Imagination matters: do consumers’ imagery processing and self-regulatory goals affect the persuasiveness of metaphor in advertising?

Abstract

In this paper, we show that individuals’ self-regulatory focus and imagery processing affect the persuasiveness of metaphorical advertisements. Study 1 show that metaphorical advertisements enhance persuasion only among individuals who are promotion focussed. They attenuate brand evaluation among prevention-focussed individuals. In Study 2, a regulatory fit between message frame and regulatory focus results in more favourable brand evaluations only among promotion-focussed individuals when a promotion-framed metaphorical advertisement is presented. In Study 3, the level of imagery processing mediates the interaction effect of metaphorical advertisements and regulatory focus on brand evaluation. Study 4 reveals that brand evaluation is enhanced when promotion-focussed consumers view a metaphorical advertisement without interpretative cues. However, the brand evaluation of prevention-focussed consumers is enhanced when they view a metaphorical advertisement with interpretative cues.     

Attitudinal change in children: An insight from three decade of advertising campaigns in India

Abstract

Exposure to advertisement is considered to be the primary source of indulgence and distraction for children. Past studies have treated children as both empowered and vulnerable. Empowered because after a certain age children become mature enough to understand the difference between entertainment and persuasion, but before reaching that stage children are extremely naïve. This paper aims to explore the changes in childrens’ attitude towards frequent changes in advertising campaigns with reference to a popular product of a famous chocolate multinational brand in India. Four focus groups comprising of 22 children of both the genders between the age group of 8–14 years participated in the study. Selective advertisement from a period of three decades (1983–2016) were chosen and shown to the children in a birthday party and their responses were collected. Congruency Theory of Social Psychology was applied for the analysis of the excerpts. The findings reveals that frequent changes in advertising campaigns create confusion in the minds of the children. The entertainment and empathy towards the advertisement were reduced considerably when the advertisement execution shifted from children to adults.     

The Tri-Mediation Model of persuasion

In this paper, the effects of positive versus negative (political) advertising are modelled. The findings show that positive as well as two different types of negative advertising will lead viewers to formulate specific attitudes towards the brand (sponsor). However, the manner in which these attitudes are formed will be affected by ad type and argument strength. It was found that under strong message argument conditions, negative attack ads may lead to more positive evaluations of the sponsoring candidate, whereas under weak message argument conditions, direct comparison ads may be superior.

In developing this model to include the effects of negative appeals, the traditional Dual Mediation Model of persuasion is redefined. The author demonstrates that a peripheral cue (attitude towards the ad) can have an impact on the central route to persuasion by fostering message acceptance not only in regard to the sponsor of the advertisement but also in regard to a competitor. The resultant Tri-Mediation Model of persuasion provides significant insights into the nature of cognitive processing resulting from exposure to negative advertising.     

Good for the feelings,bad for the memory: the impact of 3D versus 2D movies on persuasion knowledge and brand placement effectiveness

Abstract

Brand placements have been a popular advertising strategy for several decades, yet the effects of technological factors have been largely neglected in brand placement research. Consequently, this study analyzes the impact of a popular media technology, namely stereoscopy, on brand placement effectiveness, using the limited capacity model of mediated message processing and the persuasion knowledge model to predict and explain the effects. The main study (N?=?120) confirmed that compared with 3D movies, in 2D movies the participants were more likely to remember the brands placed and to critically reflect the persuasive intentions behind the placements. The additional structural elements in stereoscopic movies appear to require more cognitive resources. The consequent lack of cognitive capacity diminishes persuasion knowledge, which, in turn, positively affects brand evaluations and behavioral intentions. A post-hoc study (N?=?54) validated the assumption that media users watching 3D movies experience a higher cognitive load than those watching 2D movies.     

Children’s Responses to Traditional Versus Hybrid Advertising Formats: The Moderating Role of Persuasion Knowledge

Research on the impact of advertising on children has failed to keep pace with the rapidly changing media environment. Using an experimental approach, children’s responses towards traditional (television advertisement) versus new, hybrid advertising techniques (trailer, advergame, and their combination), and the moderating role of persuasion knowledge, are investigated. Results show that children who played an advergame have more difficulty recalling the advertised brand than children who saw a traditional television advertisement. When confronted with integrated marketing communications (a trailer followed by an advergame), children without knowledge of persuasive intent developed a more positive brand attitude than children with persuasion knowledge. The implications of these results are discussed.     

