The Use of Different Endorser Types in Advertising: A Content Analysis of Magazine Advertisements

Most of the literature assumes that endorsements, particularly by celebrities, are a frequently used advertising strategy. However, no study has yet investigated the use of the different endorser types identified by academic literature. This study seeks to close this research gap by analyzing German print advertisements. It finds that endorsement strategy in general is used much less than academic literature assumes, and that the relative significance of the different endorser types is incongruent to expectations. Moreover, the data suggest that, contrary to the literature's assumptions, credibility is not the most important underlying construct for endorsement advertisements, the endorser type used is frequently determined by the product category that is being advertised, and campaigns based on authenticity and similarity are gaining considerable importance in advertising practice.     

The aesthetic fidelity effect

Product aesthetics is a powerful means for achieving competitive advantage. Yet most studies to date have focused on the role of aesthetics in shaping pre-purchase preferences and have failed to consider how product aesthetics affects post-purchase processes and consumers' usage behavior. This research focuses on the relationship between aesthetics and usage behavior in the context of durable products. Studies 1A to 1C provide evidence of a positive effect of product aesthetics on usage intensity using market data from the car and the fashion industries. Study 2 corroborates these findings and shows that the more intensive use of highly aesthetic products may lead to the acquisition of product-specific usage skills that form the basis for a cognitive lock-in. Hence, consumers are less likely to switch away from products with appealing designs, an effect that is labeled as the ‘aesthetic fidelity’ effect. Study 3 addresses an alternative explanation for the ‘aesthetic fidelity effect’ based on mood and motivation but finds that the ‘aesthetic fidelity’ effect is indeed determined by usage intensity. Finally, Study 4 identifies a boundary condition of the positive effect of product aesthetics on product usage, showing that it is limited to durable products. In sum, this research demonstrates that the effects of product aesthetics extend beyond the pre-consumption stage and have an enduring impact on people's consumption experiences.     

Images paired with concrete claims improve skeptical consumers’ responses to advertising promoting a firm’s good deeds

Previous research has focused attention on state skepticism over corporate social responsibility (CSR) communications, but little work has focused on how to override preexisting differences in consumer skepticism. To gain insight into this issue, the present studies explore whether company ads promoting a firm’s good deeds generate more positive responses when the ads contain concrete claims and/or images related to the firm’s corporate social responsibility claims, and how these elements of the CSR communication interact with individual differences in advertising skepticism. Results show that highly skeptical consumers (a) respond less favorably to ads than less skeptical consumers, overall; (b) respond more favorably to ads that contain a combination of concrete claims and images supporting those claims; and (c) respond as favorably as less skeptical consumers when ads feature concrete claims with supporting images. Additional results suggest that images are effective among highly skeptical consumers because skeptical consumers have a reduced ability to visualize advertising claims. Implications and future research directions are discussed.     

The capital market spillover effect of product market advertising: Evidence from stock price synchronicity

We analyze whether product market advertising has a spillover effect on stock price synchronicity by transmitting firm-specific information to the capital market and attracting more investor attention. Using a sample of Chinese listed firms from 2009 to 2017, we find that firms with greater advertising expenditures have lower stock price synchronicity. The results are robust after we address endogeneity concerns. In accord with our hypothesis that product market advertising increases the amount of firm-level information capitalized into stock prices through the information channel, we find that the impact of advertising on synchronicity is more pronounced for firms with a higher degree of information asymmetry and firms in the consumer-product industry. Further tests show that product market advertising enhances the ability of current period returns to reflect future earnings, and thus rules out that the negative relationship between advertising and synchronicity is driven by noise trading. Our results imply that product market advertising plays an informative role and improves information efficiency in a capital market.     

Women “in motion”: the kinaesthetic viewing experience in Chinese viral advertising films

ABSTRACT

Visual imagery provides aesthetic experiences for viewers, and viral advertising films address viewers’ experience of movement which has not been analysed. Developing visual analyses, this study uses phenomenological approaches and the concept of kinaesthetic empathy, defined as the ability of viewers to react to movements, also in film. It considers Chinese Wei movies (“microfilms” or viral advertising films) with reference to examples by Audi and Swarovski as representatives of China's post-socialist marketing culture. Women in these films are presented as “in motion,” yet still are often delimited by traditional gender stereotypes. These films are potentially ambivalent ideological carriers that encourage women to reinvent themselves through consumption within traditional gender roles but may also suggest the pursuit of different experiences as movement is abstract, transitory and cannot be commodified.     

