Psychological ownership as a crisis management advertising appeal – antecedents,outcomes, and moderators

In a crisis communication context, this work examines the impact of Psychological Ownership (PO) appeals on Ad message recipients’ development of feelings of PO. It demonstrates that increased levels of PO influence the managerially relevant outcomes attitude toward the company and purchase intentions. In doing so, it finds new application for the construct. In order to better understand the factors that may contribute to or mitigate PO, this research also investigates environmental consciousness as an additional antecedent and gender, persuasion knowledge, and geographic distance as moderators of individuals’ response to such appeals. Managerial and theoretical implications are discussed.     

The marketing message: Being broadcast loud and clear?

Communication lies at the very heart of marketing; but how well do marketers and marketing academics communicate? Academics, including those in marketing, have been criticized for putting their ideas across in a complex and unclear way. Marketing academics may have some valuable new ideas to “sell” to practitioners; but are they so product orientated that they are ignoring the communications needs of their potential customers? This paper tries to explore the importance of clear communications for academics and practitioners; and to survey how clearly we are communicating through the channel of marketing journals in particular.     

Digital marketing and social media: Why bother?

Changes in consumer behavior require firms to rethink their marketing strategies in the digital domain. Currently, a significant portion of the associated research is focused more on the customer than on the firm. To redress this shortcoming, this study adopts the perspective of the firm to facilitate an understanding of digital marketing and social media usage as well as its benefits and inhibitors. The second generation of Internet-based applications enhances marketing efforts by allowing firms to implement innovative forms of communication and co-create content with their customers. Based on a survey of marketing managers, this article shows that firms face internal and external pressures to adopt a digital presence in social media platforms. Firms’ digital marketing engagement can be categorized according to perceived benefits and digital marketing usage. To improve digital marketing engagement, marketers must focus on relationship-based interactions with their customers. This article demonstrates how some firms are already accomplishing just that.     

Observing viewers’ self-reported and neurophysiological responses to message appeal in social media advertisements

PurposeMarketing research mainly uses self-reported method to record respondents' perceptions of creativity, and while self-reported method has its own merits, there exists some critique, particularly in terms of its ability to adequately capture the influence of message appeal on creativity. This paper studies how viewers’ responses to message appeals in social media advertisement compare in terms of self-reported responses versus responses taken through a neurophysiological method of Electroencephalograph (EEG).MethodologyTwo social media advertisements are displayed through a laboratory experiment to 17 subjects observing the subjects' neurophysiological reactions as well as their self-reported responses with regard to the commercials’ emotional, informational, and brand-related content.FindingsResults show that neurophysiological method offers unique details about emotional appeal, which the self-reported method fails to reflect. Furthermore, the neurophysiological measure identifies differences across the two target commercials in the emotional content part, which again are not identified through the self-reported method.OriginalityThis paper advances advertising research in social media literature by comparing content evaluation within advertisement through neurophysiological and self-reported measure. These findings have implications for marketers to use and measure message appeals in advertisement on social media to influence consumer response.     

Why do Caucasian advertising models appeal to consumers in Taiwan?

To test the influence of model ethnicity on advertising effectiveness in East Asia, this research proposed a cue-triggered value-expressive model, according to which positive attitudes towards western models help consumers with independent self-concepts express themselves. Western models generated more favourable ad responses (ad credibility, diagnosticity and attitudes), promoted stronger self–brand connections and led to more favourable brand attitudes than did Asian advertising models among independent respondents in Taiwan. In contrast, consumers with interdependent self-concepts did not exhibit such differences. Independent self-concepts also consisted of two sub-dimensions: horizontal individualism focused on the desire to be different, and vertical individualism centred on the desire to be superior. The former dimension accounted for the enhanced effects of western models. Three experiments confirmed that expressing positive attitudes towards these advertising models served value-expressive functions among consumers with uniqueness self-concepts when they read ads promoting products that were publicly (Study 1 and 3) or privately (Study 2) consumed.     

Choosing the right message for the right cause in social cause advertising: type of social cause message,perceived company–cause fit and the persuasiveness of communication

This study introduces two different types of communication strategies in social cause advertising: a partake-in-our-cause message attempts to engage audiences to take part in a social cause, whereas a promotional social cause message simply conveys information on what a company does for the social cause. The results of two experiments showed that the type of social cause message and the company–cause fit interacted to influence the perceptual and behavioral intention variables related to the company sponsoring the social cause. The partake-in-our-cause message led to more favourable perceptions and stronger behavioral intentions about the company when the company–cause fit was low, rather than high, and such a relationship was partly mediated by the perceived corporate self-serving motive and shared support for the social cause. In contrast, the promotional social cause message appeared to be more persuasive when the company–cause fit was high, rather than low, due in part to the enhanced processing fluency. These findings suggest different psychological mechanisms for each type of social cause message. Implications of the findings and future research directions are discussed.     

