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Publicity is assumed to have higher credibility than advertising prompting communication specialists to call for its use alongside traditional advertising to achieve overall communication goals. To test the differences in readers' response towards advertisements and publicity, a sample of students (N= 104; 52 men and 52 women) were shown printed messages identified as advertising or publicity. The publicity format appeared to be associated with deeper processing because participants had higher recall, more message-relevant thoughts, and better discrimination for the publicity message. In addition, participants rated the publicity message higher on Source Credibility, Brand Attitude, and Purchase Intent than a comparable advertisement.

The success of using biological sex to divide or segment markets requires a thorough understanding of how men and women process and respond to advertisements and other persuasive communications. Toward this end, this research (N = 64; 32 men and 32 women) studied how college-age men and women respond to printed advertisements. There were no differences between the sexes in recall and recognition of claims in advertisements, but men and women generated different types of message relevant thoughts--women generated more category thoughts and men generated more attribute thoughts, suggesting that, while women and men might not differ in the depth of processing, they might use different processing styles.

The characteristics of advertising and publicity are studied in terms of consumers' motivation and information processing ability. Advertising has an advantage over publicity since it allows for more repetitions and thus increases comprehensibility. On the other hand, publicity is more effective in arousing motivation due to credibility and setting advantages and other factors. Knowledge of the impact of different promotional tools can be useful in designing effective promotional strategies.

This study tests the effectiveness of positively and negatively framed messages as a function of consumers' confidence in their ability to improve the environment, or "perceived consumer effectiveness" (PCE). High-PCE consumers are shown to be more receptive to negatively framed messages than those who are low in PCE. This is seen in their stronger belief in the claims made in negatively framed messages and more favourable message attitudes. Implications are discussed for a variety of environmental and social causes for which negative framing may help to communicate the adverse consequences of failure to change behaviour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose -- This research aims to propose a model that may be used to classify product attributes according to their effect on customer satisfaction within the services industry. It also aims to apply the model to vacation ownership products and to explore attributes related to both the purchase and use of the product: an owned luxury product. Design/methodology/approach -- Data from 3,231 vacation ownership customers of multiple international companies were analyzed using a modified Kano model and related questionnaire. Findings -- This study reveals the effect that specific product attributes have on customer satisfaction. It addresses previously unexplored attributes (i.e. sales techniques and hotel program benefits), confirms others previously identified with customer satisfaction (i.e. amenities, exchange benefits, hotel affiliation and vacation counselors) and reveals those that had no incremental effect on overall satisfaction (i.e. financing and activities). Practical implications -- Results of this study suggest that attributes have varying effects on customers' overall satisfaction and submit that companies may wish to focus their efforts in particular areas to maintain or improve overall satisfaction. Doing so may create opportunities for companies to increase satisfaction, operate more efficiently or distinguish themselves within the marketplace. Originality/value -- This research is the first comprehensive examination of customer satisfaction related to the purchase and consumption of an owned luxury vacation product, reveals misconceptions related to certain product attributes, uncovers previously unidentified attributes, provides a model for examining customer satisfaction that could be applied across lodging products and provides a benchmark for future studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two experiments examined the influence of mood and attribute framing on consumer response toward persuasive appeals. Subjects exhibited more favorable attitudes and purchase intent when exposed to positive attribute frames than comparable negative ones. These effects were attenuated under high-elaboration conditions. Positive moods engendered more favorable thoughts and enhanced the persuasiveness of positive attribute frames, whereas negative moods elicited the least favorable outcomes for positively framed messages. Finally, mood and frame valence did not influence the depth of processing but had a consistent influence on the style of processing—positive frames and moods induced relational processing whereas negative frames and moods engendered item-specific processing. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Two experiments examined the influence of mood and elaboration on consumer processing and evaluation of goal-framed appeals. Subjects displayed more favorable attitudes and purchase intent (PI) when exposed to negative goal frames than equivalent positive ones. These effects were attenuated under high-elaboration conditions. Compared to subjects in positive moods, those in negative moods exhibited more favorable thoughts, attitudes, and PI toward negative goal frames. Finally, mood and frame valence did not affect depth of processing but had a consistent impact on style of processing, that is, positive frames and moods induced relational processing whereas negative frames and moods engendered item-specific processing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study utilizes data collected from Greece and the United States to examine consumer attitudes and behavior intentions toward the environmentally responsible practices (ERP) of hotels. Specifically examined is the impact of ERP on consumers' willingness to pay (WTP) for such hotel practices. The results indicate that consumers in both countries were more likely to patronize and demonstrate a strong WTP for hotels that provide ERP. Furthermore, the results reveal that consumers in Greece have higher environmental concerns and WTP than those in the United States, confirming that differences in culture and social structure determine a consumer's Green orientation and WTP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Counterfeit products and the brand pirates who make, distribute, and sell them continue to be a challenge for many marketers around the globe. Estimates of global sales for bogus products are in the hundreds of billions of dollars and recent evidence suggests that fakes are prevalent in both developed and developing countries. We investigate brand/product counterfeiting from a consumer search perspective. As the quality of counterfeits improves, it is becoming more difficult for the consumer to identify them. Interviews with 102 international informants yield a picture of the cues consumers use to detect counterfeits and the roles of face and taste in decisions to purchase or not to purchase fake goods. We conclude with a discussion of some managerial implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on evidence presented for the Need for Cognition Scale in its original and abbreviated versions, users of the instrument assume its unidimensionality. In three exploratory studies, maximum-likelihood factor analysis reveals the presence of multiple dimensions in both forms of the scale. Four dimensions—enjoyment of cognitive stimulation, preference for complexity, commitment of cognitive effort, and desire for understanding —emerged with some consistency across samples and were found to be fairly resistant to changes in the polarity of scale items and to explain differentially consumer response to advertisements. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research takes a cross-cultural view of the variables influencing dining consumers' perception of the attractiveness of a neighboring country as a venue for dining, and satisfaction with the cross-border dining experience. Specifically, it studies consumers' attractiveness perceptions of neighboring country restaurants as a venue for dining and satisfaction, with the cross-border dining experience as a function of three key individual-difference variables associated with Western and Asian consumers. In a survey of 636 cross-border diners at United States/Canada and Hong Kong/China borders, perceptions of attractiveness and satisfaction were found to vary as a function of variables associated with the cultural attributes of individualism/collectivism, uncertainty avoidance, and time perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]