Abstract
There has been a surge in research on green marketing or sustainability marketing in recent years on the various topics of green marketing, strategies and the marketing mix. Although social media is a widely used marketing channel and touted as one of the world's largest channels of communication, recent studies suggest that advertisements on this platform might not grab the consumer’s attention because of media proliferation and information overload. Even though consumers are showing great interest in purchasing green products, the actual behaviours are far from reality as only a sizeable number do purchase green products. The attitude gap continues to widen. This leads to a research question: Could the use of out-of-home advertising be the panacea to narrowing the attitude-behaviour gap among green prone consumers? Digital out-of-home (DOOH) advertising is an innovative form of media that is found on digital signage, LED screens, and billboards erected in busy public areas or along busy highways that individuals usually visit outside of their homes. Researchers concur that the appropriate use of DOOH advertising designs could enhance awareness of the current environmental issues, yet studies of this nature are sparse, particularly in South Africa where scholars agree that adult consumers are significant to organisations as they represent the future of environmentalism. The purpose of this research is to determine the influence of the features of digital out-of-home advertisements on perceived entertainment value, attractiveness, informativeness, credibility and interactivity and personal factors of environmental concern, environmental knowledge, and perceived risk as predictors of consumer attitudes towards green products. These factors have been investigated in prior studies and were found to be significant predictors of consumer attitudes in various contexts such as public engagements, the purpose of which is to enhance understanding of consumer attitudes towards green purchases for a sustainable future. Through a quantitative study, the survey research targets adult consumers aged 25 years and older, who are active on social media platforms, and who have watched a digital out-of-home advertisement in the past year while travelling. Data will be analysed using Statistical Package for Social Scientists for descriptive statistics and the Amos version 29 for hypotheses testing. The study will make both theoretical contributions and would have practical implications for the field of digital marketing by providing recommendations to marketers of green products, which may also influence government policy on future of the humanity and the environment.