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.     

The Journal of Advertising and the Development of Advertising Theory: Reflections and Directions for Future Research

In this article, I provide some thoughts that guided my decision making while I was editor of the Journal of Advertising (2003–2006). Specifically, I reflect on the definition of theory and how it has been and should be used in the advertising discipline. In particular, I attempt to distinguish between weaker (contextual) and stronger (universal) theories and present my views on how future research in advertising can proceed in developing useful theories within this domain.     

Managing advertising investments in marketing channels

This paper investigates how should manufacturers optimally allocate resources to retailer-initiated (retailer) advertising through cooperative advertising programs and own (manufacturer) advertising in a bilateral monopoly. Retailer advertising stimulates immediate sales but may also harm long-term (post-advertising) demand, whereas manufacturer advertising aims at building brand equity and stimulates both immediate and long-term sales. A game-theoretic model in which a manufacturer and a retailer set pricing and advertising decisions over a two-period planning horizon is developed to account for the differences between manufacturer and retailer advertising. We characterize equilibrium solutions for four advertising scenarios for the manufacturer, ranging from no investment in any advertising activity to undertaking own advertising and supporting retailer advertising simultaneously. Comparing the two players’ equilibrium strategies and profits across these scenarios, we find that manufacturers should avoid offering exclusively cooperative advertising programs to retailers. When retailer advertising positively influences long-term sales, manufacturers should offer cooperative advertising supports to retailers in addition to undertaking their own advertising. When retailer advertising negatively affects long-term sales, manufacturers can still undertake own advertising and offer cooperative advertising under certain conditions. However, if these conditions are not met, focusing exclusively on own advertising is their best advertising strategy. Retailers also prefer scenarios in which manufacturers advertise, but may choose not to participate in manufacturers’ cooperative advertising programs. This leads to suboptimal outcomes if cooperative advertising programs are not enhanced by additional incentives (e.g., side payments or other services).     

International diversity of authorship in advertising research

Although advertising is a global discipline, several of the world's regions remain under-represented in the leading advertising journals, with North American dominance of review boards and authorship in these journals. Introducing this special issue of the International Conference on Research in Advertising (ICORIA), this paper assesses the international diversity of authorship in advertising research by looking at the nationalities of author teams of articles published in the leading advertising journals over the last 10 years. Among advertising journals, international diversity of authorship is clearly greatest in the International Journal of Advertising (IJA), and the even greater international diversity of this ICORIA special issue highlights the Journal's international orientation. The fact that diversity of authorship also relates to article citations and therefore to research performance further emphasizes the need for more international diversity of authorship in advertising research.     

Insights from Project GLOBE

Numerous calls have been made for further application of the Project GLOBE cultural framework (cf. House et al . 2004) in the global advertising literature (e.g. Terlutter et al. 2006; Okazaki & Mueller 2007; Diehl et al. 2008b). Similarly, we argue that the present literature could benefit from greater inclusion of the cross-cultural theoretical framework and empirical findings from the GLOBE study to understand societal-level cultural variability between and among consumers across the world. This paper introduces and explores the major findings of the GLOBE study, then reviews the extant advertising literature that has incorporated aspects of GLOBE. Additionally, further application of the GLOBE framework is suggested that may help advance the advertising discipline. Five broad research questions are developed that are intended to guide future global advertising research.     

Lancaster,Kent M. and Thomas C. Martin (1988). ADLAB,Gainesville, FL: University of Florida, 31 Pp. and software for IBM,Macintosh, and compatibles. $12.00

Abstract

Prior research on advertising literature consists primarily of studies of journal article authorship and author productivity, journal content and quality, and citation patterns. Absent from this stream of research is direct evidence of the influence of individual authors and their works in the form of peer evaluation and readership. For this study, a priori lists of influential books and articles were used in a survey of U.S. advertising educators and academic researchers. The results reveal a core of research-based and practice-oriented contributions of widely recognized importance and influence. The findings also provide (1) valuable lists of readings for current and future students and educators; (2) direct evidence of the quality of individual literary contributions; and (3) useful insights into the theoretical, intellectual, and practical foundations of the field.     

