THE VALUE OF COGNITIVE RESPONSE DATA: AN ILLUSTRATION IN SERVICES ADVERTISING
RESEARCH (pp. 1-7, 1994)
Marla Royne Stafford and Ellen Day
Cognitive responses are an important mediating variable in understanding advertising effectiveness, and they have the potential to strengthen advertising research in several ways. This paper discusses the value of cognitive responses in advertising research and how they can be used to enhance a study's findings. A services advertising study is briefly reported and used to demonstrate how cognitive responses can add value in three areas.EMOTIONS ELICITED BY THREAT APPEALS AND THEIR IMPACT ON PERSUASION (pp. 8-16, 1994)
Two studies are presented which indicate that emotional response to threat appeals is more complex than indicated by previous research. Three dimensions of emotional response (i.e. pleasure, arousal, and domination)EFFECTS OF INTERRUPTING THE PROCESSING OF EMOTION-ELICITING AND NEUTRAL COMMERCIALS (pp. 17-25, 1994)
are examined. In Study 1, high threat in messages is associated with greater feelings of domination and arousal. When recommendations are absent in messages, subjects experience more arousal. Emotional responses predicted attitudes toward the ad, attitudes towards condom use and intentions to use a condom. In Study 2, threat and recommendations had no effect on the emotional responses. Emotional responses and recommendations were significant predictors of attitudes toward the ad and marginally significant predictors of partner-related intentions and intentions to use a condom. The findings suggest that emotional response is not systematically determined by the message manipulations, but that emotional response does influence attitudes and intentions. In addition, the absence of recommendations has a positive effect on intentions related to prevention behavior.
This study concerns the impact of an external distraction that interrupts during the viewing of emotion-eliciting and neutral commercials. While subjects watch television commercials embedded in programming, and audio story begins either 10 or 20 seconds into the commercial, or the commercial is uninterrupted. The results indicate that neither emotional nor neutral ads show much attitudinal impact of the interruption, late interruption of the neutral commercials actually improves memory for them. The results are discussed comparatively in terms of the Elaboration Likelihood Model, and several other social psychology theories of memory and persuasion.APPLYING CONCEPT MAPPING TO ASSESS THE INFLUENCE OF CELEBRITY-MESSAGE DYNAMICS ON COMMUNICATION EFFECTIVENESS (pp. 26-39, 1994)
An experimental study compared celebrity evaluations and endorsement of two treatment groups exposed to a prosocial message. The ads were identical except for the final message -- vote versus buy American-made apparel. Both quantitative and qualitative data in response to Madonna were collected. Concept mapping, a multidimensional scaling procedure, was used to examine relationships between celebrity attitudes, message appeal and communication effectiveness. No differences in celebrity evaluations were detected between the two treatments when traditional source-credibility scaled measures were used. However, qualitative data comparisons revealed variations in perceptions. Differences also existed for advertisement appeal and celebrity endorsement role in the advertisement. Implications are discussed.STRATEGY AND TACTICS EVALUATION: STRENGTHENING ASSESSMENT WITH A METHODOLOGICAL ADAPTATION -- A CASE STUDY (pp. 40-44, 1994)
Risk haunts the advertiser who steers ad strategy in an uncharted direction. And when that new strategy deals with safety issues that directly affect the target consumer's loved ones and environment, the risk is exacerbated. For the prudent advertiser, it's the time to reduce risk as much as possible via research which addresses the strategy as well as the tactics used to present that strategy. This case review focuses on just such as advertising situation. In particular, the situation created an opportunity to investigate a new application of Q-methodology, a research approach that quantifies human subjectivity.ADVERTISING RESEARCH: IS IT SOCIALLY SUPERFLUOUS (pp. 45-49, 1994)
This study tested the hypothesis, advanced by Charles Sykes in Profscam (1988) and Russell Jacoby in The Last Intellectuals (1987), that academic research, such as that published in the leading advertising research journals, is not disseminated to the professions or public. Database searches showed that the 44 most-frequently published advertising researchers, as listed by Barry (1990), rarely wrote articles for trade publications such as Advertising Age or consumer publications such as Psychology Today. However, newspaper and trade publications carried quotes from the researchers or stories about their research on 313 occasions during an eight-and-an-half year period, but 62 percent of these quotes came from just four people.DISCLAIMERS IN CHILDREN'S TELEVISION ADVERTISING REVISITED: A DECADE MAKES A DIFFERENCE (pp. 50-57, 1994)
