Modeling the Effects of Green Advertising on Brand Image: Investigating the Moderating Effects of Product Involvement Using Structural Equation

ABSTRACT

?This experimental study examined consumers’ response to green advertising for high- and low-involvement products by measuring its effect on consumers’ intention to purchase such brands. The present study enhances our understanding of the moderating role of product involvement and extends the structural equation tests of the four causal models. A dataset of 169 respondents is used to examine the role of brand image and brand attitude in the context of green advertisements. Consistent with earlier findings, the suggested model provides a good fit of the data and results indicate that positive attitude toward green advertisements, brand image, and attitude toward the brand enhances the chances of consumers’ purchase intention of such brands. The study also verifies that product involvement moderates the positive relationship between attitude toward green advertisements and brand image such that at higher levels of product involvement, attitude toward green advertisements has a stronger effect on brand image.     

Preston,Ivan L., The Tangled Web They Weave: Truth,Falsity, & Advertisers,Madison: The University of Wisconsin Press, 1994

Abstract

In an experiment, children in three grade levels (second, fourth, and sixth) viewed four advertisements. The children were shown advertisements with either metaphors in both pictorial and verbal form or a literal equivalent. The sixth graders interpreted more metaphors correctly than the fourth and second graders. In terms of recall of advertised content, the sixth and fourth graders recalled brand names, products, and additional copy better than the second graders. Within each grade level, metaphors did not enhance children's recall of advertised content or perceptions of the understandability of the advertisements and liking of the advertised products. The authors speculate that metaphors are most likely to enhance recall under conditions in which the metaphor serves as a direct representation linking the metaphor to the advertised product. Their findings suggest that advertisers should be aware that young readers may have difficulty interpreting metaphors and that metaphors may not be more effective in terms of children's recall and perception of understandability than literal versions of advertisements.     

Information Sources in Advertising History. Edited and compiled by Richard W. Pollay,ed. Westport,Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1979, 330 pp

Abstract

This research examined how consumers responded to different print advertisements for a green laundry detergent. Hypotheses based on the salience literature were developed and tested in a laboratory experiment. One group considered a “green” appeal which emphasized the environmental attributes of the product. Another group considered a “non-green” appeal which emphasized the cost-saving attributes of the product. We measured each subject's involvement with the environment. Our results showed that for those highly involved with the environment, there were no significant differences in purchase intent, attitude toward the ad, and support arguments between appeals. However, for those less involved with the environment, the green appeal was significantly more persuasive than the non-green appeal in terms of the same variables.     

Rivers,William L., Wallace Thompson,and Michael J. Nyhan. The Aspen Handbook on the Media, 1977–1979 edition. New York: Aspen Institute for Humanistic Studies, 1977. 438 pp

Abstract

Time-compressed television advertisements have produced superior recall in college students. The current study indicates that young adults do recall more from time-compressed advertisements, but that elderly adults recall less and middle-aged adults are somewhere in between. These results hold for normal television advertisements as well.     

Simon,Raymon. Public Relations Management: Cases and Simulations. Columbus,Ohio: Grid,Inc., 1973

Abstract

A content analysis of 814 advertisements from three major television networks was conducted to assess the representation and role portrayal of senior citizens in television advertising. While 12 percent of the current U.S. population is over 65 years of age, only seven percent of the advertisements containing people utilized elderly characters. In the majority of commercials, the elderly are not typically cast in major roles, but instead appear most often in home settings with members of other age groups present. In those advertisements where older persons are portrayed as major role advisors about a product or service, the advisor is likely to be male.     

The Effect of Media Involvement on Print Advertising Effectiveness

Abstract

There is less than full agreement in the advertising research community over the relationship between involvement and advertising effectiveness. The purpose of this research is to extend that investigation into print. In a pre-post between-subjects design, 926 adults were exposed to test advertisements “tipped” (i.e., inserted) into a publication that they read regularly. Readers' attitudes and purchase intentions for the advertised products were collected before and after exposure to the ads. The results indicated that higher involvement with a publication leads to more favorable perceptions of embedded ads, and higher levels of advertising persuasion, while not impacting recall. Analyses of specialized effects indicated that, for the most part, main-effects results were robust across two types of advertisements, two print publication types, and two classes of products studied. The research has implications for how publishers set, and media planners evaluate, advertising rates, which are calculated predominantly according to the size of a publication's reader base. Based on our results, they should consider involvement when making these decisions.     

