RISK, QUALITY AND THE GENERIC GROCERY ITEM PHENOMENON: IMPLICATIONS FOR RETAIL ADVERTISING AND PROMOTION (pp. 1-6, 1982)
Beth Axelrad, Bruce G. Vanden Bergh, and Dean M. Krugman

A survey of generic and non-generic shoppers found generic shoppers more likely to think that generic grocery items were of the same quality as national brands, and to have more people living in their households. Low risk perceivers were found more likely to be generic shoppers, and to have tried more generic products. Findings suggest that risk and quality perception are important variables in determining who buys generics and how to appeal to them. A "quality-at-a-price" appeal aimed at low risk perceivers should help to sustain the generic phenomenon.

The hierarchy of objectives model permits the development of advertising strategies which can be directly (and measurably) linked to the company's longer run marketing and financial objectives. The product portfolio model, using the Boston Consulting Group's growth/share matrix, aids in the identification of alternative advertising strategies, especially under conditions of changing market growth and/or fluctuating market share.

This paper estimates the gains and losses to firms and consumers due to advertising competition in the electronic calculator industry. Data concerning the industry's principal structure, conduct and performance characteristics are presented and discussed. Multiple regression techniques are then used to analyze the role of advertising.

In every client/agency relationship there are two sides to the question of why agencies lose accounts. This paper examines some of the "hidden problems" about the account losses that are seldom discussed in the media or within the business community. In general, a lack of open communication between the two parties and a difference of view on how to deal with common marketing problems seem to be the main reasons for severance.

A posttest-only laboratory experiment was employed to compare the response of white subjects to an introductory print ad featuring either a black or white model. Results illustrate the responses to the black-model ad were not significantly different from those to the white-model ad. However, two measures deviated from this general response. The black-model ad elicited significantly more agreement to the statement: "The product is not very imaginative." The black-model ad also generated significantly more disagreement to a statement concerning the appropriateness of the model to the product.

The purpose of this paper is to summarize the current state of United Nations involvement in advertising regulation and to assess its current and long range significance to the advertising industry.

This paper addresses the issues of inter-media comparisons in advertising. First, the quantitative and non-quantitative factors impacting on inter-media comparisons are discussed, followed by a review of the relevant research in this area. Next, a somewhat unique application of the ARF Model to an actual branded food product is included. Finally, the implications for future work in this area are discussed.

In response to the continued decline of the economy and the worsening supply of consumer goods, the Polish government ordered general reductions in advertising activity. While a limited range of marketing situations was exempted from this order, organizational units below the ministry level typically have reacted more stringently than the government order required. As a result the comparatively optimistic levels of consumer magazine advertising observed in 1978 and 1979 are no longer in evidence. Indeed, most advertising now promotes the state lottery, while other advertisers have lost their traditional rankings.

This paper examines the relative performance of an indirect parameter estimation procedure versus a direct estimation procedure for the use of the Beta Binomial Distribution (BBD) in the development of predicted exposure distribution for magazine media schedules. In addition, the BBD is compared with three other exposure distribution models with respect to accuracy of predicted and observed distributions on 515 tabulated schedules derived from SMRB 1979 data.

This paper demonstrates that the advertising-sales ratio alone does not fully describe the complex relationships that exist between advertising and market concentration and demonstrates that an analysis of the advertising-concentration relationships must therefore include not one, but at least three, separate measures of advertising, including the industry advertising-sales ratio, total industry advertising expenditures and a measure of the relative distribution of total industry adverting expenditures among firms and brands within an industry. Advertising and sales data are analyzed within and across 19 consumer, non-durable product categories which are characterized by relatively heavy advertising expenditures and/or relatively high advertising intensity.

The year 1900 marked more than the start of a new century. It also was the beginning of a new period in the evolution of advertising. People began to realize that advertising was influential -- both positively and negatively -- on the development of American society.