This study reports the results of a project which updates previous research on the use of disclaimers in children's television advertising. A content analysis documents the incidence of disclaimers and compares disclaimer format, placement within the ad, language, phrasing, voice, clarity and usage by product category. Current practices are compared to previous disclaimer studies when possible. The data indicate significant changes in the patterns of usage and the content of disclaimers from previous studies.AN EXPLORATORY INVESTIGATION OF MOTHERS' ATTITUDES TOWARD 900-NUMBER ADVERTISING DIRECTED AT CHILDREN (p. 58, 1994)
While advertising directed at children has been a highly researched topic (Raju and Lonial 1990), no published studies have specifically investigated ads which encourage kids to call 900-telephone numbers. Whereas recent FTC actions have placed limiting restrictions on such ads, it is doubtful that the industry will accept this ruling without further debate. This action was taken without the input of parents, who, industry experts argue, have not expressed concern regarding 900-number ads directed at children. As a result, a study was designed to uncover parents' attitudes toward such ads (and other promotional activities directed at children). In addition, this research attempted to ascertain the universality of these attitudes. In particular, this research seeks to determine if demographic factors, household media usage, or parental style (the manner with which parents deal with their children) influence parents' attitudes.YOUNG CHILDREN'S PERCEPTIONS OF CIGARETTE BRAND ADVERTISING SYMBOLS: AWARENESS, AFFECT AND TARGET MARKET IDENTIFICATION (p. 59, 1994)
The present study was designed to assess how recognition of cigarette brand advertising symbols is related to 1) age or cognitive developmental level; 2) affect toward cigarettes; 3) evaluation of cigarettes; and 4)BRANDS IN FILMS: YOUNG MOVIEGOERS' EXPERIENCES AND INTERPRETATIONS (p. 60, 1994)
identification of the appropriate target market for cigarettes. Children aged three to eight were interviewed using a series of nonverbal measures. Recognition of cigarette brand advertising symbols increases with age, as does overall recognition of brand advertising symbols in general. Regardless of age, cognitive developmental level, or recognition scores, children reported that they do not like cigarettes; believe that cigarettes are "bad for you"; and find children to be inappropriate target markets for consumption of cigarettes.
No longer are brands placed in movies solely for artistic reasons nor is the process casual and unsophisticated. Today brand placement, a practice sometimes called product plugging, is a multimillion dollar business, with companies paying from $5,000 to $250,000 for inclusion of a brand or trademark in a motion picture. However, few studies have examined brand placement in motion pictures. This focus group study on brand placement describes the reactions to and the significance of brand placement from the moviegoers' perspective through their everyday language.SUBLIMINAL ADVERTISING: GRAND SCAM OF THE 20TH CENTURY (p. 61, 1994)
In September 1957, a self-employed market researcher named James McDonald Vicary claimed to have developed a new means of communication that would make people buy products in response to invisible messages. He called it subliminal advertising. Reports of his famous but fictitious Popcorn Experiment in a movie theater to increase sales of Coca-Cola and popcorn survive to this day, and are perpetuated by otherwise knowledgeable and reliable people. But the entire operation was a fraud, supported by intensive publicity, aimed at bamboozling advertisers. Common sense suggests that if subliminal advertising really could cause us to do things we do not want to do, it would be easy to make people stop taking illegal drugs, stealing cars, abusing children, driving drunk, and cheating on their income taxes.SIGNS FROM THE OTHER WORLD: RUSSIAN ATTITUDES TOWARDS AMERICAN ADVERTISING (p. 62, 1994)
Russian attitudes toward the West have a blend of admiration and superiority. To some extent, this blend influences Russian attitudes toward American advertising. While Russians in the U.S. are met by significant ideological differences, Russians in Russia may still experience this love-hate mix in their attitudes toward the U.S.WHAT ADVERTISING EDUCATORS CAN LEARN FROM "EXPERIENCED" CREATIVES (p. 63, 1994)
