What to communicate: selecting the information content to increase the demand for food products

Studies about how to convey a message through a communication campaign abound, but another important aspect is what to communicate, in other words, selecting the information content of the campaign. In many situations where the degree of knowledge is directly related to consumption of a food product, choosing what to communicate is crucial. The present study proposes a model to decide what the consumer needs to know in order to take the decision to consume. The model is based on a Qualitative Comparative Analysis method with some subsequent conversions. It was applied to a real situation: selecting the information content of a communication campaign to boost the consumption of virgin olive oils in the Spanish market. The main findings suggest that campaigns should inform about virgin olive oils are the highest quality and most healthy, that there is a basic difference between olive oil and virgin olive oil in that olive oil is a mixture of virgin and refined olive oils, and that they are both equally fattening.