SMS advertising: How message relevance is linked to the attitude toward the brand?

Due to recent technological developments and widespread adoption of mobile handsets, the mobile medium has been transformed into an effective channel for brand communication. Short message service (SMS) advertising is the most primitive and widely used version of mobile marketing, yet the relevant literature still lacks consensus on how SMS ads influence consumer attitudes, and how this influence is generated. The present research aims to investigate how message relevance, the most important success factor of SMS advertising, is transformed into attitudinal reactions toward the advertised brand by introducing perceived intrusiveness and attitude toward the message as mediating variables into the relationship. Implications and future research avenues are discussed.     

Quo Vadis,marketing? Toward a relationship marketing paradigm

The marketing mix and its 4Ps have remained the marketing paradigm for decades. In the article it is argued that the foundation for this paradigm is weak and that it has had negative effects on marketing research and practice. Contemporary research into services marketing and industrial marketing demonstrates that a new approach to marketing is required. This new approach is based on building and management of relationships. A paradigm shift in marketing is under way. The thoughts and actions of marketing academics and practitioners should not be constrained by a paradigm from the 1950s and 1960s.     

Marketing social marketing to commercial partners: what's in it for them?

Commercial partnerships in social marketing have grown increasingly important in the context of diminishing resources from international donors in developing countries. In 1997, the Futures Group International (Futures) negotiated an agreement with Pharmacia & Upjohn/Brazil to introduce Depo-Provera, a 3-month injectable contraceptive, at a social marketing price with strong consumer marketing support. The key to the collaboration was to demonstrate that making Depo-Provera accessible to low-income consumers was a viable marketing strategy. The author describes the process of designing, negotiating, and implementing the successful commercial partnership. Brazilian women stand to gain the most from the partnership between Futures and Pharmacia & Upjohn/Brazil, for in the absence of such a coordinated effort, Depo-Provera would be available to only upper-income, breast-feeding women whose only source of information on the method would be private physicians. The partnership will bring Depo-Provera to a broader segment of Brazil's women.     

Intergenerational appeal in advertising: impacts of brand–gender extension and brand history

An intergenerational (IG) appeal in an advertising campaign usually presents a nostalgic image with family portraits, emphasizing the traditions that have been passed on from generation to generation or harkening back to the ‘good old days’ between father and son, or mother and daughter. The IG appeal can effectively enhance a brand's image and induce that all-important consumer purchase. This paper takes gender differences (father/son or mother/daughter) into consideration while examining two moderators related to branding: (in)congruent brand–gender extension and brand history. Results indicate that a well-established brand history enhances the effects of the IG appeal. In addition, a congruent brand–gender extension increases the effects of the IG appeal. More interestingly, IG appeals can be effective in presenting a less established brand which has an incongruent brand–gender extension.     

Training as a social purpose: are economic and social benefits delivered?

This paper reports original research which measures the social and economic impact of training and skills development on individuals who participated in training provided by social purpose, nonprofit organizations. An implicit policy assumption is that such organizations contribute to social and economic regeneration. Examining the costs and benefits of training to trainees, an adapted Return on Investment methodology measures any economic benefit, while an Index of Social Benefit measures changes in individual well‐being. The results demonstrate that while changes to both the economic and social well‐being of trainees occur, it does not necessarily relate solely to the training they received. Instead, changes reflect other, often complex, aspects of trainees’ lives, although training may facilitate change. Furthermore, social purpose, nonprofit organizations need to evince the socioeconomic benefits of their training programmes to secure future funding, public or private, but proving their successful delivery may be difficult to determine.     

“Ours” or “theirs”? Psychological ownership and domestic products preferences

This paper seeks to understand the role of psychological ownership in shaping perceptions and preferences of domestic versus foreign products. We provide evidence that quality judgments and purchase behavior of domestic products depend on different levels of shared ownership. From a theoretical perspective, we show that domestic psychological ownership is an important construct that explains how preferences for domestic brands are formed. In terms of methodological contribution, the study offers a psychometric measure that will assist researchers interested in international consumer research. Finally, the study is of managerial interest in that our findings provide at least a partial explanation why many foreign brands fail to establish stronger positions in domestic markets, as well as why hybridization and glocalization strategies are successful.     

