Emmanuel Mogaji

Reflecting a diversified country: a content analysis of newspaper advertisements in Great Britain

Purpose – Identifying the protected characteristics under the Equality Act of the UK, the purpose of this paper is to discover the extent to which the protected characteristics are featured in British newspaper advertisements, as evidence of diversity and equality in the country. Design/methodology/approach – Content analysis of advertisements obtained from nine national newspapers of the UK collected over 12 months. The criteria used to select the newspapers were category, popularity (circulation figures) and the readership demographics (range and variety of the audience). Findings – Disabled individuals are under-represented in print advertisements, and so are close relationships between individuals of the same sex signifying a civil partnership (or sexual orientation). There seems to be an equal level of portrayal of males and females, though men still feature more in a business setting while women are seen more in home settings. Practical implications – The findings suggest opportunities for advertise...

This advert makes me cry: Disclosure of emotional response to advertisement on Facebook

Abstract As social media is transforming how consumers interact with brands and how brand-related content is consumed, this paper aims to investigate if and how Facebook users express their emotions towards advertisements of brand share on the site. Seven hundred and three comments about the Lloyds 250th Anniversary advertisement on Facebook were analysed as positive, negative or neutral attitude towards the advert. Facebook users found the advertisement emotionally appealing and voluntarily report their emotion of love, pride and in some cases anger. The presence of an iconic image like the black horse and the cover music was found to be emotionally appealing. The background music as well aroused positive emotions and engaging. This study introduces the possibility of analysing Facebook comments on brand content to understand consumers’ emotional responses and attitudes to the brand. Managers can explore these opportunities to identify what consumers find interesting in advertisements and how best to develop their creative strategies. It also offers the opportunity to allocate resources better to engage consumers with creative advertisement. Unlike interviews or surveys, this is a pioneering study on measuring emotional responses to advertisement through users’ self-report on social media.

Factors shaping attitudes towards UK bank brands: An exploratory analysis of social media data

Abstract Social media provides a huge amount of data and rich market insight, and has changed the way customers interact with brands. This interaction is of great concern for any organisation as it transfers the power to shape brand image from advertisers to consumers. In light of the global financial crisis and the ensuing negative attitudes towards bank brands, this study has extracted 1176 comments on bank advertisements from the verified Facebook pages of 10 UK banks. These comments have been thematically analysed to identify seven key factors that shape customer attitudes to bank brands. The study presents the power of social media as a platform for brands and customers to engage and build relationships, especially bank–customer relationships in the UK, providing managers with important insights that can guide the development and execution of their brand-relationship campaigns. The fact that this study is based on real-life advertisements and real-life responses from social media network users can be considered as one of its strengths, as it does not suffer from various issues relating to experimental studies. Nonetheless, the study’s limitations and suggestions for future research directions are provided.

Marketing strategies of United Kingdom universities during clearing and adjustment

Purpose – The clearing system in the UK enables students without a university place after exam results have been announced to find suitable vacancies, as it is important for universities to fill their vacancies as any shortfall loses them a lot of money. The purpose of this paper is to examine marketing strategies adopted by UK universities on their websites during clearing. Design/methodology/approach – In total, the content of 134 university websites were analysed a few weeks before clearing and the day before clearing starts. The categories for the analysis included membership of the three main university groups as well as clearing advertisement strategies and advertising theme presented. Findings – In total, 110 universities indicated interest in admitting students through clearing on their websites including 18 of the 24 Russell University Group although more emphasis was laid on adjustment to attract students with better grades. The majority of websites were redesigned to reflect clearing with slide...

Insights into online reviews of hotel service attributes: A cross-national study of selected countries in Africa

Online travel reviews are paramount to trip planning because they help consumers’ form images of destinations. Despite ample studies on hotel service attributes, knowledge is scarce regarding culturally nuanced attributes, including security perceptions. This study examines consumers’ perceptions of service attributes and security/safety concerns of hotels in Africa. Data were extracted from three hotel categories (3, 4, and 5-stars), which were based on TripAdvisor rankings from Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa. A hybrid analysis revealed that hotel service attributes and security/safety are cardinal evaluation criteria for visitors to Africa. Additionally, our study reveals that most negative reviews were from 5-star hotels and Egypt received more positive reviews in all the service attributes than other countries.

