The Effect of Brand–Health Issue Fit on Fast-Food Health-Marketing Initiatives

Abstract Recognizing that fast-food brands are increasingly interested in featuring health and wellness values in their marketing, this study investigated the effect of perceived brand–health issue fit on consumer responses to a fast-food health-marketing initiative. Consistent with previous findings and the schema-congruent framework, the results of the current study indicate that an advertising message with high brand–issue fit, compared to one with low brand–issue fit, elicited more favorable consumer responses. In addition, this study tested two different advertising message strategies (i.e., health issue-focused vs. brand-focused) under high and low brand–health issue fit conditions. In line with the predictions of categorization theory, the health issue-focused advertising message was more effective than the brand-focused advertising message under the low fit condition. The findings have theoretical and managerial implications and can help practitioners develop better marketing and advertising strategies for fast-food health-marketing initiatives.