Towards a paradigm shift in marketing? An examination of current marketing practices

In recent years, the traditional Transaction approach to marketing has been challenged to the point where a number of authors have suggested that a “paradigm shift” is occurring. The “newparadigm” is commonly referred to as Relationship Marketing, and has been used to reflect a number of different types of relational marketing activity, including Database, Interaction and Network marketing. This paper investigates current marketing practice to clarify the relevance of these alternative approaches using four case studies and a survey of 134 firms. The results do not support the notion of a complete “paradigm shift”. Rather, the findings show that for many firms, transactional marketing is relevant and practised concurrently with various types of relational marketing. It is concluded that while relational marketing issues are currently receiving attention from academics and practitioners alike, the role of transactional marketing should not be ignored or underestimated.     

Twitter-marketing in multi-unit restaurants: Is it a viable marketing tool?

The main purpose of the current article is to investigate the status of the usage of Twitter-marketing and to examine the potential factors that impact the usage of Twitter-marketing. The results show that 69.4% of the multi-unit restaurant companies studied use Twitter-marketing and that small restaurants are more likely to utilize Twitter-marketing.     

Do brands’ social media marketing activities matter? A moderation analysis

Considering the increased interest in the role that a brand's social media marketing activities (SMMA) play in providing better experiences, the current study examines associations among SMMA, brand experience, purchase intention, and attitude towards the brand. This study also assesses the customer generation (Millennials vs. Non-Millenials) and customer engagement level (high vs. low) as moderators in the SMMA-brand experience link. 413 responses were collected from individuals who follow a brand on social media and employed structural equation modelling for the analysis purpose. The results suggest an essential role of SMMA in driving brand experience, purchase intention, and attitude towards the brand. Results also establish that the SMMA-brand experience link varies across consumer generation (Millennials vs. Non-Millenials) and customer engagement level (high vs. low) with the brand's SMMA. These results aid marketers in realizing the role of consumers' generation and their engagement level relating to SMMA-brand experience relationship. The study concludes with implications, limitations, and future research avenues.     

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.     

Relationship marketing: Back to basics?

Relationship marketing, however defined, has received considerable attention recently. To its advocates, relational exchange between buyer and seller represents a paradigm shift away from the traditional focus on individual transactional exchanges. Critics of relationship marketing argue that the concept is poorly defined and is merely a new way of describing what businesses have been doing for a long time.

This paper recognizes that the need to develop long‐term relationships between an organization and its customers is becoming greater. It is however questioned whether marketing educators are providing students with the abilities to take a mature approach to relationship marketing issues, in line with the changing nature of employers' business. Suggestions for introducing relationship marketing to the undergraduate syllabus are made at a number of levels, from an additional module for an introductory “principles of marketing course” to a multi‐disciplinary degree majoring in relationship marketing.     

Like or dislike? Adolescents’ responses to personalized social network site advertising

Increasingly, personal data posted by users of social network sites (SNSs) can be used to personalize advertising. The present study investigates how adolescents respond to personalized ads in terms of attitude toward the ad, brand engagement and intention to forward, and whether privacy concerns moderate their responses. According to pretest results, a medium level of personalization was expected to be optimal in terms of advertising effectiveness. A within-subjects experiment involving 40 participants aged 14–18 years was performed. Three conditions of personalized advertising were designed with, respectively, low, medium, and high levels of personalization. The study found that the highest personalization condition generated the most positive response and that privacy concerns did not moderate the effects of personalization. The privacy paradox is discussed as an alternative explanation, along with other implications of the results.     

When pride meets envy: Is social superiority portrayal in luxury advertising perceived as prestige or arrogance?

This paper draws on the theoretical underpinnings of envy and pride in examining the effectiveness of social superiority portrayal in luxury advertising. Across two studies, benign (malicious) envy led consumers to perceive social superiority portrayal as an expression of authentic (hubristic) pride and, in turn, increased (reduced) luxury perception and positive brand attitude. These findings were replicated for both dispositional (Study 1 and 2) and state feeling of envy (Study 2), regardless of whether envy was self‐reported or manipulated. These findings were found to be consistent in a comparison between luxury and premium brands. Taken together, this paper is the first to examine: (a) consumer responses toward social superiority portrayal in luxury advertising, (b) the interactive effect of envy and pride perceptions on luxury perception and brand attitude, and (c) the effectiveness of using social superiority portrayal as an advertising strategy for luxury and premium brands.