Culture-Based Values and Management Style of Marketing Decision Makers in Six Western Pacific Rim Countries

ABSTRACT

Given increasing advertisement clutter, advertisers are increasingly trying unconventional means to attract consumers' attention. One such method involves the use of incongruent ads, which are believed to attract viewers' attention. This research was conducted to ascertain the impact of audiovisual congruency in ads and the moderating role of product involvement on three facets of consumer response: attention to the ad, attention to the brand, and purchase intentions. Participants were shown one of eight TV ads for 30 seconds, following which they were asked to rate the ad on several dimensions. Results indicated, as expected, that congruent product and music type elicited favorable consumer responses. However, contrary to earlier findings that congruency in ads affects consumers in both high- and low-involvement conditions, we find that that the level of involvement moderated this effect on some consumer persuasion measures. In particular, participants under high-involvement conditions were found to be less influenced by congruent product–music situations. Implications for advertisers are discussed.     

Celebrity Endorsements

Abstract

Advertising professionals rely on the assumption that using a celebrity to endorse a brand will result in an increase in consumer recall of the brand. Advertisers believe that using a celebrity endorser will foster, in the mind of the consumer, a match or connection between the celebrity endorser and the endorsed brand. The results presented in this study, however, found that a celebrity recognized in a magazine advertisement did not increase consumer recall of the brand endorsed by the celebrity for both professional athlete celebrities and other entertainment celebrities who are not professional athletes. Furthermore, subjects in this study did not correctly identify the brand when previously exposed to the full magazine advertisement, even when the celebrity's face cued the subject for recall. The results of this study raise questions relative to using celebrity endorsements to enhance brand recall.     

Print Advertising Context Effects

Abstract

An expanded view of the advertisement credibility construct will offer a more complete representation of the factors that contribute to credibility and its outcomes. Based on recent proposed revisions to the advertising communication process model, a revised model of advertisement credibility is offered. A test of a portion of the model supports the inclusion of media credibility as a dimension of advertisement credibility and as an influence on attitude toward the ad, on attitude toward the brand, and on purchase intentions.     

From Elicitation to Persuasion: Assessing the Structure and Effectiveness of Differential Emotions in Anti-Drunk-Driving Campaigns

In this paper, we test whether the DES III structure of emotions as described by Izard (1977) can be found in self-report data collected in the context of a campaign to deter drunk driving. Indeed, when exposed to a shocking advertisement about the consequences of drunk-driving, young adults express a range of emotions from surprise to contempt. The purpose of this research is to study and understand the structure of these emotions and their impact on persuasion.

126 social drinkers aged between 20 and 28 years old, who were also students belonging to different French universities, were exposed to a dramatic printed advertisement about drinking and driving. After viewing the ad, subjects answered a survey including different measures of emotions using Izard's DES III scale, and measures of self-efficacy and persuasion.

Factor analysis results reveal a four dimensional structure of the original DES III. Both “primary emotions” and “repulsion” have direct effects on persuasion. However, the effect of “repulsion” on persuasion is negative. This paper is, to our knowledge, the first to show that surprise comes ahead of all other emotions elicited by a shocking advertisement. It is the precursor for all other emotional responses. This research also tests an original model explaining how people respond to shocking advertisements along two distinct pathways: one leading to persuasion and another one leading to resistance to persuasion.     

Exciting on Facebook or competent in the newspaper? Media effects on consumers’ perceptions of brands in the fashion category

Abstract

Media investments are continuously shifting from traditional media like newspapers to digital alternatives like websites and social media. This study investigated if and how media choice between the two rival channels can influence consumers’ perceptions of a novel brand. 504 Swedish retail fashion customers participated in an experiment to evaluate the identical advertisement placed either in a national newspaper or on Facebook. The results revealed that advertising in a newspaper can have a positive effect on brand equity facets and purchase intention through brand personality perceptions of being competent, while advertising on Facebook have similar effects but through perceptions of being exciting. Besides some evidence that choice between traditional and new media affects brand personality this study is one of the first attempts to incorporate media channel choice into the broader customer-based brand equity framework. The results from this particular study suggest that media channel choice should be considered from a brand equity building perspective at least in the fashion category. This study shows that different media channels could complement each other strategically, as traditional media channels still can have valuable and unique contributions to brand building through brand personality perceptions, especially for brands striving to be perceived as competent.     

