Darryl W. Miller

Stereotypes of the Elderly in U.S. Television Commercials from the 1950s to the 1990s.

Critics have charged that American advertisers have often portrayed the elderly with negative stereotypes. These negative portrayals, they suggest, not only offend elderly consumers but also contribute to ageism. This study examined whether American advertisers have indeed used a great deal of negative stereotyping of the elderly, as the critics have suggested. Employing a concept of stereotypes found in cognitive psychology, the authors examined trends in the portrayal of the elderly in television commercials produced in the United States from the 1950s through the 1990s. Results of the study do not support the contentions of the critics. Very little negative stereotyping was discovered. Analysis indicated trends in the appearance of several positive stereotypes, and differences in the stereotyping of gender groups and age segments within the elderly group. Results are interpreted from both marketing and social science perspectives.

Comparing the effects of a photograph versus artistic renditions of a beach scene in a direct-response print ad for a Caribbean resort island: a mental imagery perspective.

This study compared the effects of a photograph versus two artistic renditions of a beach scene contained in a direct-response print ad for a fictional Caribbean resort island. The two impressionistic artistic renditions included a watercolour painting based on the photograph and an electronically altered version of the photograph. Results indicate that the artistic renderings of the scene were superior to the photograph in drawing attention. The photograph was found to be better for evoking greater quantity, more vivid and more affectively positive mental imagery. The photograph was also superior in generating more favourable attitudes towards the ad and the resort and stronger behavioural intent, but not better recall of the resort name. Theoretical explanations and managerial implications are offered for this pattern of results.

Classifying Services by Tangibility/Intangibility of Attributes and Benefits

ABSTRACT This study involved two primary objectives. First, since no multi-item measure of perceived tangibility/intangibility of service offerings has emerged in the services literature, one is proposed. Second, the measure is used to classify service offerings according to the level of perceived tangibility/intangibility of their salient attributes and desired benefits. The resulting services taxonomy is intended to help guide services marketers with their positioning and promotional decisions relating to the need for overcoming the problem of service intangibility.

New Technology Adoption, Business Strategy and Government Involvement: The Case of Mobile Commerce

SUMMARY This research focuses on understanding how business organizations are likely to adopt mobile commerce (m-commerce) technology. Mobile commerce adoption represents a complex process that draws in variables external to the firm such as the environment in which the business operates and the government involvement, as well as variables internal to the company such as its business strategy and its organizational culture. A model is formulated and several research propositions are offered. They will help understand the mobile commerce applications adoption process. Implications of this model and further research avenues are discussed.

An examination of gender role portrayals in television commercials in Romania: A gender of nations approach

This study examines gender role portrayals in Romanian television commercials. Results reveal both progressive and traditional gender role portrayals for both women and men reflecting a society and economy in a state of transition toward European Union membership. The study also involves a test of the concept of gender of nations using Hofstedes Masculinity Index (MAS). Extending a methodological approach first used by Milner and Collins (1998, 2000) gender role portrayals in Romanian commercials (moderate MAS) were compared with those appearing in Japanese (high MAS) and Swedish (low MAS) commercials. The results, which are consistent with predictions based on the relative MAS scores of the three nations, are discussed along with managerial implications.

An analysis of hospital brand mark clusters.

This study analyzed brand mark clusters (i.e., various types of brand marks displayed in combination) used by hospitals in the United States. The brand marks were assessed against several normative criteria for creating brand marks that are memorable and that elicit positive affect. Overall, results show a reasonably high level of adherence to many of these normative criteria. Many of the clusters exhibited pictorial elements that reflected benefits and that were conceptually consistent with the verbal content of the cluster. Also, many clusters featured icons that were balanced and moderately complex. However, only a few contained interactive imagery or taglines communicating benefits.

A Comparative Analysis of Chinese and Japanese Company and Brand Icons

The current study evaluates company and brand icons and investigates their similarities and differences across two cultures: Chinese and Japanese. A systematic analysis of icons was conducted using the normative criteria for effective brand mark design found in the marketing literature. Results show that compared with Japanese icons, Chinese icons are more likely to contain letter marks, have pictorial elements representative of benefits, have conceptual similarity with the company/brand name, be balanced, be more complex, and be less likely to be abstract.

Modeling Consumer Responses to a Vignette Television Commercial Drama for a Vacation Resort

ABSTRACT This project involved the formulation and testing of a model the cognitive and affective responses to a vignette television commercial drama for a vacation resort. Results indicate that response to the commercial was affective in nature with sympathy, empathy, and attitude toward the ad mediating the influences of verisimilitude and homophily on attitude toward the brand. Results suggest that to effectively promote tourism services a commercials production value and realism must be high to produce sufficient verisimilitude. Also the behaviors and appearance of the actors chosen for the commercial should match those of the intended target audience in order to produce sufficient homophily.

An Analysis of the Syntactic Complexity in Service Corporation Brand Slogans

Research indicates that compared with syntactically simple slogans, moderately complex slogans stimulate deeper processing improving brand recall and interpretation. This may be particularly useful for services marketers in the design of brand slogans for managing the mental intangibility of their offerings. This study involved an analysis of syntactic complexity of contemporary service company brand slogans used by companies listed in the 2011 Fortune 500. Despite the potential benefits of moderately complex slogans, results indicate that most service slogans are simple, containing no syntactic transformations. Few instances of most types of transformations were found except for the imperative form.

Predicting motion picture box office performance using temporal tweet patterns

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate temporal tweet patterns and their effectiveness in predicting the financial performance of a movie. Specifically, how tweet patterns are formed prior to and after a movie’s release and their usefulness in predicting a movie’s success is explored. Design/methodology/approach Volume was measured and sentiment analysis was performed on a sample of Tweets posted four days before and after the release of 86 movies. The temporal pattern of tweeting for financially successful movies was compared with those that were financial disappointments. Using temporal tweet patterns, a number of machine learning models were developed and their predictive performance was compared. Findings Results show that the temporal patterns of tweet volume, length and sentiment differ between “hits” and “busts” in the days surrounding their releases. Compared with “busts” the tweet pattern for “hits” reveal higher volume, shorter length, and more favourable sentiment. Discriminant patterns in social media features occur days in advance of a movie’s release and can be used to develop models for predicting a movie’s success. Originality/value Analysis of temporal tweet patterns and their usefulness in predicting box office returns is the main contribution of this research. Results of this research could lead to development of analytical tools allowing motion picture studios to accurately predict and possibly influence the opening night box-office receipts prior to the release of the movie. Also, the specific temporal tweet patterns presented by this work may be applied to problems in other areas of research.