms impacting data quality, including response satisficing, multitasking, and effort, are examined. As proposed, a serial mediation model shows that data source is, directly and indirectly, related to these antecedents of data quality. Satisficing is positively related to multitasking and negatively related to effort, and both mediators (in parallel) extend to data quality, indicating that the indirect effects on data quality through these mediating variables are significant. In general, a vetted MTurk sample (i.e., CloudResearch Approved) produces higher quality data than the other four sources. Regardless of the data source, researchers should utilize safeguards to ensure data quality. Safeguards and other strategies to obtain high-quality data from online samples are offered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract How front-of-package (FOP) nutrition icon systems affect product evaluations for more and less healthful objective nutrition profiles is a critical question facing food marketers, consumers, and the public health [...]

Foods positioned as natural, all-natural, and 100% natural can be found across a wide variety of product categories. However, the FDA has not provided a formal definition of the term 'natural,' and this has resulted in a surge in class action lawsuits filed against manufacturers due to the potentially misleading use of natural claims. Activation theory and the inferential processing literature serve as the conceptual foundation for three studies that examine the effects of natural claims on consumers' attribute inferences and product evaluations. Results suggest that natural claims affect consumers' attribute inferences, which in turn influence product evaluations. Furthermore, findings show that the provision of objective information regarding the ambiguity of natural claims moderates the effects of these claims on consumers' attribute inferences and product evaluations. The implications for marketing management, those involved in litigation driven by potentially deceptive natural claims, and the policy community are discussed., Author(s): Christopher Berry [sup.1] , Scot Burton [sup.2] , Elizabeth Howlett [sup.3] Author Affiliations: (1) Department of Marketing, College of Business, Colorado State University, 0000 0004 1936 8083, grid.47894.36, , [...]

In three studies the authors seek to extend prior research by examining the simultaneous effects of positive (halos) and negative (horns) health-related inferences. How the provision of objective point-of-purchase nutrition information moderates the effects of these pre-existing health halo and health horn effects on food evaluations and choices is considered. In Study 1 predictions addressing the interaction between a recently mandated objective nutrition disclosure and initial product category healthfulness perceptions are proposed and supported. Study 2 extends findings from this initial online experiment to a more realistic retail environment, and Study 3 addresses how different presentation exposure contexts (on a package compared to a nutrition poster) affects evaluations and how evaluations related to the information disclosure are linked. Since the USDA recently required retailers to provide nutrition information at the point-of-purchase for beef and poultry products, these results have important implications for consumers, producers, retailers, and policy makers. Keywords Health halos * Consumer expectations * Heuristic-systematic processing * Retail food choices * Retail product labeling * Consumer inferences * Product disclosure, American consumers have never been more concerned about their personal health, and consequently demand for healthier foods continues to increase (Trivedi 2011). However, it is often difficult for consumers to [...]