The majority of findings in this study confirm those reported by Otnes, Spooner, and Triese (1993), in their study of the same research questions among a sample of new creatives. In particular, a variety of conceptual, technical, and communication skills were discussed as important for advertising educators to cover in their courses. Moreover, the informants recommended that other issues relating to the advertising agency environment in general also be addressed in the classroom.WHERE THEORY AND PRACTICE INTERSECT: A PROPOSED MODEL FOR ANALYZING ADVERTISING EDUCATION (pp. 64-73, 1994)
Advertising education began as a practical training ground for advertising professionals. During the last century it has evolved into an academic discipline on its own. Applying this evolution to the Advertising Education Model, it is clear advertising education moved from a more practical philosophy to a more theoretical approach.ANALYZING COGNITIVE CONFLICT BETWEEN ADVERTISING AGENCIES AND THEIR CLIENTS (pp. 74-76, 1994)
This study examined whether there is a cognitive basis for advertising agency-client conflict, by comparing the judgment patterns of 57 advertising agency consultants and 63 clients concerning the qualities they typically look for in a campaign.EDUCATING THE AMERICAN PUBLIC ABOUT HIV AND AIDS: AN EVALUATION OF FOUR TELEVISION PUBLIC SERVICE ADVERTISEMENTS (pp. 77-78, 1994)
The results indicated that although all of the PSAs had the same general objective, none of the creative executions consistently outperformed the others across all dependent measures. The four creative executions, however, did produce differential memory, message, and perception effects.AND NOW A WORD FROM OUR SPONSOR: AN EXPLORATORY CONCEPT TEST OF PSAs VS. ADVOCACY ADS (pp. 79-87, 1994)
If the recent trend in advertising/social marketing toward paid placement of public service messages continues, the line between traditional PSAs and advocacy ads will continue to blur. Because the line is blurring researchers must attempt to redefine the areas of advocacy ads and PSAs. As a beginning to this redefinition, this study found clear perceptual differences among audience members within the category of advocacy ads as well as between advocacy ads and traditional PSAs.AIDS KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDES AND BELIEFS AMONG CHINESE COLLEGE STUDENTS: IMPLICATIONS FOR PSA DEVELOPMENT (p. 88, 1994)
Interviews indicate that while some students are knowledgeable about AIDS prevention and modes of transmission, many students harbor culturally based myths.YOU OUGHTA BE IN PICTURES: PRODUCT PLACEMENTS IN THE TOP-GROSSING FILMS OF 1991 (p. 89, 1994)
The study reports the results of a content analysis designed to document the amount and kinds of nationally-recognized brands embedded in theatrical films. A new industry has recently developed around this promotion technique known as product placement.EFFECTS OF BRAND PLACEMENT IN MOTION PICTURES (pp. 90-96, 1994)
This study should convey the idea that all brand placements are not created equal. While some may consider ubiquity a desirable strategy for their brands, and thus would encourage almost any sort of exposure, the results here showed only some brands will show a mild (and likely short-term) effect from a brand placement opportunity.A REVIEW AND INVESTIGATION INTO THE EFFECTIVENESS OF PRODUCT PLACEMENTS IN FILMS (pp. 97-102, 1994)
This paper examines the effect that product placements embedded within movies have on moviegoers. A history of the use of product placements is first presented, then reasoning behind the use of product placements is explored. The results of a study conducted to examine the effect of a product placement on memory and affect toward the product show that only recall is influenced.THE THIRD PERSON EFFECT IN THREE GENRES OF COMMERCIALS: PRODUCT AND GREENING ADS, AND PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENTS (pp. 103-112, 1994)
The finding that in response to mass media messages such as news stories and programs, people estimate themselves to be less affected than others is called the "third person effect." This study examined the third person effect in response to three different genres of advertising: product and greening ads, and public service announcements. It was hypothesized that whether consumers consider it socially acceptable or not to be influenced by the different genres was an important determinant of how they judged themselves and others to be influenced by commercials. The two more socially acceptable genres (PSA's and greening ads) were considered to affect self more than others. The less socially acceptable genre (product ads) were considered to affect others more than self. The self-other differences were also related to whether the commercials elicited emotion from viewers and whether their brands or issues were high or low involving. Interestingly, genre, emotion, and product (issue) involvement all affected how positively people evaluated the commercials and their brands. The results are discussed in terms of a theory of maintaining a positive self-identity.SLIM, TRIM AND EVER SO THIN: A CONTENT ANALYSIS OF MAGAZINE ADVERTISING CLAIMS FOR WEIGHT CONTROL PRODUCTS (pp. 113-121, 1994)
