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Article
Publication date: 9 February 2015

Charlotte Gaston-Breton and Lola C. Duque

This paper aims to explore not only the utilitarian but also the hedonic persuasive effects of promotional techniques like 99-ending prices and the influence of consumers’…

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Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to explore not only the utilitarian but also the hedonic persuasive effects of promotional techniques like 99-ending prices and the influence of consumers’ decision style when evaluating these appeals. Evidence suggests that retailers use 99-ending prices as a promotional technique, based mostly on its savings appeal.

Design/methodology/approach

Three complementary studies were performed. A first field study among 317 shoppers allows to test the hypotheses for two groups of decision-makers (intuitive and analytical) using structural equation modeling based on the partial least squares algorithm. Then, a laboratory experiment assigned to 123 respondents manipulates the decision-making style and, in turn, tests more precisely the proposed hypotheses. Finally, the third study replicates the laboratory experiment with 104 respondents without manipulating decision-making; rather it is measured, which allows to test the effect of internal-based versus contextual-based decision style.

Findings

First, the 99-ends are not strictly associated to utilitarian benefits (savings, quality or convenience) but also to hedonic benefits fulfilling consumer’s needs for exploration, value expression and entertainment. Second, a better understanding of the moderating role of the decision-making style is obtained: consumers in an intuitive decision mode give importance only to hedonic benefits; and there are differences in the analytical decision mode: when the decision-making style is internal (measured as a personal trait), consumers give importance to both utilitarian and hedonic benefits; however, when the decision-making style is contextual (manipulated), consumers focus only on utilitarian benefits.

Research limitations/implications

It is necessary to check the robustness of the results depending on other marketing variables (e.g. product category knowledge, purchase frequency) and individual consumers’ differences in price-sensitivity (e.g. price consciousness).

Practical implications

The findings help to better understand the image effect of 99-ends underlying both consumers’ individual differences and contextual effects. Findings also help retailers and pricing managers in their use of 99-ends as a promotional technique.

Originality/value

This research contributes to a better understanding of the persuasive promotional effect associated to 99-ends. The study demonstrates that utilitarian benefits cannot fully explain consumers’ responses to 99-ends, as 99-end prices can also provide stimulation, entertainment and help fulfill consumers’ needs for information, exploration and self-esteem. The authors further examine the moderating role of the decision-making style between promotional benefits and proneness to buy 99-ends products. The intuitive mode, either internal or contextual, activates hedonic benefits, whereas the analytical mode activates both utilitarian and hedonic benefits when the mode of processing is internal and only utilitarian benefits when the mode of processing is contextual.

Details

European Journal of Marketing, vol. 49 no. 1/2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0309-0566

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 17 May 2022

Sharuti Choudhary and Subhadip Roy

This study aims to analyse the roles in which children have been portrayed in advertisements over three decades (1990–2000, 2000–2010 and 2010–2020) and what have been the changes…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to analyse the roles in which children have been portrayed in advertisements over three decades (1990–2000, 2000–2010 and 2010–2020) and what have been the changes in the portrayal of the children, including the changes in product type and target audience.

Design/methodology/approach

The content of 212 television advertisements was analysed for the study; 32 advertisements belonged to 1990–2000, 38 belonged to 2000–2010 and 142 belonged to 2010–2020.

Findings

It could be observed that in 2010–2020, marketers had primarily focused on children as their central idea behind making any advertisement. They were projecting children as an emotional and informational tool for attracting adults and children, directly or indirectly.

Research limitations/implications

The implications of this study are manifold. Firstly, the study supports the theories of socialisation and the changing role of children in the same. Secondly, the trend over the decades hints at the marketer’s changing strategy behind using children in advertisements to target adult audiences.

Practical implications

The significant implication for the practitioner is the possibility of having a child protagonist in an ad for the non-children target audience.

Originality/value

This paper is one of the first to analyse the changing role of children in advertisements over a long time horizon.

