EXPRESS: How Marketer Actions Influence Persuasion Knowledge: Meta-Analytic Evidence of a Non-Linear Relationship

Persuasion knowledge development leads to better coping with marketplace persuasion, better consumer decision-making, and adds to consumer well-being. While significant knowledge exists on the impact that individual factors (e.g., age) and cues (e.g., sponsorship disclosure messages) have on consumers’ persuasion knowledge development, little is known about the influence of marketer actions, such as advertising spending. This is surprising, as marketer activities provide a major source of information for consumers’ persuasion knowledge learning and practice and can theoretically either support or hinder persuasion knowledge development. We develop several explanations for various types of relationships between advertising spending and persuasion knowledge and test these relationships by means of a meta-analysis of the persuasion knowledge literature based on 140 papers with 162 distinctive datasets that address persuasion knowledge measurements. We find that increasing advertising spending also increases consumers’ persuasion knowledge. The relationship follows an inverted-U curve, and, at a certain level of advertising spending, persuasion knowledge begins to decrease. The findings have theoretical and societal implications and, depending on the level of advertising investment, policy implications with the ultimate aim of ensuring consumer well-being and protecting consumer groups with low levels of persuasion knowledge.

Inversión en publicidad: Un análisis de los ingresos del sector automotriz en la provincia de Tungurahua

A nivel mundial, las empresas buscan insertarse o mantener un buen posicionamiento dentro del mercado de consumo. Constantemente, las industrias investigan nuevas estrategias de marketing para promocionar y publicitar sus bienes o servicios, con el fin de obtener mayores réditos económicos; en Ecuador, la industria automotriz es uno de los sectores productivos que mayor aporte realiza a la economía. El objetivo del estudio fue determinar la incidencia de la inversión en publicidad, mediante el rubro gasto promoción y publicidad sobre los ingresos totales registrados por las principales empresas comercializadoras de vehículos de la provincia de Tungurahua. Con base a lo expuesto, se aplicó un modelo de regresión lineal para correlacionar los ingresos en ventas y el gasto en publicidad- promoción de las concesionarias de vehículos de la provincia de Tungurahua, durante el periodo 2016 – 2019. A través del estudio cuantitativo se analizaron los datos de las empresas seleccionadas y se comprobó que existe una relación del 79% entre el rubro gasto publicidad y los ingresos totales obtenidos. Mediante la ecuación lineal se corroboró que por cada dólar que se suma por concepto de publicidad los ingresos incrementan en $73,83. Finalmente, se pronosticó para el año 2020 una reducción tanto en los ingresos como en el gasto de publicidad. Palabras clave: Inversión, promoción y publicidad, pronóstico, sector automotriz, ventas. orldwide, companies seek to insert or maintain a good position within the consumer market. Industries are constantly looking for new marketing strategies to promote and advertise their goods or services in order to obtain higher economic returns. On the other hand, in Ecuador the automotive industry is one of the productive sectors that makes the greatest contribution to the economy. The objective of the study was to determine the incidence of investment in advertising through the promotion and advertising expense item on the total income registered by the main vehicle marketing companies in the province of Tungurahua. Based on the above, a linear regression model was applied to correlate sales income and advertising-promotion spending of vehicle dealerships in the province of Tungurahua during the period 2016 - 2019. Through the quantitative study they were analyzed the data of the selected companies and it was found that there is a 79% relationship between the advertising expenditure item and the total income obtained. Using the linear equation, it was confirmed that for every dollar added for advertising, income increased by $ 73.83. Finally, a reduction in both revenue and advertising spending was forecast for 2020. Keywords: Investment, automotive sector, promotion and advertising, sales, forecast Víctor

Accounting-Based Brand Scandals and the Implications for Firm-Level Advertising Spending

This study examines strategic firm-level advertising behavior around accounting-based brand scandal events. This analysis is guided by propositions presented in the brand scandal and marketing-finance literatures regarding firm response to brand scandal events. While, recent findings from the marketing-finance literature show that managers tend to reduce advertising when anticipating the release of negative information, this response is contrary to the established support and recommendation from the extant brand scandal literature. This inconsistency suggests that firms treat product-based brand scandal events different from accounting-based brand scandal events. A sample of firms accused of financial misreporting by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and US Department of Justice between 1977 and 2010 is used to examine the central research question and hypotheses regarding the relationship between accounting-based brand scandals and firm-level advertising spending. The results of this analysis provide empirical support for the relevance of advertising expenditures to firm’s approach to reputation management strategies in the wake of accounting-based brand scandals.