Advertising for weight control products has been criticized for making exaggerated claims of product performance. A content analysis of magazine ads for these products and services examined the nature of the claims. The findings suggest that weight control advertising makes exaggerated claims regarding the extent, rate, and maintenance of weight loss. Additionally, weight loss through product use was presented as an easy process; the need for changes in eating and exercise behaviors to produce and maintain weight loss was generally left unstated. In representing weight control in this manner, weight control product advertising appears to be making implied claims that have the potential of misleading consumers. Based on these findings, recommendations for further investigation into problematic claims as well as research into the influence of such claims on consumers are made.WITH WINKS AND SMILES: USING FACIAL EXPRESSIONS TO IMPART NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION IN FOOD ADVERTISING (pp. 122-128, 1994)
Previous research suggests that consumers do not perceive food ads to be credible and interpret nutritional terms in different ways. Regulators are now requiring food marketers to use new labels that are expected to be more useful and unambiguous to the consumer. To pre-empt regulators from requiring advertisers to carry the complete nutritional data panel in ads, advertisers should explore alternate methods of providing such information to the consumer, and thus, also enable consumers to choose healthier foods more easily. This paper explores the idea of using graphical representation of nutritional data via Chernoff faces, to enable the consumer to get an overall picture about the nutritiousness of a product. The findings of an exploratory study that tested this approach are promising, and suggest that using such icons in food ads could effectively provide summarized nutritional information.A MODIFIED DIRICHLET MODEL FOR ADVERTISING MEDIA SCHEDULES (pp. 129-141, 1994)
Previous research on media exposure distribution models has shown two multivariate models to be superior in accuracy of performance: (1) the canonical expansion model (CANEX) of Danaher (1991); and (2) the Dirichlet multinomial distribution model (DMDLK) of Leckenby and Kishi (1984). CANEX is susceptible to the generation of negative probabilities of exposure, a logical impossibility. DMDLK cannot handle asymmetrical schedules, i.e., those with different numbers of insertions in two or more vehicles. This paper reports the results of preliminary testing of a new multivariate model designed to overcome both limitations of the prior two models. This new model, the Modified Dirichlet Distribution (MDD), is tested on 479 randomly selected SMRB tabulated schedules. The results are compared to those of seven other models on these symmetrical SMRB schedules. Limited indications that the MDD provides plausible estimates for asymmetrical schedules are demonstrated. However, the further study revealed that MDD should be applicable to symmetrical schedule in spite of new enumeration scheme which was developed to handle asymmetrical schedules.THE PROSPECTS OF IMPROVING THE "SIMULATION" APPROACH TO LINKING MEDIA AND MARKET DATA USING A REGRESSION MODEL (p. 142, 1994)
A common problem in advertising research is that of linking data bases containing target market and media usage data. One of the most elegant solutions is the simulation approach, or what has alternatively been called the conditional independence approach or microsegmentation. Unfortunately, the approach has been shown to consistently underestimate the concentration of target market members in the most selective media vehicles. This study investigates a theory proposed by Dr. Kent Lancaster, that the method might be systematically biased, producing a proportionate evaluation of media, even though the actual estimates are incorrect.INTEGRATED MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS: WHO IS DOING WHAT? (pp. 143-145, 1994)
Although the topic of integrated marketing communications (IMC) is getting a great deal of attention from marketing communication scholars and practitioners, IMC lacks a generally accepted definition. This lack of agreement reduces the ability to develop measures of IMC's presence in American business. This article discusses the definitional problems of IMC and presents three conceptualizations for consideration. The results of a national survey of marketing communication practitioners are used to 1)SILVER MEDAL PERFORMANCE FOR ADVERTISERS? A CONTENT ANALYSIS OF NBC'S PRIME TIME COVERAGE OF THE 1992 SUMMER OLYMPIC GAMES (p. 146, 1994)
examine the extent to which the three conceptualizations of IMC describe current marketing practices and 2) provide a baseline measure of marketers' use of IMC.