Transferring game attitudes to the brand: persuasion from age 6 to 14

ABSTRACT

This paper aims to replicate previous findings regarding the differential impact of TV advertising and advergames on children's brand attitudes and pester intentions. Using a large data-set (N = 940, M_age = 9.8, SD = 2.4), with children ranging between 6 and 14 years old, the influence of passive exposure to TV advertising is compared to active exposure to an advergame. In addition, the potential moderating effect of age is explored. In a between-participants experiment, Flemish children were randomly assigned to watch a TV ad, play an advergame, or a no marketing control condition. Results revealed that children who had played the advergame reported significantly more positive brand attitudes compared to children who had watched the TV ad and children in the no advertising exposure control group. Children's pester intent was significantly higher for the advergame compared to the TV ad, but not compared to the no advertising exposure control group. The findings further showed that children's attitudes towards the ad format mediate the impact of the advertising format on pester intent. The advergame was indirectly more persuasive than the TV ad since children reported more positive attitudes towards the advergame compared to the TV advertisement. Moreover, this mediation effect did not differ by children's age. Persuasion knowledge did not mediate the influence of the advertising format on pester intent since children's persuasion knowledge was not significantly related to pester intentions regardless of children's age.     

European Views of Advertising

Abstract

The effects of brand beliefs and attitude-toward-the-ad (A_ad) on immediate and delayed measures of attitude-toward-the-brand (A_b)were investigated for individuals who were more- and less-involved with the message of a print advertisement. Results suggest A_ad's and brand beliefs' influence on immediate and delayed measures of A_b depend on individuals' involvement with the message. As expected, for individuals who are more-involved with an advertising message, both beliefs and A_ad influenced A_b. This relationship held even after a one-week delay. For those less-involved with the advertising message, however, beliefs had no significant influence on brand attitudes, measured immediately following advertising exposure or after a one-week delay. A_ad was shown to have a significant influence on brand attitudes in both time conditions. Implications for theory and practice, as well as directions for future research, are discussed.     

Depth versus Breadth Strategies for Global Brand Image Management

Abstract

Developing and maintaining a brand image is vital to any successful marketing and communication campaign. An image that clearly communicates the needs satisfied by the brand contributes to brand equity and helps combat brand parity. The normative model of brand image management suggests that marketers should base their images on a single set of consumer needs (depth strategy), rather than multiple sets of needs (breadth strategy). The extent to which depth strategies outperformed breadth strategies (in terms of annual change in sales volume, profit margin, and market share) was investigated for U.S. consumer goods exported into international markets. These markets varied in terms of level of economic development, cultural context, and competition. While the results indicate that depth strategies do tend to perform best, there are conditions under which breadth strategies perform just as well.     

International Advertising

Abstract

This article addresses the issue of how advertising influences consumers' brand choices. A concept termed the attitude toward the advertisement approach (ATT _A) is introduced; a theoretical case is developed showing why ATT _A is an important mediator of brand choice; empirical evidence in support of this case is presented; and suggestions for future research are offered.     

From digital media influencers to celebrity endorsers: attributions drive endorser effectiveness

We propose that attributions about an endorser truly liking, using, or desiring a promoted product mediate the relationship between source and message factors and persuasion via endorsement. In this paper, we integrate the persuasion literature into a framework for examining endorser effectiveness via focus factors (e.g., involvement, cognitive load) that determine whether a consumer thinks carefully or superficially about a message, and lead consumers to rely on different source and message elements (e.g., source attractiveness, argument strength). These elements then influence attributional processing. Correspondent inferences about an endorser can lead to enhanced advertisement and brand attitudes, and spur either fleeting identification with the endorsement or more enduring internalization (Kelman, The Public Opinion Quarterly 25:57–78, 1961) of the endorser’s message as a consumer’s own. Implications of our framework and research directions are discussed.     

