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Personalized advertisements have been increasingly employed as a marketing strategy that enables a company to build strong relationship with customers. Results from two studies show that perceived personalization of personalized advertisements is an essential factor of stronger brand love. Specifically, this research reveals that perceived personalized Facebook ads positively impact brand experience and brand self-expressiveness, which in turn enhances brand attachment and brand love. This paper contributes to branding literature by illustrating how advertisements strengthen consumer brand relationships and enable brand managers to make better informed decisions when crafting personalized advertisements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thus far, the data envelopment analysis (DEA) model has not been used to examine the lagged effects of advertising goodwill stock on promotional efficiency. Thus, this study develops a dynamic DEA framework to illustrate the lagged effect of advertising goodwill stock on the dynamic promotional efficiency of major automobile manufacturers in the United States. The advertising goodwill stock in five automobile producers was measured using the econometric model. Subsequently, the advertising goodwill stock was treated as a lagged effect in a dynamic DEA framework. We analyse the empirical results and formulate the following two important findings: First, the results demonstrate that the lagged effect of advertising goodwill stock can lead to changes in the promotional efficiency of advertising. Second, the paper discusses ways that inefficient automobile manufacturers can improve marketing strategy implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study develops a conceptual framework of advertising intrusiveness that extends previous research on the topic by examining both drivers and consequences. To achieve this, the work draws on in-depth interviews with 29 adult consumers who report experiencing intrusive advertising in their daily lives. Three drivers of advertising intrusiveness are identified - temporal disruption, visual disruption and flow disruption - along with three consequences - emotional response, behavioural response and cognitive response. From these drivers and consequences, a conceptual framework of advertising intrusiveness is developed based on ideas about psychological reactance. Based on this framework it is proposed that, while all advertisements might ultimately be perceived as intrusive, an advertisement’s characteristics, which are the identified subcomponents of the drivers of intrusiveness, exacerbate the resultant consequences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cause-related marketing has the capability to generate strong brand evaluations and brings to managers a set of very complex decisions. Cause-related marketing very closely concerns society and its problems and consumers (in terms of product/service offer and the seeking of their support for various campaigns) and the company (with its various objectives that demand simultaneous attention). Although this marketing strategy has been used for more than 30 years there's still a lack of clarity regarding the level of importance of various factors that affect success of a cause-related marketing campaign. In this study, the aim was to determine driving and dependence power of certain significant factors over each other to ascertain the approach with which these factors must be considered during campaign development For this purpose, ISM technique was employed to determine interrelationships between factors and, later on, the hierarchy that lies in their relations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditional marketing strategies are now no longer seen as effective in communicating with today's sophisticated groups. Today, companies employ knowledge from disciplines other than marketing – such as psychology, neuroscience, and linguistics – when communicating with their target audience. In this study, the content analysis method is used to analyse Effie Turkey gold award-winning advertisements in order to determine the storytelling elements used in advertisements. In order to show the increasing use of storytelling elements in advertisements, the 2011–2013 and 2017–2018 award winning advertisements are studied. The analysis reveals that seven basic plots are used extensively in advertisements to create empathy. We also analysed the archetypes used in the advertisements, and found that the caregiver type is the most commonly used archetype, followed by Jung's explorer type. According to the findings of this study, among all aspects of language syntactic structure seems to play the most important role. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Consumers are susceptible to reference price effects when they make purchase decisions for a certain product. Meanwhile, the sales price and advertisement are the determinable factors that have impact on consumers’ reference price which are also fundamental marketing strategies. Therefore, how to determine an appropriate sales price and advertising effort level to maximise firms’ profits is an essential task. A joint pricing and advertising problem for a monopolistic firm with consideration of reference price effect is investigated, where consumer demand rate is price-sensitivity and depends on the gap between the sales price and the reference price in consumers’ mind. An optimisation model is established to maximise the firm’s total profit by making a joint pricing and advertising strategy. The static and dynamic joint strategies are obtained by applying Pontryagin’s maximum principle. Results show that the dynamic strategies dominate the static ones. Furthermore, the dynamic pricing and dynamic advertising strategies are strategic complements. Additionally, the length of the sales period plays a key role in determining the superiority of the two dynamic strategies. Specifically, a relatively short sales period highlights the value of the dynamic advertising while a long sales period strengthens the function of the dynamic pricing. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The research explores consumers’ perceptions of the business motivations behind a new type of sustainable business strategy – green demarketing. Green demarketing refers to a strategy whereby a brand encourages consumers to buy less at the category level through purchase of the company’s brand for the sake of the environment. Two studies show that consumer motive attributions and attitudes may depend on the brand’s perceived fit with sustainable business practices. Specifically, results show that the brand’s environmental reputation is the strongest predictor of consumers’ responses towards a green demarketing campaign, with effects persisting above and beyond the influences of the brand’s length of commitment to environmental protection and consumers’ brand habits. Implications for practice and future research are proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Employing scenario-based experiments, this paper examines the effect of word of mouth (WOM) on the sender’s intention to give future WOM about the focal service provider and the self-enhancement derived from articulating WOM. Extant WOM literature considers self-enhancement as a key driver of positive WOM. This paper provides empirical evidence that a reverse effect exists and that self-enhancement is also an outcome of WOM behaviour. Results indicate that the impact of WOM on self-enhancement has substantive significance and holds for both positive and negative WOM. The effect of WOM on intentions is only partially supported. Finally, tie strength between the WOM participants partially moderates the relationship between the variables. Importantly, the impact of negative WOM is stronger than that of positive WOM. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

There are two forms of advertising appeals for environmentally friendly products and policies: those that provide consumer benefit (e.g., cost savings) and those that provide societal benefit (e.g., lower emissions). This research examines the role of decision-making and consumption contexts on the efficacy of each appeal. The results of three studies indicate that in contexts where consumers experience heightened public accountability they are more responsive to other-benefit appeals, and in more private settings they favor self-benefit appeals. We replicate this finding across multiple samples, product categories, and consumption and decision-making contexts. Our findings reconcile previously conflicting research on the efficacy of either appeal type and provide guidance for marketers seeking to promote environmentally friendly consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Research that examines race-stereotyped advertising emphasizes the social impact of these representations and overlooks the potential positive effect on advertising effectiveness. The present research examines the effects of race-stereotyped portrayals on advertising effectiveness among both members and nonmembers of a group that is stereotyped in an advertisement. We integrate research on consumer identity, social categorization, and advertising persuasion to hypothesize the process underlying viewers' attitude formation when exposed to advertising featuring a race-stereotyped portrayal. Results of an experiment conducted in South Africa demonstrate that members of the group that is the subject of the stereotyped portrayal (stereotyped viewers) feel offended. At the same time, results suggest that nonstereotyped viewers experience ambivalence when exposed to stereotyped portrayals. Findings highlight the role of viewers' strength of identification and provide guidance to advertisers with regard to the use of stereotyped portrayals in advertising. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study attempts to identify the potential determinants of advertising avoidance in the context of personalized advertising media, including unsolicited commercial e-mail, postal direct mail, telemarketing, and text messaging. Using a self-administered survey (n = 442), the proposed model is tested with structural equation modeling analysis. The findings indicate that while ad skepticism partially mediates the relationship between ad avoidance and its three determinants (perceived personalization, privacy concerns, and ad irritation), both privacy concerns and ad irritation have a direct positive effect on ad avoidance. However, increased perceived personalization leads directly to decreased ad avoidance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In-depth interviews with senior-level agency practitioners (creative, planning, and account directors) were conducted to explore their thoughts about how advertising works. The study was designed to add to the understanding of the academician--practitioner gap in advertising by uncovering practitioners' hypothesized knowledge autonomy in the context of the sociological theory of professionalization. Results provide evidence for the existence of such autonomous practitioner knowledge schemas. Agency practitioners' core theories include a two-step "break through and engage" process and the longitudinal "mutation of effects" idea. They also believe in the primacy of emotional effects. Creativity is identified as the singularly most important factor in effectiveness, and agency professionals resisted any other regularities that may curtail creativity and result in formulaic advertising. Practitioners also emphasized the importance of defining boundary conditions when making claims about how advertising works, and identified strategic campaign objective, product category, medium