National Cattle Breed Association Members’ Attitude Toward and Perceptions of Digital Advertising

Abstract

Identifying agriculturalists’ media preferences has been a looming issue in the advertising industry. There is a noted shift from traditional forms of communications to digitally focused communications. For national cattle breed associations, these consumer-focused communication efforts include advertising strategies for both association-to-producer and producer-to-producer. Through the framework of the Uses and Gratifications Theory, this study was founded on the principle that individuals make intentional choices about the media they consume and utilize for advertising efforts. This framework, along with the Digital Native Assessment Scale (DNAS) (Teo, 2013), guided the development of research objectives and a survey instrument.

The purpose of this study was to identify national cattle breed association members’ use digital advertising. By utilizing Teo’s (2013) DNAS, this study determined how adept members are as they navigate modern technology used for communicating – mobile/smartphones, the internet, and other forms of digital advertising. The instrument was developed with four sections in mind, driven by the research objectives. It was disseminated through two national cattle breed associations’ eblasts. There were 106 preliminary respondents. This study was able to uncover statistical significance for multiple variables, ultimately leading to a comprehensive review of frequently used digital media platforms and recommendations for association utilization. Industry has a great opportunity to create additional business and generate revenue, while future researchers have the opportunity to expand upon this study and provide further applicable data to industry.