Branding over Internet and TV Advertising

This study examined the effect of cross-channel integration of an advertiser's television spot and website that featured additional advertising messages specifically designed for the ad campaign on consumer responses. The results revealed that cross-channel integration of advertising enhanced consumers’ attitudes toward the television spot, perceived media engagement, and brand attitudes. Implications for advertisers and directions for future research are also discussed.     

Impact of Food Brand Controversy on Consumers’ Attitude Toward Brand and Company

It is critical to understand the impact of controversy on the consumer. There is a scarcity of research measuring post-controversy consumer attitude on both product and corporate brand during a controversy. The study is based on a recent brand controversy linked with instant noodle brand “Maggi” in India. The study examines impact on brand perceived quality, credibility, trust and loyalty, and attitude about brand and company. Data have been collected during July–October 2015 when the brand Maggi was banned in India due to quality-related controversy. Results indicate that respondents, with higher post-controversy brand loyalty, hold positive attitudes about brand. The interaction effect reveals that the relationship is significant and positive. During controversy, consumers’ attitude about brand and company is not identical. For a strong brand, consumers may have positive attitude but they become quite negative about company.     

The effectiveness of nutritional information on foodservice companies’ corporate social responsibility

The objective of this study is to investigate the effect of nutritional information disclosure and healthful menu context in the relationship of nutritional knowledge and consumers’ perceived CSR toward a foodservice company. Furthermore, the relationship among CSR, brand image, attitude and purchase intention was investigated. The study was designed with scenario experimental questionnaires: 3 (different nutritional information levels: no information, calorie only and content with six segments of nutritional information) X 2 (menu context: healthy or unhealthy menu context). Confirmatory factor analyses, structural equation modelling and analysis of variance analysis were used in order to examine the study hypotheses. The results of this study indicate that consumers’ nutritional knowledge helps increase consumers’ perceived CSR which has an impact on brand image, attitude and behavioural intention, however, no moderating effects of nutritional knowledge and healthful menu context were found. Furthermore, purchase intention was significantly affected by CSR, attitude and brand image. Therefore, disclosure of nutritional information and offering healthful menu would help restaurants gain a positive CSR which also would help them to expect consumers’ favourable purchase intention.     

Interacting with background music engages E-Customers more: The impact of interactive music on consumer perception and behavioral intention

The current study investigates the potential of applying interactive music to the design of e-commerce websites, aiming to create more engaging consumer experience. The model of Theory of Interactive Media Effects (TIME) is applied to propose two psychological mechanisms – heightened consumer control and perceived vividness of the website – that explain the effect of interactive music on consumer engagement. A single-factor experiment with three conditions (the control condition without background music, the static background music condition, and the interactive background music condition) was conducted and data from 248 consumers were collected. Results found that consumers in the interactive music condition were more affectively engaged in the shopping task compared to those in the other two conditions due to a higher level of novelty. The novelty dimension of affective engagement subsequently led to stronger behavioral intention and more positive perception toward the website and its brand. Whereas consumer control explained only affective engagement with the online store, perceived vividness of the website predicted both cognitive and affective engagement. In conclusion, the present study contributes to scholarship by addressing limited discussion on interactive music under the context of consumer behavior and drawing attention to perceived control and vividness as critical mediators of consumer engagement in the digital retailing environment.     

The efficacy of cause-related marketing within a social network: The effects of congruency,corporate credibility,familiarity of cause brands,and perceived altruistic motive

This study investigates the value of cause-related marketing (CRM) effects by constructing a theoretical model within a social network site. This study aims to evaluate the effects of congruence, brand credibility, and cause brand familiarity within consumer sentiment with regard to a brand collaborating with a cause. A 2?×?2?×?2 factorial experiment design was implemented to investigate the significance of the relationship between consumer attitudes toward a brand, perceived motives, and intention to spread the campaign. The study proposed a two-stage moderated mediation model. The study generated significant results from three-way interactions among the key variables on attitude toward a brand. For participants who were exposed to familiar cause brands, there existed an interaction between congruence and credibility, such that in conditions of high credibility, congruence led to a significantly higher attitude toward the brand than incongruence. However, in conditions of low credibility, attitude toward the brand was very similar for congruent brands and incongruent brands. In addition, the results showed that the effect of attitude toward a brand on behavioral intention was moderated by perceived altruistic motive. This study presents interesting implications for future CRM campaigns.     