used, and historical time period as key domains to consider. Implications for both academia and practice are offered, as are possible future research directions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies the effectiveness of a type of nonprice promotion often used in the European magazines industry to diminish the decline rate of periodical sales, in which a value pack is sold containing the magazine issue plus another product. Magazines are sold simultaneously with and without promotion at different prices, and promotions are serialized by fractioning the additional product across different issues of the magazine. Although promoting magazines contemporarily may cannibalize nonpromoted sales, this loss is compensated by a long-term increase in nonpromoted sales caused by product awareness and loyalty improvements. This strategy is increasingly used as an innovative form of product advertising. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the ways of improving banner advertising effectiveness by suggesting alternative advertising repetition strategies in varying on-line environments. Specifically, we investigate the effectiveness of repeating varied executions versus repeating single executions of a banner ad on brand recall and intention to click in different competitive and content-relevant on-line environments. The results of our experiment show that (1) banner advertising repetition leads to greater brand name memory and intention to click in on-line environments; (2) in a noncompetitive Internet environment, an ad variation strategy leads to higher brand name recall and intention to click than an ad repetition strategy; (3) in a competitive Internet environment, a single ad repetition strategy leads to higher brand name recall than a varied ad repetition strategy; (4) brand name recall is higher when the ad is presented in a content-relevant Web site; (5) a single ad repetition strategy generates marginally greater recall in a content-relevant Web site; and (6) a varied ad repetition strategy generates marginally greater recall in a content nonrelevant Web site. The effects of repeating varied versus same executions of an ad on intention to click in content-relevant Web sites did not generate any significant findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This review compares alcoholic beverage advertising, responsibility advertising, and media advocacy; considers their actual and desired impacts; describes and evaluates the controversy surrounding industry-sponsored responsibility campaigns; and identifies a number of issues that would benefit from additional research. Results indicate that alcoholic beverage advertising does not exert a material influence on total consumption or abuse, but models normative drinking behavior, and thus may actually inhibit alcohol misuse. Industry-sponsored responsibility efforts, like those sponsored by government and nonprofits, appear to affect desired changes, are perceived to be similar to government and nonprofit efforts, model desired drinking behaviors, and may be more effective with heavier drinkers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agency proactivity within client relationships is believed to be critical to improving client satisfaction. Little is known about what proactivity involves, how proactivity effects renewal decisions, and the tactics associated with proactivity. Based on 10 dyadic Australian cases, the authors identify four characteristics of proactivity: initiative taken by the agency, horizon expansion, strategic reflection, and signaling. Proactivity was also found to be a driver of client satisfaction, which thereby motivated clients to renew services, whereas a reactive stance merely reduced dissatisfaction. To enhance their proactive abilities, agencies combined credibility-building methods, multiple communication channels, relationship commitments, and resource support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the results of a study of Web home page complexity. The effect of the perception of home page complexity on communication effectiveness is measured by attention to the home page, opinions about the home page as well as the company and the intent to purchase. Factors that influence perceptions about the complexity of home pages were the length of the page, and the amounts of graphics, links, text and animation on the page. Results from the study indicate that consumers have a more favorable response to home pages that are at a moderate level of perceived complexity.

This paper describes our experience in undertaking a review of the effectiveness of using social marketing to tackle nutrition problems. One of the biggest challenges was identifying programmes which could be genuinely defined as 'social marketing'. Here we describe how we applied and tested a framework for identifying and assessing legitimate social marketing research. Implications for both social marketing theory and practice are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was designed to provide insights into why people avoid advertising on the Internet. Recent negative trends in Internet advertising, such as "banner blindness" and extremely low click-through rates, make it imperative to study various factors affecting Internet ad avoidance. Accordingly, this study builds a comprehensive theoretical model explaining advertising avoidance on the Internet. We examined three latent variables of Internet ad avoidance: perceived goal impediment, perceived ad clutter, and prior negative experience. We found that these constructs successfully explain why people cognitively, affectively, and behaviorally avoid advertising messages on the Internet. Perceived goal impediment is found to be the most significant antecedent explaining advertising avoidance on the Internet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From an extensive literature