A survey conducted in the Spring of 1982 provided information from 110 advertising faculty members concerning their opinions toward their careers. Of those who responded approximately one-third indicated they were considering changing positions in the near future. In response to questions concerning job satisfaction, the respondents indicated that the quality of their administrator was the most important variable in determining their satisfaction with their current position.

In an industry as labor-intensive as advertising, human resource planning is particularly important to efficient operations. This study examines the American Association of Advertising Agencies 1975, which forecast a generally plentiful supply of human resources, in light of the present shortage of these resources. A program which is used to plan for human resource needs in the advertising industry is outlined. The implications of human resource planning are identified for advertising managers as well as advertising educators.

This review of cross-cultural literature focuses on contributions from disciplines infrequently consulted by advertising practitioners and researchers. The purpose is to illustrate how such neglected literature can be useful: 1) to guide advertising researchers in generating new knowledge, 2) to assist practitioners in making better advertising decisions, and 3) to guide those who have responsibility to make public policy affecting advertising.

While lawyers attack advertising deceptiveness, behavioral researchers switch the topic to deception when discussing FTC activity. This misinterpretation of the legal standard confuses readers and misstates the role of behavioral evidence. While not excusing such problems, this paper discusses positive aspects of using the concept of deception and concludes that researchers should maintain their attempts to incorporate it into legal proceedings.

Despite numerous discussions in the literature on the importance replication in scientific research, Reid, Soley and Wimmer, in a recent Journal of Advertising article, noted a disquieting lack of published replications in advertising research. This study looks at one possible stumbling block to replication activities noted in that article, namely, a possible problem in obtaining additional information from the authors of published studies, information needed by colleagues considering a replication.

This paper reports data compiled as part of a previous study on the legibility of close-set type. The original study found that reading speed was significantly higher using close-set body type. A series of questions relating to the respondents' affective response, however, indicated that they perceived close-set type to be harder to read but more pleasing. This paper analyzes this apparent contradiction and suggests that close-set type may be appropriate for high-involvement advertising where readers will read regardless of typographic treatment -- in fact, the increase in legibility may be a valid objective. In low-involvement advertising where it is important to attract reader attention, such techniques as close-set type may be counter-productive.

This paper presents a linear model that can be used by radio station sales personnel and management to assess the audience delivery performance of their station and competitors. The model is developed for use by advertising sellers rather than buyers. Ordinary-least squares techniques were used to estimate the model, using Arbitron Average Quarter Hour Persons as the dependent variable. The predictor variables used for the full model included market size, the number of stations in the market, station power, channel, year of first licensing, and format. A reduced model is presented with an example of how the model can be used by broadcast station personnel. Suggestions are made on how the precision of the model can be increased and applied to specific dayparts and audience segments.

Based upon telephone interviews with a random sample of 500, it is concluded that advertising would be a valuable way for health care professionals to communicate nonevaluative information. Evaluative information, on the other hand, probably cannot be given with any degree of credibility through advertising. Consumers apparently prefer to obtain evaluative information from personal sources.

An exploratory study was conducted to examine the advertising behavior of local churches. Specifically, if churches advertise; who writes the advertising copy; is a budget allocated for advertising; what media do churches use; and what is the perceived goal of religious advertising? Results indicate that a large percentage of local churches do advertise to increase awareness and church attendance. Advertising budgets are primarily allocated among newspapers, flyers, newsletters, and mailouts, and the Yellow Pages of the phone book.

This study investigates the predictive and diagnostic value of beliefs about the ad as a criterion of advertising effectiveness. Ad beliefs were significantly related to brand evaluations only for off-target message treatments. The results also suggest that ad beliefs are more sensitive to message-audience interaction effects than are brand beliefs. Strategy implications are discussed.

This article identifies four major themes in the Truth-in-Advertising issue that are used in the development of arguments supporting further regulation of advertising. The themes are discussed with regard to the pragmatic basis to honesty, the difficulty in determining truth, the inapplicability of truth as criterion in fantasy-based ads, and the unlikeliness that a regulatory body will be able to discriminate the difference between falsehood and fantasy in ad practice.