Exploring Brand Personality–Celebrity Endorser Personality Congruence in Celebrity Endorsements in the Indian Context

The objective of the research reported in this paper was to develop and test a model of brand personality–celebrity endorser personality congruence and its impact on consumers’ attitudes and intentions. In particular, the study drew on social adaptation and attribution theories to develop hypotheses related to the impact of this congruence on consumers’ perceptions of endorser credibility and suitability, and the subsequent impact of these perceptions on consumers’ attitudes and intentions. The study was motivated by recent attention being paid to the importance of personality in choosing celebrities for product endorsements and the fact that the brand personality–celebrity endorser personality congruence has not been explored before. The model was tested based on data obtained from a sample of participants in India. Results from path analyses indicated a positive and significant impact of personality‐based congruence on endorser credibility and suitability, which, in turn, positively and significantly impacted ad believability. Ad believability in turn significantly impacted attitude toward the ad, which had a significant impact on brand attitude and purchase intentions. Research and managerial implications are discussed, as are directions for future research.     

An exploration of celebrity business ventures and their appeal to fans and non-fans

Recently, an increasing number of celebrities have launched their own businesses. Although celebrity entrepreneurs may expect their credibility to enhance customers’ purchase intentions, this study does not find this effect. Instead, it finds that customers’ purchase intentions rely mainly on customers’ attitudes toward the celebrity's venture brand. Customers’ perceived congruence between a celebrity and the celebrity's business significantly affects their brand attitudes. Additionally, this study finds that a celebrity's credibility can only increase fans’ positive attitudes toward the celebrity's venture brand; therefore, being a celebrity entrepreneur is riskier than being a brand endorser in terms of consumer attitude.     

Recognizing Native Ads as Advertising: Attitudinal and Behavioral Consequences

This study assessed consumers' initial reactions to in‐feed native ads appearing as news content. In particular, it focuses on consumers' recognition of advertising when they realize that content they had thought were news stories had in fact been advertising. Recognition of advertising made consumers infer that advertisers had deliberately manipulated them. Consequently, consumers engaged less with the message, had less positive attitudes toward the brand, and were less likely to purchase and share. The results demonstrated the mechanisms through which the two mediators, manipulative intent and message engagement, lowered brand attitude, purchase intention, and sharing intention. In addition, ad disclosure made more people recognize the ad when they were exposed to it than when it was not disclosed as an ad.     

What Did You Do to My Brand? The Moderating Effect of Brand Nostalgia on Consumer Responses to Changes in a Brand

Previous research on consumer nostalgia has concluded that nostalgic feelings primarily have a positive effect on consumers, boosting positive feelings and affective responses. However, evidence suggests that consumers who hold nostalgic feelings toward a specific brand sometimes respond negatively to updated or modified versions of the brand. This research tests the moderating effect of consumers’ brand nostalgia on their responses to changes to a brand. Across four studies, the authors find that consumers who are nostalgic toward a specific brand exhibit a positive bias toward the original version of the brand that leads them to perceive the brand as having changed more than do less nostalgic consumers. Further, when the change to the brand is perceived to be large, individuals who are highly nostalgic for a brand show a significantly sharper decrease in reported attitude and behavioral intentions toward the changed brand than do their less nostalgic counterparts. This effect is in opposition to the positive effects of a general tendency toward nostalgia proneness. These results are replicated across multiple product categories and both manipulated and real changes, and the effect is found to be mediated by the consumer's biased perception of how much the brand has changed.     

The influence of sport sponsorship on brand equity and purchase behavior

Abstract

Drawing on Aaker’s brand equity model and Keller’s brand engagement concept and building on the sponsorship between a professional basketball club and a software company, this study examined how sport sponsorship affects brand equity and purchase behavior of the sponsor’s product. Data from 222 survey respondents were collected and analyzed using structural equation modeling techniques. The results provided evidence that perceived quality and brand engagement impact brand loyalty and purchase behavior of fans toward the sponsor’s product. Perceived fit between sponsor and sponsee and team identification were found to influence significantly sponsor’s brand equity constructs. The study extends Aaker’s model in the sport sponsorship context and highlights the influential role of perceived quality and brand engagement on driving sport team fans to form brand loyalty and purchase sponsor’s product.     

The Advertising/Marketing Union

Abstract

Previous research has suggested that people form an unfavorable or favorable attitude toward a particular ad, which in turn affects their attitude toward what is being advertised and other measures of advertising effectiveness, including brand choice. This study found that idea substantiated: a favorable attitude toward an ad for a smoking cessation kit was associated with four measures of advertising effectiveness.

A hypothesized link between perceived humor and favorable attitude toward the ad was found, but direct relationships between perceived humor in an ad and three of the four advertising effective-measures were not observed. A conclusion drawn from the study is that perceived humor may aid advertising effectiveness, but the relationship is for the most part moderated by the degree to which people like the ad in which the humor is perceived.     