review, we created a model of client-agency marketing information sharing, identifying five major failure points that can prevent critical marketing information from reaching creative staffers. We identified six specific types of marketing information (target audience demographic profile, customer product usage information, client's product performance information, competitors' product performance information, marketing strategy information, and a main selling point supplied by the client) that are considered critical to the creation of effective advertising. Using a "knowledge gap" analysis in a national survey of creative directors, copywriters, and art directors (N = 583), we demonstrate the existence of critical gaps where vital information often does not reach creative staffers. The lack of significant differences among creatives at different levels within agencies for how often information is provided imparted evidence that internal agency communication, or agency politics, was not responsible for these gaps. We provide specific suggestions for both clients and agencies to address these industry-wide knowledge gaps. Our model provides a clear road map for future research in this most important area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Internet sponsorship is a rapidly evolving communications platform at a fledgling stage for sponsorship-linked marketing. The complex and involving nature of the phenomena offers new research opportunities and the potential for innovative marketing strategies. The Internet presents the opportunity to combine aspects of traditional event/activity sponsorship and media sponsorship innovatively and to extend marketing strategy in new directions. This paper presents an overview of emerging Internet sponsorships strategies, and explores sponsorship extension strategies that relate to media, brand, channel development, consumer experience, and networking. Exploratory case studies confirm and extend the initial strategy discussion. Finally, future directions for researchers and practitioners are suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this research, two separate experiments investigate the effects of virtual direct experience (VDE) and the degree of digitalization of experiential product attributes on on-line ad message effectiveness (i.e., perceived risk, product evaluation, affect, and conation). In the first experiment, the message effectiveness of on-line advertisements (VDE/noVDE) is examined across two experience products differing in degree of digitizable experiential product attributes. In the second experiment, the same set of dependent variables is examined across three degrees of digitalization of experiential product attributes (low, medium, high) in relation to a single experience product category. Furthermore, the second experiment investigates the moderating effect of consumer product expertise on the main effect of the degree of digitalization. Findings suggest significant theoretical and managerial implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Animated advertisements on the Web come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and colors; they also animate at different speeds. Although recent studies have shown animated ads to be more effective than still ads, the role played by the rate of motion in animated ads has been neglected. An experiment was designed to address this issue by focusing specifically on the physiological and psychological effects of animation speeds in Web ads. Hypotheses derived from motion effects, excitation transfer, limited capacity, and vividness effects theories were tested via a mixed-design experiment wherein participants (N = 47) were exposed to both slow-paced and fast-paced animated ads in one of two sequences (fast then slow, or slow then fast). Arousal was monitored during reception, while memory, conation, and impression formation were measured via a postexposure paper-and-pencil questionnaire. Results indicate that animation speed is a psychologically significant variable. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is proposed that targeting strategies that are incongruent with existing advertising schemata due to unusual use of identity cues can increase the salience of particular self-identification and influence consumer response to advertising targeting specific audiences. In an experiment, Hispanic and Anglo consumers were exposed to one of two versions of a Hispanic-targeted advertisement. The two versions were identical except that the first version featured an English-language voice-over (congruent with existing advertising schemata) whereas the second version featured a Spanish-language voice-over with English subtitles (incongruent with existing advertising schemata). Experimental participants were more likely to spontaneously report their ethnicity in self-descriptions (a measure of ethnic self-awareness) if they were exposed to the schema-incongruent ad than if they were exposed to the schema-congruent ad. Ad schema congruity also moderated the impact of target market membership on consumer attitudes toward the spokesperson and advertising. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is frequently assumed by marketing practitioners that ad effectiveness could be substantially improved by publicity surrounding advertising campaigns. This assumption was empirically tested by examining the effects of Super Bowl advertising campaign information in news stories on consumers' memory of the subsequent ads. Synergy between two promotional tools--marketing publicity and advertising--was detected. Previous advertising research has explained, to a degree, why some ads are better recalled from the crowded pool of ads. The present study suggests pre-advertising publicity about an ad campaign is another consideration. Such publicity could be an effective tool in integrated marketing communication (IMC). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the number of Internet users increases daily, Internet advertising grows in importance as one of the elements of the communications mix. Because of the controversy surrounding the effectiveness of banner advertising, many companies are seeking alternative formats for capturing on-line consumers. Through two studies, this research provides an empirical investigation of the effects of banner advertising and sponsored content on Web site communities and their advertisers. The studies demonstrate that Web communities and advertisers both benefit from sponsored content. Specifically, sponsored content can be an effective advertising tool to engender positive response toward an advertiser and increase feelings of customer responsiveness, product quality, category leadership, and even purchase intention. In addition, there is evidence that these types of messages are processed differently, indicating to communications managers that program objectives should drive the decision as to whether sponsored content, banner advertising, or some combination of the two will be most effective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of the study is to investigate how the theme of time is used to advertise product benefits by providing a framework that integrates literal expression and relational/nominative, dead/alive metaphors. The model proposes that the linguistic field is composed of metaphoric and literal words that express wider or narrower ranges of inferences and implications. These words are linked to product benefits with differing ranges of implications and then communicated to consumers. A content analysis of 382 print ads tests the model by examining (1) metaphoric versus literal time expressions in conveying functional versus psychosocial benefits and (2) dead versus alive and relational versus nominative time metaphors in conveying functional versus psychosocial benefits. The findings suggest that advertisers use proportionately more psychosocial than functional benefits with metaphoric time expressions, whereas proportionately more functional benefits are likely to be associated with literal expressions. Proportionately more psychosocial rather than functional benefits are associated with relational/alive metaphors, and more functional than psychosocial benefits are associated with nominative/dead metaphors. Finally, guidelines are offered for the use of time metaphors in conveying product benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Account planning in the United States is now part of the mainstream agency landscape. The planning field has evolved from the original British conceptualization of the 1960s and 1970s. Now planners are central to client business strategy development and also accountable for the outcomes of the agency's products. In light of increased demands by shareholders, holding companies, and market analysts on agencies for accountability, this study examines how the work of account planners in U.S. agencies is currently and should be evaluated. The study reports results of a national survey of U.S. planners regarding these questions. The study found that there are three general factors that planners say are currently being used to evaluate their work: (1) feedback from creatives, clients, and account teams; (2) traditional advertising campaign measures; and (3) awards and press of the three, the traditional advertising campaign measures factor accounts for most of the variance in responses. Planners rate the feedback factor as most important, however. Overall, awards and press were not a major consideration in evaluating the work of planners. These finding were consistent when planners were asked how they feel their work should be evaluated: For the most part, it appears that planners feel that the way their work is currently being evaluated is the way it should be evaluated. The study concludes with suggestions for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Contemporary cultural conditions present many challenges to academicians' and practitioners' understandings of the ways consumers interpret brands and advertising. This article advances the concept of brand morphing, that is, the ways that brand meanings change among different groupings of consumers as facilitated by ad practitioners' efforts to accommodate, reinforce, and create diverse cultural meanings across different international markets. Depth interview data from a study of ad practitioners illustrate the ways that ad professionals accommodate, work with, and reinforce perceived foreign cultural differences that exist across target markets. Finally, brand morphing's usefulness and relevance to contemporary advertising theory and practice is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cross-cultural research on advertising has called attention to the important role that core societal values have on advertising production and reception. This study focuses on a core American cultural value, rugged individualism. Drawing on recent scholarship that emphasizes the rhetorical, mythical, and metaphorical bases of advertising imagery, the inquiry identifies seven bipolar tensions underlying the expression of rugged individualism in contemporary print advertisements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two studies address how companies should react when celebrity endorsers with whom they wish to associate are blameless or blameworthy for causing negative events (e.g., accidents). Research findings on stigmas suggest a linear endorser blame-company evaluation relationship, such that companies should associate (disassociate) with endorsers who have low (high) levels of blame for negative events. In contrast, research findings on defensive distortions suggest a nonmonotonic blame-evaluation relationship: Owing to the tendency to downgrade low blame persons