Effect of Ad-Irrelevant Distance Cues on Persuasiveness of Message Framing

This research suggests that the relative persuasiveness of message framing depends on psychological distance induced by seemingly irrelevant cues in the ad environment. Positively (negatively) framed messages are more persuasive when the ad-irrelevant cues induce psychological remoteness (proximity). Across four studies and two different product categories, participants evaluated positively (negatively) framed messages more favorably when induced with social remoteness (proximity), spatial remoteness (proximity), and an abstract (concrete) construal. The findings contribute theoretically to the extant literature on message framing and offer actionable implications to ad managers for strategically designing ad environments to enhance the effectiveness of message framing.     

Understanding Non-Profit and For-Profit Social Marketing on Social Media: The Case of Anti-Texting While Driving

Previous studies suggest that consumers tend to infer more negative motives of for-profit sponsorship on social cause than to non-profits. The current study is aimed at identifying potential effective strategies for for-profit organizations to engage in social marketing efforts. Results showed that participants expressed lower texting while driving intentions when the message was initiated by a non-profit than a for-profit organization. For-profit messages were more likely to elicit desirable persuasive effects if their business offering was congruent with the social cause. Participants' intentions to interact with promotion messages on social media predicted their offline behavioral intentions regarding the promoted behaviors.     

The effects of framing messages and cause-related marketing on backing intentions in reward-based crowdfunding

This study explores the main and interaction effects of framing messages and cause-related marketing on backing intentions by manipulating frame types, frame valences, and cause-related marketing in the message narratives of crowdfunding projects. We conduct an online experiment for a crowdfunding campaign and analyze data using independent-samples t-test and ANOVA. This study's findings show that negative messages lead to higher backing intentions than positive ones regarding attribute and goal framing messages. Narratives with cause-related marketing in crowdfunding projects had a more significant effect on increasing backing intentions than those without cause-related marketing. Positive attribute framing messages combined with cause-related marketing had significantly higher backing intentions than messages without cause-related marketing; for negative attribute framing, there was no significant difference between with and without cause-related marketing. This study theoretically advances the literature on reward-based crowdfunding, which provides scholars with insight into the effects of the written narrative design of crowdfunding projects on backing intentions and extends to the applications of framing effect theory and cause-related marketing. Practically, this study provides project initiators and crowdfunding platform operators with new perspectives on proposal copywriting content design and project operation.     

How language abstractness affects service referral persuasiveness

Due to the inherent risk and uncertainty characterizing pre-purchase service evaluation, consumers tend to rely on referrals from other consumers who already have experiences with that service. Thus, companies are eager to stimulate such referrals and improve their effectiveness. To this end, this research investigates how consumers' linguistic framing of service recommendations influences recipients' attitudes and behavioral intentions. Specifically, this study focuses on one key dimension of language—its abstractness (vs. concreteness)—and hypothesizes that the effect of language abstractness on referral persuasiveness depends on recipients' prior knowledge about the service in question. The results of two experiments in the context of financial and medical services demonstrate that abstract language is more effective than concrete language for recipients with high prior knowledge. Moreover, this research shows that recipients' engagement in mental imagery processing is that makes abstract language more effective for those with high prior knowledge. This articles ends with a discussion of the study's implications for academic research, social communication and service management, along with its limitations and future research directions.     

Developing effective social media messages: Insights from an exploratory study of industry experts

As consumers are increasingly utilizing the social network and media platforms for prepurchase information, managers are confronted with producing effective social media messages that can favorably influence buyers’ attitudes and behavioral intentions towards brands. A qualitative, in‐depth, elite interview investigation with social media marketing experts was undertaken to develop awareness of the factors influencing the effectiveness of social media marketing. Adopting a thematic analysis approach, this study establishes the three overriding themes of interactivity, credibility, and infotainment as being valuable in determining how social media marketing can enhance brand performance. Attitude theory and the hierarchy‐of‐effects model is utilized to support understanding and explain the decision making of social media users in this context. Overall, this study provides managers with a thorough explanation of the effects of the identified core themes on social media attitudes and intentions. Implications for social media marketing theory and practice are presented based upon the depth and breadth of knowledge attained from the analysis of the expert interview data.     

