Communion-over-Agency Effects on Advertising Effectiveness

Gender-stereotypical portrayals of communal women and agentic men are highly common in advertising. But past research indicates that advertising effectiveness is higher when endorsers are portrayed as communal – irrespective of their gender. The aim of the current research is to explore this communion-over-agency effect on advertising effectiveness and its underlying mechanism. Two studies provide evidence for a communion-over-agency effect on advertising effectiveness (i.e., attitude toward the ad and brand). These studies show that the communion-over-agency effect on attitude toward the ad is mediated by endorser likeability (simple mediation). The effect on attitude toward the brand is mediated by endorser likeability and attitude toward the ad (serial multiple mediation). In concert, this research underscores the significance of communion (and agency) on endorser evaluation and advertising effectiveness.     

The Power of Creative Advertising and Consumers’ Perceived Risk

Despite the growing importance of creative advertising as an effective marketing tool, little is known about the process through which it influences preexisting attitudes for familiar brands and factors that moderate its effectiveness. To fill this gap, A 2 advertising type (creative vs. normal) by 2 product category (high risk vs. low risk) experiment was conducted. Four creative ads and four normal ads were developed for some familiar brands and were exhibited for participants. Results indicate that creative ads significantly lead to more favorable ad credibility, ad attitude, brand attitude, and purchase intention than normal ads. Perceived product risk was found to moderate the effectiveness of creative ads.     

On the Origin and Distinctness of Skepticism toward Advertising

Two studies were conducted to investigate the origin and distinctness of consumer skepticism toward advertising, defined as a tendency to disbelieve advertising claims by Obermiller and Spangenberg (1998). The first study examined the role of socialization in the family by comparing levels of ad skepticism across generations. Significant associations were strongest for female children with their fathers; less strong but apparent for male children with their mothers. Further, the associations diminished with age, which was considered a surrogate for time away from home. The second study explored the relationship between skepticism toward advertising and skepticism toward other sources of product information. The results indicated some overlap between skeptical beliefs about advertising and salespeople, but, otherwise, ad skepticism appeared to be a separate construct from skepticism toward other sources of product information. Moreover, advertising was viewed as the least believable of the five sources of product information that were considered.     

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.     

Consumer Attitudes toward Online Advertising: The Moderating Role of Personality

This study investigates how consumer attitudes toward advertising in general affect their attitudes toward online advertising. It also investigates the moderating role of the personality traits of introversion and extroversion in explaining this relationship. An online survey is used to collect data from a convenience sample of 244 respondents living in Canada. Results show that attitude toward advertising in general has a positive and significant impact on attitude toward online advertising. Introversion is found to have no moderating impact on the relationship between both attitudes. However, extroversion moderates this relationship.     

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.     

The impact of regulatory focus on adolescents’ evaluation of targeted advertising on social networking sites

This article examines whether individual differences in chronic regulatory focus (prevention vs. promotion focus) among adolescents influences the way they evaluate targeted advertising on social networking sites. Study 1 (survey) reveals that adolescents with a promotion focus (who are oriented toward achieving positive outcomes) have a more positive attitude and a higher purchase intention toward targeted advertising, as compared to prevention-focused adolescents (who are dispositioned toward avoiding negative outcomes). Study 2 (experiment) investigates how adolescents’ chronic regulatory focus can alter their attitude and purchase intention on a mock social networking site that includes a targeted advertisement. Results show that a low personalized targeted ad is better evaluated (in terms of a more positive attitude and higher purchase intention) among prevention-focused adolescents, whereas a high personalized targeted ad results in better advertising outcomes among promotion-focused adolescents. Contributions to theory and implications for advertising practice are discussed.     

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.     

Advertising Ethics: The Use of Sexual Appeal in Chinese Advertising

With increasing social awareness of unethical advertisements in today's advertising, this study explores consumers' ethical judgements about the use of sexual appeals in advertising in a Chinese context by replicating LaTour and Henthorne's study. It specifically focuses upon responses on the Reidenbach-Robin multidimensional ethical scale, attitude toward the ad, attitude toward the brand and purchase intentions. The results show that sexual appeal was evaluated as the most frequent use in Hong Kong print advertising and they were also perceived as the most attractive instrument. Similar to LeTour and Henthorne's findings, regardless of respondent's gender, the use of a strong overt sexual appeal was not well received by Chinese consumers and resulted in less favorable attitude toward the ad itself and the purchase intention than using mild sexual themes. However, the degree of sexual content used in advertising has no direct influence on brand attitudes. Due to the conservative nature of Chinese culture, the advertisers should be careful in the use of sexual appeal for Chinese consumers.     