so that they seem deserving of bad fate, companies benefit from associating with moderate, rather than low or high, blame celebrities. The current research suggests that the stage of the company-endorser relationship influences the pattern of findings and the type of endorser decisions companies should make. In Study 1 (n=121), consistent with stigma research, companies fared better when dismissing existing endorsers with high blame and keeping those with low blame. In Study 2 (n=108), consistent with research on defensive distortions, when making decisions about potential endorsers, companies fared best when hiring low blame candidates and worst when rejecting moderate blame candidates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to explore in detail the issue of advertising intent, with particular reference to the child. The literature review examines the importance of age and cognitive and social development in this field and considers whether or not children can distinguish between television programming and advertising. What the literature review illustrates is that research studies thus far have conflicting viewpoints on these areas. Within the research to data, there are also a number of important issues which do not seem to be addressed. Most notably, there is little research which considers the impact of advertising upon children, from the child's perspective. This paper thus proposes an explanatory framework which aims to consider the established and potential mediating variables in the child's understanding of advertising intent. INSET: Table 2: Studies of Advertising Intent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditional definitions of advertising include a series of elements that distinguish the field from others. Each innovation in communication has been used for advertising, and in some way, each has changed advertising, which in turn has changed the set of elements used in its definition. However, there are or should be some essential elements that determine whether an activity is advertising. Unfortunately, a discussion identifying these elements is lacking in the marketing and advertising literature. This study is designed to begin an open discussion of what constitutes those essential elements, with the ultimate aim of constructing an improved definition of advertising. The Delphi method, originally developed for financial forecasting, is used to engage a diverse group of advertising experts in a dialogue to reconsider those elements and construct a new definition of advertising. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Advertisements containing product endorsements by a third-party organization (TPO), product endorsements by a celebrity, or no endorsement were compared for their ability to affect the dependent variables of perceived product quality, attitude toward the manufacturer, purchase risk, and information value of the ad. In addition, prior brand evaluation and source (endorser) trustworthiness were tested as moderators of the endorsement effect. In two factorial experiments, one for a desktop computer and one for auto insurance, significant main effects were found for endorsement and brand but not for trustworthiness. Brand interacted with endorsement in the quality perception of computers. In both experiments, TPO endorsement was particularly effective in enhancing respondent perceptions of product quality. It is concluded that TPO endorsement may function as an extrinsic quality cue in advertising. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study is to investigate differences in time pressure and information between two broad classes of promotional offers: (1) "advanced receipts" in which consumers are encouraged to expedite the purchase of a good or service to take advantage of coupons, rebates, price-offs, premiums, etc.; and (2) "delayed payments," in which consumers are urged to "buy now and pay later." A content analysis of 222 promotional offers was conducted using the time and outcome valuation model as a theoretical basis for understanding the role of time pressure in terms of time allowed before the offer expiration as well as copy and information in these different types of promotional offers. The findings indicate that delayed payment offers allow less time to participate than advanced receipt offers, have more time pressure copy for those promotional offers giving a deadline and provide more information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasingly, social marketers are using sexual information in public service announcements and collateral material for a wide range of causes. This study builds on previous research to explain how sexual appeals can affect cognitive processing and persuasion for "help-self" social marketing topics. It also goes beyond traditional single-message research designs by testing matched pairs of appeals (sexual/nonsexual) for 13 social marketing topics. The major finding was that sexual appeals were more persuasive overall than matched nonsexual appeals for social marketing topics. Sexual appeals also stimulated more favorable ad execution related thoughts but had a negative effect on cognitive elaboration (e.g., support and counterarguments). Respondents also reported that sexual appeals were more attention getting, likeable, dynamic, and somewhat more apt to increase their interest in the topic than were nonsexual appeals. These findings suggest that persuasion is largely the result of peripheral processing and distraction from somewhat unpleasant messages when receivers are expected to counterargue the message or be resistant to change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous research on the use of tensile pricing in advertising has not yet determined if services respond differently to tensile tactics than do products. Moreover, in the product studies of tensile tactics, minimum tested discount levels