It's the thought that counts: The effects of construal level priming and donation proximity on consumer response to donation framing

This research demonstrates that consumers react differently to donations emphasizing a company's effort invested in charitable actions, as opposed to those highlighting its ability to carry out those actions. Our results show that consumers rate the brands that adopt an effort-oriented donation strategy more favorably than those that use an ability-oriented strategy (study 1). Further, this effect is moderated by consumers' perceived psychological distance (made salient by construal level priming or donation proximity). The findings converge to show that congruency between donation framing and primed psychological distance leads to more favorable brand evaluations and greater purchase intentions. Findings of this research contribute to the corporate social responsibility literature and have important marketing research and managerial implications.     

To donate or not to donate? Product characteristics and framing effects of cause‐related marketing on consumer purchase behavior

The present study examines potential influences associated with donation framing, product price, product type, and donation magnitude on cause‐related marketing (CRM) campaigns, where money is donated to a charity each time a consumer makes a pur‐chase. In addition to the main effects of the aforementioned factors, experimental results indicate that beneficial effects of product type (i.e., frivolous products bundled with a cause are more effective than practical ones) occur when donation information is framed in absolute dollar terms. The effects of donation framing are found insignificant when the donation magnitude is high. Influences of donation magnitude on CRM effectiveness are limited in high‐priced items. When the donation magnitude is constant, a donation amount framed in absolute dollar value is more effective than that in percentage terms for low‐priced products, and the opposite is true for high‐priced items. In practice, marketers thus stand to gain not only by matching the donation magnitude in their advertised products with the right price but also by an appropriate “framing” of the offered bundles. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

The Effect of Consumer Persuasion Knowledge on Scarcity Appeal Persuasiveness

Past research identifies demand-related scarcity appeals and supply-related scarcity appeals as effective persuasive influences on consumer behavior. The present research uses a persuasion knowledge approach to examine the persuasiveness of demand- versus supply-related scarcity appeals in advertising messages. Study 1 shows that supply-related scarcity appeal ad messages are less likely to activate persuasion knowledge than demand-related scarcity appeal messages. Study 2 demonstrates that message specificity moderates this effect. In line with an elaboration likelihood model perspective, results show that stating the appeal in specific (versus vague) terms decreases the persuasiveness of supply-related scarcity appeal ad messages.     

Communicating With Nonprofit Publics In China: Applying the RISP Model to Prosocial Intentions

This study applied the Risk Information Seeking and Processing (RISP) model to social risk information seeking and processing on social media and prosocial behavioral intentions. Survey data were collected among Chinese college students. Structural Equation Modeling revealed that the model can be successfully applied to social risk information seeking and processing on social media. Students who exhibit high tendencies for systematic information processing and for the interdependent self-construal are more likely to engage in prosocial activities. NPOs are suggested to target young adults with high inter-dependent self-construals, and to craft compelling messages on social media.     

A conceptual analysis of brand intimacy on social media platforms

The nature of brand intimacy in the context of social media-based brand communities (SMBBCs) remains unclear. This paper aims to explore whether reciprocal factual and emotional self-disclosure can lead to brand intimacy in such a community; whether brand intimacy generates valued marketing outcomes, including attitudes, intentions and behaviours; and what external and internal factors motivate and enable reciprocal factual and emotional disclosures on social media platforms. A review of the relevant literature suggests that reciprocal disclosure may lead to brand intimacy in this context. For marketers, brand intimacy is important for strengthening resistance to negative information, and enhancing positive word-of-mouth, loyalty intentions, purchase intentions and brand passion, as well as developing effective marketing strategies. The degree of anonymity and the special interactivity features of SMBBCs are key external enablers of disclosure. In situations where community members internally seek relations and/or emotional support from other members, they tend to disclose their emotions. Members who internally seek social validation and/or self-expression tend to both disclose, factually and emotionally. Such a conceptual understanding of the importance of brand intimacy, paired with a number of propositions for empirical work, can serve to guide future research into this important field.     