A Metacognitive Model of the Effects of Susceptibility to Persuasion Self-Beliefs on Advertising Effects

This study postulates that people's beliefs about their own susceptibility to persuasion efforts can influence advertising effects. It thus represents the first explication of the process by which self-beliefs determine advertising effects, through their influence on the subjective experience of the ease of being persuaded. Integrating three research streams (metacognition, persuasion knowledge, and cognitive correction), the current study proposes a model of three influence patterns, which are contingent on whether people perceive the advertising message to be high in manipulative intent and whether people are motivated to be accurate in their judgments. If advertising messages are low in manipulative intent, such that the persuasion seems acceptable, susceptibility self-beliefs influence people's attitudes toward the advertised products or issues (i.e., expected effects). If advertising messages are high in manipulative intent, such that persuasion seems unacceptable, people exhibit suppression (no effects) if they have weak accuracy motives, but they exhibit overcorrection (opposite effects) if they are strongly motivated to be accurate. Five studies test these predictions and reveal some demographic characteristics associated with self-beliefs about susceptibility to persuasion. The findings thus have important implications for advertising practitioners.     

An Empirical Evaluation of the Effect of Peer and Managerial Ethical Behaviors and the Ethical Predispositions of Prospective Advertising Employees

An advertising firm's ethical culture (as defined by the firm's managerial and peer ethical behaviors) may affect the employees' comfort levels and ethical behaviors. In this research, scenarios were used to describe advertising firms with various ethical cultures. Respondents' perceived comfort levels in working for the firms described in the scenarios and the respondents' behavioral intentions when faced with various advertising situations were assessed. Results of the study indicate that peer ethical behavior exerts a strong influence on the comfort or discomfort level and the ethical behavioral intentions of potential advertising employees. Further, the strong influence exerted by peers seems to transcend the ethical behavior of the manager and carry over to the attitude toward the entire corporate advertising environment. This study provides insights for firms and researchers interested in assessing the impact of an advertising firm's ethical culture on potential employees.     

Exploring antecedents of attitudes and skepticism towards pharmaceutical advertising and inter-attitudinal and inter-skepticism consistency on three levels: an international study

Abstract

Given the increasing relevance of over-the-counter (OTC) drugs to individuals’ health and well-being, this study explores whether selected health variables, as well as consumers’ attitudes and skepticism towards advertising in general, influence their attitudes and skepticism towards pharmaceutical advertising. It extends previous research by building on the theory of inter-attitudinal consistency, examining how three different levels of attitudes and skepticism are interrelated. A field study was conducted on three continents (727 subjects; non-student sample). Results reveal that consumer attitudes and skepticism towards advertising in general, influence attitudes and skepticism towards pharmaceutical advertising in particular, which positively impact the attitudes and skepticism towards four different ad appeal types. The study extends the theory of inter-attitudinal consistency to inter-skepticism consistency. Results further indicate that attitudes and skepticism towards advertising in general can be considered as key antecedents, but that several additional health-related factors also influence consumers’ attitudes and skepticism towards pharmaceutical advertising. Moreover, attitudes and skepticism towards advertising in general, towards pharmaceutical advertising, as well as towards specific pharmaceutical ads, are negatively related. Reasons explaining these results are addressed, as are study limitations and implications for future research.     

Advancing marketing strategy in the marketing discipline and beyond: from promise,to neglect,to prominence,to fragment (to promise?)

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this article is to advance the field of strategic marketing within the marketing discipline, which will in turn, the author argues, contribute to enhancing the discipline’s impact beyond the narrow confines of its own journals. Towards this goal, certain aspects of the history of marketing strategy need to be reviewed. However, though this article draws extensively on historical sources, it is not a history of marketing strategy. Rather, this article uses historical materials and arguments concerning the four ‘Eras’ of marketing thought to advance five major claims: the area of strategic marketing (1) had significant promise when the marketing academic discipline was founded in Era I (1900–1920), (2) was neglected in Era II (1920–1950), (3) rose to prominence in Era III (1950–1980), (4) has become a ‘fragment’ in Era IV (1980–present) and (5) has prospects that are both promising and problematic in the future ‘Era V’. Finally, a tentative prognosis for strategic marketing and the marketing discipline is suggested.     