The NBC telecast of the 1988 Olympics from Seoul was a major disappointment to the network, the television viewers an the advertisers. In 1992 NBC had the opportunity to redeem itself by regaining audience interest, and the challenge of making the program profitable despite record costs and continued skepticism on the part of advertisers. This study looks in detail at the content and results of the prime time telecast in terms of ratings. Finding indicate that over 70% of the telecast featured Olympic sports or sports-related material. Focus was on those sports in which United States teams have traditionally done well in Olympic competition. NBC's packaging of the 1992 Games resulted in ratings increases over 1988, but they were still not as high as those of ABC in 1984.THE DIFFERENTIAL IMPACT OF TELEVISED EXPOSURE TO SPORTS ARENA DISPLAYS VS. COMMERCIALS (p. 147, 1994)
Combined with other results, preliminary implications are that arena display exposure levels need to increase both in terms of quantity and quality of the exposure situation to equate with the impact of a commercial. Subtle, long-term effects of exposure to arena displays, qualified in terms of brand attitude ratings, are most likely to be realized from such exposures.SPECIFYING THE MAIN AND INTERACTIVE EFFECTS OF EXPOSURE ON ADVERTISING AWARENESS AND RECALL AT HALLMARK EVENTS (pp. 148-153, 1994)
Corporate investments in sponsoring Hallmark events are increasing rapidly. Notwithstanding this pattern, there is relatively little known about the effectiveness of advertising at such events. This study reports the results of a random sample survey conducted at a professional golf tournament. It specifically reports on the effectiveness of event advertising, using elaborated measures of message exposure to predict same-day awareness and unaided recall. The survey results are used to specify the main effects and interactive logistic functions of advertising exposure. These results demonstrate how differential exposure patterns can affect spectators' awareness and recall of advertising at Hallmark events. Three exposure variables are significant, bivariate correlates of advertising awareness and unaided recall. Multivariate analyses, however, reveal a more complex pattern of relationships.CONSUMERS' PROCESSING OF PICTORIAL ELEMENTS IN PRINT ADS: AN EXPLORATORY ANALYSIS (p. 156, 1994)
Recently, researchers have demonstrated an increasing amount of interest in determining the impact that nonverbal elements may have on consumers. As a result, a model (based on recent developments in advertising and consumer research) is proposed to depict the nature of consumers' processing of pictures in print ads. Based generally on the Dual Mediation Hypothesis (DMH) Model of MacKenzie and Lutz (Lutz 1985; MacKenzie and Lutz 1989), the proposed model also employs concepts (e.g., self-imaging and mood) which are more likely to capture the diverse nature of consumers' responses to pictorial elements in ads. In the model, self-imaging (i.e., the process via which individuals represent themselves within an ad stimulus in working memory) is thought to induce receiver perceptions or beliefs about the advertised brand (vacation destination in this case). Such a view is consistent with Rossiter and Percy's (1983) model and the findings of Miniard et al. (1991) and Unnava and Burnkrant (1991) which suggest that elaborations about pictures may be imagery-based. Self images are then thought to influence both receiver beliefs regarding the advertised brand (i.e., subjective probabilities that individuals assign to the likelihood that a brand possesses particular attributes) and the mood (i.e., feeling states which are subjectively perceived by the individual) of the receiver (Gardner 1985b). Such expectations are consistent with the findings of Gregory, Cialdini and Carpenter (1982) who found that individuals who imagined themselves in certain situations were more likely to respond favorably to that situation in the future. Consistent with recent models of ad processing which contend that post-exposure attitudes are potentially influenced via both central and peripheral factors (Lutz 1985; Muehling and Laczniak 1992), it is proposed that beliefs (which represent central factors) and mood (which represents peripheral factors) influence brand attitudes (i.e., predispositions to respond in a consistently favorable or unfavorable manner to a particular brand). To test this model, five-hundred-and-thirty-one students enrolled in introductory marketing classes at two major state universities (one in Louisiana and the other in Iowa) were employed as subjects in a study. Two professionally-produced pictures (those used in print travel ads for the State of Louisiana) were employed as stimulus materials. Results generally support the proposed model.THE ROLE OF HUMOR IN ADVERTISING PROCESSING: ITS THEORETICAL IMPLICATIONS (pp. 157 - 167, 1994)
