Christy Ashley

The Differential Effect of Ad Novelty and Message Usefulness on Brand Judgments

We examine the differential effects of ad novelty and message usefulness—frequently conceptualized as the two major dimensions of ad creativity—on the following variables: attitude toward the ad, attitude toward the brand, brand trust, ad recall, and brand recall. Novelty and usefulness influence attitude toward the brand, but only usefulness influences brand trust. Both relationships are mediated by attitude toward the ad. We also investigate how novelty and usefulness influence recall by both type (brand and ad) and duration (short term and long term). We find that novelty leads to better short-term ad recall, whereas usefulness leads to better short-term and long-term brand recall.

Betrayed by the Buzz? Covert Content and Consumer-Brand Relationships

Brands are increasingly sponsoring online communications that do not identify their commercial source as a way to break through advertising clutter and to circumvent consumer cynicism toward traditional advertising. The results of lab studies indicate that these covert actions decrease trust in and commitment to brand users and that this effect is strongest when the brand users emotional connection to the brand is threatened. Thus, use of covert marketing campaigns to overcome challenges with advertising may be done at the expense of the strongest consumer–brand relationships. Given the potential for loss of trust in and commitment to a brand in an environment in which brand relationships hold high value, brand marketers may have an incentive to discontinue covert marketing efforts without policy intervention. Alternatively, marketers could go to greater lengths to cover their tracks, which could have important implications for policy and consumer welfare.

Can Hedonic Store Environments Help Retailers Overcome Low Store Accessibility

This paper presents an empirical investigation of the relationship between store accessibility, store type, and commitment. Based on commodity theory, we predict and test whether the hedonic level of a store interacts with store accessibility to change the relationship between store accessibility and store commitment. Results of a field study indicate that the negative effect of low store accessibility on store commitment is dampened in stores that have higher hedonic attributes. The results are replicated in a laboratory experiment, which rules out an alternative hypothesis for the effect. The implications of these findings and directions for future research are discussed.

Exploring the Underlying Dimensions of Violence in Print Advertisements

Widespread use of violent images in advertising and the potential for costly negative consequences with their misuse creates a demand to understand how consumers respond to violent advertising. Multidimensional scaling and cluster analysis of pile sort data revealed the underlying dimensions of how consumers make distinctions between violent advertisements. Analysis uncovered that consumers differentiate between ads portraying the victims point of view versus the perpetrators and when the ads show less-deserving or more-deserving victims. Recognition and development of these dimensions may help clarify previously ambiguous results and lead to a more complete and nuanced understanding of advertising violence.

Do social advergames affect brand attitudes and advocacy

Advergames have been used for some time as a form of branded entertainment designed to engage prospective customers in a branded activity for an extended period of time. Increasingly, advergames are imbued with social qualities related to the rise in popularity of social media, especially social networking. Despite the popularity of social advergames, little is known about the brand benefits of incorporating social features into games. Moreover, while creativity has been studied in the context of more traditional advertising, less is known about its effects on brand development in the context of advergames. Although advertising creativity, as characterized by novelty and relevance, has been shown to impact advertised brands, it is not clear how creativity interacts with advergame socialness to affect brand development. To address these gaps in the literature, this paper reports on three experimental studies that compare the brand effects of advergames that enable social interactions to advergames that are not social. The results indicate that relative to non-social advergames, social advergames result in more positive game attitudes, attitudes toward the brand sponsor, and brand advocacy, particularly when advergames are novel. Finally, this article discusses implications for managers and directions for future research.

Using the Voice-of-the-Customer to Determine the Connection between Service and Relationship Attributes, Satisfaction, and Retention

The competitive landscape has increased the value of knowing what attributes are most important to completely satisfy customers and earn their commitment. Although satisfaction and customer retention have been widely researched in the past, little is known about how individual attributes lead to satisfaction and the role each of these attributes play in establishing loyal relationships. Relational attributes are also instrumental as many companies seek loyal behaviors, including repeat purchases, openness to cross-selling, and referrals to increase market share and profitability. However, the specific roles service and relational attributes play in determining satisfaction and relational behaviors are not clear. This study captures the voice-of-the-customer and develops testable hypotheses regarding the importance of customer-revealed attributes in evaluating satisfaction with products and services. The results of subsequent tests of these hypotheses will have important implications for practitioners in both manufacturing and service industries as they decide when and how to differentiate products with services and relationship marketing.

E-Tailing on Zazzle.Com.

An innovative project was designed for a retail management course to enhance critical thinking skills and provide hands-on learning about marketing strategy in an electronic retail context. Students created, promoted, and managed online stores using Zazzle.com, which retails user-generated designs, and analyzed the results of their efforts. Assessment of student deliverables suggests enhanced understanding of key concepts and critical thinking. The project could be adapted for marketing strategy, social media marketing, or consumer behavior courses. Instructors who adopt the project should allow adequate time, consider seeking graphic artists and/or nonprofit partners in advance, and carefully monitor promotion implementation efforts to help maximize the learning experience.

Need for Drama: Scale Development

Drama, which is defined as a situation or series of events having vivid, emotional, conflicting, or striking interest or results, contributes to and is reflected in the development of products and services. Products and services “perform” for consumers (Deighton 1992). Marketers use drama in advertisements, product placements, and retail events in an effort to develop affective bonds with consumers since these “stories” are processed less evaluatively than arguments (where the marketer’s persuasive intent is clear) (Deighton et al. 1989). Drama is also important because it can appeal to consumers in a way that affects consumption behavior. For example, in July 2010, NASCAR considered changes to the race format to make it more dramatic because it thought doing so would entice lost NASCAR viewers to return (Long 2010).

Social Media Applications for Marketing Educators

Social media offer educators immense value both in and out of the classroom. Whether providing new channels of communication, advanced tools for the packaging and delivery of content, collaborative work opportunities, or engagement devices for inspiring young minds, there are social media solutions available. In this panel session, the contributors present three applications for utilizing social media tools in marketing education: 1) general social media tools useful for addressing common classroom issues, 2) social media tools and channels for teaching and experiencing retail management, and 3) cross-channel social tools for building student engagement outside of the classroom environment.

Creativity and Visual Complexity

In theory, a good ad gets noticed. However, the sheer volume of advertisements creates challenges for advertisers who want to want to create ads that break through the clutter to get a consumer’s attention. Advertisers may increase the visual complexity of advertisements to break through the clutter. Visual complexity can draw the viewer into the ad, increasing their involvement in message processing. On the other hand, visual complexity may confuse the ad’s receiver, distracting him/her from the advertisement’s message, or reducing the perceived relevance of the ad’s message. Therefore, it is important to understand more about how complexity affects perceptions of the ad’s creativity and the ad’s effectiveness.