The Impact of YouTube Pandemic Advertising on People’s Attitudes Towards COVID-19
Zarqa Shaheen Ali 1 2 * ,
Xuening Yang 1 More Detail
1 ICL Graduate Business School Auckland, NEW ZEALAND
2 University of Auckland, NEW ZEALAND
* Corresponding Author
Online Journal of Communication and Media Technologies, Volume 12, Issue 3, Article No: e202214.
https://doi.org/10.30935/ojcmt/11922
OPEN ACCESS 2594 Views 2696 Downloads Published online: 25 Mar 2022
ABSTRACT
The main objective of this study is to examine the impact of YouTube pandemic advertising on people’s attitudes towards COVID-19. YouTube, as one of the most well-known social platforms, has performed well in this pandemic situation in terms of transmitting vital information through advertising. A quantitative approach was employed and the data were collected from 205 respondents through an online survey. People’s opinions of pandemic advertisements and the dissemination of information through YouTube are both critical factors in determining the impact of YouTube pandemic advertisements on people’s attitudes towards COVID-19. The findings also reveal that there is an impact of COVID-19 advertising on its viewers. Majority of respondents followed instructions with varied degree such as keeping social distance found in the advertised information and became more willing to pay attention to health issues in future.
CITATION
Ali, Z. S., & Yang, X. (2022). The Impact of YouTube Pandemic Advertising on People’s Attitudes Towards COVID-19.
Online Journal of Communication and Media Technologies, 12(3), e202214.
https://doi.org/10.30935/ojcmt/11922
REFERENCES
- Abrams, J. A., Odlum, M., Tillett, E., Haley, D., Justman, J., Hodder, S., Vo, L., O’Leary, A., Frew, P. M., & HIV Prevention Trials Network 064 (HTPN) Study Team. (2020). Strategies for increasing impact, engagement, and accessibility in HIV prevention programs: Suggestions from women in urban high HIV burden counties in the Eastern United States (HPTN 064). BMC Public Health, 20(1), 1340. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-020-09426-6
- Abubakar, A. (2020). Coronavirus (COVID-19): Effect and survival strategy for businesses. Social Science Research Network. https://doi.org/10.31014/aior.1992.03.02.229
- Aguirre, E., Mahr, D., Grewal, D., de Ruyter, K., & Wetzels, M. (2015). Unraveling the personalization paradox: The effect of information collection and trust-building strategies on online advertisement effectiveness. Journal of Retailing, 91(1), 34-49. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretai.2014.09.005
- Ahn, J. B. (2020). A study on advertising future development roadmap in the fourth industrial revolution era. International Journal of Internet, Broadcasting and Communication, 12(2), 66-76. https://doi.org/10.7236/IJIBC.2020.12.2.66
- Al-Hadrusi, M. S., & Sarhan, N. J. (2014). A scalable delivery solution and a pricing model for commercial video-on-demand systems with video advertisements. Multimedia Tools and Applications, 73(3), 1417-1443. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11042-013-1597-3
- Ali, S. H., Foreman, J., Capasso, A., Jones, A. M., Tozan, Y., & DiClemente, R. J. (2020). Social media as a recruitment platform for a nationwide online survey of COVID-19 knowledge, beliefs, and practices in the United States: Methodology and feasibility analysis. BMC Medical Research Methodology, 20(1), 116. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12874-020-01011-0
- Anderson, M., & Jiang, J. (2018, May 31). Teens, social media & technology 2018. Pew Research Center: Internet, Science & Tech. https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2018/05/31/teens-social-media-technology-2018/
- Andika, R., Kao, C. T., Williams, C., Lee, Y. J., Al-Battah, H., & Alweis, R. (2021). YouTube as a source of information on the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of Community Hospital Internal Medicine Perspectives, 11(1), 39-41. https://doi.org/10.1080/20009666.2020.1837412
- Atac, O., Ozalp, Y. C., Kurnaz, R., Guler, O. M., Inamlik, M., & Hayran, O. (2020). YouTube as an information source during the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic: Evaluation of the Turkish and English content. Cureus Journal of Medical Science, 12(10), e10795. https://doi.org/10.2196/preprints.21469
- Badade, K., & Shende, S. (2019). Impact of advertisement through social media on undergraduate students in Pune City. Sumedha Journal of Management, 8(3), 347-357.