Details

Young Consumers, vol. 23 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1747-3616

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 16 December 2019

Muhammad Ahsan Sadiq, Balasundaram Rajeswari and Lubna Ansari

The purpose of the paper is to segment and profile the Indian shoppers in the context of organic foods in India. It proposes to use a healthy lifestyle (HL) as a segmenting…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of the paper is to segment and profile the Indian shoppers in the context of organic foods in India. It proposes to use a healthy lifestyle (HL) as a segmenting variable and to use a factor-cluster analysis approach to achieve the same. The current study is expected to add a substantial base to the segmentation literature in marketing.

Design/methodology/approach

Food stores in Indian metropolitan city Chennai are sampled, and data is collected in the form of a mall intercept survey method. In total, 441 usable structured questionnaires are filled by the respondents which are subjected to suitable statistical analysis.

Findings

Three significantly different consumer segments emerged from the given sample of respondents, which shows uniqueness concerning consumer’s, HL features, demographics and the variables of the theory of planned behavior (TPB).

Research limitations/implications

Clustering method used to segment the potential shoppers of organic foods is an exploratory technique only. It cannot be treated or generalized to the population like those of inferential techniques. The researcher suggested testing the same with a larger sample size and in a different context. It is limited to urban and suburban facets of the metropolitan city in India.

Originality/value

The study will be helpful to marketers and decision makers to target the potential organic foods consumers.

Details

South Asian Journal of Business Studies, vol. 9 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2398-628X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 17 October 2008

Hyunjae (Jay) Yu, Hye‐Jin Paek and Bumjun Bae

This study aims to examine the content of health promotional web sites in two culturally distinct countries, the USA and South Korea, by investigating the level of interactivity…

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Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to examine the content of health promotional web sites in two culturally distinct countries, the USA and South Korea, by investigating the level of interactivity and types of advertising appeals presented on antismoking web sites.

Design/methodology/approach

Antismoking web sites in the two countries were collected through the three major search engines (msn, Yahoo and Google) using relevant keywords. The final sample contained a total of 89 web sites (USA=67, South Korea=22) that met the condition of promoting antismoking behavior rather than just selling antismoking products. Three bilingual coders were hired for the analysis.

Findings

The South Korean antismoking web sites presented significantly higher levels of interactivity than their USA counterparts. By contrast, there is hardly any differentiation between the two countries in the amount of advertising appeals used on the health web sites.

Research limitations/implications

Even though antismoking is certainly an important global issue, the findings related to antismoking web sites may not be generalizable to various other health‐related topics. Future research should replicate our findings on interactivity and advertising appeals in the context of various health issues.

Practical implications

To cross‐cultural researchers, the results provide more theoretical and practical rationales for cross‐cultural differences beyond such well‐known typologies as Hofstede's Individualism/Collectivism and Hall's high‐low context.

Originality/value

This study provided at least two useful findings for practitioners and researchers: better definition of the roles of cultural differences in the level of interactivity and the types of advertising appeals in promoting health information online and a broadening of the scope of cross‐cultural advertising research to health promotional contexts online.

Details

Internet Research, vol. 18 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1066-2243

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 10 June 2014

Pavleen Soni and Jyoti Vohra

This paper aims to identify the nature of themes/appeals used in food commercials shown on children’s networks in India. Marketers use various themes/appeals in TV advertisements…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to identify the nature of themes/appeals used in food commercials shown on children’s networks in India. Marketers use various themes/appeals in TV advertisements to influence food consumption habits of children. Children are also found to focus on these appeals while selecting foods rather than using nutritional value as a criteria to select foods.

Design/methodology/approach

For the present study, a content analysis of 114 discrete food commercials broadcast on children’s networks was done. These were further analysed to collect data on themes/appeals used in them. SPSS 19.0 was used to record the data and descriptive statistics were used for data analysis.

Findings

A majority of food advertisements which were broadcast during children’s programmes included confectionery, ice creams and dairy products, baked products and ready-to-cook food items. Grazing was found to be the most frequently used appeal in these food advertisements. This was followed by taste/flavour/smell/texture, fun/happiness, being “cool”, adult approval/disapproval, family ties and so on. However, a majority of these advertisements did not feature any health-related message.

Practical implications

The study highlights the need for strategic actions by all stakeholders interested in protecting well-being of children. Taking account of the promotional tactics used by food marketers, parents as well as governmental agencies must strongly take steps to check these practices.