A Dual-Step and Dual-Process Model of Advertising Effects: Implications for Reducing the Negative Impact of Advertising on Children's Consumption Behaviour

Children are important targets of advertising campaigns from companies. However, children have been found to be particularly vulnerable to negative effects of advertising, and protecting children from these effects is an important task of consumer policy. Two important aspects have to be considered in this task. First, advertising affects judgements and behaviour not only during ad exposure but also in delayed consumption and purchase contexts. Second, advertising operates largely at an implicit level—during ad exposure as well as in consumption decisions. The current article introduces a dual-step (ad exposure vs. purchase/consumption) and dual-process (implicit vs. explicit) model of advertising effects on children. The model is based on a review of implicit advertising effects and implicit mechanisms of self-control. It implies that consumer policies intending to prevent undesired advertising effects should support interventions that strengthen advertising and purchasing literacy and, in addition, implicit self-control mechanisms in children. As self-control in consumption decisions is largely relevant for, and learned during, shopping and consumption, such interventions should focus on educating parents or other primary caregivers because they are the most likely persons to accompany children in such situations and have a great influence on children's implicit learning.     

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.     

Targeting online display ads: Choosing their frequency and spacing

With real-time bidding, advertisers can decide how often (ad frequency) and in what time interval (ad recency) to show an ad to a specific user. Ads shown often and in quick succession might increase brand and ad recognition on the one hand but might annoy users on the other hand. These recognition and annoyance effects, in turn, can have opposing consequences for click-through rates (CTRs). Guided by theory and previous studies, we examine how the frequency (high vs. low) and the recency (small vs. large time intervals) of ad impressions relates to a banner's CTR and whether this is moderated by the campaign type (diverse or not), the brand's advertising expenditure (high vs. low), and the type of industry (selling durable vs. non-durable goods). To do so, we use a large data set containing information on 5.8?bn ad impressions and 1.8?m clicks delivered for 158 different advertisers from 25 industries. We show that higher ad frequency and higher ad recency relate to a lower CTRs, especially when having a less diverse campaign, for brands which are spending more on advertising, and, to some extent, for firms selling durables.     

How sponsorship transparency mitigates negative effects of advertising recognition

The proliferation of covert online advertising formats such as advergames has raised concerns about consumers’ ability to recognize such content as advertising and about how recognition affects evaluative outcomes. The present research utilized an online experiment (N?=?179) to examine differences between covertness of advertising format (advergame vs. online video commercials) on advertising recognition, and whether sponsorship transparency mediates – and mitigates – the negative effects of advertising recognition on attitude toward the ad, attitude toward the brand, and purchase intent. The results show that covertness of advertising format, recognition, and sponsorship transparency all shape consumers’ responses to online ads. Specifically, the predicted negative indirect effect of covertness of advertising format on attitudes and behavioral intention via advertising recognition reversed valance when sponsorship transparency was included in the serial mediation model.     

The Moderating Effects of Status-Consumption Motive and Age in the Relationship between CSR Advertising Appeal Type and Purchase Intentions

The primary purpose of this study was to examine factors that influence the effectiveness of benefit appeal types (i.e., help-other vs. help-self) in Corporate Social Responsibility advertising. To that end, we designed and administered a between-subjects experiment where participants viewed one of the two CSR advertisements crafted with help-self and help-other benefit appeals. Results provided evidence supporting the moderating effects of status-consumption motives and age on purchasing intentions. Additional analysis suggested consumers younger than 48 years old were more likely to be persuaded by a help-other ad appeal when they didn't have strong desires for status consumption. Results were discussed in light of the self-concept theory and value-expressive framework in CSR advertising.     