Interactivity,Inspiration, and Perceived Usefulness! How retailers’ AR-apps improve consumer engagement through flow

This study investigates the antecedents and outcomes of consumer engagement through AR apps and suggests a new conceptual model. The purpose of the paper is to examine how consumer engagement is shaped via AR apps, which eventually leads to a positive attitude towards brand and brand usage intent. To this end, a face-to-face survey instrument was administered to 350 participants in Turkey, where participants tried an AR app and then answered a questionnaire. The structural equation modeling (SEM) and Hayes' Process analyses were applied to test the hypotheses and moderated mediation relationships. Findings showed that interactivity and inspiration are two major antecedents of consumers' flow experience. The flow experience with AR can generate favorable attitudes towards AR apps and more trust in AR apps, which trigger consumer engagement with AR apps and then improve brand attitude and brand usage intent. The outcomes of flow experience with AR (i.e., attitude and trust) mediate the relationship between flow and engagement. Although perceived usefulness increases the effect of consumers' attitudes towards AR on engagement, it has no moderating effect on the relationship between trust in AR and engagement. Furthermore, the results of Hayes' Process revealed that the indirect effect of flow on consumers’ engagement with AR through attitude towards AR is moderated by perceived usefulness. So that, if AR marketers aim to strengthen the link between consumer flow experience and engagement via attitudes towards AR, they should therefore consider enhancing the perceived usefulness of AR. Surprisingly, perceived usefulness had no moderating effect on the indirect relationship between flow and engagement via trust. Finally, this paper discusses both the theoretical and managerial implications.     

The Effects of Credible Online Reviews on Brand Equity Dimensions and Its Consequence on Consumer Behavior

Consumers are using social media platform to gain and share knowledge on brands. In the virtual environment, consumers are exposed to various online reviews on brands that leave an impression of brands on the minds of the consumers. The present study combines Yale attitude change model and attribution theory to examine the effects of credible online reviews on brand equity dimensions. The present study views, through the lens of Yale attitude change model, the various factors that affect credibility evaluation of online reviews. Further, attribution theory is used as the theoretical backbone to analyze the effects of credible online reviews on brand equity dimensions and finally on purchase intention. This study uses structural equations modeling (SEM) to investigate the impact of online credible reviews on customer based brand equity (CBBE) dimensions and its consequence on consumer behavior (purchase intention). Results indicate that source and review quality are the most important factors that affect consumer's credibility evaluation of a review. Online credible reviews have more significant impact on brand awareness, perceived value and organizational associations and thus leads to consumer's purchase intention in the context of consumer electronic products in India.     

The Effects of Ad Irritation on Brand Attitudes

Abstract

Brand attitude has been proposed to be an antecedent to purchase intentions. However, very few studies have specifically focused on ad irritation as an antecedent to attitude towards the brand. This paper examines the effect of ad irritation on brand attitudes and if the effect of ad irritation is independent of ad credibility, attitude towards the advertiser, attitude towards advertising, and ad-induced feelings. The results indicated that ad irritation was not significant in predicting brand attitudes. Respondents' prior brand attitude, ad credibility, ad-induced feelings and attitude towards the advertiser were significant predictors of brand attitudes. Based on the results, several managerial implications were derived regarding the usefulness of ad irritation in changing brand attitudes.     

Perceived Greenwashing: The Effects of Green Marketing on Environmental and Product Perceptions

Many firms are striving to improve their environmental positions by presenting their environmental efforts to the public. To do so, they are applying green marketing strategies to help gain competitive advantage and appeal to ecologically conscious consumers. However, not all green marketing claims accurately reflect firms’ environmental conduct, and can be viewed as ‘greenwashing’. Greenwashing may not only affect a company’s profitability, but more importantly, result in ethical harm. Therefore, this research extends past greenwashing studies by examining additional influences on and outcomes of perceived greenwashing. To do so, we conducted two studies, an interview study with consumer product and consulting firms, as well as an experiment examining consumers interacting with a company website. For these studies, we used multiple methods, including interviews, questionnaires, and neurophysiological techniques. We found that perceived greenwashing relates not only to environmental and product perceptions, but also to consumers’ happiness while interacting with the website. We also found that website interactivity relates to perceived greenwashing, environmental and product perceptions, and to the amount of interaction with the website. We conclude by discussing managerial and ethical implications for research and practice.