中国传媒数字化转型与广告生存形态变迁研究

本文通过对中国传统媒体广告市场现状及困境的分析,指出数字时代中国传媒数字化转型与广告生存形态变迁,是中国传媒实现可持续发展与产业核心竞争力重建的战略选择。文章认为,以传媒集团来整合文化创意核心产业,将是数字时代传媒产业和文化创意产业未来发展的重要方向,未来传媒集团必然是横跨传媒业、通信产业、IT产业和文化创意核心产业等在内的融合媒体集团,＂价值创造＂将成为传媒集团经营的核心理念。广告生存形态变迁是传媒数字化转型的内在要求和必然趋势,在数字时代,广告将呈现融入式生存、集成式生存、社区化生存和数据库生存等形态。     

Meta-Analysis in Advertising Research

Meta-analyses have become increasingly popular in many fields of the social sciences, including advertising research. The results of meta-analyses attract substantial interest from both scholars and practitioners, as indicated by high citation numbers and widespread dissemination in the media. By summarizing results drawn from a set of studies concerning a specific topic, and by discovering and explaining consistencies and inconsistencies within those results, meta-analysis is an essential step in the process of knowledge accumulation, theory building, and theory testing in science. Many developments in the last years have contributed to the advancement of the method, but they have appeared in disparate literatures. Furthermore, each discipline applies the method in a particular way that corresponds to the major research traditions in a field. However, no attempt to introduce the method to advertising researchers is available. The purpose of this article is therefore to provide a comprehensive overview of the meta-analysis method to advertising researchers that describes the procedures commonly applied in advertising research, that provides a better understanding of the method and evaluation criteria for judging the quality of meta-analyses, and that serves as a starting point for advertising researchers who are interested in conducting a meta-analysis.     

A retrospective on the state of international advertising research in advertising,communication, and marketing journals: 1963–2014

Scanning from the earliest to the recent literature on international advertising research, this study aimed to provide a more comprehensive and detailed picture of the research trends and patterns across the advertising, marketing, and communication disciplines over the past half century. Findings exhibit continuous growth in terms of the quantity of international advertising studies. While theoretical foundations need to be further solidified and elaborated, methodological and statistical rigors have been increasingly underpinned in international advertising research. Further, this study recognized authorial and institutional productivity, and influential articles in the field of international advertising research. The finding indicates that scholarly endeavors are necessary for diversity of countries studied in future research.     

Navigating the Complexities of Grounded Theory Research in Advertising

Grounded theory is a well-established methodology within the social sciences and more recently within the field of advertising. This article looks at how it has been used in advertising research and in particular two key areas: the consumption of advertising and the world of advertising creatives. The article concentrates on common mistakes found in grounded theory papers submitted for publication in leading journals. It offers 10 important points for consideration that should help authors improve the quality of their research by avoiding such errors. The article concludes by suggesting potential areas of advertising where grounded theory may be applied in future research.     

Tales of prospects past: on strategic fallacies and uncertainty in Technology Forecasting

The paper contributes to the 25th anniversary celebrations by inviting readers to share a journey back to the early 1980s when the future of Marketing as an academic discipline remained unclear. At this time the author's academic future in marketing was also unclear. He was working in the area of Technology Forecasting, a highly specialised field, not only within social policy and techno-economics, but within the then emerging field of strategic marketing and its subaltern, environmental scanning. In the spirit of "The lessons of history" (Baker 2006) the paper revisits scenarios generated by the author 25 years ago regarding technological futures in the offshore oil and gas industry. It draws on the premise that understanding can be gained by taking a forecast, a knowledge claim, whose tenure is now over, and revisiting it in the light of the present which at the time of making the forecast was, of course, the future. In the arts this historicising approach to a subject is a necessary conjunction to the development of knowledge on matters of creativity, judgement and interpretation. The cultivation of aesthetic sensibilities takes place through disciplinary frameworks of historicism and comparative interpretation, widely known as 'critical and contextual studies'. This paper is the product of such study. It attempts to set knowledge claims in historical and cultural context, suggesting where critical marketing can contribute. The forecasts of technological development were generated by means of an international Delphi study which was conducted during 1980-1983. The paper reflects on the passage of time and the evolution of the offshore oil and gas industry against the flux and flow of circumstance and event. It discusses localised historical accounts of where and how the original futures scenarios have been found to diverge or otherwise from what has come to pass, reflecting on the framing of uncertainty by broader socio-technical discourses. In this way the paper illuminates the indeterminate and emergent nature of uncertainty and the implications of this for our understanding of decision making in marketing management.     

