Showing papers in "Journal of current issues and research in advertising in 2008"

Online Advertising Research in Advertising Journals: A Review

Abstract: Along with the rapid increase in the number of Internet users around the world, the World Wide Web has become the fastest growing advertising medium in this decade. The Interactive Advertising Bure...

Leading National Advertisers' Uses of Advergames

Abstract: By analyzing the 294 advergames integrated in the Web sites of the top 100 leading national advertisers ranked by total advertising expenditures, the current study provides a descriptive study of the actual use of advergames on the leading advertisers' Web sites. Although there were still many advertisers that had not yet adopted advergames, those that had implemented advergames were using them a great deal on their Web sites. The most prominent of such companies were in the food industry. The findings showed that branded products were often embedded as a major component of advergames that fit well with the products in terms of lifestyle and image fit. Regarding the strategic features of advergames, this study demonstrates that many advertisers did not use such features to their fullest potential. Implications of the findings for practitioners and future research were discussed.

Examining the influence of culture on perceived source credibility of asian americans & the mediating role of similarity

Abstract: The current study examines some of the cultural influences for Asian Americans on perceived model credibility. Specifically, the effects of racial congruency and ethnic identification are examined between consumers and ad stimuli as well as the role that similarity plays in the process. The findings reveal that model-consumer racial congruency is an important consideration for enhancing source credibility. However, similarity with the model in terms of values and cultural background was found to mediate the relationship. In contrast to other ethnic groups, strength of ethnic identification did not have a significant impact on Asian Americans' perceptions of source credibility.

Outdoor Advertising Recall: A Comparison of Newer Technology and Traditional Billboards

Abstract: Much of the research on outdoor advertising predates recent technological advances. This study updates past research and adds to our understanding of how new technology such as “smartboards” affects consumers' recall of outdoor messages. This study finds that smartboards produced the lowest level of aided recall. Two related factors, message consistency and repetition, may account for these findings. Recall may be related to repetition insofar as the smartboard rotated multiple advertisers at eight-second intervals, meaning each advertiser likely failed to achieve wear-in. The tri-vision board repeated multiple messages for one advertiser, adding to wear-in while reducing the chance of early wear-out.

A 13-Year Content Analysis of Survey Methodology in Communication Related Journals

Abstract: Using content analysis, this study quantitatively analyzes 13 years (1990–2002) of data about survey research methodology in communication journals. Very little research has examined this important method since Yu and Cooper's 1983 study. Of the 54 journals included in our sample, 565 surveys were published in 46 journals. Public relations, marketing, public opinion, advertising and mass communication journals were among those with the greatest number of surveys. Findings and implications focus on how response rates were affected by methodological choices such as the use of incentives and response facilitators. Although monetary incentives were used in a small percentage of the studies, giving merchandise and using a promised incentive were related to the highest mean response rates. While some facilitators, such as utilizing callbacks for telephone surveys, were also associated with high average response rates, further analysis suggests that these factors are not successful in enticing more part...

Publicity vs. Advertising in a Cluttered Environment: Effects on Attention and Brand Identification

Abstract: The cluttered environment of most marketing communications poses a major challenge. PR is often suggested to break through clutter in a way that advertising does not; by being part of the editorial content, publicity should get more attention than comparable ads. Based on advertising clutter research, we argue that advertising will have an advantage over publicity in gaining attention and ensuring brand identification. An empirical study of publicity and advertising embedded in actual newspapers is presented in support of this argument. Additional studies and better PR evaluation practices are called for, and implications for familiar and unfamiliar brands are discussed.

Attention for Open and Closed Advertisements

Abstract: In the last few decades there has been an increase in ads that need more effort to unravel and do not guide consumers to a specific interpretation as traditional ads do. These ads are open in the sense that their interpretation is less determined by the ad and more dependent on the mind of the “beholder.” Investigations into the benefits of open ads have generally employed forced exposure, which is likely to lead to relatively more attention for open ads as they are more difficult to interpret. Therefore, the advantages of open ads that these investigations reveal may not materialize in natural viewing conditions, if open ads do not—as they do in forced exposure—attract more attention in those natural conditions. This article investigates whether open ads command more attention than closed ads in circumstances simulating natural viewing conditions. Two studies were carried out, showing no differences in length of attention, but suggesting that open ads may be processed a little deeper then closed...

Does Consumers' Product-Related Involvement Matter When it Comes to Corporate Ads?

Abstract: The study reported in this article examines the effects of three involvement types (technology, computer product category, and advertisement involvements) on attitude/behavioral intentions in two contexts: product and corporate ads. Specifically, the study explored these relationships using computer product ads and the ads of the company that produces the computer brand featured in the product ads. In the corporate ads, involvement levels in the technology and computer product category did not reveal a significant influence, whereas all three involvement types (technology, computer product category, and advertisement involvement) had a significant influence on attitudes and behavioral intentions of viewers in the product ads. The results suggest that consumers' product related involvements might not have the same influences on the corporate ads as the product ads.