This study investigates the mechanism of humorous ad processing by examining the causal relationship between perceived humor and the measures of attitudinal and behavioral parameters. A thorough review of widely examined information processing models revealed two theoretical hypotheses which were considered in this investigation. The distraction hypothesis and the dual mediation hypothesis were incorporated into the humor processing framework. Findings show that the dual mediation hypothesis is a better "fit" in explaining the causal relationships, indicating that perceived humor primarily functions as an antecedent of ad attitude which in turn has a positive impact on brand cognition and brand attitude. Humor appears to influence both affective and cognitive components of ad attitude, although this mechanism may be attributed to the idiosyncratic characteristics of the humor type used in the study.WHY MUST I BE A TEENAGER IN LOVE? MORE FINDINGS ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF MUSICAL TASTES (pp. 168 - 179, 1994)
The present study answers a call for replication and extension of the research in the relationship between age and the liking of music. While previous research among respondents of a wide age range indicated that liking for music is greatest for music popular when respondents were 23 years old, the current study demonstrated a lower age peak (16) among people 20 - 50 years old, suggesting that results may vary among targeted groups. The study examines four methodological factors that can influence findings: the age range of the respondents, the music selections, length of music selections, and multiple measures.CULTURE'S CONSEQUENCES IN ADVERTISING: THE IMPACT OF INFORMATION LEVEL STRATEGIES ON THE EFFECTIVENESS OF KOREAN VS. U.S. TELEVISION COMMERCIALS (p. 180, 1994)
An experiment compared the effectiveness of television commercials with varied levels of information content in the United States and the Republic of Korea (ROK). Differences in a) the contextual level of the cultures and b) the value placed on individualism in the two countries were used as a basis for hypotheses. Consistent with expectations based on cultural differences, results indicate that U.S. subjects responded more favorably to commercials with high information levels than did Korean subjects. Additionally, the Korean subjects tended to respond more favorably to low information levels than did their U.S. counterparts,INTERNATIONAL ADVERTISING STRATEGIES OF JAPANESE AND U.S. COMPANIES IN THAILAND (p. 181, 1994)
This paper reports the results of a pilot study on the television advertising practices of Japanese and US companies in Thailand. Since the Japanese and US cultures differ greatly, it was expected that there would be differences in their policies on standardizing their advertising messages, or transferring them with adaptations, from their home countries to Thailand. Since it may be reasonable to standardize some parts of advertising but not others, comparing advertising decisions is facilitated by breaking advertising into its component parts. This study makes the vital distinction between: (1) setting advertising objectives (what is to be accomplished), (2) deciding advertising strategies (how objectives are to be accomplished), and (3) doing and approving advertising executions (what specific techniques are used to carry out the strategies).PERSONALIZED INTERACTIONS AND GENERALIZED BELIEFS ABOUT ADVERTISING: THE CASE OF MALAYSIAN STUDENTS (p. 183, 1994)
Advertising, like Moby Dick, appears to be ubiquitous. And like Moby Dick is to Captain Ahab, advertising is often a symbol of evil to many. Given the centrality of advertising to free market economies, the study of opinions about advertising is important. This study reports Malaysian students' responses to advertising in terms of their interactions with (attention paid to, entertainment and functional value of, and influence on purchase) and beliefs about the economic and social aspects of advertising. Additionally, it analyzes whether their beliefs explain their interactions. The method of study was survey. A questionnaire was administered in Bahasa Malay, in March 1993, to students at a Malaysian university. Apart from collecting demographic information, the questionnaire used statements followed by a Likert scale to measure interactions and beliefs. First, Malaysian students had average to negative interactions with and beliefs about advertising. Among beliefs, they rated the social impact of advertising more negatively than its economic impact. Government restrictions, a strong consumer association, and culture are all possible reasons for these responses. The findings have both content and media implications for advertisers in general and for international advertisers in particular. Second, only the functional value of advertising explained economic beliefs and none of the interactions explained social beliefs. Beliefs may be better explained with demographics. This finding has implications for theoretical models trying to explain attitudes towards advertising in general.CONSUMER PERCEPTIONS OF THE INFORMATIONAL AND IRRITATIONAL CONTENT OF DIRECT MAIL (pp. 184 - 189, 1994)
Do informativeness and irritation go hand-in-hand (or, rather, back-to-back)NEWSPAPER ADVERTISING CREDIBILITY: A COMPETITIVE EDGE? (p. 190, 1994)
in the minds of consumers perceiving direct mail materials? Findings of this limited study are inconclusive. There is some indication that perceived irritation is inversely related to perceived differential informativeness between different types of direct mail. There is also some indication that age and income have something to do with perceptions of direct mail.