Cone,Fairfax M. The Blue Streak. Chicago: Crain Communication, 1976

Abstract

This survey, conducted among 17 of the 25 largest advertising agencies, highlights the reduction of entry-level employment opportunities, for college graduates, when 1974 is compared to 1973. The survey also gives indication of the relative popularity various schools enjoy as preparers of future advertising executives. The author closes with an appeal to the advertising industry concerning the need to increase the number of entry-level opportunities.     

Common Method Variance in Advertising Research: When to Be Concerned and How to Control for It

In this article we discuss and analyze the critical issues related to common method variance (CMV) that are particularly relevant to advertising research and recommend best practices for assessing the effects of CMV in this domain. Specifically, we cover the development of CMV as a domain-specific methodological concern and the underlying sources of CMV that are likely to operate in cross-sectional survey-based studies in the field of advertising. We discuss in detail the available procedural and statistical techniques that can be applied to control for and/or measure the effects of sources of CMV in a single study and across research domains. In addition, we provide a critical look at how these techniques have been employed in past research and make recommendations for future examinations of CMV in advertising research.     

Awareness Advertising and International Market Segmentation

In recent years, multinational corporations have increasingly employed advertising in markets where their products are not available. Such ‘awareness advertising’ is only in small part for products that are likely to be introduced in those markets in the near future. A significant and larger part of awareness advertising is for products that are unlikely to be sold in the particular market because of government restrictions on commercial importation and sale. In this paper, we will analyse the motivation behind the use of awareness advertising, the benefits that multinational firms may receive from such advertising and its implications for international market segmentation. The paper concludes with a discussion of areas for fruitful future research on awareness advertising.     

Shedding New Light on How Advertising Literacy Can Affect Children's Processing of Embedded Advertising Formats: A Future Research Agenda

Advertisers are continuously searching for new ways to persuade children; current methods include fully integrating commercial content into media content, actively engaging children with the commercial content, and increasing the number of commercial messages children are confronted with at one moment in time. This poses a challenge for how children cope with embedded advertising. This conceptual article aims to develop a theoretically grounded framework for investigating how children process embedded advertising. More precisely, it sheds light on previous research and conceptualizations of advertising literacy and provides suggestions for future research. The article examines conceptual and methodological issues and discusses the need for research on how to improve children's coping with embedded advertising by emphasizing the value of persuasive intent priming and implementation intentions. To conclude, future research directions are discussed regarding strategies to strengthen children's coping skills and their dispositional (i.e., associative network consisting of cognitive, moral, and affective beliefs related to advertising) and situational (i.e., actual recognition of and critical reflection on advertising) advertising literacy.     

Introduction to the Special Thematic Symposium on the Ethics of Controversial Online Advertising

The field of marketing and consumer ethics has evolved considerably over the past 20 years, yet research on specific areas of advertising ethics remains limited. This limitation persists despite developments in digital technologies, and the impact they have had on advertising practice generally and online advertising more specifically. Online media are becoming increasingly populated by advertising content, as consumers continuously navigate ever-evolving mediascapes. Thus, there is a need to examine the ethical issues associated with the use of controversial advertising online, as well as consumers’ responses to such ads. This special thematic symposium addresses this literature gap, which is at the intersection of consumer ethics, e-marketing, and controversial advertising. The two papers in the special thematic symposium present new research in this area, along with some initial ethical implications as well as potential for future research.