The Lingering Effects of Tobacco Control Advertising The Phenomenon and Its Implications in Social Marketing

In commercial market research, “pulsing” advertising is found to be more cost-effective than placing advertisements continuously. However, the benefits of pulsing policy in social marketing have rarely been tested. This study explores the lingering effect of tobacco control advertising. If the effects of tobacco control advertisements linger beyond the time they are on-air, this would provide a theoretical basis for using pulsing policy in tobacco control campaigns. This study analyzed responses from two independent samples of smokers and recent quitters, where respondents reported whether they were exposed to any tobacco control advertising in the last week. Sample 1 was cross-sectional (n = 3,106), and Sample 2 followed a self-refreshed panel methodology where 846 participants were interviewed for up to 6 times (3,120 interviews). Both studies used the same survey instrument and were in field concurrently. Eighty percent of Sample 1 reported recent exposure to advertising. This was strikingly similar to...