The effects of likeability on consumers' choice behaviour : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Masterate of Business Studies at Massey University

The persuasive abilities of advertising and therefore, advertising effectiveness, have been discussed extensively in advertising literature. In particular, the components that make an advertisement effective have intrigued both advertisers and advertising agencies over the past three decades. Likeability of advertising is suggested to be a key indicator of advertising effectiveness (Haley & Baldinger, 1991) yet, the literature in this area concentrates on establishing what likeability is rather than exploring the effect of likeability on consumers' behaviour. Given the level of interest that has been driven by claims that likeability can heighten the persuasiveness of an advertisement, it seems pertinent to investigate the effect of likeability on consumer behaviour. The research reported in this thesis examined the effect of more and less likeable images on consumers' choice behaviour. The data for this research was obtained from a cross-sectional survey in which choice modelling techniques were used to establish consumers' choice behaviour. This data was used to investigate the effects of likeable images on consumers' choice behaviour for the product category of milk. Overall, it was found that advertisement likeability had a very weak effect on consumers' choice behaviour. Furthermore, it was established that the type of milk variant was the most influential attribute in determining consumers' choice behaviour. Price was also an important factor although this attribute was far less influential than the type of milk attribute. However, the research found some support for the idea that likeability enhances the salience of advertising, as likeability did improve the salience of the advertisements for different groups of consumers within the sample. The main implication that arises from this study is that likeable advertisements do not necessarily lead to consumers changing their purchasing behaviour. Likeability is one of many measures of effective advertising and does not appear to command more attention than any other measure of effective advertising

Effects of Undesired Online Video Advertising Choice on User Behavior and Attitude

Although online video advertising is currently a pervasive medium, its effectiveness is still in great doubt. This study examines the effects of undesired choice on user behavior and attitude in the context of online video advertising. We propose that offering people a choice of video advertisements will motivate them into paying more attention to the chosen advertisement, which in turn leads to better memory of the information contained in the advertisement. Additionally, the choosing behavior will encourage viewers to form a favorable attitude towards the chosen video advertisement and their purchase intention towards the advertised product will also be enhanced. We posit that differentiability of choice-set is able to moderate the choice effect. This work is one of the first to investigate the impact of making an undesired choice regarding video advertisements. It extends our understanding of the impact of choice and presents significant implications for both researchers and practitioners

The Effect of Advertisement and Promotion on Brand Switching Behavior of Mobile Phone Providers in Manado

Companies should pay attention to advertisement and promotion of its brand in order to attract consumers, so, it will influence the brand switching behavior of consumers in choosing mobile phone provider. The aim of this research is to analyze the effect of advertisement and promotion on brand switching behavior. To achieve the objectives, the research method used is associative with multiple regression analysis. The population observed is people who are users of mobile phone providers in Manado with sample as many as 100 respondents. Results and conclusion show that advertisement and promotion have significant impact on brand switching behavior. Advertisement does not have positive and significant impact on brand switching behavior of mobile phone providers. Promotion has positive and significant impact on brand switching behavior of mobile phone providers. The findings of this research is strongly recommended that for mobile phone provider to simultaneously incorporate both Advertisement and Promotion in order to acquire new users or even for users of other brands to have a change of choice. Keywords: advertisement, promotion, brand switching, consumer behavio

The Effect of Celebrity Gaze-Cueing on Binary Choice Decision Making

Marketers have long used celebrities in advertisements to help viewers build strong brand and product associations; however, it is not well understood how the celebrity and the visual context affect visual attention to and, ultimately, consumer decision making for the endorsed product. Most prior studies have focused on qualitative surveys about brand equity, memory of the advertisement, and self-reported interest and intent to purchase. My study uses new methods from applied neuroscience that allow me both to directly measure and to analyze how celebrities in static advertisements impact consumer decisions that do not require measures of verbal self-report. Furthermore, research has shown that humans automatically divert their visual attention in the direction of another’s gaze, known as “gaze-cueing” or “gaze-following” (Friesen and Kingstone, 1998; Kuhn and Kingstone, 2009). An overwhelming majority of celebrity endorsed advertisements depict celebrities looking at the viewer, not toward the endorsed product, though academic research suggests that gaze-cueing at the product (instead of toward the viewer) increases visual attention toward the endorsed product (Hutton and Nolte, 2011). My project tests whether the increase in visual attention due to gaze-cueing at the product translates into an increase in the consumer’s subjective value of that product and consequently influences product choice. Results indicate that celebrity interventions in advertisements increased the subjective value of endorsed products yet, interestingly, did not drive more overt visual attention to them. Moreover, gaze-cueing was found to have a pronounced effect on guiding visual attention. These advertising cues impact choice, which could translate into larger profits for competitive consumer products

