The Food Factor: Relating Brand Viewership to Behavior and Behavioral Intention

Mississippi residents (n = 404) were surveyed to determine how The Food Factor brand viewership impacted their behavior and behavioral intention. The Food Factor is a weekly Extension mass media program that communicates research-based information about food, nutrition, and healthy lifestyles. A researcher-developed instrument was used to collect information about behavior and behavioral intent, as well as perceptions of The Food Factor using Qualtrics from a representative sample. Respondents were split into viewer and non-viewer categories. Viewers were asked about their viewing frequency and their nutrition-related behaviors and behavioral intention to create a behavioral score. Non-viewers were also asked about their nutrition-related behaviors and behavioral intention to compare to viewers. The majority of viewers’ results indicated they were casual viewers. On average, viewers had a slightly higher behavioral score than non-viewers. There was no statistically significant correlation between viewing frequency and viewers’ behavioral scores. Overall, it was uncertain if the brand had meaningful effects on viewers. Recommendations include future studies on the use of branding in social marketing programs and other mass media programs in other states, and further evaluation of The Food Factor brand.