Affiliations 

  • 1 Department of Management Science, Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Institute of Science and Technology, Islamabad, Pakistan
  • 2 IRC for Finance and Digital Economy, King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia
  • 3 Sunway Business School, Sunway University, Malaysia
  • 4 Department of Management, Riphah International University, Sahiwal Campus, Pakistan
  • 5 Department of Management and Humanities, Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, Tronoh, Malaysia
Health Mark Q, 2024;41(4):375-406.
PMID: 38832765 DOI: 10.1080/07359683.2024.2355378

Abstract

Though the pandemic has passed, social media-based messaging continues to exhibit COVID-19-related cues (e.g., wearing a face mask to stay safe), continuing to foster consumers' health-protective behavior. However, it remains unclear how social media communications (e.g., advertising) affect such behavior, exposing an important literature-based gap. Addressing this gap, we deploy Ducoffe's advertising value model to examine how pandemic-related advertisements (e.g., those urging consumers to stay safe, including post-the pandemic) impact their health-protective behavior. We also examine how consumer engagement (CE) mediates these associations. To explore these issues, we collected data from a sample of 301 Gen Z consumers, which was analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). We find that informative, credible, irritating, and obtrusive ads raise consumer engagement and health-protective behavior. Engagement was also found to strengthen these associations, revealing their strategic value. We conclude by outlining important theoretical and practical implications that arise from our analyses.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.