Advertising and brand trust: perspectives from the UK and Italy

The creation of a trusting brand identity through advertising has received relatively little attention in European marketing research. We explore this relationship by undertaking focus group research in the UK and Italy to identify the characteristics of print advertisements perceived as portraying a trusting image. The results show that advertisements that are simple, straightforward and clear are perceived as being more trusting. However, findings also show some differences between our national samples in relation to factors such as colour perception and consumer ethnocentrism. Young consumers are also quite critical of current advertising efforts in building a trusting brand image.

The curious case of curiosity: unpleasant advertising and curiosity

Previous research demonstrated that advertisements that induce positive feelings are effective. However, unpleasant advertising are frequently used and can be effective as well. This research examines whether evoked curiosity can explain the effectiveness of unpleasant advertising. Our results indicate that although unpleasant advertising did not lead to behavioral intention with regard to the advertised product, unpleasant advertising did evoke curiosity. Curiosity itself proves to be a strong predictor of behavioral intention

The Effects of Popular Music in Television Advertisements on Branding

Have you ever found that the music a company chooses helps you understand its brand better, and did you eventually find yourself becoming a loyal customer? The goal of this project is to investigate whether or not connections like these occur and, if so, why they happen and what they mean for advertisers. More specifically, the study examines the influence of music in television advertisements on the last three steps of the brand building process: brand imagery, brand feelings, and brand resonance. The purpose of the research is to discover the extent to which popular songs used in television commercials create the appropriate brand image, spark an emotional connection to the brand, and eventually establish a brand relationship with consumers. In addition to secondary research compiled in a literature review, a survey comprised mainly of Likert scale questions was distributed to Bryant University students. Participants were assigned to one of three conditions in which they were shown commercials for both Nike and Starbucks 1.)with popular music, 2.) without popular music, or 3.) no commercial at all. Participants were then asked questions relating to perceived brand imagery and purchase behavior. Results suggest that the popular music does not have significant effects on consumers’ brand perception and loyalty. Limitations of this study and suggestions for further research are also discussed

The Effects of Recruitment Message Specificity on Applicant Attraction to Organizations

We used the elaboration likelihood model from marketing research to explain and examine how recruitment message specificity influences job seeker attraction to organizations. Using an experimental design and data from 171 college-level job seekers, the results showed that detailed recruitment messages led to enhanced perceptions of organization attributes and person-organization fit. Perceptions of fit were found to mediate the relationship between message specificity and intention to apply to the organization. In addition, perceptions of organization attributes and person-organization fit were found to influence intentions to apply under circumstances of explicit recruitment information while attractiveness and fit perceptions were shown to influence application intentions under conditions of implicit recruitment information. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed

An Eye for an Eye: Impact of Sequelization and Comparison in Advertisements on Consumer’s Perception of Brands

In this paper we demonstrate that the positive effects of comparative advertising are significantly diluted when a compared-to brand retaliates. Retaliation introduces sequencing in advertisements. We therefore evaluate sequelized advertisements (both comparative and noncomparative) alongside comparative advertisements and ordinary advertisements. We show that, given no threat of comparative advertising from competitors, sequelizing a popular advertisement may be as potent as comparative advertising, in terms of improving consumers’ recall as well as preference for the sponsored brand. Furthermore, an advertisement message may be directed at core benefits (and/or attributes) that a brand promises, or at a stylized theme or storyline that use peripheral cues to indirectly convey the brand’s deliverables. We incorporate this dimension of communication focus and conclude that while comparative advertisements are more effective with objective messages, noncomparative sequelized advertisements work better with thematic or story based messages.