Content uploaded by Tim Ambler
Author content
All content in this area was uploaded by Tim Ambler
Content may be subject to copyright.
The Waste in Advertising Is the Part That Works
Abstract
This study shows that waste the perceived extravagance of an advertisement contributes to advertising effectiveness by increasing credibility. It draws especially on the Handicap Principle in biology: animals use wasteful characteristics to signal their exceptional biological fitness. It hypothesizes that excesses in advertising work in a similar way by signaling brand fitness. TV advertisements were evaluated online for perceived advertising expense, message, brand familiarity, quality, reliability, and likelihood of choosing. High perceived advertising expense enhances an advertisement s persuasiveness significantly, but largely indirectly, by strengthening perceptions of brand quality.
... As the brand behavior at the center of our research is expressing gratitude, this research also contributes to the less commonly studied but prevalent practice of brand-expressed gratitude Folse 2009, 2011). Further, by examining variations in gratitude expression strategies based on effort and identification with the gratitude target, our research contributes to existing work on the effort heuristic (Grewal and Stephen 2019; Kruger et al. 2004), perceptions of effort in advertising (Ambler and Hollier 2004;Chang 2011;Liljedal, Berg, and Dahlén 2020;Modig, Dahlén, and Colliander 2014), and identification (Turner et al. 1987). In doing so, we contribute to existing theory and provide detailed managerial recommendations for sincere brands wishing to express gratitude. ...
... For example, store design and sales agents' assistance can signal effort (Morales 2005). In the context of advertising, cause marketing campaigns (Ellen, Mohr, and Webb 2000;Langan and Kumar 2019), perceived advertising expense (Ambler and Hollier 2004), advertising creativity (Modig, Dahlén, and Colliander 2014), and nonstereotyped gender role portrayals (Liljedal, Berg, and Dahlén 2020) also serve as cues that the brand has behaved in an effortful manner. ...
... Likewise, in studying retailer effort, Morales (2005) finds that consumers react positively to extra effort, reporting higher willingness to pay and increased visitation intentions. Additional evidence shows that consumers respond more positively to effortful advertising campaigns on a variety of brand constructs such as interest, attitudes, quality, and word-of-mouth intentions (Ambler and Hollier 2004;Ellen, Mohr, and Webb 2000;Langan and Kumar 2019;Liljedal, Berg, and Dahlén 2020;Modig, Dahlén, and Colliander 2014). ...
This research investigates the use of advertised gratitude expressions by sincere brands. As sincere brands are well aligned with gratitude expressions, we theorize that a messaging strategy solely expressing gratitude fails to yield brand benefits beyond a message where gratitude is not expressed. However, sincere brands can reap more brand benefits when their advertised gratitude expression is perceived as effortful (e.g., thank you message coupled with a free product). We demonstrate that when sincere brands engage in these high-effort expressions of gratitude, consumers evaluate the brand more positively, an effect mediated by brand trust. We also explore when sincere brands may benefit from low-effort gratitude expressions. Specifically, we find that consumer reactions to low-effort acknowledgments are more favorable when consumers identify with the gratitude target. Based on these findings, we detail our contributions to theory and provide managerial implications for sincere brands wishing to express gratitude.
... For example, sophisticated production techniques signal to consumers that the associated advertising is expensive. This leads consumers to surmise that the company in question is more confident in the products it promotes (as the company would not devote so many resources otherwise) and that the company's products are therefore of higher quality (Ambler and Hollier 2004). Believing in the high quality of brands and products that they partner with, influencers signal an unobservable quality to followers. ...
Social media influencers (SMIs) have become an efficient advertising tool. However, their roles vis-à-vis the brands for which they advertise are changing. Far from being just simple promoters anymore they now take active part in both the product and communications development of firms. Yet in advertising research, a discussion of these new roles is absent. This article, therefore, seeks to categorize the roles influencers play in advertising collaborations by means of an empirical typology. In a netnographic study, we investigate the posts of 21 fashion influencers over a period of three years and find three main roles (spokesperson, cocreator, or co-owner) and eight subroles (for spokesperson: billboard, stylist, and ambassador; for cocreator: consultant and codesigner; for co-owner: sole proprietor, facilitator, and partner) that influencers take on in relation to brands. We contribute to theory on influencer marketing by conceptualizing influencer roles in advertising collaborations as well as categorizing these roles, thus allowing future researchers to use our typology as a conceptual foundation. Another contribution is the insight into how the dynamics of control over product and communication creation is evolving in influencer collaborations.