- Bauer, C., & Lasinger, P. (2014). Adaptation strategies to increase advertisement effectiveness in digital media. Management Review Quarterly, 64(2), 101-124. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11301-014-0101-0
- Campos, D., Hernández-Torres, J. J., Agil, A., Comino, M., López, J. C., Macías, V., & Campoy, C. (2016). Analysis of food advertising to children on Spanish television: Probing exposure to television marketing. Archives of Medical Science, 12(4), 799-807. https://doi.org/10.5114/aoms.2016.60969
- Casais, B., & Proença, J. F. (2018). Social advertisements for public health and epidemic dynamics. Journal of Social Marketing, 8(4), 397-420. https://doi.org/10.1108/JSOCM-07-2014-0049
- Cecere, G., Jean, C., Lefrere, V., & Tucker, C. E. (2020). Tradeoffs in automated political advertising regulation: Evidence from the COVID-19 pandemic. Social Science Research Network. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3603341
- Chan, C., Sounderajah, V., Daniels, E., Acharya, A., Clarke, J., Yalamanchili, S., Normahani, P., Markar, S., Ashrafian, H., & Darzi, A. (2021). The reliability and quality of YouTube videos as a source of public health information regarding COVID-19 vaccination: Cross-sectional study. JMIR Public Health and Surveillance, 7(7), e29942. https://doi.org/10.2196/29942
- Cher, M. F. E., & Arumugam, V. (2019). The factors affecting the effectiveness of online video advertising: A study on Malaysian consumers’ perspective towards ads on YouTube. Global Business and Management Research, 11(2), 167-184.
- Chih-Chung, C., Chang, C., Lin, L. W.-C., & Yau-Nang. (2012). The effect of advertisement frequency on the advertisement attitude-the controlled effects of brand image and spokesperson’s credibility. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 57, 352-359. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2012.09.1197
- Choi, H., Cho, W., Kim, M.-H., & Hur, J.-Y. (2020). Public health emergency and crisis management: Case study of SARS-CoV-2 outbreak. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(11), 3984. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17113984
- Damm, K., Schubert, J. M., & von der Schulenburg, J.-M. (2011). Promoting vaccinations—An analysis of measures taken by German statutory health insurers. Health Economics Review, 1(1), 16. https://doi.org/10.1186/2191-1991-1-16
- Duffett, R. (2020). The YouTube marketing communication effect on cognitive, affective and behavioural attitudes among generation Z consumers. Sustainability, 12(12), 5075. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12125075
- Dutta, A., Beriwal, N., Van Breugel, L. M., Sachdeva, S., Barman, B., Saikia, H., Nelson, U.-A., Mahdy, A., & Paul, S. (2020). YouTube as a source of medical and epidemiological information during COVID-19 pandemic: A cross-sectional study of content across six languages around the globe. Cureus Journal of Medical Science, 12(6), e0862. https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.8622
- Fedric, K., & Singh, S. (2018). Emotions as predictor for consumer engagement in YouTube advertisement. Journal of Advances in Management Research, 15(2), 184-197. https://doi.org/10.1108/JAMR-05-2017-0065
- Fung, I. C.-H., Hao, Y., Cai, J., Ying, Y., Schaible, B. J., Yu, C. M., Tse, Z. T. H., & King-Wa, F. (2015). Chinese social media reaction to information about 42 notifiable infectious diseases. PLoS One, 10(5), e0129525. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0126092
- Gray, L., MacDonald, C., Mackie, B., Paton, D., Johnston, D., & Baker, M. G. (2012). Community responses to communication campaigns for influenza A (H1N1): A focus group study. BMC Public Health, 12(1), 205. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-12-205
- Gupta, H., Lam, T., Pettigrew, S., & Tait, R. J. (2018). Alcohol marketing on YouTube: Exploratory analysis of content adaptation to enhance user engagement in different national contexts. BMC Public Health, 18, 141. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-018-5035-3
- Gupta, H., Singh, S., & Sinha, P. (2017). Multimedia tool as a predictor for social media advertising-a YouTube way. Multimedia Tools and Applications, 76(18), 18557-18568. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11042-016-4249-6
- Håkansson, A. (2020). Changes in gambling behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic—A web survey study in Sweden. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(11), 4013. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17114013
- Halabchi, F., Hosseini, L., Zebardast, J., & Seif - Barghi, T. (2018). Popularization of science in exercise, nutrition and lifestyle: A successful example of science communication in Iran. Asian Journal of Sports Medicine, 9(3), e59339. https://doi.org/10.5812/asjsm.59339
- Hamouda, M. (2018). Understanding social media advertising effect on consumers’ responses: An empirical investigation of tourism advertising on Facebook. Journal of Enterprise Information Management, 31(3), 426-445. https://doi.org/10.1108/JEIM-07-2017-0101
- Healy, K., Hamilton, G., Crepeau, T., Healy, S., Unlu, I., Farajollahi, A., & Fonseca, D. M. (2014). Integrating the public in mosquito management: Active education by community peers can lead to significant reduction in peridomestic container mosquito habitats. PLoS ONE, 9(9), e108504. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0108504