In recent years, newspapers have experienced an eroding of the marketplace value of their advertising. Reasons are both cyclical, such as overall decreasing advertising budgets due to the recession, and structural, such as declining literacy, increased spending on promotion at the expense of advertising, and new media competition such as database marketing and cable television local access for advertisers. Some local retail advertisers have decided they don't even need the newspaper. Newspapers are pressured to find new ways to build added value into their product in order to maintain advertising revenues. One potential source of added value is the newspaper's uniqueness as a cultural form, enhanced by its association with news and editorial content, in-depth analysis, inherent historical tradition, and the general cultural value associated with the written word. Evidence of such an effect could enhance the value of newspaper advertising to the advertiser, a key component of pricing and, therefore, a critical element of the economic underpinnings supporting a free press. But is there any added value from placing an advertisement within a newspaper context as compared to other media context? If so, how can we measure it? This paper examines a measure of 'relative believability' of newspaper advertisements as compared to advertisements in other media and its relationship to socioeconomic, demographic, community size, media behavior, and media attitude variables.UNDERSTANDING HOW VIEWERS MONITOR TELEVISION: AN ANALYSIS OF FIELD NOTES FROM IN-HOME OBSERVATIONS (pp. 191 - 197, 1994)
While current television program and commercial ratings hinge on counts of how many people are exposed to television, little attention has been given to the quality and variety of viewing behaviors. One hundred nine covert observations of people watching television catalog what goes on during a viewing session. Findings suggest some television viewing might be better described as monitoring, and that monitoring is comprised of identifiable components which may revise how we think about and rate television viewing.THE USE OF METAPHORS AS VIVID STIMULI TO ENHANCE COMPREHENSION AND RECALL OF PRINT ADVERTISEMENTS (pp. 198 - 206, 1994)
Adults rate print advertisements with metaphors as more vivid than the literal versions of those advertisements. Analysis of data showed that respondents rated all characteristics of vividness higher on the metaphor version than the literal version of the advertisements, except one. Those characteristics that differed between the metaphor and literal versions include: graphic, clear, descriptive, and distinctive. The respondents' perceptions of concreteness did not differ significantly.THE PRESENTATION OF INFORMATION CUES IN MAGAZINE ADVERTISEMENTS (p 206, 1994)
Advertising researchers, practitioners, and critics alike are concerned with the amount of information contained in advertising. Yet little attention has been paid to how the information is presented. This study investigates the presentation of information cues in magazine advertising. Four specific areas are discussed in the literature review: the information/persuasion dichotomy, the measurement of information content, the FCB Planning Model as an explanation for the different amounts of information identified in advertisements, and executional factors' relationship to information. A sample of 567 magazine ads was content analyzed for information cues, layout, and FCB Planning Model. "Informative" ads, those containing at least one information cue, comprised 89.4% of the sample. Color field and picture window layouts contained the fewest information cues; copy heavy and rebus layouts, which by definition tend to have large amounts of copy, contained the greatest number of information cues. Ads for products in the high involvement and thinking quadrant of the FCB Planning Model contained more information cues than ads for products in other quadrants, lending further support for the belief that systematic variation of information content occurs among the cells of the matrix.ATTENTION TO ADVERTISEMENTS BY PROSPECTS AND NON PROSPECTS (pp. 207 - 212, 1994)
Respondents read through an issue of People magazine. Afterwards they indicated which advertisements they had noticed and to what elements within advertisements they had paid attention. Prospects were found to notice advertisements more than non prospects. When prospects and non prospects noticed the same advertisements, prospects are more likely than non prospects to notice "central" -- product relevant content, and non prospects are more likely than prospects to notice "peripheral" -- product irrelevant content.AN EXAMINATION OF ALTERNATIVE METHODS OF ASSESSING THE PERSUASIVE IMPACT OF NEGATIVE POLITICAL ADVERTISING (p. 213, 1994)
This paper explores the predictive validity of both global and diagnostic measures in the assessment of negative political advertising strategies. The criterion dependent variable was intention to vote for the sponsoring candidate. Two kinds of global advertising response measures were assessed: relative (for which a comparison context was considered) and monadic (for which no frame of reference was provided). Thirty-nine SD-scaled message-generated cognitions were used as the diagnostic response measures.ETHICAL PROBLEMS OF CANADIAN ADVERTISING AGENCY EXECUTIVES (pp. 214 - 220, 1994)
This study represents a cross-cultural replication of the Hunt & Chonko (1987) U.S. study which examined the ethical problems faced by advertising agency executives. The current study examines the ethical issues faced by Canadian advertising agency executives. Similar to Hunt and Chonko, the current study found six major ethical problems faced by Canadian advertising executives. These ethical problems are; 1) treating clients fairly; 2) creating honest, non-misleading, socially desirable advertisements; 3)THE INTERVIEW AS AN ADVERTISING RESEARCH TOOL -- SPECIAL SESSION (pp. 221 -232, 1994)
representing clients whose products/services are unhealthy, unneeded, useless or unethical; 4) treating suppliers, vendors and media fairly; 5) treating employees and management of agency fairly and; 6) treating other agencies fairly.
