Annual Conference 2019

Based on the Trans-Theoretical Model, this study classified participants into one of three mutually exclusive stages according to their past experience and future intention for blood donation (Pre-contemplation, Contemplation/Preparation, and Action/Maintenance) and examined how persuasive effects of the ad messages that vary in terms of feasibility versus desirability of the recommended action differ depending on the message recipients’ current stages of behavior change for blood donation. Therefore, a 2 (message frames: feasibility vs. desirability) × 3 (stages of change: P vs. C/PP, vs. A/M) between-subject randomly assigned factorial design was used to test the proposed hypotheses. Findings confirmed the predictions such that individuals in earlier stages of change are likely to display more favorable attitudes toward the ad, attitudes toward the organization, and attitudes toward donating blood when exposed to desirability messages compared to those in later stages of change. In contrast, individuals in later stages of change are likely to display more favorable attitudes toward the ad and the organization when exposed to feasibility messages compared to those in earlier stages of change. Therefore, this study indicated that tailoring messages in accordance with the intended audience’s stages of change would be an important way of improving the ad effectiveness.