Investigating the persuasive impact and underlying processes of interactive magazine ads in a real-life setting

ABSTRACT

This study tests a theoretical framework to explain the persuasive impact of interactive magazine ads on consumers’ ad and brand attitudes. To obtain realistic (unforced) responses, a field experiment was conducted with a one-factor (interactive vs. non-interactive magazine ad) between-subjects design (N = 98). Results showed that, although they rarely used it, participants positively evaluated the presence of an interactive feature in a digital magazine ad. Furthermore, parallel-mediation analyses revealed that the interactive magazine ad was perceived as more interactive and more surprising than the non-interactive ad, which ultimately positively impacted consumers’ attitudes towards the magazine. A second real-life setting experiment (N = 121) confirmed and extended these findings by revealing that the mediation effects were even stronger when consumers had used the interactive feature (vs. only seen). In addition, the relationship between interactive magazine ads and consumers’ attitudinal responses was explained slightly better by ‘perceived surprise’ than by ‘perceived interactivity.’     

Black Mirror: Bandersnatch and how Netflix manipulates us,the new gods

ABSTRACT

This film review of Black Mirror: Bandersnatch, released by Netflix in 2018, discusses the nature of the interactive genre, focusing on its current and future effects on data mining, product placement, and programmatic advertising, highlighting the new, evolving role played by the viewer.     

Consumers’ responses to native vs. banner advertising: moderation of persuasion knowledge on interaction effects of ad type and placement type

Applying advertising contextual theory, we examined the conditions under which native advertising embedded in a news website was more effective. With the use of college students (n = 189), a 2 (type of ad: native vs. banner) × 2 (type of ad placement: solo vs. duo) × 2 (persuasion knowledge: high vs. low) online experimental design was employed. In the solo condition, native advertising was evaluated more favorably than banner advertising in perceived fit, ad credibility, brand attitudes and click intention. Significant interaction effects between ad type and placement type were found on all dependent variables, with native advertising showing a significant decrease in duo (vs. solo) placement. These interaction effects appeared to be more pronounced for consumers with high persuasion knowledge, confirming its moderating role. Theoretical and managerial implications were discussed regarding the strategic placement of native advertising in news websites.     

Disclosing brand placement to young children

In spite of the EU's prohibition on brand placement in children's programmes, it is argued that children may still be exposed to this advertising format in many occasions. Consequently, and as children may have even more difficulties than adults to distinguish the commercial content from the editorial media content in which it is embedded, an advertising disclosure may be necessary to enable them to cope with brand placement. Entailing two one-factorial between-subjects experiments, the current article examined how different types of brand placement warning cues influenced cognitive advertising literacy and the attitude toward the placed brand, among children between 8 and 10 years old.

In a first study, it was investigated how these outcomes were influenced by warning cues with different perceptual modalities (no vs. auditory vs. visual cue, N = 98). The results showed that a visual warning cue was more effective than an auditory warning cue (vs. no warning cue) in addressing cognitive advertising literacy. However, this higher cognitive advertising literacy could not account for the effect of the visual warning cue on brand attitude.

In a second study, it was examined whether the effectiveness of this visual warning cue was influenced by the timing of disclosure (cue prior to vs. during media containing brand placement, N = 142). Additionally, it was tested whether the effect of the cue on brand attitude could be explained by cognitive advertising literacy if children's sceptical attitude toward the brand placement format was taken into account. The results showed that cognitive advertising literacy was higher when the cue was shown prior to than during the media content. This cue-influenced cognitive advertising literacy resulted in a more positive brand attitude, but only among children who were less sceptical toward brand placement. This positive relation disappeared among moderately and highly sceptical children.

These findings have significant theoretical, practical and social implications.     

