THE MEDIA PREFERENCES OF ANGLOPHONE AND FRANCOPHONE CANADIAN CONSUMERS: A CROSS-CULTURAL ANALYSIS (AUDIENCE ANALYSIS, INFORMATION-SEEKING)

DEIRDRE FRANCES GRONDIN, Purdue University

Abstract

The focus of the study was the components of consumers' media preferences and the functional relationship existing between these components. Specifically, the study concerned the relationship between the predicted media preferences (preferences which are reflected by the rank order of consumers' attitudes towards various media) and actual media preferences of Francophone and Anglophone Canadian consumers, when they are seeking information, prior to making a high-involvement decision to purchase a product (either a stereo or designer jeans). To examine this relationship, a summation multi-attribute media preference model was developed and used to describe how consumers' preferences for media evolve in situations in which consumers are seeking information prior to the purchase of a stereo or designer jeans. The model incorporated consumers' expectations regarding the likelihood that a particular medium would be instrumental in providing various media benefits and an evaluation of the importance of the various media benefits. Seven hundred and ninety-one French and English university students participated in this survey which asked them about media availability, media benefit importance, medium instrumentality, actual media preferences, and their demographic characteristics. Three research questions were posed and eight hypotheses concerning the relationships posited in the model were tested. The analysis of the data revealed that: (1) Consumers' predicted media preferences (i.e., preferences which are reflected by the rank order of their attitudes towards various media) are similar to their actual media preferences when they are seeking information prior to the purchase of a product. (2) Anglophone and Francophone consumers differ both in their predicted media preferences (i.e., preferences reflected by the rank order of their attitudes towards various media) and their actual media preferences when they are seeking information, prior to the purchase of a product. (3) Consumers' predicted preferences for media (i.e., preferences reflected by the rank order of their attitudes towards various media) and their actual preferences for media are similar when they are seeking information prior to making decisions involving the purchase of different types of products. Finally, the results of the study showed that the media preference model, used in the study, is a useful framework for describing how media preferences evolve when consumers are seeking information prior to the purchase of a product.

Degree

Ph.D.

Subject Area

Mass media

COinS