For this Special Topics Session on the interview as a research method, qualitative research means "any systematic investigation that attempts to understand the meanings that things have for individuals from their own perspectives" (Taylor 1994) and interviewing refers to an extended face-to-face verbal exchange between a researcher and a participant. Four researchers experienced in qualitative interviewing first present overviews from some of their work and then collectively answered five questions common to the technique.TODAY'S MOST IMPORTANT ADVERTISING RESEARCH ISSUES -- SPECIAL SESSION (pp. 233 - 237, 1994)"Theoretical Orientations and Interviewing"
Ronald E. Taylor"Interviewing: Data Generation and Analysis"
Eric Haley"Interviewing in Another Culture: The Pratfalls and Pitfalls of Interviewing in the Former Soviet Union"
Ludmilla Gricenko Wells"Interviewing Families Together"
Carol J. Pardun
"The Field Through the Eyes of the Trade Press"ANALYZING SALES PROMOTION -- SPECIAL SESSION (pp. 238 - 239, 1994)
Karen McLaughlin"Teaching and Research Implications"
William D. Wells"If I Had Time to Basic Research"
Deborah K. Johnson"Two Key Issues"
James Crimmins
While there are many sales promotion principles which can be illustrated through the analysis of real scanner data, some of the key principles are: sales volume is the key measure, trade promotions should generate incremental profit, the demand curve is kinked, competitive effects are minimal except for switchers, price sensitivity and promotion responsiveness are different, retail trade performance is essential, reduction of promotion results in loss of volume, analysis of real data profit maximizes, and fact-based marketing is the key.NEW TECHNOLOGY IN THE CLASSROOM -- SPECIAL SESSION (pp. 240 - 242, 1994)
This special session focused on three computer-based products that use new electronic technology to enhance learning through increased student involvement.ADVERTISING PROGRAMS AND FACULTY IN BUSINESS SCHOOLS: PROBLEMS AND OPPORTUNITIES -- SPECIAL SESSION (pp. 243 - 247, 1994)"Texas Instruments and the Worldwide Semiconductor Industry: An Electronic, Interactive Case Approach"
Charles H. Patti"Advertising Media Planning Using ADPLUS with Flowmaster for Windows"
Kent Lancaster"PUBLICS -- PR Research Software"
Glen T. Cameron
"An Overview of Problems and Opportunities Of Advertising Programs and Faculty in Business Schools" and "Selected Environmental Changes and the Future of Advertising Programs and Faculty in Business Schools"THE ARF MEDIA EVALUATION MODEL: ICON OR OBSOLETE (pp. 248 - 252, 1994)
Morton I. Jaffe"Evaluating Advertising Faculty Research"
Nancy Stephens"Achieving Tenure and Promotion in A Business School"
Lynda M. Maddox"The New Advertising Major at Rider University"
Tina M. Lowrey"Cooperative Arrangements Between Business and Communications Schools"
Louis J. Wolter
"The ARF Media Evaluation Model: Icon or Obsolete - An Overview"SPARKING THE CREATIVE FLAME: MANAGING THE SUCCESSFUL CREATIVE PROGRAM -- SPECIAL SESSION (pp. 253 - 258, 1994)
Stephen P. Phelps"Updating the ARF Media Model: A Pedagogic Perspective"
Donald Jugenheimer"Right Brained Media Planning"
Dennis Martin"Views and Observations of a Discussant"
Ronald Kaatz
"Philosophy of the Successful Creative Program"
Deborah Morrison"Teaching Technology in Creative Programs"
Patricia Alvey"Ideas and Great Advertising"
Jim Marra"Strategies for Working with the Industry"
John Sweeney