Avery M. Abernethy

The Information Content of Advertising: A Meta-Analysis

Abstract The amount of information contained in advertising is an important issue to scholars, critics, and users of advertising. Almost 60 studies have used a procedure introduced in 1977 by Resnik and Stern to measure the information content of advertising. The results, reported in a wide variety of outlets, are conflicting. Metaanalysis of that literature helps to (1) develop norms for information levels and research procedures, (2) reveal systematic sources of variation in reported information levels across studies, and (3) identify areas that have been examined in depth and call attention to other areas that warrant further research. Because study findings are found to depend on several method factors, controlling for the effects of those factors through the meta-analysis procedure helps to clarify how media type, country economic development, and product durability influence measured information levels.

Advertising Regulation's Effect upon Demand for Cigarettes

Abstract Additional advertising regulation is being proposed for both tobacco and alcoholic beverage products. The possible outcome of these proposed regulations is examined based on the effect that advertising regulation has had on tobacco consumption in the past.

You Are Fired! A Method to Control and Sanction Free Riding in Group Assignments

Marketing students are regularly required to participate in group assignments. A frequently voiced student complaint is that some group members fail to contribute their fair share of work or fail to contribute at all. “You Are Fired!” is a system for resolving the free rider problem (collecting the benefits of a group project without contributing work to the project). Most efforts to control free riding have been through the use of peer evaluations, sometimes augmented by progress reports and journals. Since it has been suggested that multiple administrations of peer appraisals are necessary, a large amount of class time may be consumed. We test the “You Are Fired!” method in two upper division marketing classes at a large state university. Students strongly disliked free riders and strongly supported using “You Are Fired! “ to sanction free riding behavior. “You Are Fired!” is a highly effective means of eliminating the worst aspects of free riding and requires minimal class time to implement. Students suffering from the free rider are empowered to correct the problem, therefore greatly increasing the student credibility of group projects.

Promoting customer contact people: a key difference in service and product advertising

Employs content analysis of advertisements for both products and services in 13 major newspapers. Seeks to understand how advertising information on service providers is integrated into service advertising strategy. Suggests that service advertising is far more likely than product advertising to contain information about contact people. Offers ways of improving the advertising strategy of service marketers.

Self-Regulation and Television Advertising

Abstract Media owners and managers possess great power to select (and reject) advertising submissions. Regardless of the directives (or absence) of any self-regulation code, no television station must accept any commercial advertising it does not wish to carry. This study requested descriptions of the standards, guidelines and day-to-day concerns from U.S. commercial broadcast stations, asking the policies, procedures and nature of standards for deriding which commercials are acceptable for broadcast.

A Decade of Scholarship in Marketing Education

The teaching environment in business schools has changed dramatically over the last decade. But the last comprehensive review of the scholarship of teaching was conducted more than a decade ago. Where and from whom do the best practices for teaching originate today? To answer this question, the authors examine marketing education scholarship between 2000 and 2009 by assessing individual and institutional productivity in the two primary marketing education journals, Journal of Marketing Education and Marketing Education Review. Past findings that the most productive institutions for marketing education research were concentrated in the South no longer hold. In the last decade, interest in marketing education research is found at a large number of schools with most authors appearing only once in the two primary marketing education journals and most institutions having only one or two appearances. Higher levels of research productivity appear to be related to institutional mission.

Consumer Information Needs for Attorney and Accountant Yellow Pages Advertising

Suggests that an important source of attorney and accounting services information is the Yellow Pages phone book. Examines the information consumers want from Yellow Pages advertisements to help them select these services. Specifically, consumers want factual information regarding the type of law/accounting practiced, type of service offered, and contact information. Compares results of a consumer survey with the literature on the information that attorneys and accountants traditionally provide in other types of media. Provides suggestions on improving the Yellow Pages advertising of these service professionals.

The Information Content of Newspaper Advertising

Abstract Although newspaper advertising revenues exceed that of television and magazines, there has yet to be a study of the information content of newspaper advertising. This paper assesses the information content of over 500 newspaper ads from thirteen newspapers applying the commonly used Resnik and Stern (1977) method. Newspaper ads averaged 3.13 cues per ad, far more than that found by any previous studies of television and magazine advertising. The amount of newspaper advertising information also varied significantly by the category of newspaper (national or local).

Consumer Prices and the Federal Trade Commission's "Do-Not-Call" Program

The Federal Trade Commissions “do-not-call” program successfully cut the number of telemarketing calls for households that registered. Time savings and fewer interruptions are real benefits. However, telemarketing was one of the most successful marketing tools that firms used to offer lower-priced consumer telecommunications services directly, and do-not-call regulations largely eliminated this advertising method. The authors estimate that the average U.S. household will have between

Self-regulation and Television Advertising: A Replication and Extension

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