How Social Insecurity and the Social Meaning of Advertising Reinforce Minority Consumers' Preference for National Brands

Abstract: This study compares social insecurity among members of racial/ethnic subcultures within U.S. society to that same characteristic among ethnic majorities and likewise compares minority vs. majority choices of nationally advertised brands over their private label counterparts. The study, building on the preference of ethnic minorities for national brands found by Dhar and Hoch (1997), tests the overall idea that the social meaning of such brands, derived at least in part from advertising, plays a role. Data from a simulated shopping exercise are employed to test the influence of status insecurity and of minority ethnicity/race on preference for nationally advertised brands, with positive results.

Death and Disgrace Insurance for Celebrity Endorsers: A Luxury or Necessity?

Abstract: A celebrity endorser can be an effective means of promoting a brand due to the positive meanings that can be shared between the brand and the endorser. However, negative associations toward the brand can also be made if the celebrity breaks the law, or misbehaves in some other way. Death and disgrace insurance is a way in which sponsoring companies can shield themselves financially from a celebrity who falls from grace. Our findings indicate that only 30.8% of advertising agencies always recommend death and disgrace insurance and just over half address morality issues as a part of final contract negotiations.

The efficacy of the use of implicature and actor portrayal labels by non-profits in anti-smoking print advertisements

Abstract: Differences in emotional response and overall attitude toward the ad, perceived social responsibility of the sponsor and willingness to donate are tested across 4 types of print advertisements sponsored by a nonprofit. The 4 treatments for anti-smoking ads include: truth in advertising, implicature, actor portrayal disclosure and deceptive advertising. The use of real victims garners the strongest emotional response, most positive attitude towards the advertisement, strongest perceived social responsibility and highest proclivity to donate to the nonprofit. The use of an actor portrayal label, while deemed to be socially responsible, significantly reduces ad effectiveness and willingness to donate.

The effects of advertising spending on satisfaction: A comparison study of bank and supermarket industries

Abstract: This study proposes a framework explaining customer satisfaction responses in the banking and supermarket industries. The proposed model is grounded in the traditional B2C link, but also explicitly incorporates advertising spending and perceived quality into the theoretical framework. The hypothesized model was analyzed using partial least square (PLS) regression. The study results partially support the linkage of advertising spending to perceived quality, but also show that the advertising spending and customer orientation link is closely related to customer satisfaction through perceived quality in the supermarket industry. Interestingly, the relationship between perceived quality and satisfaction is not significant in the banking industry, indicating that the prior evidence may have to be reconsidered

"Selling Sin" in a Hostile Environment: A Comparison of Ukrainian and American Tobacco Advertising Strategies in Magazines

Abstract: Given that “sin” products must navigate different regulatory environments, it is important to compare cigarette advertising across cultures. Using text analysis, this study examined the message strategies and the ideological beliefs in cigarette advertising in American and Ukrainian magazines within the context of their different regulatory environments. The messages across the two countries differed in their use of creative appeals to ego, social needs, and sensory pleasure as well as their adherence to regulation. Many of the Ukrainian campaigns were reminiscent of earlier American campaigns and offer unique comparisons of cultures that are at different places historically, economically, and ideologically.

Fine-Tuning Advertising Designed to Reduce the Stigma of Mental Illness

Abstract: Not-for-profit organizations, governments at various levels, and business-sponsored groups all have an interest in reducing the stigma of mental illnesses, and as many turn to advertising as a tool for doing so, they can benefit from a broad menu of approaches suggested by research in social psychology. For example, they can avoid “backlash” against ads that tell an audience what NOT to do by indicating that stigmatizing is out of step with one's self-image or out of step with one's peers, or by changing the associations stored in memory concerning mental illnesses.

How Frequently Do Large Consumer Magazines Fail to Achieve Their Advertising Rate Base? An Analysis of Publishers' Statements and Audit Reports

Abstract: Publishers' statements are often the only timely circulation data available to media planners and buyers. Many advertising purchasers depend on individual magazines guaranteed circulation (often called a rate base) to ensure that their advertisement purchase hits certain minimal levels of audience delivery. This study examines these issues in two time periods: 2001–2002 and 2003–2005. Unfortunately, we find that 25% to 30% of individual magazine issues fail to achieve their guaranteed audience. Even more surprising, audit reports find significantly larger numbers of issues miss their rate base compared to what is claimed in publishers' reports. The first data set found that 75 percent of issues exceed the rate base and that magazines are more likely to exceed their rate base by a large margin than they are to fall short of their rate base by a large margin. However, the amount of “bonus circulation” over the rate base fell in the second time period with fewer issues falling short of their rate ba...