Assessing advertising in a hierarchical decision model

Many destination marketing organizations in the United States and elsewhere are facing budget retrenchment for tourism marketing, especially for advertising. This study evaluates a three-stage model using Random Coefficient Logit (RCL) approach which controls for correlations between different non-independent alternatives and considers heterogeneity within individual’s responses to advertising. The results of this study indicate that the proposed RCL model results in a significantly better fit as compared to traditional logit models, and indicates that tourism advertising significantly influences tourist decisions with several variables (age, income, distance and Internet access) moderating these decisions differently depending on decision stage and product type. These findings suggest that this approach provides a better foundation for assessing, and in turn, designing more effective advertising campaigns.

Improving the evidence base on public health assets—the way ahead: a proposed research agenda

The aim of this commentary is to set out a priority research agenda which will make more systematic the evidence base about why investing in a range of 'public health assets' is important for population health. It will rehearse in brief some of the issues that have been raised over the past few years as experience has grown about how to apply the idea to public health practice.