were based on local market conditions which were assessed in the early 1990's. This study examines the effects of tensile pricing tactics on services, and uses minimum discounts based on broader current market conditions. Results suggest that advertisements for professional and retail services do not differ from each other in terms of performance in response to a tensile pricing tactic. Results also indicate that tensile pricing tactics may have different dynamics in services versus product advertising. Finally, the findings tend to indicate that consumers' generic perceptions of savings in response to the use of tensile tactics might be distinct from the specific intent to purchase certain services, given the possible link in the customer's mind between discounts and subsequent perceptions of services quality in certain categories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study compares television advertisements from Japan, Russia, Sweden, and the United States are compared. Consistent with Hofstede's framework which suggests that countries may be characterized along a continuum from masculine to feminine, the authors found that television advertisements from feminine countries featured more depictions of relationships for male and female characters than did masculine countries. Expectations of fewer gender differences in feminine countries than in masculine countries and of greater depictions of productivity being found in television advertisements from masculine countries were not realized, however. Implications of these findings for the international advertiser are considered, and future directions for research are suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent research suggests that music comprises a sign system that could add meanings to advertising. However, research in this area is scant and there is practically no research that has examined the process by which consumers use music to create meanings. This study extends previous research on print advertising to delineate effects of music in congruent/incongruent TV advertising. A mixed design integrating features of qualitative and quantitative methods was used. Results indicated that the viewers' knowledge of cultural texts form a reference point for reading the commercials. Specifically, music in congruent ads reduces 'noise' by reinforcing the connecting cultural context to communicate meanings. However, music in incongruent ads helps enact an alternative context that is meaningful to the viewer to communicate the ad message. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Target marketing is an increasingly crucial component of marketing strategy, particularly given the expanding cultural diversity of the nation's population. Prior research suggests marketers need to consider the nontarget market (consumers who perceive themselves not to be the target of an advertisement) as well as the target market. Further, researchers have called for a more meaning-based approach to understanding advertising and consumer behavior. The authors therefore explore the meanings created by target and nontarget viewers of advertising targeting black, white, and gay/lesbian cultures. Their results show that asymmetries in cultural expertise, power, distinctiveness, and stigmatization among those cultural groups influence the meanings created by target and nontarget viewers of ads targeting those groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study reported examined effects of strength of ethnic identification, media placement, and ad racial composition on attitudes and purchase intentions among African-Americans. The effects of the independent variables were assessed via a two (strong ethnic identifier vs. weak ethnic identifier) by two (racially targeted vs. nontargeted media) by four (black model, white model, black-dominant integration, white-dominant integration) experimental design in the context of two personal care products: foundation, a race-based product, and perfume, a racially neutral product. Results indicate that strong ethnic identifiers generally have more positive evaluations of ads that feature African-Americans in positions of dominance and are placed in racially targeted media, whereas weak ethnic identifiers have more positive evaluations of ads that feature whites in positions of dominance and are placed in nontargeted media. In addition, the type of product advertised, whether it be specifically related to physical racial features or racially neutral, effects audience members' evaluations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author examines the effects of emotional responses to television programming (program-induced affect) on attitude toward the ad (Aad). He finds that both thoughts about the program and overall program evaluations (i.e., program liking) mediate the effect of program-induced affect on Aad, and that emotional responses to the ad moderate the relationship between program liking and Aad. More specifically, the program liking-Aad linkage is strengthened if the ad and program are similar in emotional content. That effect is enhanced for ads appearing early within a pod. The author proposes and tests a model specifying the nature of the relationships among those variables, and discusses the practical implications for advertising practitioners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Advertising researchers often assume that the audience reacts to ads homogeneously, but evidence suggests that individuals process ads subjectively on the basis of their membership in groups defined by ethnicity or gender, or their life themes or experiences. The authors examine how one group, heterosexuals, reacts to the portrayals of an out-group, homosexuals, in ads. They find that heterosexuals' emotional and attitudinal responses to a homosexual ad depend on their general attitude toward homosexuality. The effect on