Green Marketing Versus Demarketing: The Impact of Individual Characteristics on Consumers’ Evaluations of Green Messages

Green demarketing is defined as a marketing technique that promotes a brand as environmentally friendly and health conscious by moderately lowering product consumption. Even though the influence of demarketing techniques have previously been explored, how personal characteristics influence customers’ green behavioral intentions under the effects of green demarketing remains unknown. This study explored whether the effectiveness of a demarketing technique varies based on customers’ skepticism (high vs. low), gender (male vs. female), age (young vs. old), and income level (high vs. low). Therefore, four 2 × 2 between subject designs were used, and the median split method was adopted to determine participants’ level of green skepticism and age. The results confirmed significant relationships for green skepticism, age, and income level in response to message type. The study also identified implications for effective marketing communications regarding green marketing and demarketing strategies in the foodservice industry.