The Impact of Cause-Related Marketing on Millennials’ Product Attitudes and Purchase Intentions

This study, using scenarios, examined the impact of two kinds of cause-related marketing (CRM) efforts (a traditional donation of a portion of sales to a related cause and a more strategic one-for-one donation of donating a product to a related cause when that product was purchased) on millennials’ (those born between 1982 and 2000) attitudes and purchase intentions for four different consumer product categories. The four different consumer product categories selected included a specialty good (laptop), a shopping good (hat), a convenience good (bottled water), and a service (food restaurant). Given the importance of social media to millennials, this research also examined the role of social media on CRM awareness. While millennials had relatively low awareness of CRM campaigns, there was a positive correlation between social media use and CRM awareness. Additionally, CRM efforts may not work for all products as there was no impact on attitude or purchase intention for the product category of laptops. Additionally, the positive attitudes created by marketers’ CRM efforts will not always translate to increased purchase intentions. The use of a strategic one-for-one CRM effort though had a greater impact, specifically for products that deal with needed fundamentals, such as food and water.     

Promoting Interactive Decision Aids on Retail Websites: A Message Framing Perspective with New versus Traditional Focal Actions

Online retailers significantly benefit when consumers use interactive decision aids (IDAs). In this study, we investigate how to best design messages that promote IDA use. Using an extended message framing perspective, we propose that messages about consumers’ traditional action (searching) increase usage intentions more than messages about the new action (IDA use). Results from two experiments confirm that this holds across both high and low involvement categories and in particular when the traditional action frame is combined with a loss outcome. We also demonstrate that familiarity with the message's focal action mediates this effect.     

What to Get and What to Give Up: How Different Decision Tasks and Product Types Affect the Persuasiveness of Promotion‐ versus Prevention‐Focused Messages

Prior research has distinguished between ad message frames that are promotion‐focused (i.e., eager‐sounding and achievement‐oriented) and those that are prevention‐focused (i.e., vigilance‐hued and safety‐themed). In three studies, the authors investigate the relative persuasiveness of promotion‐ versus prevention‐focused messages in the context of different decision tasks (i.e., acquisition vs. forfeiture) and different types of featured products/attributes (i.e., hedonic vs. utilitarian). Studies 1 and 2 focus on message structures conducive to imagery‐based processing. The results show that promotion‐focused messages are relatively more persuasive than prevention‐focused messages in acquisition tasks than in forfeiture tasks in the case of hedonic products (and products with salient hedonic attributes). Relative persuasiveness of the two message frames is not affected by decision task in the case of utilitarian products (or products with salient utilitarian attributes). Study 3 uses message structures suited for analytical processing. In this study, interestingly, the relative persuasiveness of prevention‐focused (vs. promotion‐focused) messages is greater in forfeiture tasks than in acquisition tasks in the case of utilitarian products. Relative persuasiveness of the two message frames is not affected by decision task in the case of hedonic products. Theoretical and managerial implications of the findings are discussed.     

The interactive effect of numerical precision and message framing in increasing consumer awareness of food waste issues

Food waste has become a pressing problem in the world, leading to a range of economic, social, and environmental issues. As a result, there are increasing calls to develop effective messages that can increase consumer awareness of food waste and its negative impacts. Drawing upon a recent research on the influences of numerical precision on consumer decision making, the present research tests the ‘match-up’ effects between numerical precision and message framing on consumer awareness of food waste issues. Two experimental studies (N_total = 799) show that more (vs. less) precise numerical information can increase consumer awareness of food waste issues when combined with a loss message framing, whereas less (vs. more) precise numerical information is more effective when combined with a gain message framing. This research also examines the role of time availability as a boundary condition, such that when perceptions of time availability is heightened or reduced, the predicted effects are attenuated. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed.     