attitude toward the brand sponsor is more muted. Practical implications are noted for advertisers facing consumer groups that have diverse opinions on social issues such as homosexuality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the limited empirical evidence about the effectiveness of olfactory cues in advertising, firms are increasingly using such cues in their advertisements. The authors examine the effects of olfactory cues that are used as a novelty, as opposed to a product sample, on consumer attitudes. The results show that the addition of a more congruent scratch-and-sniff panel to an advertisement improves neither attitude toward the ad nor attitude toward the brand. Further, the addition of a poorer-fitting scent actually lowers attitudes among individuals who are more motivated to process. Those results appear to be a function of the mood evoked by the scented advertisement and of the scent's perceived pleasantness in the advertising context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although metaphors are used by advertising creators to convey brand meaning and enhance brand information processing, little is understood with regard to consumers' comprehension of intended meaning. This research contributes to this body of knowledge by examining the effect of metaphor type (abstract/concrete) and hemispheric processing on respondents' comprehension of metaphors in ads. Overall, the findings suggest that concrete metaphors are more easily understood than abstract metaphors. This effect is moderated by hemispheric processing such that individuals high in right or integrative processing are more likely to provide valid interpretations of both types of metaphors. These findings are discussed and implications for advertising practitioners are offered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ability of three advertising cues--third-party product endorsement, brand popularity, and event sponsorship to affect consumer perceptions with regard to product quality, uniqueness, manufacturer esteem, and corporate citizenship is the focus of this study. A factorial experimental design, with cue level as either present or absent, yields eight cells with a total of 185 respondents. Results suggest significant main effects for both endorsement and sponsorship cues, with endorsement affecting perceived quality, uniqueness, and esteem, and sponsorship affecting only citizenship. The popularity cue lacks a significant main effect. The three cues do not significantly interact with each other. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this article is to extend latitudinally the stream of research regarding racial minorities in industrial advertising and to provide a benchmark for future longitudinal studies. It utilizes content analysis to examine business-to-business direct mail advertising depiction of African-Americans. Findings indicate that about 28 percent of the direct mail pieces depicted blacks, nearly six percent of all people portrayed were African-American, there was virtually no difference in occupational portrayals of blacks and whites, and blacks were most frequently portrayed separately from whites. Implications of these findings for users of industrial direct mail are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper seeks to examine the perceived differences between political marketing and mainstream marketing. It looks at the justifications for marketing strategies in the political context and suggests that the importance of image may, regularly, outweigh that of policy. It discusses nine areas of supposed differentiation including the single transaction date, non-pricing, collective choice, winner takes all, product complexity, new and extended brands, brand leadership, negative advertising and local campaigning. Generally it finds both comparisons can be made, and potential lessons learnt, from mainstream marketing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is growing evidence from practitioners that the advertising industry is in a state of crisis. As campaigns become more integrated and multi-disciplinary, the relationship between advertising agencies and clients is being tested to its limits and is presently considered to be at an all-time low. Agencies feel less valued and are being excluded from C-suite discussion. Clients feel that agencies do not appreciate the changing landscape and how the customer experience is now key. Both sides recognise the need for more trust and collaboration. This study applies the agency theory and the social power theory to understand the pressures that the relationship is under. It looks for evidence that IMC is creating a movement away from a business alliance relationship by comparing qualitative data collected from both agencies and clients, using NVivo to identify themes. The findings identify four themes which illustrate this shift towards a supplier relationship: the client ownership of the customer journey, the lack of a strategic role of agencies, the challenges of agency collaboration and difficulties of agency specialisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Unlike females, males tend to process informational ads in a heuristic manner and form their judgments based on the mere number of product assertions presented in a message. Consistent with this prediction, there was a positive linear relationship between argument quantity and message persuasiveness for males, and it persisted even when brand attributes conveyed in an ad were relatively unimportant. Alternatively, females' responses exhibited an S-shaped relationship between argument quantity and advertising effectiveness, and were affected by the strength of message claims. The author argued that this pattern occurred because females engaged in more detailed yet selective processing of advertising information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]