White space (empty space) is an important factor in visual ad design, yet few studies focus on the specific types of white space and their influence on ad design. In this research, we systematically review white space literature; identify two types of white space, termed interspace (space in between a product layout) and circumspace (space surrounding a product layout); and investigate their effects on product layout perceptions. In four studies, we propose a not yet widely adopted practice: When holding the total white space constant, a lower interspace/circumspace ratio (more compressed product layout), compared with a higher interspace/circumspace ratio (less compressed product layout), can increase the perceived entitativity (i.e., perception of a unit as a group) of a collection of products in an ad and, ultimately, ad evaluation, purchase intentions, and click-through rates (CTRs). We further rule out potential alternative explanations and identify a theoretically and practically relevant boundary condition: If the products are framed as conceptually dissimilar, the perception of entitativity becomes less important, which reduces ad performance. We conclude by discussing the theoretical and practical implications of our research.
This research demonstrates that interstitial space in textual brand logos—that is, spacious (vs. compact) arrangement of letters—unfavorably influences brand attitude by reducing product safety perceptions. When potential threats are salient, the effect tends to occur within tight (but not loose) cultures, characterized by sensitivity to threats and a need for rigid social structures. When threats are not salient, the effect appears to occur across cultures. Five studies, including lab and field experiments, as well as archival dataset analysis, provide supportive evidence.
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate how matching an ad’s empty space color specifically to that of the advertised product’s color (instead of leaving it white) impacts consumers’ product buying impulse. It tests two competing hypotheses, where the salience explanation proposes a positive effect of empty space–product color matching on product buying impulse, while the contrast account predicts an opposite effect.
Design/methodology/approach
Data was gathered from US-based MTurk panelists under three experimentally designed studies. The proposed effects were tested across multiple product categories, colors and online advertising formats. Qualitative responses from experienced marketing executives were also assessed for managerial insights.
Findings
Across all studies, findings reveal that using a product-colored (vs white) empty space in an ad increases consumers’ product buying impulse, favoring the salience rather the contrast explanation. Increased ad salience owing to an enhanced exposure to product color (an important sensory aspect), in turn improving the product’s hedonic appeal work as serial processes explaining this effect.
Originality/value
This research is not only the first to investigate the effects of using colored empty space (where limited prior research has only focused on white empty space), but also the first to study its impact on impulse buying intentions. Counter to prior advertising research which suggests using greater contrast by using white empty space to achieve positive effects, this research empirically tests and finds that using a product-colored empty ad space instead has a positive impact on product buying impulse.
This study employs a heuristic-systematic model to examine the internal mechanisms responsible for the persuasiveness of text descriptions that are high (vs. low) in creativity, and their effect on consumers’ attitudes toward products. It also examines the moderating role of trust cues. We theorised and demonstrated via three between-subjects design experiments that text descriptions high in creativity can be perceived as providing a heuristic signal of style and systematic information regarding their content. Furthermore, perceived effort and perceived message strength mediated the persuasiveness of text descriptions high in creativity in parallel, as measured by consumers’ attitudes. Moreover, the positive valence of the mediating role depended on trust cues. The present study reveals a novel dual-process model of the persuasiveness of text descriptions high (vs. low) in creativity and identifies the boundary condition. The implications of these findings for consumer decision-making and firms seeking to manage online product presentation are discussed.
The work outlines methodological fundamentals of marketing instruments for
establishment of regional markets of dairy products and gives recommendations concerning their
practical application at markets of the Western region. The research specifies micro-, medium-,
and microenvironment and argues that its complex study can secure the structures of
interrelations between producers, consumers, commodities and needs. The work proposes a
transformed concept 4.0 and develops a cognitive model of dairy market conjuncture.
For scientists, lecturers, PhD students, Master degree students of Universities, managers
of institutions and organizations.
This consumer study is based on the theory that the effectiveness of advertising is affected by how consumers feel about advertising and tested the hypothesis that American consumers overestimate the amount of money that manufacturers and retailers spend to advertise their products and services. The author surveyed a representative sample of 332 adult male and female consumers who live in the northernmost eight counties of New Jersey. Respondents were asked to judge how much companies spend to advertise 20 categories of consumer products and services. The author found strong confirmation of the research hypothesis, across all product categories and consumer segments.