Making the brand appealing: advertising strategies and consumers' attitude towards UK retail bank brands

Purpose The present state of the financial services industry suggests the need for banks to appeal to consumers’ emotions with the aim of improving their reputation; this study aims to explore how UK banks are using emotional appeals in their advertisements and how this shapes consumers’ attitudes towards their brands. Design/methodology/approach Qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis in a two-stage study – Study 1 analysed the content of 1,274 UK bank advertisements to understand how the banks convey emotional appeals, whereas Study 2 elicited consumers’ perceptions of these advertising appeals and how they influenced their attitudes through semi-structured interview with 33 UK retail bank customers in London and Luton. Findings UK banks are using emotional appeals in their marketing communication strategies. The qualitative findings highlight the bi-dimensional nature of feelings towards the advertisements and how this relates to the brand. There is a lacklustre attitude towards the brands; there was no sense of pride in associating with any bank, even with though there are possibilities of switching; and consumers feel there is no better offer elsewhere as all banks are the same. Practical implications Bank brands should present distinct values about their services to the target audience, endeavour to build relationships with existing customers and reward loyalty. Importantly, financial brands need to engage in and highlight charitable activities and any corporate social responsibility as this can help to improve consumers’ attitudes as they often consider bank brands greedy and selfish. Originality/value Qualitative research methodology was adopted to better understand consumers’ attitudes towards UK retail bank brands.

University WebsiteWebsites Design in International Student Recruitment: Some Reflections

This chapter proposes a new conceptual framework of university website design as a communication tool in marketing higher education to international students. It provides some perspectives as to why current web advertising may not be an effective marketing strategy and offers a few website design as an effective marketing tool to reach out to international students across the globe. The author proposes that in addition to the standard information on academic programs and tuition fees, university websites could be customized to provide specific information for different regions regarding country affiliations, cultural needs and admission requirements.

Emotional Appeals in Advertising Banking Services

Advertisements are considered as stimuli which consumers will respond to. Banks can develop emotionally appealing advertisements, but they are not guaranteed a positive emotional reaction. The unprecedented turbulence and uncertainty experienced in the banking industry has increased the need to appear more appealing to consumers. Taking into consideration the global financial crisis, the current challenges of competition and open banking, and the looming threat of Brexit, this book explores how UK banks are pulling at consumers’ heart strings with appeals that are often filtered through personal ideologies, life experiences and previous exposure to brands. It investigates consumers’ perception of this strategy, as well as the wider implications of using emotional appeals in financial services advertising. Based on empirical data and research, this book will prove invaluable to students, researchers and managers alike.

Emotional appeals in UK business-to-business financial services advertisements

© 2018, Emerald Publishing Limited. Purpose: The purpose of this paper is twofold: to analyse the use of emotional appeals in business-to-business (B2B) bank advertisements and to understand business owners’ perceptions of such appeals. Design/methodology/approach: In Study 1,834 print advertisements collected from British newspapers were content analysed. In Study 2, semi-structured interviews with 17 business owners operating a business current account with a British bank were carried out. Findings: Emotional appeals are embedded in B2B financial services advertisements, and business owners acknowledge the presence of emotional appeals; however, the perceived congruency between emotional appeal and financial services could not be established as participants reported a largely utilitarian, need- and benefit-driven decision-making process. Research limitations/implications: Accurately measuring emotions aroused through advertisements is considered a limitation. In addition, the sample of participants considered for this research project was small and medium-sized business owners. Practical implications: Emotional appeals should be used in conjunction with detailed rational information about financial products, as emotional appeals only arouse interest. Relationship is considered crucial in capitalising on the emotionally appealing advertisements. Customers must feel appreciated and loyalty should be rewarded. Originality/value: The paper responds to numerous calls for more research into the role of emotional influences on the relationships in a B2B context and on the behaviour of business customers.