Fats are glossy but does glossiness imply fatness? The influence of packaging glossiness on food perceptions

This research brings together two research streams, one focusing on the influence of a diverse set of packaging attributes (e.g., shape, size, color, etc.) on perceptions of packaged food and the second one on the up- and downsides of using glossy materials, which are often studied in a non-food context. The current research deals with the influence of glossy (versus matte) food packages on consumers' perceptions of the food inside the package. With one online survey and one quasi-experiment, we show that consumers draw inferences on the food's fat level from the package surface, in that glossy packages are seen as a signal of fatness. This association is specific; consumers do not associate glossiness with every unhealthy product aspect. Sugar levels are unaffected by the package surface. However, due to the higher inferred fat level, a product in a glossy package is perceived to be less healthy, less tasty, and low in quality and product expensiveness. Thus, these findings suggest that glossy (versus matte) food packages mainly serve as a signal of negative product qualities

Starting off with an apology : paving the way to consumer persuasion?

Apologies usually follow a notable mistake. However, recently companies have started to apologize in their persuasive communications for committing nothing but a trivial mistake. This article examines whether and why the use of trivial apologies can serve as an effective persuasion technique in direct e-mail campaigns. A field experiment reveals the beneficial impact of a trivial apology on consumers’ behavioral responses. Furthermore, results from three studies show that (1) trivial apologies have a persuasive impact on attitudes and behavioral intentions, (2) a lack of persuasion knowledge activation explains this impact, and (3) disclosing trivial apologies as a persuasion tactic can attenuate this impact. Implications for both marketers and public policy makers are discussed

Can you feel the advertisement tonight? The effect of ASMR cues in video advertising on purchase intentions

ASMR is a sensory experience characterized by pleasant, physical tingles in the head and spine. Although not everyone experiences those tingles, ASMR is also often associated with feelings of relaxation. Nowadays, the popularity of videos where ASMR experiences are deliberately evoked, has increased substantially. This has also caught the interest of brands, that now start to include ASMR cues in their advertisements; though it remains unclear whether this is an effective way to approach consumers. Our introductory study first shows that ASMR videos, in general, are indeed perceived as relaxing. Furthermore, two experiments demonstrate that including the four most successful ASMR cues (whispering, personal attention, crisp sounds, and slow movements) in advertisements leads to both an increase in consumers' feelings of relaxation and purchase intentions. We also find evidence that this positive effect of ASMR (vs. traditional) advertisements on purchase intentions can be explained by an increase in flow state

Advocating Beyond Call of Duty: How to Unlock the Potential of Employee Advocacy Platforms

This paper scrutinizes the use of employee advocacy—the voluntary promotion of an organization and its goods and services by its own workforce. Nowadays, organizations often rely on employee advocacy as a significant marketing asset. This is exemplified in employee advocacy programs and platforms and anonymous employee review sites becoming increasingly popular. Despite its popularity in today's business environment, the use of employee advocacy programs and platforms, and also the content/messages that should be shared on these platforms to gain traction, is still a rather underexplored academic topic. By means of a content analysis, we try to uncover features that render messages shared on employee advocacy platforms to be more effective. As such, this study adds to extant employee advocacy research, while at the same time offering valuable insights for organizations that (want to) make use of employee advocacy programs and platforms

ASMR: the new sound of advertising? /

Master of Science in de handelswetenschappen: commercieel belei

Mobile Shopping: The Influence of Swiping Horizontally vs. Vertically for Product Categories vs. Items on Purchasing Behavior /

Master of Science in Business Economics: Marketin