Effects of Message Modality and Appeal on Advertising Acceptance

Differences in emotional response, cognitive response, attitude toward the ad and attitude toward the brand were observed after subjects were exposed to advertising messages of different modalities (audiovisual vs. audio-only) and appeals (rational vs. emotional). Hypothesized causal models depicting the relationships among the dependent measures were tested using LISREL. Results sup ported the mediating roles of both emotional and cognitive responses in the acceptance of advertising messages.     

Does telic/paratelic user mode matter on the effectiveness of interactive internet advertising? A reversal theory perspective

Drawing on reversal theory (Apter, 2007), the current research proposes that internet users' metamotivational state (telic vs. paratelic) determines advertising interactivity's effectiveness. An online field experiment involving 141 Facebook and Twitter users tests this proposition. Research findings support telic state consumers form more positive attitudes toward a low-level interactive ad, whereas paratelic state consumers form more positive attitudes toward a high-level interactive ad. Further, this research shows that an arousal seeking tendency mediates the metamotivational state's impact on ad attitude.     

Have “Millennials” Embraced Digital Advertising as They Have Embraced Digital Media?

Consumers’ attitudes toward advertising ethics are of interest to marketers who understand that negative attitudes can be harmful to brands. Today advertisers increasingly depend on internet advertising. This study compares attitudes of Millennials (the first generation to use digital media more than traditional media) toward internet advertising with attitudes toward advertising in traditional media. Similar to previous generations who had more negative attitudes toward TV advertising, which was their most frequently used medium, Millennials’ attitudes appeared to be more negative toward internet advertising. Thus, we conclude that advertisers must work to engender positive relationships with Millennials through more ethical internet advertising and other innovative strategies.     

The influence of self-concept on ad effectiveness: Interaction between self-concept and construal levels on effectiveness of advertising

This study examines the role of self-concept in consumer responses to advertising messages. Specifically, this study postulates that matching advertising message framing (concrete vs. abstract) with consumers’ self-concept (actual vs. ideal self) should yield positive ad evaluation. Results from an experimental study suggest that individuals primed into their actual self evaluated the concrete ad message more favorably than they did the abstract ad message. In contrast, those primed into their ideal self responded more favorably to the abstract ad than to the concrete ad. Implications from the study and suggestions for future research are provided.     

Advertising strategies for brand image repair: The effectiveness of advertising alliances

Advertising alliances are an effective shortcut to increase brand awareness and improve brand image. However, few studies have compared the effectiveness of advertising alliances with traditional (single-brand) advertising. Thus, this study focuses on a specific type of brand beliefs – namely, brand personality – and compares the ability of advertising alliances and traditional advertising to strengthen positive traits and downplay negative traits for a real brand in need of image repair. The results show that the advertising alliance is considerably more effective in upgrading positive brand personality traits than single-brand advertising. Importantly, this superior effect remained one week after exposure. The choice of advertising strategy had no effect on negative brand personality traits. Implications for advertising management are discussed.     

The Risk Reduction Role of Advertising

This study shows theoretically and empirically that exposure to advertising increases consumers tendency to purchase the promoted product because the informative content of advertising resolves some of the uncertainty that the risk averse consumers face and thus reduces the risk associated with the product. We call this effect the risk-reduction role of advertising. The risk-reduction model implies that advertising effectiveness depends on (a) the risk preference parameter, (b) the precision of the advertising message, (c) the familiarity of the consumer with the product, (d) the consumers sensitivity to products attributes (and thus, her involvement level with the product), and (e) the diversity of products offered by multiproduct firms. These findings suggest that ads spending should be higher (a) for new and relatively unknown products, (b) for high-involvement products, (c) when ads can be quite precise, and (d) when the firm offers a diverse product-line. It also implies that ads should target consumers (a) who are more sensitive to risk, (b) who are more involved, and (c) those who are not familiar with the promoted product.The model allows ads to affect choices also through a direct effect on the utility (i.e., the standard approach to formulate the effect of advertising). In our empirical example (where the products are television shows) the risk-reduction effect is significant and strong and the direct effect is negligible behaviorally. We discuss the welfare implications of these findings, and illustrate the quantitative differences in managerial implications between our model and the traditional one.