Marketing Investments and Corporate Social Responsibility

Although the short-term effects of marketing efforts that promote immediate consumer responses have been extensively investigated, the long-term impacts of marketing activities have received little attention. Marketing effects can be carried over time as consumers experience an emotional attachment to products and build trust and affection. In addition, a firm’s advertising spending not only improves customer awareness of the firm’s products and services but also serves to promote other company information, such as the firm’s corporate social responsibility (CSR), a long-term strategic commitment to improving the welfare of customers and society. This paper focuses on the long-term effects of marketing investments by examining the relation between advertising expenditures and a firm’s commitment to CSR, finding that firms with a higher advertising expenditure are more likely to have a higher CSR performance. The findings of this study demonstrate that marketing investments are related to a firm’s long-term sustainable activities. Additionally, the finding may indicate that a firm’s CSR initiatives are influenced by the extent to which the firm commits to advertising that promotes customer awareness of the firm’s products and services.

Brands with personalities – good for businesses, but bad for public health? A content analysis of how food and beverage brands personify themselves on Twitter

ABSTRACT Objective: To examine the extent to which food and beverage brands exhibit personalities on Twitter, quantify Twitter users’ engagement with posts displaying personality features, and quantify advertising spending across these brands on Twitter. Design: We identified 100 tweets from 10 food and beverage brands that displayed “personality,” and 100 “control” tweets (i.e., a post by that brand on the same day). Our codebook quantified the following personification strategies: 1) humor; 2) trendy language; and 3) absence of food product mentions. We used media articles to quantify other personification strategies: 4) referencing trending topics; 5) referencing current events; 6) referencing internet memes; and 7) targeting niche audiences. We calculated the brands’ number of tweets, re-tweets, “likes,” and comments and report the relationship between advertising spending and retweets per follower. Setting: Twitter posts. Participants: 10 food and beverage brands that were described in media articles (e.g., Forbes) as having distinct personalities. Results: Personality tweets earned 123,013 retweets, 732,076 “likes,” and 14,806 comments whereas control tweets earned 61,044 retweets, 256,105 “likes,” and 14,572 comments. The strategies used most included: humor (n;81), trendy language (n;80), and trending topics (n;47). The three brands that spent the most on advertising had similar or fewer retweets per follower than the four that spent relatively little on advertising. Conclusions: Some food and beverage brands have distinct “personalities” on Twitter that generate millions of “likes” and retweets. Some retweets have an inverse relationship with advertising spending, suggesting “personalities” may be a uniquely powerful advertising tool for targeting young adults.

Physicians Treating Alzheimer’s Disease Patients Should Be Aware that Televised Direct-to-Consumer Advertising Links More Strongly to Drug Utilization in Older Patients

Background: US direct-to-consumer advertising spending for medicine has soared in recent decades. Advertising has been shown to impact drug utilization. Most Alzheimer’s disease patients are above age 65 and may take a range of prescription medications for various disease states. Objective: To investigate how direct-to-consumer advertising is associated with the drug utilization of patients ≥65 years old. Methods: Using advertising expenditure data and Medicare Part D drug purchase claims, we performed regression analyses for each of the highest-spending drugs and age group, with cumulative monthly spending as the predictor variable and drug utilization as the response variable. For each drug, we ran a second set of regression analyses to determine if the spending-utilization correlation showed a significant difference between the two patient age groups (older than 65, younger than 65). Results: For all 14 drugs in our study, advertising spending is positively correlated with utilization (p < 0.01) in both age groups. For seven of the 14 drugs studied, the difference in the utilization of patients older than 65 and the utilization of patients younger than 65 is statistically significant at a p < 0.01 level. The 65-and-older age bracket exhibits significantly greater utilization for all seven of these drugs. Conclusion: We find televised advertising for certain drugs to be associated with significantly stronger drug utilization among seniors, as compared to younger patients. Alzheimer’s disease physicians should be aware of this result, in light of the medications that patients may take for other disease states, particularly mood and mental health medications.

