Perceptions about the media and behaviour when buying food products: case study with consumers from two cities in the south of Minas Gerais State

Abstract Media and food advertisements today represent important industrial strategies for the differentiation, promotion and selling of products. Thus, they can exert a strong influence on consumer buying and consumption behaviour. Considering this, the objective of this work was to evaluate the perception of consumers about the media and its influence on food purchasing behaviour through a market research survey with consumers from two municipalities in the south of Minas Gerais State, Brazil. A non-probabilistic sample was used for convenience, totalizing 285 respondents (150 in Varginha and 135 in Lavras), and an interview with questions prepared by the researchers themselves being used as the research instrument. The data were analysed in a descriptive way. Based on the results, it could be seen that, for the sample under study, food consumption could be influenced by the media and by the food advertisements. Exposure to these ads may also be related to opinions about what is most valued in the purchase of food, such as practicality and convenience. Regarding the reading of labels, a low frequency of consumers who frequently read this information was observed. Together, these results reinforce the evidence that marketing strategies have the potential to influence the eating behaviour of the subjects, and, therefore, also contribute to the achievement of public health goals for food and nutrition. In this case, the importance of food and nutritional education strategies for the training of more autonomous and critical consumers regarding their food choices is highlighted.

摘要：当前，媒体与食品广告是实现产品差异化、推广及销售的重要产业战略手段，可对消费者的购买与消费行为产生显著影响。有鉴于此，本研究旨在通过针对巴西米纳斯吉拉斯州南部瓦律金哈（Varginha）与拉夫拉斯（Lavras）两座城市的消费者开展的市场调研，评估消费者对媒体的认知及其对食品购买行为的影响。本研究采用便利非概率抽样方法，共计纳入285名受访者（瓦律金哈市150名、拉夫拉斯市135名），并以研究者自行编制的访谈问卷作为调研工具，采用描述性统计方法对采集数据进行分析。基于研究结果可见，对于本次调研的样本群体而言，食品消费行为会受到媒体与食品广告的影响；接触此类广告还可能与消费者对食品购买时最看重的因素（如实用性与便捷性）的看法相关。在食品标签阅读方面，经常查看标签信息的消费者占比偏低。综合来看，上述结果进一步佐证了营销战略可对研究对象的饮食行为产生影响，因此也有助于达成食品与营养领域的公共卫生目标。在此背景下，食品与营养教育战略的重要性得以凸显——此类战略可培养具备自主判断能力与批判性思维的消费者，使其能理性审视自身的食品选择。