- Hussain, D., & Lasage, H. (2014). Online video advertisement avoidance: Can interactivity help? Journal of Applied Business Research, 30(1), 43-49. https://doi.org/10.19030/jabr.v30i1.8279
- Hussain, R., Ferdous, A. S., & Mort, G. S. (2018). Impact of web banner advertising frequency on attitude. Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics, 30(2), 380-399. https://doi.org/10.1108/APJML-04-2017-0063
- Jhummon-Mahadnac, N., Knott, J., & Marshall, C. (2012). A cross-sectional study of pandemic influenza health literacy and the effect of a public health campaign. BMC Research Notes, 5, 377. https://doi.org/10.1186/1756-0500-5-377
- Jones, S. C., Waters, L., Holland, O., Bevins, J., & Iverson, D. (2010). Developing pandemic communication strategies: Preparation without panic. Journal of Business Research, 63(2), 126-132. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2009.02.009
- Knell, G., Robertson, M. C., Dooley, E. E., Burford, K., & Mendez, K. S. (2020). Health behavior changes during COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent “stay-at-home” orders. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(17), 6268. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17176268
- Lee, H., & Cho, C.-H. (2020). Digital advertising: Present and future prospects. International Journal of Advertising, 39(3), 332-341. https://doi.org/10.1080/02650487.2019.1642015
- Li, H. O. Y., Bailey, A., Huynh, D., & Chan, J. (2020). YouTube as a source of information on COVID-19: Aa pandemic of misinformation? BMJ Global Health, 5(5), e002604. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjgh-2020-002604
- Maisiri, W., & van Dyk, L. (2019). Industry 4.0 readiness assessment for South African industries. South African Journal of Industrial Engineering, 30(3), 134-148. https://doi.org/10.7166/30-3-2231
- Mansoor, R., Zhang, J., Hafeez, I., Nawaz, Z., & Naz, S. (2018). Consumer attitude towards different location based advertisements types and their impact on purchase intention. Journal of Management Information and Decision Sciences, 21(1), 1-19.
- Marchal, N., & Au, H. (2020). “Coronavirus EXPLAINED”: YouTube, COVID-19, and the socio-technical mediation of expertise. Social Media+Society, 6(3), 2056305120948158. https://doi.org/10.1177/2056305120948158
- Mejova, Y., & Kalimeri, K. (2020). COVID-19 on Facebook ads: Competing agendas around a public health crisis. In Proceedings of the 3rd ACM SIGCAS Conference on Computing and Sustainable Societies (pp. 22-31). https://doi.org/10.1145/3378393.3402241
- Park, D., & Ha, J. (2020). Comparison of COVID-19 and MERS risk communication in Korea: A case study of TV public service advertisements. Risk Management and Healthcare Policy, 13, 2469-2482. https://doi.org/10.2147/RMHP.S269230
- Raji, R. A., Rashid, S., & Ishak, S. (2019). The mediating effect of brand image on the relationships between social media advertising content, sales promotion content and behaviuoral intention. Journal of Research in Interactive Marketing, 13(3), 302-330. https://doi.org/10.1108/JRIM-01-2018-0004
- Sabuncuoglu-Inanc, A., Gokaliler, E., & Gulay, G. (2020). Do bumper ads bump consumers? An empirical research on YouTube video viewers. El Profesional de la Información [The Information Professional], 29(1), e290114. https://doi.org/10.3145/epi.2020.ene.14
- Samy, M., Abdelmalak, R., Ahmed, A., & Kelada, M. (2020). Social media as a source of medical information during COVID-19. Medical Education Online, 25(1), 1791467. https://doi.org/10.1080/10872981.2020.1791467
- Tang, C., Goldsamt, L., Meng, J., Xiao, X., Zhang, L., Williams, A. B., & Wang, H. (2020). Global estimate of the prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder among adults living with HIV: A systematic review and meta-analysis. BMJ Open, 10(4), e032435. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2019-032435
- Taylor, C. R. (2020). Advertising and COVID-19. International Journal of Advertising, 39(5), 587-589. https://doi.org/10.1080/02650487.2020.1774131
- Thelwall, M., & Thelwall, S. (2020). Retweeting for COVID-19: Consensus building, information sharing, dissent, and lockdown life. ArXiv:2004.02793 [Cs]. http://arxiv.org/abs/2004.02793
- Tohang, L. B., & Meisuri, M. (2021). Semiotic of COVID-19 protocol in YouTube advertisement. Journal of English Language Teaching and Learning of FBS UNIMED, 10(4).
- Tomes, N. (2000). The making of a germ panic, then and now. American Journal of Public Health, 90(2), 191-198. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.90.2.191
- Turner, L. (2020). Preying on public fears and anxieties in a pandemic: Businesses selling unproven and unlicensed “stem cell treatments” for COVID-19. Cell Stem Cell, 26(6), 806-810. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.stem.2020.05.003
- Xu, X., Gong, T., Zhang, Y., Wu, C., Xie, Y. J., Wang, H. H., Zhu, R., Li, W., An, L., & Zhao, Y. (2015). Evaluation of anti-smoking television advertising on tobacco control among urban community population in Chongqing, China. Tobacco Induced Diseases, 13(1), 31. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12971-015-0057-4