The influence of personal character on information communication and activity effect : An examination of non‐profit cultural activities

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore information‐processing in response to a specific promotional information campaign in a “social marketing” setting, and to devise a target audience segmentation strategy on the basis of the findings. Design/methodology/approach – The case examples of on‐campus cultural events and activities at three universities in Taiwan are the focus of data collected by questionnaire from 759 students in three personality‐based clusters and subjected to analysis by structural equation modelling and MANOVA. Findings – A model of the information‐processing structure exhibited a good fit to the data. There were clear differences among the clusters with respect to the individual elements of the model. Research limitations/implications – Restriction of the sampling frame to three universities in one country, chosen specifically for similarities in their on‐campus cultural provision, limits the generalisability of the findings and conclusions to other social marketing situations. Practical implications – Personal characteristics were the single most important influence on students' processing of the information and participation in the events and activities. Conclusions are drawn for target audience segmentation in this specific case. Originality/value – This study has developed an effective measurement index and structural model, which can serve as a point of reference for marketing planners in comparable situations.