Marketing Match: How Sociodemographic Influence User Acceptance of Social Marketing Appeals in Oral Health Promotion

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate how sociodemographic factors influence user acceptance of different social marketing appeals. Materials and Methods: This study was designed as a three-armed randomized controlled trial, with the non-emotional (rational) appeal serving as the control group. We utilized an adapted, translated, and validated modified Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) questionnaire consisting of 23 items on a five-point Likert scale to assess user acceptance. Participants were randomly assigned to watch one of three intervention videos on oral cancer, each featuring a distinct appeal: rational (Video 1), humor (Video 2), and fear-based messaging (Video 3). Results: A total of 322 participants viewed videos featuring rational (34.0%), humor (33.0%), and fear (33.0%) appeals. Gender distribution was 51.2% male and 48.8% female, with age groups comprising 34.2% in early adulthood, 33.8% in middle adulthood, and 32.0% in the elderly. Educational levels were evenly split between high school or below and tertiary education or higher, each at 50%. Overall, participants showed consistent positive acceptance across demographics for all videos (p > 0.05). Results indicated no significant differences in acceptance based on these factors, with all mean scores being positive: age (4.20-4.62), gender (4.31-4.45), education level (4.31-4.48), household income (4.23-4.49), smoking status (4.12-4.46), and marital status (3.87-4.55). Conclusions: The study revealed that sociodemographic factors do not significantly impact the overall acceptance of social marketing videos, suggesting the potential for generalized social marketing campaigns. Future research could delve deeper into how different demographic variables impact user acceptance in diverse health promotion media.