An international analysis of emotional and rational appeals in services vs goods advertising

Albers-Miller, Nancy D.; Stafford, Marla Royne

doi:10.1108/07363769910250769

Cited by 209 publications

(153 citation statements)

References 44 publications

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“…Examples of the countries explored include Japan (Johansson 1994;Mueller 1987Mueller , 1992, China (Lin 2001), Korea (Bang et al 2005;Jeon et al 1999), Taiwan (Tsao 1994;Wang et al 1997), the United Kingdom (Bradley, Hitchon, and Thorson 1994;Cutler and Javalgi 1994;Nevett 1992), France (Biswas, Olsen, and Carlet 1992), and Israel (Hetsroni 2000), as well as multicountry investigations (Albers-Miller and Royne Stafford 1999;Zandpour and Harich 1996). Notably, a significant number of these studies have made an explicit attempt to measure hard-sell and soft-sell appeals, perhaps as a result of these conceptual frameworks being based on underlying cultural differences more likely to be captured by the broader soft-/hard-sell classifications.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Measuring Soft-Sell Versus Hard-Sell Advertising Appeals

Okazaki¹,

Mueller²,

Taylor³

2010

Journal of Advertising

121

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El acceso a la versión del editor puede requerir la suscripción del recurso Access to the published version may require subscription MEASURING SOFT-SELL VERSUS HARD-SELL ADVERTISING APPEALSOkazaki, Shintaro; Mueller, Barbara; Taylor, Charles R ABSTRACTThe terms "soft sell" and "hard sell" are well known to advertising scholars and practitioners. Despite widespread use of these terms, generally accepted definitions do not exist. Attempts to measure soft-sell and hard-sell appeals have typically been unsophisticated, relying on a single item that classifies an ad into one category or the other. This study is designed to provide a deeper understanding of the concepts "soft sell" and "hard sell," and to examine whether they are better measured on a single dimension than on two distinct dimensions. The main objective of the study is to develop and validate a method for measuring soft-sell and hard-sell appeals. To this end, candidate items were generated via a review of prior literature, supplemented by content analysis, a free-association task, expert judgment, and focus groups. The measurement instruments were then purified and validated using a pretest with a sample of student participants, and further validated using a general consumer sample. Results indicate that soft-sell appeals can be measured using a 12-item, 3-factor index, whereas hard-sell appeals can be measured using a 15-item, 3-factor index.The concepts of soft-sell versus hard-sell advertising and related ideas have been discussed in the U.S. advertising trade literature for nearly a century (Beard 2004). Generally, advertising scholars and practitioners, as well as consumers, have a sense that "hard sell" refers to a more direct approach to selling, with the focus on encouraging a quick sale, whereas "soft-sell" approaches are more subtle and indirect. In spite of the widespread use of the terms "hard sell" and "soft sell," the academic literature to date has no widely accepted definition of either "hard sell" or "soft sell."Although some commonly used definitions appear to accurately reflect what academics and practitioners have in mind when they refer to "hard sell" and "soft sell," at present no adequate instrument to measure these appeal types has been developed. This is unfortunate because these appeal types have been employed in numerous academic studies and are described in many advertising textbooks. These appeal types have been particularly prominent in cross-cultural studies comparing advertising appeals. In spite of the ubiquity of the "soft-sell" and "hard-sell"concepts, major handbooks of marketing and advertising scales, including Bearden andNetemeyer (1998) andBruner, Hensel, andJames (2005), do not list a scale for measuring these appeals.The study is designed to contribute to the literature in multiple ways. First, as indicated above, the study proposes a clear conceptualization of "hard-sell" and "soft-sell" appeals, and how they are distinct from other types of appeals. A second contribution of the study is an assessment of wheth...

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mentioning

confidence: 99%

Measuring Soft-Sell Versus Hard-Sell Advertising Appeals

Okazaki¹,

Mueller²,

Taylor³

2010

Journal of Advertising

121

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“…Furthermore, the interpretation of advertisements-e.g., how color is linked to perceptions of sustainability-is assumed to depend on culture [38] and/or region; thus, caution should be used when implementing the findings on a global scale. Certainly, in further research it would be interesting to investigate the impact of geography and culture on the importance and perception of sustainability in products or brands.…”

Section: Limitations and Further Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

Communicating Sustainable Shoes to Mainstream Consumers: The Impact of Advertisement Design on Buying Intention

2015

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Traditionally, marketing of sustainable products addresses green buyers, thus missing out on the mainstream consumers and volume necessary to cover the potentially higher cost of more sustainable materials. However, how to effectively communicate more sustainable products to mainstream consumers and to increase their buying intention is still underexplored. Combining personal and environmental benefits, called double benefit theory, is promoted as an effective green marketing strategy but so far not supported by quantitative research as being effective to reach mainstream consumers. We studied the effect of advertisement elements (layout color, benefit type, and heritage) on the products' perceived sustainability, quality and fashion image, and buying intentions of mainstream consumers. Two hundred adults participated in a study that was based on a 2 (red vs. green layout) × 2 (personal vs. environmental benefit) × 2 (local vs. global heritage) between-subjects factorial design of a sustainable shoe advertisement. The impact of these independent variables on product image as well as on buying intention was analyzed by means of three-way ANOVAs. In line with the double benefit theory, combining a personal benefit with a green layout led to the highest buying intention. Moreover, a mediation analysis revealed the effect OPEN ACCESSSustainability 2015, 7 8421 of emphasizing a personal benefit on buying intention was mediated by fashion image but not by sustainability. Sustainability, however, did have a positive effect on buying intentions independent of benefit type.

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“…Logical appeals provide factual information allowing the audience to evaluate and decide if the information is valid (English et al, 2011). Stemming from information processing models of decision making, logical appeals rely on factual arguments about a given topic assuming the consumer bases behavior on rationale (Albers-Miller & Stafford, 1999;. English et al (2011) said logical appeals rely on source credibility and statistics.…”

Section: Literature Review/theoretical Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…They deal more with affective processing and generate consumer feelings to persuade behavior (Albers-Miller & Stafford, 1999 is to help the public and policy makers understand agriculture and natural resources by recognizing the potential of emerging social media and messaging strategies. It is vital for agricultural communicators to understand the platforms consumers use to seek information about their food supply and how agricultural issues are represented on popular media platforms.…”

Section: Literature Review/theoretical Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

Journal of Applied Communications 100(3) Full Issue

Ellis¹

2016

Journal of Applied Communications

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An international analysis of emotional and rational appeals in services vs goods advertising

Cited by 209 publications

References 44 publications

Measuring Soft-Sell Versus Hard-Sell Advertising Appeals

Measuring Soft-Sell Versus Hard-Sell Advertising Appeals

Communicating Sustainable Shoes to Mainstream Consumers: The Impact of Advertisement Design on Buying Intention

Journal of Applied Communications 100(3) Full Issue

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