The impact of social media ad type on intention to purchase functional food

Abstract

In the context of functional food social media advertising, this research investigates the impact of advertisement type (closed product vs. open product vs. open product with human presence) on consumer purchase intentions, considering the mediating roles of attention drawing, health perception, disgust, and brand personality. An experimental study was conducted with 201 participants to test the proposed model. The findings indicate that social media ads displaying open products with human presence significantly increase brand attention, enhance perceived healthiness, reduce disgust, and improve brand personality perceptions. Furthermore, the results show a significant mediating effect of both attention drawing and brand personality between ad type and purchase intention. These insights provide marketers with practical guidance for crafting effective social media advertising strategies that optimize consumer engagement and drive functional food purchases.

Date of Award	24 Mar 2025
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Maher Georges Elmashhara (Supervisor)