Originality/value

As no such study has already been conducted in India (to the best of researcher’s knowledge), this study potentially helps in abridging gaps in literature.

Details

Young Consumers, vol. 15 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1747-3616

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 18 June 2020

Elika Kordrostami and Melika Kordrostami

In light of the recent shift in the US culture, this paper investigates the effectiveness of female sexual empowerment as ad appeal in the apparel industry.

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Abstract

Purpose

In light of the recent shift in the US culture, this paper investigates the effectiveness of female sexual empowerment as ad appeal in the apparel industry.

Design/methodology/approach

Study 1 aimed to understand consumers' reactions to female sexual empowerment in ads in terms of their attitudes toward the ad, attitudes toward the brand and purchase intention. Study 2 investigated the role of gender in perceptions of female sexual empowerment in ads.

Findings

This research establishes that consumers display positive attitudes toward female sexual empowerment in the apparel advertisement. These attitudes positively influence attitudes toward the brand, which in turn improve purchase intention. These effects are stronger for women than men.

Research limitations/implications

This research borrows from social power theory to reveal the impact of female sexual empowerment in ads in the apparel industry. Based on the theory of planned behavior, the findings also show that female sexual empowerment can have a positive impact on purchase intention through a serial mediation of attitude toward the ad and brand.

Practical implications

Marketers need to be aware of the impact of female sexual empowerment as ad appeal. Specifically, firms in the apparel industry could benefit from the positive effects of incorporating female sexual empowerment in their campaigns.

Originality/value

This research is the first to investigate the role of female sexual empowerment as ad appeal in improving consumers' responses to ads.

Details

Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management: An International Journal, vol. 25 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1361-2026

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 February 1991

Sudhir H. Kale

Cultural factors have tremendous impact on cross‐nationalcommunication, and it is in the area of cross‐cultural communicationsthat most blunders in international marketing occur…

6538

Abstract

Cultural factors have tremendous impact on cross‐national communication, and it is in the area of cross‐cultural communications that most blunders in international marketing occur. Using Hofstede′s four discussions of culture, this article provides a generalisable framework to assess the effectiveness of cross‐cultural communication. The application of the proposed framework has been demonstrated in the context of promoting international tourism.

Details

International Marketing Review, vol. 8 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0265-1335

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 28 February 2023

Sungjun (Steven) Park, Jin-Su Kang and Gideon D. Markman

Harmonizing religion and economic pursuits is treacherous because mixing the two rarely resonate with consumers, often resulting consumers’ greed perceptions. This paper aims to…

Abstract

Purpose

Harmonizing religion and economic pursuits is treacherous because mixing the two rarely resonate with consumers, often resulting consumers’ greed perceptions. This paper aims to explore the antecedents and consequence of consumers’ greed perceptions in the context of for-profit religious-affiliated companies (FPRCs) and how they can harmonize religious and commercial missions by using different ad types (direct vs indirect appeal).

Design/methodology/approach

The authors conducted two experiments: Study 1 was an online experiment with participants from the USA collected through Amazon’s Mechanical Turk (n = 410) to reveal the overall mechanism. Study 2 was a field experiment (n = 292) to corroborate Study 1’s findings. The authors analyzed the data using a multigroup structural equation model.

Findings

First, consumers perceive greed against FPRCs’ dual identities incurred by their commercial activities. Second, when FPRCs obscure their religious identities by using third-party organizations (TPOs) as its promoter (i.e. indirect appeal), consumers’ greed perceptions decline, but this does not increase consumers’ future patronage intentions. Finally, in online and field experiments, consumers enhance their purchase intentions and behavior, respectively, under indirect appeal.

Research limitations/implications

First, further investigation of the cognitive dissonance mechanism when consumers face seemingly contradictory identities of organizations is crucial to identify bottlenecks in promoting FPRCs’ commercial offerings. Second, examining boundary conditions of indirect appeal is important to enhance our understanding of FPRCs’ advertising, such as consumers’ awareness of TPOs’ intentionality. Lastly, not every type of indirect appeal brings the same effects. Future studies may explore diverse forms of indirect appeal, such as using artificial intelligence-based algorithms without TPOs.