     

基于TAM的消费者网络团购态度影响的实证研究

伴随着团购网站Groupon在美国的巨大成功,从2010年3月开始,国内掀起了空前的团购热潮,在不到一年的时间里,已由"百团大战"上升到"千团大战"。团购网站如何在这场声势浩大的角逐之中吸引消费者,取得长足发展成为了当前最应该关注的问题。而消费者对网络团购的态度直接决定了其是否会进行网络团购以及选择哪家团购网站。因此有必要对网络团购态度的影响因素进行研究,识别出影响消费者网络团购态度的主要因素。本研究以参加过网络团购或未参加过但对网络团购有了解的人群为调研对象,结合SPSS13.0和AMOS17.0对数据进行了分析和模型检验,以此探讨影响消费者网络团购态度的因素。实证结果表明:感知网络团购有用、感知网络团购易用及感知网络团购风险是影响消费者网络团购态度的关键因素;除娱乐导向外,其他购物导向均会显著影响感知有用或感知风险变量;而人口统计特征对网络团购态度无显著影响。     

Is Publicity Always Better than Advertising? The Role of Brand Reputation in Communicating Corporate Social Responsibility

Previous studies on corporate social responsibility (CSR) communication suggest that firms’ social initiatives should be communicated through third-party, non-corporate sources because they are perceived as unbiased and therefore reduce consumer skepticism. In this article, we extend existing research by showing that source effects in the communication of social sponsorships are contingent on the brand’s pre-existing reputation. We argue that the congruence between the credibility and trustworthiness of the message source and the brand helps predict consumer responses to a social sponsorship. The results show that a non-corporate source (publicity) generates more positive brand evaluations than a corporate source (advertising) when the sponsor has a positive reputation. However, the converse effect occurs when brand reputation is low: when the sponsor has a poor reputation, a corporate source generates more positive brand evaluations than a non-corporate source. Mediation analyses show that the interaction effect between CSR information source and brand reputation can be explained by sponsorship attitude, persuasion knowledge, and perceived fit between the brand and the cause.     

Message Reframing in Advertising

Various communication techniques such as humor or two‐sided argumentation are frequently used in advertising. One technique that is common but has not been conceptualized is the deliberate change of perspective of specific product or brand attributes. Based on the reframing method used in neuro‐linguistic programming (NLP) this technique is conceptualized as message reframing, defined as a communication technique that changes the conceptual and/or emotional setting or viewpoint in relation to how a brand is experienced by placing it in a different frame that fits the same brand equally well or better. The effects of message reframing in contrast to conventional advertisements as well as in contrast to humor and two‐sided argumentation are hypothesized and tested in an experimental study. The results reveal that message reframing outplays traditional advertising techniques regarding attention toward the ad, perceived novelty, attitude toward the ad, and attitude toward the brand. Moreover, message reframing does not show the deterioration of source credibility commonly observed in humorous messages, and leads to higher attention, perceived novelty, and attitude toward the ad than two‐sided messages.     

How,why, and when disclosure type matters for influencer marketing

Consumers’ changing media consumption behaviors and skepticism toward traditional forms of advertising have prompted the growth of influencer marketing. Even as regulatory authorities call on brands and influencers to disclose the posts as advertising, no consistent guidelines exist. The distinct effects of self-generated versus platform-initiated disclosures also remain unclear, nor has research addressed the interplay of key influencer characteristics and marketing disclosures. This article reports on findings from the first academic field study of influencer marketing disclosures, as well as three experimental studies, which indicate that disclosure is a double-edged sword. When provided through a platform-initiated branded content tool, disclosure consistently exerts the strongest effect on perceptions of advertising, negatively relating to influencer trustworthiness and consumer engagement. The effects of disclosure type also depend on the number of followers and number of previously endorsed products (i.e., influencer characteristics). Yet, consumers also express appreciation for transparency when influencers disclose posts as advertising, which increases perceived trustworthiness of the influencer and engagement with the post. The implications of these findings should inform choices by public policy makers, brand managers, and influencers.     

Gender and Celebrity Scandals: A Cross-Cultural Examination on Celebrity Endorsement

Abstract

This research examines the effects of consumers’ culture and celebrity’s gender role on source credibility and attitude toward brand. Using culture difference theory (individualism and Confucianism) helps to explain why sex scandals can result in a greater negative impact on the response of Chinese customers than US customers. Finally, we provide a celebrity-select suggestion to mitigate the negative damage brought by the endorser’s sex scandal. Specifically, we conducted experiments by using a 2 (sex scandal vs. tax evasion) x2 (Confucianism vs. individualism) x3 (celebrity gender: male vs. female vs. transgender) between-subjects design.