Saving Behavior Messaging: Gain/Loss Framing,Self/Family Orientations,and Individual Differences in Collectivism

As the United States faces low savings rates and an aging population, examining messages that encourage saving behavior is critical. Adding to this need is growth in ethnic minority groups (e.g., Hispanic Americans) that tend to experience greater saving challenges. The current study tested framing effects (i.e., loss/gain), in tandem with message orientation (i.e., self/family) and the moderating role of collectivism, on ad response variables after exposure to public service advertisements about saving. Results across three experiments confirm that matching the level of collectivism with orientation impacted the effect of framing on the outcome measures but that individual differences in collectivism impacted the results more than membership in an ethnic group. Loss framing for both low and high collectivistic individuals, when matched with a self-oriented appeal in the former and a family-oriented appeal in the latter, were most effective. Gain framing was more effective when level of individual collectivism was not matched with self/family message orientation. Important theoretical issues are addressed as well as implications for advertisers who engage in saving behavior messaging.     

Relative persuasiveness of repurchase intentions versus recommendations in online reviews

This paper examines the effects of loyalty expressions (i.e., repurchase intentions vs. recommendations) on review persuasiveness. Specifically, we propose that repurchase intentions have a stronger positive effect on review persuasiveness compared to recommendations because of reviewer credibility. We test the above proposition using both an empirical dataset and multiple experimental studies. In addition, we examine frequency of purchase as a boundary condition for our proposition. Accordingly, we find that for frequent purchases, repurchase intentions (vs. recommendations) increases credibility, which, in turn, augments review persuasiveness. For infrequent purchases, however, we observe that recommendations (vs. repurchase intentions) enhance review persuasiveness, which occurs because of increased credibility. This research offers contributions to theory in the areas of online reviews, loyalty, source credibility, and cue-diagnosticity, as well as to practice regarding how firms should seek to elicit loyalty expressions (i.e., repurchase intentions vs. recommendations) when soliciting reviews.     

Fear advertisements: influencing consumers to make better health decisions

From a goal-theoretic framework, this paper proposes that fear-based framing of health messages can lead to positive decision intentions, thus helping consumers make better future health-related choices. Across two experiments, findings demonstrate that the type of advertisement (fear versus hope) and food prime (indulgent versus non-indulgent) interact to determine goal-related choice focus – such as subsequent indulgence intention or intention to implement an exercise health goal. Research implications include the suggestion that if marketers properly execute fear-primed promotional messages with non-indulgent food offerings, they can satisfy the notion that ‘One good health decision can lead to another.’     

Persuasive Charity Appeals for Less and More Controllable Health Causes: The Roles of Implicit Mindsets and Benefit Frames

This research investigates whether donors' beliefs in changeability influence the persuasiveness of charity ads for less and more controllable health conditions. Across three studies and using different health conditions, we show that fixed-mindset consumers' beliefs about immutability lead them to donate more to less (vs. more) controllable causes. The results show that this effect is driven by their tendency to blame people with more controllable health conditions. Conversely, controllability does not influence consumers with growth mindsets, who believe in the changeability of health conditions. Moreover, we examine benefit framing as a potential persuasive factor encouraging donations of consumers with growth mindsets. Specifically, we find that in less controllable cases, consumers with growth mindsets are more persuaded to donate by other-benefit appeals (focusing on how donating enhances others' lives and makes others feel better); in more controllable conditions, they are more persuaded by self-benefit appeals (focusing on how donating enhances their own lives and makes them feel better). The perceived efficacy of donation drives this effect. Meanwhile, consumers with fixed mindsets are more willing to donate to less (vs. more) controllable causes regardless of benefit frames used in the charity ad. This research offers managerial implications for advertisers and marketers.     

The interaction of message frames and reference points in prosocial persuasive appeals

This research seeks to reconcile inconsistent results obtained in prior framing research in prosocial persuasion contexts by proposing that the reference point (self or self‐other) invoked in a persuasive appeal moderates the impact of a particular message frame (positive or negative) on attitudes and behavioral intentions. Two experiments were conducted in which frame and reference point were manipulated in persuasive messages promoting either recycling or prevention of HPV, a sexually transmitted disease. The results indicate that in persuasive social contexts, negative frames may be most persuasive with self‐referencing appeals while positive frames work best when benefits to self as well as others are emphasized. This suggests that developers of prosocial communications should be cognizant of both the message frame and the reference point invoked in these messages in order to have maximum persuasion impact. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.