Analisis Kreatif Ide dan Pesan (Studi Kasus Terhadap TVC “Instagram Boyfriend” Ichi Ocha)

Television is a medium that still diverts advertising spending from media convergence to digital. There are many advantages of advertising on television, as well as their shortcomings. One drawback is the free control of the audience to change channels. Therefore, it is important for advertisers to ensure that their ads generate a special appeal so that the audience is interested in watching. Two important things that make an ad interesting are the ideas and the message. A 'creative' idea has five important components, namely a strong strategy, a strong sales idea, always relevant, stands out, and can be built into the campaign. The message that is 'creative' has three important points, namely stopping power, striking power, and sticking power. In this case, ideas and messages in an advertisement have a related and complementary relationship with each other. Ideas and messages are mutually sustainable. In this context, the important thing to consider in creating an advertisement is not to get one of the ideas or messages dominate and cover the other.Televisi adalah media yang masih mendominasi belanja iklan terlepas dari konvergensi media ke arah digital. Ada banyak kelebihan dari pemasangan iklan di televisi, begitu pula kekurangannya. Salah satu kekurangannya adalah kontrol bebas audiens untuk mengganti saluran. Oleh karena itu, penting bagi pemasang iklan untuk memastikan bahwa iklan mereka produksi memiliki daya tarik tersendiri agar audiens tertarik untuk menyaksikannya. Dua hal penting yang membuat iklan menarik adalah ide dan pesannya. Ide yang ‘kreatif’ memiliki lima komponen penting, yaitu potent strategy, strong selling idea, always relevant, stands out, dan can be built into campaign. Pesan yang ‘kreatif’ memiliki tiga poin penting, yaitu stopping power, striking power, dan sticking power. Dalam hal ini, ide dan pesan dalam sebuah iklan memiliki hubungan yang berkaitan dan saling melengkapi satu sama lain. Ide dan pesan saling berkesinambungan satu sama lain. Dalam konteks ini, hal yang penting untuk diperhatikan dalam membuat sebuah iklan adalah jangan sampai salah satu ide atau pesan tersebut mendominasi dan menutup satu dan yang lainnya.

Influence of CEOs’ religious affiliations on firms’ advertising spending and shareholder value

Purpose This study aims to answer two unique related questions on the overarching relationship between a CEO’s personal religious affiliation, the firm’s advertising spending decision and its shareholder value. First, does the CEO’s religious affiliation, a proxy for risk taking, influence the firm’s advertising spending decision? Second, does the advertising spending decision mediate the relationship between the CEO’s religious affiliation and the firm’s shareholder value? Design/methodology/approach This study uses data on the religious affiliations of CEOs of publicly listed US firms, 1992–2014, from Marquis Who’s Who; advertising spending and shareholder value from Compustat, and panel data-based regression models including CEO characteristics from ExecuComp, and firm-, industry- and time-based controls. Findings We find higher advertising spending levels for Protestant over Catholic-led firms, and advertising spending mediates the relationship between a CEO’s religious affiliation and the firm’s shareholder value. Research limitations/implications Marketing theory needs to incorporate the missing but fundamental effect of the CEO’s religious affiliation-based values on decisions and outcomes. Practical implications Boards of Directors may need to align the CEO’s and their firm’s spending goals. Originality/value While previous studies focused on the influence of religious affiliation on consumers’ attitudes and behavior, and executives’ financial and R&D spending decisions, this study, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, is the first to investigate the effect of a CEO’s religious affiliation on the firm’s advertising spending decision and its shareholder value.

EXPRESS: Organizational Herding in Advertising Spending Disclosures: Evidence and Mechanisms

As firms use advertising to gain product market advantages and increase their valuation in financial markets, disclosing their advertising spending is influential—whether it erodes organizational competitive advantages in product markets or signals quality in financial markets. The authors argue that firms learn from peers’ decisions to reduce the uncertainty in their own advertising disclosure, and they empirically investigate information-based organizational herding in the context of advertising spending disclosure, where a 1994 reporting rule made advertising spending disclosures voluntary in the United States. The authors examine whether a firm relies on information from benchmark leaders or similar peers to resolve disclosure uncertainty. A novel identification strategy, which uses partially overlapping strategic groups, to mitigate simultaneity and correlated unobservables, shows robust evidence for herding effects among peer firms in the same strategic group. Moreover, firms are more likely to resolve disclosure uncertainty from similar peers rather than from benchmark leaders. The authors discuss how firms can use knowledge of competitors’ predicted advertising disclosure decisions conditional on their disclosure to their strategic advantage in product and financial markets.