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Completed

NCT Number: NCT05639335

Effects of Characters on Parents' Perceptions of Breakfast Cereals

Purpose: To test how the presence of characters on breakfast cereals affects parents' perceptions and purchase intentions for their children.

Participants: ~1,000 parents of children ages 2-12 Procedures: After completing a screener and reviewing a consent form, participants will complete two unrelated experimental studies. Participants will then move on to this study, where they will be randomized into conditions and view three breakfast cereal box images, with or without characters. They will then be asked a series of questions about their children and their perceptions about the breakfast cereals

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Key information

Conditions

Obesity Body Weight Nutrition Disorders Nutritional and Metabolic Diseases Overnutrition Overweight Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms Signs and Symptoms

Age range

18 year and older

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill

Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 27516, United States

About this study

The use of characters, such as cartoons, is a prolific form of child-oriented marketing and may have particularly persuasive power in children. Parents and caregivers - who make most food purchases for children - are also persuaded by child-oriented marketing practices. The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of characters on parents' perceptions and purchase intentions of a breakfast cereal product.

Setting: This is an online study using Qualtrics. Recruitment: Participants will be recruited by Qualtrics panel company, a survey research firm through which participants are recruited voluntarily.

Informed Consent: Participants will read a written consent document that includes information about the study's purpose, expectations, and possible risks and benefits. Participants will acknowledge that they have read and agreed to the terms by clicking forward.

Randomization: Participants will be randomly assigned to one of two groups: 1.) control (breakfast cereal boxes with no characters) or 2.) characters (breakfast cereal boxes with a brand and at least one licensed character). Participants will view three brands (Frosted Flakes, Apple Jacks, Froot Loops).

Assessment: Using an online platform (Qualtrics), participants will complete an eligibility screener prior to the first experiment. They will then complete two unrelated experimental studies before beginning the current study. Participants will then be randomized into a condition and shown an image of the three cereal brands in random order. After each brand exposure, participants will be asked to respond to a series of questions measuring the following constructs: purchase intentions, perceived healthfulness, and perceived child appeal. After viewing all three brands and answering the aforementioned questions, participants will be queried on their perceptions of their child's perceived food-fussiness. Demographic information, such as age, gender, race/ethnicity, education, and income will be gathered at the end of the study.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: Yes

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • Age 18 or older
  • Parent or guardian of at least one child between the ages of 2-12

Exclusion criteria

  • <18 years old
  • is not the parent or guardian of a child between the ages of 2-12

Treatment and study plan

No Character Control

Other

Participants will view images of three breakfast cereals (Frosted Flakes, Apple Jacks, Froot Loops) containing no characters.

Experimental Characters

Other

Participants will view images of three breakfast cereals (Frosted Flakes, Apple Jacks, Froot Loops) containing their respective brand characters (e.g., Tony the Tiger) and a licensed character recently featured on these cereal brands (e.g., Buzz Lightyear).

Primary outcomes

  1. Purchase intentions

    Time frame: During ~15 minute online survey

    The primary outcome will be purchase intentions, measured using the following item: "How likely would you be to buy this cereal to your [age]-year-old child in the next month?" using a 5-point likert-style response scale ranging from "not at all likely" (1) to "extremely likely" (5).

Secondary outcomes

  1. Perceived healthfulness

    Time frame: During ~15 minute online survey

    Perceived healthfulness will be measured using the following item: "How healthy or unhealthy would it be for your [age] year old child to eat this cereal every day?" with a 5-point likert-style response scale ranging from "very unhealthy"(1) to "very healthy."(5)

  2. Perceived child appeal

    Time frame: During ~15 minute online survey

    Perceived child appeal will be measured using three items adapted from previous research.

    Item 1: "How much do you think your child would enjoy eating this cereal?" (5-point likert scale, ranging from "not at all" (1) to "a great deal" (5)) Item 2: "How much do you think your [age]-year-old child would like the taste of this cereal?" (5-point likert scale, ranging from "not at all" (1) to "a great deal" (5)) Item 3: "How much do you think your [age]-year-old child would want to eat this cereal?" (5-point likert scale, ranging from "not at all" (1) to "a great deal" (5))

Other outcomes

  1. Past week cereal consumption

    Time frame: During ~15 minute online survey

    Participants will be asked to report their child's past-week breakfast cereal consumption with the following question: "In the past week, how many days did your [age]-year-old child eat cereal?" (Measured using drop down menu, ranging from 0-7 days).

  2. Perceived child food fussiness

    Time frame: During ~15 minute online survey

    Perceived child food fussiness will be assessed with a subset of the Food Fussiness Subscale. The following items will be queried:

    Item 1: My [piped age]-year-old child is interested in tasting food they haven't tasted before. (5-point likert scale, ranging from never (1) to always (5)) Item 2: My child [piped age]-year-old child decides that they don't like a food, even without tasting it. (5-point likert scale, ranging from never (1) to always (5)) Item 3: My [piped age]-year-old child enjoys tasting new foods.(5-point likert scale, ranging from never (1) to always (5)) Item 4: My [piped age]-year-old child refuses to eat new foods at first.(5-point likert scale, ranging from never (1) to always (5)).

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

Other

Registry information

Important dates

Study start
2022
Primary completion
2023
Study completion
2023
First posted
Dec 6, 2022
Registry last updated
Jan 17, 2023

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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