Mixing advertising and editorial content in radio programmes

Although the literature on brand placement is rapidly evolving, no studies thus far have focused on radio brand placement or on the effects of the combination of brand placement and commercials. Therefore, the present experiment (N = 153) focused on the effects of radio brand placement on liking, credibility and brand recall. In addition, the effects of the combination of brand placement and a commercial were studied. As predicted based on source credibility and intentional exposure theory, the results showed that brand placement is more liked and perceived as more credible than commercials, and that exposure to brand placement has a stronger effect on brand recall. A combination of brand placement and a commercial evokes higher brand recall than exposure to a commercial alone. However, there were no synergy effects for the combination of brand placement and a commercial. Underlying mechanisms were tested, showing the importance of format credibility in brand placement effects.     

The effectiveness of fear appeals in ‘green’ advertising: An analysis of creative,consumer, and source variables*

This study focused on the effectiveness of fear appeal messages used to arouse a threat in green advertising. An experiment recruited 175 participants to test the influence of the advertising appeal (fear vs. non-fear appeal), source (for-profit vs. non-profit organizations), and involvement with the environment on attitude toward the ad (A_ad), attitude toward the product (A_p) and purchase intention (PI). Results revealed that a fear appeal in a green ad negatively affected A_ad and A_p and that participants who were highly involved with the environment were more likely to have positive attitudes toward the green ad and advertised green product as well as a stronger intent to purchase it. The source type in the green ad did not affect ad effectiveness and involvement with the environment did not moderate the effects of either appeal or source.     

Professionals' views of comparative advertising and the scholarly research literature: A review and synthesis

Comparative advertisements that contrast identifiable, competing products or services may be among advertising's most important tactical weapons. Despite nearly a century of use in the USA, growing use by advertisers in many other countries, and decades of scholarly research, some researchers continue to argue that the status of empirical knowledge regarding comparative advertising's effectiveness remains equivocal. This study addresses this equivocality with a review of the research literature and comparisons with the findings of a recent survey of US advertising creative executives. The findings reveal substantial agreement among the beliefs of academic researchers and advertising professionals in regard to when and how comparative advertising will likely be effective. In addition to offering confirming evidence that academic researchers and advertising professionals do sometimes arrive at the same destination in regard to their shared understandings of advertising effects, the findings also point the way toward important directions for future research on comparative advertising.     

Boris Artzybasheff and the art of anthropomorphic marketing in early American consumer culture

Abstract

This paper undertakes a critical historical review of the role of anthropomorphism in marketing and advertising in American consumer culture from the 1940s onwards. We review the art of the acclaimed illustrator Boris Artzybasheff who among other artistic achievements created images that regularly featured on the covers of Life, Fortune, and Time. As well as working in media, Artzybasheff also produced advertising images, and imagery for propaganda. One of the characteristic features of Artzybasheff’s commercial art is the use of anthropomorphism, especially with technology industries and products. His art spans the periods prior to, during and after World War II, as well as the Cold War era and the onset of modern consumer culture in America.     

An Approach to Model,Estimate, and Control the Effect of Ambient Temperature on Advertising Experiments

Abstract

The impact of ambient weather may not be obvious and weather may play a bigger part than previously attributed to variations in experimental and test market results including advertising results. While some researchers have passed off this issue as just another “seasonal effect,” ambient weather conditions have played a major impact on various test market studies. The purpose of this study is to demonstrate the following: (1) ambient temperatures that differ from seasonal mean temperatures may affect sales in certain cities; moreover, the effects differ among sales of certain varieties both within and between cities, and (2) these effects may be estimated and controlled. The results show that while seasonal effects explain most variation, there is a significant amount of variation explained by ambient temperature. This variation could be the difference between which a number of alternative commercials or promotions are selected for implementation.     

Service Recovery,Justice Perception,and Forgiveness: The “Other Customers” Perspectives

ABSTRACT

While extant research has examined the effects of service recovery on customer attitude and behavior, little is known about whether customers react differently to the same recovery depending on whether they are victims or observers of a service failure. Adopting the “other customers” perspectives, this study used a quasiexperimental design using scenarios in a professional services context with 267 U.S. respondents recruited from Qualtrics national online panel. We found that when compensation is offered, victims will perceive a higher level of distributive justice than observers. However, the effects of service recovery on forgiveness intention is stronger among observers than victims.     