The influence of gender,social cause,charitable support,and message appeal on Gen Y's responses to cause-related marketing

Abstract

This study examined the influence of gender, type of social cause, amount of charitable support, and message appeal on Gen Y consumers' attitudes and purchase intentions towards an apparel brand within the context of cause-related marketing. A questionnaire, with an experimental design component, was administered to a sample of 562 Gen Y college students. Results suggest that Gen Y consumers are more likely to form positive attitudes towards an apparel brand when the amount of the charitable support is clearly communicated. Gender did not influence attitude towards brand, but did predict purchase intentions. Attitude towards brand, subjective norm, evaluation of the advertisement, and involvement in social causes were strong predictors of purchase intentions. When developing CRM initiatives, marketers should consider Gen Y's involvement in a social cause (e.g. volunteerism) rather than their stated interest in the given cause, and they would be well advised to state precisely (in advertisements) the amount of monetary contribution made to charitable causes.     

Race Portrayals in Ghana,Kenya, and South Africa Television Advertisements

ABSTRACT

The current study examines racial portrayals in television advertisements from Ghana, Kenya, and South Africa. Whites are over-represented relative to their actual demographic presence in all three countries, and both Blacks and Whites are depicted as over-employed. In general, however, depictions are not significantly different for either race, though there is a hint that a stereotyped portrayal of Blacks as athletes and/or entertainer may be going global.     

Fundamentals of Copy and Layout. Book,Albert C. and C. Dennis Schick. Chicago: Crain Books, 1984. $14.95

Abstract

The Federal Communications Commission relaxed commercial television licensee obligations regarding deceptive advertising in 1985. Local broadcasters may now decide which clearance policies to use to determine if advertisements are deceptive. A national mail survey of commercial television station sales managers was conducted to determine whether advertising clearance policies vary by station profitability or organization size. The proposition that clearance policies may be used to make a station's airtime more attractive to viewers was also given a preliminary test. Results suggest that clearance policies are affected by profitability level and organization size. The implications of study findings are discussed.     

Effect of online 3D advertising on consumer responses: the mediating role of telepresence

Abstract

This study develops a conceptual framework for measuring the effectiveness of Internet-based 3D advertisements. The study uses an interdisciplinary literature review (marketing, information systems, and human–computer interaction) to enhance the understanding of the impact of using 3D visualisation in online advertisements, and to identify the most relevant conditions for application. The findings demonstrate the effectiveness of such ads in the case of a geometric product, as well as in the case of a material product. This study's results highlight the significance of telepresence as a mediator. The findings reveal that telepresence determines how ad format (2D versus 3D) influences the range of variables used to measure advertising effectiveness.     

Off-the-Shelf Cultural Symbols

Abstract

One hundred and ninety-one British, 71 Greek and 91 people of differing nationalities were exposed to three print advertisements for a cold and influenza remedy and three advertisements for the services of an accommodation agency. The first advertisement for each product was taken directly from a newspaper; the second and third respectively added to this advertisement pictures of (a) a relevant, and (b) an irrelevant mythological character. Respondents' cognitive, affective and conative reactions to the six advertisements were then assessed.     

Employment of Ecology Themes in Magazine Advertisements Directed to Children

Abstract

The study described here was undertaken to assess the degree to which magazine advertisements depicted environmentally sound behavior on the part of children. Analyses were conducted on which environmental issues were emphasized and the extent to which large and small firms and companies in different industries utilized such advertisements. A content analysis permitted comparisons of the advertisements in 1987, 1997 and 2002. Various conclusions were reached regarding the extent and nature of the advertisements employed during both years.     

