Reflection of environmental sustainability theme in advertisements on consumer decision processes: A study with focus group interviews

Global warming is among the most important environmental events that pose a risk for the countries of the world in the near and distant future. The ozone layer that has been damaged due to warming, the decrease in water and precipitation rates, and the imbalances in air temperatures have triggered country administrations to address the issue of "global warming" both locally and nationally. Climate change, which has occurred as a result of global warming, has also been taken into consideration to a great extent in Turkey. Considering all these reasons, it has become inevitable to convey the sensitivity felt towards environmental issues to the public through the media. For this reason, a new message area has emerged for "advertising", one of the sectors that actively uses the media. In a global world where brands have started to make sales not only through product promotion but also through brand value perception, it is seen that messages shaped around the theme of "environmental sustainability" arising from problems such as climate change and global warming aim to increase sales volume by giving a message of sensitivity to the target audience. Brands want to provide a sales-oriented solution process by including consumers in the solution of a global problem. The study examines the reflection of environmental sustainability themed advertisements on the target audience and the process of transforming these reflections into action. In this context, a focus group interview was conducted and the reflection of advertisements on consumer behavior was investigated by considering the personality traits of the participants. As a result of the study, it was seen that people who are prominent in terms of responsibility are more sensitive to environmental sustainability themed products, while people who are prominent in terms of neuroticism are concerned about environmental sustainability.