Building brand knowledge structures: Elaboration and interference effects on the processing of sequentially advertised brand benefit claims

Two experiments are reported that examine the effects of an ad campaign designed to link two different benefit claims to a brand. The findings indicated that recall for a subsequently advertised claim depended on the strength of existing brand–benefit links in memory. If prior advertising strongly established a benefit claim in memory, then proactive interference effects inhibited the recall of subsequently advertised benefit claims unrelated in meaning. Additional analyses suggested that these interference effects appeared to be a result of difficulties with encoding the newly advertised claims. If the original benefit claim was not as strongly established in memory, however, then unaided recall of the subsequently advertised benefit claims was actually higher than if there had been no prior advertising at all. In fact, less accessible and memorable claims, whether they preceded or followed more accessible and memorable claims, enhanced recall of the stronger claims. Additional analyses suggest that these elaboration effects occurred because prior or subsequent advertising improved brand awareness and thus later brand claim recall as a result.     

Placing snacks in children's movies: cognitive,evaluative, and conative effects of product placements with character product interaction

ABSTRACT

Type of placement integration has been shown to influence placement effects in adults. However, no studies have explored the role of character product interaction (CPI) for product placement effects on children. We also lack knowledge about the moderating role of age in this context. We therefore exposed N = 363 children aged 6–15 years to a movie containing no placement, a static placement, or a CPI placement. The presence of placements affected cognitive and conative brand outcomes. However, children's product memory and consumption were higher for CPI placements compared to static placements. As a relevant implication for product placement research, we found that brand outcomes were independent of the children's ages and prior movie familiarity. This suggests that children's developmental stage concerning age does not mitigate product placement effects. Implications for educators and consumer advocates are discussed.     

How Chipotle used unbranded content to increase purchase intention by changing beliefs about ethical consumption

Abstract

To combat ad avoidance, advertisers are moving advertising into programs, a practice known broadly as branded entertainment. The difficulty of advertising to Millennials has also prompted the use of unbranded cause advertising, to increase awareness of issues championed by the brand, without triggering defensive persuasion-coping strategies. Chipotle combined both these trends when it produced a relatively unbranded piece of branded entertainment, Farmed and Dangerous, a four-episode sitcom that humorously dramatized the ethical issues raised by industrial farming. When the series ran on Hulu, an online television network, it increased sales for the Chipotle brand and won awards for its creators. This study reports a classic pre/post experimental design, to show how exposure to this unbranded entertainment increased purchase intention by changing beliefs about ethical issues related to the environment, nutrition, and gene technology.     

Interaction Effect of Ad Puffery and Ad Skepticism on Consumer Persuasion

ABSTRACT

A 2 × 2 experiment was conducted to test the interaction effects of ad puffery and consumer ad skepticism on consumer persuasion using print ads for jeans. High ad skeptics (i.e., those more skeptical of ads) held a more positive attitude toward the ad than low ad skeptics (i.e., those less skeptical of ads) when a puffed (i.e., exaggerated) ad was viewed. Conversely, low ad skeptics had greater purchase intentions than high ad skeptics when a nonpuffed (i.e., nonexaggerated) ad was viewed.     

When Fiction becomes Fact: Effect of Reverse Product Placement on Consumer Attitudes

ABSTRACT

This exploratory study investigates the persuasive effects of reverse product placement (RPP)—subsequent commercialization of fictional brands from entertainment media into real world products—comparing it with product placement (PP). Persuasion Knowledge Model and Attribution theory were applied to frame hypotheses of effects on brand attitudes along with the constraining effect of skepticism. A mixed test design revealed presence of persuasion knowledge, recognition of persuasive intent, and negative effect of skepticism for PP, but not for RPP. RPP also had a stronger, positive effect on consumer attitudes. Potential application of RPP in new product development and adoption is discussed.     

