March 17-20
Seattle, Wa.

Huan Chen, assistant professor, Department of Advertising

 Young Consumers’ Perceptions of Social Media Marketing: The Story of Instagram

Abstract:  A qualitative research was conducted to explore young consumers’ interpretation of Instagram and marketing via Instagram. The themes that emerged regarding those young consumers’ understanding of the photo-sharing social medium are picture me, tech-a-break, and mirror of celebrity, and the themes regarding the participants’ interpretation of marketing information on Instagram include subtleness, privileged and new information, and social and celebrity endorsement. Theoretical and practical implications were offered.

Eunice Kim, assistant professor, Department of Advertising     

Exploring consumer self-determination in social media and its effects: Do consumers’ perceptions of social relatedness matter?

Abstract: A major reason that social media has received so much interest from academia and industry is its potential to facilitate consumer engagement and build relationships. In order to fully gauge the effectiveness of social media marketing, the present study explores consumer self-determination. It endeavors to identify the range of motivations relevant to understanding why consumers engage in brand activities in social media. Furthermore, it examines the role played by consumers’ perceptions of social relatedness on social media. The results of the study reveal that, when social relatedness was experienced, highly extrinsically motivated consumers show greater engagement and affect commitment to brand activities compared to consumers who are low in extrinsic motivation. On the other hand, brand satisfaction and trust are influenced more by perceptions of social relatedness whey consumers are high (versus low) in intrinsic motivation.

Jihye Kim, PhD candidate

The Effect of Message Framing for Health-Related Decisions: The Role of Severity and Temporal outcome

Abstract: This study investigated the factors, severity of consequence and temporal outcome, that influence expected outcome values in prospect theory (Kahneman and Tversky 1979) with temporal discounting phenomenon (Green and Myerson 1993) and moderate the effect of framed message with a health-framed message. The finding showed significant three-way interaction effect among framed message, severity of consequence, and temporal outcome on the attitude toward the ad. The influential factor for decision making is not only increased severity for health issues but temporal outcome influenced by the expected outcome value; different promotional health campaigns can be implemented to promote recommended behavior.

Soojin Kim, PhD Candidate

Value from Expectancy Violation and Confirmation Bias: Differential Effects of Positive and Negative CSR Performance on Consumer Responses

Co-Authors: Sun-Young Park, Rowan University, Moonhee Cho, University of Tennessee

Abstract: This study investigates how consumers respond to a corporation’s CSR activities by applying expectancy violation theory (EVT) to corporate communication. The results from a 2 (pre-CSR expectancy: positive vs. negative) X 2 (CSR performance: positive vs. negative) experimental study reveal that both expectancy violation, either positive or negative, generate less favorable attitudes and supportive behavior intentions than expectancy conformity does. Also, the study examines the mediating role of corporate credibility, as communicator reward valence, in minimizing negative expectancy violation effects. The study provides a holistic view of EVT and tests its boundary conditions (i.e., positive versus negative CSR performance).

The Reciprocal Impact of Pictorial and Verbal Metaphors in Advertising: The Moderating Role of NFC

Co-author:  Sun-Young Park, Rowan University

Abstract: The current study examines which combinations of visual and verbal metaphors have greater impact upon changing consumers’ attitudinal and behavioral responses. The purpose of the study is to investigate the interaction effects between pictorial and verbal metaphors in ads on consumer attitude toward the ad, the brand, and purchase intention, and the moderating effect of individuals’ differences in NFC.

Experimental results indicate that when metaphors are employed in ads, according to the limited capacity model, using one of the two (visual or verbal metaphors) is more likely to have a positive impact on the consumers’ attitudes than using both in ads. Furthermore, the results indicate significant three-way interactions with the individuals’ differences in the NFC.

Jon Morris, professor, Department of Advertising
Ilyoung Ju, PhD candidate
Linwan Wu, PhD candidate
Yunmi Choic, PhD 2015

Effects of Outcome- vs. Process-Focused Messages on Different Life Stages

Co-author: Jong Woo Jun, Dankook University

Abstract: This study examined the effects of outcome- vs. process-focused advertisements on different life stage. Attitude toward advertisements, affective product evaluations, and purchase intent from Late Boomers and Generation Y were investigated. Different responses toward outcome- vs. process-focused advertisements were identified between the two generations. The results revealed that Boomers elicited marginally higher affective product evaluations, and significantly stronger purchase intent for a process-focused advertisement. In contrast, Gen Y did not show any significant differences in terms of outcome- vs. process-focused messages on affective product evaluation and purchase intent.

Jon Morris, professor, Department of Advertising
Ilyoung Ju, PhD candidate

Psychological Comfort, Self-Regard and Affect: A model for Evaluating the Effectiveness of Ad Evoked Nostalgia 

Co-author:  Jong Woo Jun, associate professor,  Dankook University

Abstract: Two studies were conducted to examine the effectiveness of nostalgic advertisements. In study 1, we created a model for viewers’ reactions to nostalgic advertising. Several important constructs relevant to nostalgia were included. They are: ad-evoked nostalgia, psychological comfort, perceived loneliness, self-regard, emotional responses to a brand, and purchase intent. In study 2, the investigation was expanded to determine if consumers have more favorable responses to nostalgic ads during in a certain period in the past that are related to their life milestones called a reminiscence bump. The results showed that a reminiscence bump-focused advertisement as compared to a present-focused advertisement and non-bump past advertisements produced a stronger effect on consumers’ perceived appeal, empowerment, and purchase intent.

Linwan Wu, PhD candidate
Jing (Taylor) Wen, PhD candidate

Making Positive Comparisons in Advertisements: The Impact of Ad-Induced Emotion on Effectiveness of Comparative vs. Non-Comparative Ads

Abstract:  A 2 by 2 experiment was conducted to investigate the impact of ad-induced emotion on the effectiveness of comparative vs. non-comparative advertisements. Results indicated that both positive ad-induced emotion and non-comparative ads elicited global information processing; while both negative ad-induced emotion and comparative ads elicited local information processing. More importantly, when viewing comparative ads, consumers who felt positively expressed more favorable ad and brand attitude than those who felt negatively. Implications and directions for future research are also provided.

Jing (Taylor) Wen, PhD candidate

Congruity between Mood and Brand Involvement Enhances the Effectiveness of Message Appeals: Dual Processing Model Perspective

Abstract: This research examined how mood, brand involvement, and message appeals interact with each other; and how this interaction influenced consumers’ evaluation. Results showed that people with high brand involvement processed information centrally, and the presence of negative mood engaged individuals to process information systematically to a greater extent. Hence, people in high involvement and negative mood evaluated functional ad more favorably. In contrast, people with low brand involvement processed information peripherally, and the presence of positive mood enhanced heuristic processing. Therefore, people in low involvement and positive mood evaluated experiential ad more positively. Theoretical and practical implications are also discussed.

Posted: March 8, 2016
Category: Research News
Tagged as: Eunice Kim, Huan Chen, Ilyoung Ju, Jihye Kim, Jon Morris, Linwan Wu, Soojin Kim, Taylor Wen, Yunmi Choic