How can the word “NEW” evoke consumers' experiences of novelty and interest?

This paper examines the role advertising cues play in inducing subjective perceptions of product novelty and how they can evoke consumer interest toward an advertisement. Specifically, it uses behavioral and psychophysiological measures to: (1) investigate the effect of novelty cues on consumers’ subjective appraisal of novelty; (2) demonstrate that novelty cues may evoke the emotion of interest; and (3) differentiate the effect of the emotion of interest on liking and arousal. Across two experimental studies, we demonstrated that simply adding the word “new” in an advertisement increases behavioral (i.e., viewing duration) and psychophysiological responses (i.e., cardiac activity) of interest. However, the word “new” did not evoke liking and arousal. This suggests that novelty cues in an advertisement will make the consumers perceive the product to be novel and further evoke consumer interest.     

ARBITRAGE‐FREE BILATERAL COUNTERPARTY RISK VALUATION UNDER COLLATERALIZATION AND APPLICATION TO CREDIT DEFAULT SWAPS

We develop an arbitrage‐free valuation framework for bilateral counterparty risk, where collateral is included with possible rehypothecation. We show that the adjustment is given by the sum of two option payoff terms, where each term depends on the netted exposure, i.e., the difference between the on‐default exposure and the predefault collateral account. We then specialize our analysis to credit default swaps (CDS) as underlying portfolios, and construct a numerical scheme to evaluate the adjustment under a doubly stochastic default framework. In particular, we show that for CDS contracts a perfect collateralization cannot be achieved, even under continuous collateralization, if the reference entity’s and counterparty’s default times are dependent. The impact of rehypothecation, collateral margining frequency, and default correlation‐induced contagion is illustrated with numerical examples.     

制造型供应商不同产品特征与品牌导向的关系机理--基于我国产业市场的实证研究

本文以信息整合理论为依据,将供应商产品特征视为其实施品牌导向的前置变量,并把供应商产品特征划分为产品重要性与产品复杂性两类,探讨不同产品特征与品牌导向的关系。对184家制造型供应商数据进行实证分析,结果发现,供应商产品重要性与品牌导向具有倒U型关系,产品复杂性与品牌导向具有U型关系,同时市场竞争强度会增强上述两组变量间的非线性关系。     

人民币实际汇率调整对中国制造业就业影响——来自1998~2007年细分行业数据的证据

本文首次利用498个4位代码的细分行业数据研究汇率调整对中国制造业就业的影响。在扩展汇率调整对就业市场影响理论分析框架的基础上,本文探讨了人民币实际汇率调整从要素密集度对中国城市制造业就业市场的传导渠道及其影响因素;并通过1998~2007年工业企业数据以及海关贸易数据构建人民币在行业层面的实际有效汇率指数,发现人民币实际汇率调整会对中国城市行业就业市场产生显著且重要的影响。研究表明:初级产品和劳动资本密集型行业的实际汇率调整对就业影响估计的显著性明显高于技术密集型行业,3类行业的就业弹性分别为0.423、0.327、0.309;相对私营行业而言,外商投资行业的净就业水平对于实际汇率调整更为敏感。     

Overcoming the Trend Toward Healthier Foods: The Impact of Advertising and Intangibles on Investor Returns in the Packaged Food Industry

The study analyzes the impact of advertising, goodwill, and other intangibles on investor returns in the consumer packaged food and beverage industry during 2008–2012, a timeframe during which smaller brands wrestled $18 billion in sales away from large manufacturers of processed foods. The findings demonstrate that those firms that were able to allocate a greater percentage of their revenue to their ongoing advertising efforts were able to enhance investor holding period returns (HPR). In addition, those firms with a higher ratio of intangible assets other than goodwill to total assets were also able to enhance HPR. However, there was not a significant positive relationship between the ratio of acquired goodwill to total assets and HPR. Hence, packaged food and beverage manufacturers are advised to seek competitive advantages through their own brand-building efforts rather than seeking to enhance investor returns through a strategy based on company mergers and acquisitions.