Cause-related marketing persuasion research: an integrated framework and directions for further research

This paper presents an integrative review of the literature on cause-related marketing (CRM) persuasion research (i.e. studies of how CRM influences evaluations of the partner brand). The aim of the study was to review CRM persuasion research and to integrate the findings into a theoretical framework that could direct future research efforts in the area. Drawing on Bergkvist and Taylor's model of Leveraged Marketing Communications (LMC), a dual-path model of CRM persuasion effects was developed. According to the model, CRM affects brand evaluations along two paths: the indirect transfer path which is mediated by attribution of motives and the direct transfer path in which attitude towards the cause is transferred to the brand. The model incorporates results from extant research and provides guidance for future studies.     

When Fiction becomes Fact: Effect of Reverse Product Placement on Consumer Attitudes

ABSTRACT

This exploratory study investigates the persuasive effects of reverse product placement (RPP)—subsequent commercialization of fictional brands from entertainment media into real world products—comparing it with product placement (PP). Persuasion Knowledge Model and Attribution theory were applied to frame hypotheses of effects on brand attitudes along with the constraining effect of skepticism. A mixed test design revealed presence of persuasion knowledge, recognition of persuasive intent, and negative effect of skepticism for PP, but not for RPP. RPP also had a stronger, positive effect on consumer attitudes. Potential application of RPP in new product development and adoption is discussed.     

The Persuasive Effect of Circadian Arousal,Endorser Expertise,and Argument Strength in Advertising

Abstract

This research investigates the influence of circadian arousal, endorser expertise, and argument strength of a message on attitudes toward the brand and purchase intention. The quasi-experimental design is a 2 (high versus low endorser expertise) × 2 (strong versus weak arguments) × 2 (morning-type versus evening-type persons) × 3 (advertisement viewing time: 10 a.m., 3 p.m., or 8 p.m.) between-subjects factorial design with 602 Thai female adults. The results are not in complete accordance with predictions from the Elaboration Likelihood Model. For both types of persons, higher argument strength leads to better attitudes toward the brand and higher purchase intention, regardless of endorser expertise and advertisement viewing time. When morning-type persons view the advertisements in the morning and evening, the high- and the low-expertise endorsers have no different effect on attitudes toward the brand, regardless of argument strength. When they view the advertisements in the afternoon, the high expertise endorser creates better attitudes toward the brand than does the low expertise endorser, regardless of argument strength. For evening-type persons, endorser expertise does not affect either of the dependent variables. Theoretical and managerial implications of the study are discussed.     

The four Rs of place branding

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the concept of ownership in relation to place branding and to establish a basis upon which the representation of a place as a brand can be developed. We suggest that a bottom-up approach based on the paradigm of co-creation should be taken to developing a place brand and that brand ownership is determined by the extent to which the representation of the place reflects the experience of the community. Such an approach, we believe, is essential to achieve authenticity (brand essence), commitment from stakeholders, and brand sustainability. Grounded in ethnographic research, this paper presents a model that structures the features of community ownership from a bottom-up perspective and proposes four fundamental elements of place branding that encapsulate the experience of the place: rights, roles, relationships, and responsibilities.     

An experimental investigation of the Egyptian consumers’ attitudes towards surrealism in advertising

This study investigates Egyptian consumers’ attitudes towards surrealism in advertising held by a sample of 976 participants. An experimental approach was taken to establish the interaction between Surreal advertisements and product category attitudes. This interaction was found to be statistically significant. A 2 × 2 anova was conducted to evaluate the effect of sex on attitudes towards surrealism in advertising. The results indicated a significant interaction between advertisement type and sex. However, the impact of surrealism in advertisements on persuasion, as measured by consumers’ attitudes towards the advertisement and brand, was not found to be moderated by consumers’ social class/income. These results lend strong support to the advertisement adaptation hypothesis and suggest that advertisements produced in one country cannot be standardized or directly translated for use in another, particularly if they are culturally different.