Fast Food Television Advertisement Formats

ABSTRACT

The purpose of the study was to examine favorite formats in hamburger television advertisements in order to assist companies in effectively communicating with their target audiences and to motivate those audiences to purchase products. The main findings of the study are that college students appear to prefer the special-effects format for presenting hamburgers in television advertisements. In addition, the testimonial format in television advertisements seems to motivate college students' purchase intentions for hamburgers more than other formats. Implications of the study regarding segmentation information usage, establishment of business image and individual purchase motivation, and the relationship between brand and format effects are discussed.     

Positive versus negative comparison in advertisements: the affect priming perspective

Abstract

Comparison valence is an important element in comparative advertising. In this research, we investigated how comparison valence influences advertising effectiveness and explored the role of affect underlying such effects. The results of two studies consistently confirmed that a positive comparison elicited more favorable ad attitude and brand attitude than a negative comparison and consumers’ affective states accounted for their preference for the positive comparison. Moreover, we found some preliminary evidence suggesting that the preference for a positive message may be more remarkable in comparative advertisements than noncomparative advertisements. However, this proposition needs further validation in future research.     

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.     

South African Business Dynamics

ABSTRACT

This study attempts to develop a scale to measure the individual entrepreneurial orientation (IEO) of persons in South Africa. Respondents were subjected to a survey instrument and provided information on items pertaining to their demographics, entrepreneurial orientation, and values. The results showed substantial differences on the range of items between black and white entrepreneurs.     

Forgive me,Father, for I did not give full justification for my sins: How religious consumers justify the acquisition of material wealth

Abstract

This research shows how high religiosity consumers justify the purchase of highly materialistic goods. By drawing on the Justification-Suppression Model (JSM), it is shown that high religiosity consumers favour advertisements that suppress the materialistic aspects of goods and offer adequate justification for the purchase. However, these same consumers dislike advertisements that explicitly focus on the materialistic nature of goods. The results from the research offer insight into how high religiosity consumers are able to acquire material wealth despite a strong aversion to such practices within their doctrine. Implications from this research include a greater understanding of how to advertise to high religiosity consumers, but also how the JSM can be used as a means of minimising cognitive dissonance during purchase decisions.     

Howard,John A. and J. Hulbent. Advertising and the Public Interest. Chicago: Crain,Inc., 1973

Abstract

This study presents a content analysis of sexual portrayals in magazine advertisements during 1964 and 1984. The results show that the percentage of ads with sexual content did not increase over the twenty-year period, but that the types of sexual portrayals did; sexual illustrations became more overt; and there was a greater reliance on visual than verbal sex in 1984 than 1964. The study also found that female models are more likely to be portrayed as sexually clad, partially clad or nude than were male models.     

Offensive Advertising

Abstract

Prior literature regarding offensive advertising relates mainly to western cultures. No work has been done on this area in an Asian context. The research in this article reports on a survey of Singaporean consumers. The survey aimed to identify what types of products and appeals consumers find offensive in advertising, the reasons why they find the advertisements offensive, and how this offensive advertising may affect their purchase intentions. The results found that advertisements relating to chat-line services and sexual diseases were the most offensive, followed by advertisements for dating services. Levels of offensiveness were clearly related to demographic variables such as gender and age. In terms of reasons for offensiveness, consumers were most concerned by advertisements that had a sexual connotation or evoked unnecessary fear.Levels of offensiveness also affected purchase intentions. Based on the results, the article recommends that advertisers and their agencies should think more carefully about the demographic profile of their audiences, how this profile might impact their audiences ?sensitivity“ to potentially offensive advertising, and how this sensitivity should be used as a guide when making media and message decisions     

Analysis of Information Content in U.S. and Japanese Magazine Advertising

Abstract

The content of Japanese versus U.S. magazine advertisements is assessed to determine relative levels of information content based on the type of magazine, the kind of information, the product represented in the advertisement and the size of the advertisement. It was found that Japanese magazine advertisements were generally more informative than U.S. ads, although the emphasis on specific content varies cross-culturally.