Advertising with scarcity messages and attitudes for luxury skin-care products

PurposeA number of types of scarcity messages are often used in Internet advertisements, but all these types have not been directly compared to each other.Design/methodology/approachCollege students (n = 789) were surveyed about five advertising choices for luxury skin-care products consisting of scarcity messages of high-demand, low-stock, limited-time, countdown timer and regular advertising without any scarcity message. Outcomes were product classification attitudes of functional and symbolic and psychological attitudes of persuasion knowledge and advertising skepticism.FindingsThe study found that high-demand message had greater functional attitudes and greater symbolic attitudes than regular advertising. Limited-time message had greater symbolic attitudes than regular advertising. High-demand message had lower advertising skepticism attitudes than regular advertising.Practical implicationsThe authors recommend that when a luxury skin-care product is in high demand, that marketers should use high-demand messages in their advertising. Marketers of luxury skin-care products may also benefit from using limited-time message advertisements.Originality/valueThis is the first study to directly compare the scarcity message advertising types of high-demand, low-stock, limited-time, countdown timer with regular advertising without any scarcity message.

The Impact of Relationship Quality Between Social Media Influencers and Their Followers on Brand Purchase Intention

Social media influencers (SMI) have been shown to influence the purchase decision-making of their followers. In this respect, it is necessary to explore the interactive relationship between them, i.e., relationship quality. Researchers will not know the extent to which social media influencers affect their followers and their persistence of persuasion until they understand the SMI-follower relationship quality. This study focused on whether the SMI-follower relationship quality enables followers to transfer their trust in SMIs and affects their attitude toward the advertised or recommended product and brand. Furthermore, it explored whether followers’ skeptical attitude toward advertising moderates the relationship between the SMI-follower relationship quality and trust transference, and whether followers’ self-monitoring moderates the relationship between their advertising skepticism and trust transference. This study distributed survey questionnaires online, and obtained a total of 235 valid copies. The data were used to conduct path analysis through the software PROCESS. The empirical data showed that the higher the SMI-follower relationship quality, the more likely are the followers to transfer their trust in SMIs to the advertised or recommended product or brand. In addition, it was found that trust transference positively mediates the impact of relationship quality on brand attitude. Further, the results indicated that the followers’ high level of advertising skepticism negatively moderates the impact of SMI-follower relationship quality on trust transference, and that a high level of self-monitoring inhibits the negative moderating effect of advertising skepticism on the relationship between SMI-follower relationship quality and trust transference to a larger extent.

How endorser-product congruity and self-expressiveness affect Instagram micro-celebrities’ native advertising effectiveness

Purpose The purpose of this study is to understand how perceived micro-celebrity-product image congruency and product type affect native advertising effectiveness on Instagram. Additionally, the study aims to understand how advertising skepticism and persuasion knowledge affect the effectiveness of native advertising featuring micro-celebrity. Design/methodology/approach This study was administered online using a 2 (product type: high self-expressive vs low self-expressive) × 2 (micro-celebrity and product congruity: congruent vs incongruent) between-subjects factorial design to test the hypotheses. A total of 186 participants, all Instagram users living in the USA, were recruited using an Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk). After screening out 14 respondents who were not Instagram users or did not fully answer the questions, a total sample of 172 valid and complete responses were included for hypotheses testing. Findings The results revealed that when native advertising featured highly self-expressive products and micro-celebrities with good product image fit, consumers had a more positive attitude toward the ad and the brand, higher source credibility and higher electronic word-of-mouth intention. In addition, advertising skepticism was found to moderate the effect of micro-celebrity-product fit on source credibility. Originality/value This study is the first to examine the effect of micro-celebrity and product congruence on native advertising effectiveness. Moreover, the study provides a better understanding of the advertising skepticism and its influence on source credibility. It discusses why a micro-celebrity’s image is a critical factor in shaping attitudes toward native advertising. This study contributes to both the native adverting and influencer marketing literature.

Risk, Resilience, and Smoking in a National, Probability Sample of Sexual and Gender Minority Adults, 2017, USA

Background. There are well-documented inequities in smoking between sexual and gender minority (SGM; e.g., lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender [LGBT]) and straight and cisgender people. However, there is less information about risk for and resilience against smoking among SGM people. Such information is critical for understanding etiology and developing interventions. Aims. To conduct a within-group assessment of risks and resiliencies relating to smoking status. Method. In 2017, we conducted a cross-sectional telephone survey with a national, probability-based sample of SGM adults ( N = 453). We assessed theory-informed risks (adverse childhood events, substance use–oriented social environment, mental distress, stigma, discrimination, social isolation, and identity concealment) and resiliencies (advertising skepticism, identity centrality, social support, and SGM community participation). We applied survey weights, standardized predictor variables, and fit logistic regression models predicting smoking status. We stratified by age and SGM identity. Results. Patterns of risk and resilience differ by age and identity. Effects were consistently in the same direction for all groups for participating in substance use–oriented social environments, pointing to a potential risk factor for all groups. Advertising skepticism and having people you can talk to about being LGBTQ were potential protective factors. Discussion. Intervention development should address risk and resilience that differs by SGM identity. Additionally, our findings suggest interventionists should consider theoretical frameworks beyond minority stress. Conclusion. While much of the literature has focused on the role of stress from stigma and discrimination in tobacco use, addressing social norms and bolstering protective factors may also be important in SGM-targeted interventions.

The perceived effectiveness of overt versus covert promotions

Purpose The purpose of this study contributes to literature on marketing communications by empirically contrasting the effectiveness of a new form of covert promotions (product placement in recipes) and an overt promotion (traditional advertisement). The mediating role of perceived believability of promotional materials and the moderating roles of advertising skepticism and brand awareness were examined based on a conceptual model. Design/methodology/approach A Web-based experiment with 2 (form of promotion: overt versus covert) × 2 (brand awareness: low versus high) between-subjects full factorial design was used. A public sample of 537 participants had participated in the study. The conceptual model was further tested on 106 participants using stimuli of a fictitious brand. Findings A two-stage moderated mediation analysis shows that the perceived believability of promotional materials was a significant mediator of the form of promotion and brand evaluations. Consumers showed a higher level of believability toward covert promotion, which, in turn, led to more positive evaluations of the promoted brand. Advertising skepticism and brand awareness were found to significantly moderate the relationship between form of promotion and attitudes toward the promoted brands. A similar pattern of results was obtained when stimuli of a fictitious brand were used. Originality/value This research addresses an important issue in marketing communication and extends the understanding of the perception of overt and covert promotions by examining the underlying mediating and moderating variables, which have rarely been explored before. The results guide marketers in developing effective marketing communication strategies for well-known, less well-known and even new brands. It also directs policymakers to consider whether integrated branded content in recipes should be disclosed to protect consumers from surreptitious promotions, which may help to lower consumers’ skepticism toward advertising in the long run.