Practical implications

Despite heightened interest in supporting dual missions (i.e. purpose and profit), this study shows why doing well while doing good is inherently challenging in practice creating marketing liability. To deal with this, the present findings suggest that, first, rather than exposing an FPRC’s religious (or communal) identity upfront, providing subtle cues through a TPO of its religious affiliation can be persuasive to win the hearts of target customers. Second, given the short-term effectiveness of indirect appeal, FPRCs need to use both direct and indirect appeal flexibly, as each type of ad delivers a distinctive advantage. Lastly, indirect appeal is particularly effective in offline promotional activities in the context of FPRCs.

Originality/value

First, by meshing paradox theory, the authors show that dual identities of FPRCs expose them to a marketing liability that single-mission enterprises rarely face. Second, when FPRCs use indirect appeal, they face a tradeoff between mitigating greed perception and securing future patronage. Third, results from the online experiment and field experiment show when consumers’ intention and actual behavior align.

Details

European Journal of Marketing, vol. 57 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0309-0566

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 7 April 2015

John Nadeau, Norman O'Reilly and Louise A. Heslop

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the extent that marketers are using place-based images to promote their brands within the host city of the Olympic Games. It is thought…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the extent that marketers are using place-based images to promote their brands within the host city of the Olympic Games. It is thought that non-sponsors may use place imagery as an alternate way to affiliate with the event or sponsors may use place to enrich their sponsorship activity.

Design/methodology/approach

The study uses an observation-based approach to collect a sample of place-based promotional activity that is accessible to pedestrians during the 2012 Olympic Games.

Findings

Results reveal that official sponsors and non-official sponsors are both using place-based imagery in their promotions within the host city of the Olympic Games. However, non-sponsors use place images more frequently than sponsors of the event. Place images were invoked by promoters using country flags most frequently followed by icons and explicit mention of place. The leading dimensions of place images employed by marketers include country character, the built environment and people competence. Place-based promotional activity was frequently observed in shopping areas, transportation, sports venues and in free media.

Research limitations/implications

Results provide justification for future research in the area. Specifically, the need for empirical work based on surveys of consumers and interviews with practitioners are noted.

Practical implications

In an era of highly protected event marketing rights, the existence of promotions based on place images can be a useful application for official sponsors to leverage their investments and protect their exclusivity. Similarly, results are beneficial to non-official sponsors who may seek to market in the vicinity of these events without infringing on the rights of official sponsors.

Originality/value

While previous research on place, mega-events, the Olympic Games and sponsors has found the images of the three to be related, it is not known to what extent sponsors and non-sponsors utilize place images in their promotional activities throughout the Olympic host city.

Details

Marketing Intelligence & Planning, vol. 33 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0263-4503

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 4 January 2016

Roger Bennett, Rita Kottasz and Stephen Shaw

The purpose of this paper was to identify whether the promotional materials used by government bodies and private producers to stimulate the mass market for electric vehicles…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper was to identify whether the promotional materials used by government bodies and private producers to stimulate the mass market for electric vehicles (EVs) embodied themes deemed attractive by a sample of motorists in Greater London.

Design/methodology/approach

The EV websites and advertisements of EV manufacturers and the EV websites of relevant public bodies were subjected to semantic network and categorical content analyses. Outcomes were inputted to a conjoint analysis, the results of which were clustered into customer segments using the NORMCLUS generalized market segmentation procedure.

Findings

Substantial disparities between, on one hand, the EV characteristics emphasized in manufacturers’ and public bodies’ EV promotional materials and, on the other, potential EV buyers’ views regarding the key qualities of EVs became evident.

Research limitations/implications

The sample size of motorists was limited and the research was completed in a single country.

Practical implications

Social marketing campaigns initiated by government and private bodies concerning EVs need to incorporate specific themes reflecting the preferences of various segments of motorists.

Social implications

A “one-size-fits-all” approach is unlikely to be appropriate for the mass marketing of EVs.

Originality/value

This was the first study to explore the appeal to potential EV purchasers of the value of the contents of EV marketing messages used by government bodies and vehicle manufacturers.

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