Identity Distancing and Targeted Advertisements: The Black Sheep Effect

ABSTRACT

This research examines the effect of target marketing using the black sheep effect, which occurs when individuals judge likable ingroup members more positively than similar outgroup members, while judging unlikable ingroup members more negatively than similar outgroup members. The results of two experiments show that individuals feel more targeted by ads that feature members of their ingroup that are more prototypical and likeable, and feel less targeted by advertisements featuring models who violate the group's positive image on some trait, making them nonprototypical and unlikeable. Theoretical implications regarding the impact of intragroup processes in consumer persuasion effects and target marketing are discussed.     

Imagination matters: do consumers’ imagery processing and self-regulatory goals affect the persuasiveness of metaphor in advertising?

Abstract

In this paper, we show that individuals’ self-regulatory focus and imagery processing affect the persuasiveness of metaphorical advertisements. Study 1 show that metaphorical advertisements enhance persuasion only among individuals who are promotion focussed. They attenuate brand evaluation among prevention-focussed individuals. In Study 2, a regulatory fit between message frame and regulatory focus results in more favourable brand evaluations only among promotion-focussed individuals when a promotion-framed metaphorical advertisement is presented. In Study 3, the level of imagery processing mediates the interaction effect of metaphorical advertisements and regulatory focus on brand evaluation. Study 4 reveals that brand evaluation is enhanced when promotion-focussed consumers view a metaphorical advertisement without interpretative cues. However, the brand evaluation of prevention-focussed consumers is enhanced when they view a metaphorical advertisement with interpretative cues.     

Transferring game attitudes to the brand: persuasion from age 6 to 14

ABSTRACT

This paper aims to replicate previous findings regarding the differential impact of TV advertising and advergames on children's brand attitudes and pester intentions. Using a large data-set (N = 940, M_age = 9.8, SD = 2.4), with children ranging between 6 and 14 years old, the influence of passive exposure to TV advertising is compared to active exposure to an advergame. In addition, the potential moderating effect of age is explored. In a between-participants experiment, Flemish children were randomly assigned to watch a TV ad, play an advergame, or a no marketing control condition. Results revealed that children who had played the advergame reported significantly more positive brand attitudes compared to children who had watched the TV ad and children in the no advertising exposure control group. Children's pester intent was significantly higher for the advergame compared to the TV ad, but not compared to the no advertising exposure control group. The findings further showed that children's attitudes towards the ad format mediate the impact of the advertising format on pester intent. The advergame was indirectly more persuasive than the TV ad since children reported more positive attitudes towards the advergame compared to the TV advertisement. Moreover, this mediation effect did not differ by children's age. Persuasion knowledge did not mediate the influence of the advertising format on pester intent since children's persuasion knowledge was not significantly related to pester intentions regardless of children's age.     

Brand Placement Recognition

Abstract

This study examines the impact of adding an audible reference to a visually prominent brand placement on recognition of the brand placed. Facilitated recognition scores were used to control for the effects of brand familiarity on brand placement recognition. Subjects exposed to one of two complete movies were asked to indicate recognition of brands that were or were not placed in their movie. Results indicate that brand placement recognition levels achieved by audio-visual prominent placements exceed the recognition rates achieved by visual-only prominent placements. Additionally, familiar brands achieve higher levels of recognition than unfamiliar brands, even when the recognition scores for familiar brands are adjusted for the guessing and constructive recognition that may result from inferences associated with familiar brands.     

Paradoxical side effects of green advertising: how purchasing green products may instigate licensing effects for consumers with a weak environmental identity

Abstract

Research into green advertising has mainly investigated how green appeals can enhance product attitudes, sales, and brand image. But what happens after people have purchased a ‘green’ product advertised in a green ad? In two experiments, we show that purchasing a green product may have paradoxical post-purchase effects, such that it may lower intentions to engage in subsequent environmentally friendly behaviour (a so-called licensing effect). Importantly, our results show that these post-purchase effects are moderated by environmental identity: only people with a weak environmental identity show these paradoxical post-purchase licensing effects, people with a strong environmental identity are more likely to continue behaving in an environmentally friendly way.