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Due to the paucity of research examining message framing strategies and attention in anti-consumption advertisements, this study aims to determine whether there is a significant difference between the amount of attention paid towards positively and negatively framed advertisements.

A quasi-experimental study design was conducted with a sample of 56 participants using two different (negatively and positively framed) social marketing print advertisements aimed at encouraging a reduction in meat consumption. The research used eye-tracking to examine attention.

Findings indicate that the negatively framed advertisement elicited significantly higher levels of attention overall than the positively framed advertisement (p < 0.05). Additionally, participants paid significantly more attention to the headline in the negatively framed advertisement than to the headline in the positively framed advert (p < 0.05). Participants also paid significantly more attention to the tagline in the positively framed advertisement (p < 0.05).

This study provides evidence for the effectiveness of a negative social marketing framing strategy compared to a positive framing strategy – through the effects these strategies had on consumer attention. Positively and negatively framed advertisements produce different typologies of attention towards advertising elements or areas of interest. These findings provide social marketers important insights about message placement and effectiveness when considering whether to use a positively framed or negatively framed advertisement.

This study provides empirical evidence for the impact that income and expenditure fluctuations have on understanding the fundamentals of BoP household share-of-wallet in South Africa.

The study used a longitudinal financial diary methodology to record household income in 80 households (in four different geographic areas) over four monthly waves.

The study showed the lack of reliability of aggregated population income and expenditure surveys when understanding the specific behaviour of BoP households. The study concludes that major category trade-offs occur on a monthly basis, and that these trade-offs directly impact our fundamental understanding BoP SoW.

While the BoP consumer theory is developing (especially in the last decade), most of the theory is focused on development and business strategy. Empirically based consumer theory is noticeably lacking, given that the BoP is the largest population segment on earth. In addition, research is largely absent of highly rigourous and in-depth quantification of consumer SoW behaviour. This study contributes to the BoP theory by examining monthly fluctuations in income and expenditure, a line of analysis not done before to this extent. In doing so, the study proposes a new metric for the measurement of category expenditure as an index of the total spend.