Journal of Advertising Research - December 2008

Editorial – Memo to Marketers: China Lives

Geoffrey Precourt, Vol. 48, No. 4, Dec 2008, pp.475-477

Editorial of JAR 48,4 (2008), discussing and introducing the issue's theme, advertising in China.
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Management Slant

Provides a bullet-point summary of key learnings and conclusions from the main articles in JAR issue 48,4 (2008).

Viewpoint: The Language of Chopsticks

Jing Wang, Vol. 48, No. 4, Dec 2008, pp.481-483

In this Viewpoint article, Jing Wang, the S. C. Fang Professor of Chinese Language and Culture at MIT, discusses how different considerations (and appeals) of luxury are in China compared with the West. He argues that despite the vast number of analyses of 'luxury-minded' Chinese consumers, the motivation and behavioural habits of this group remain beyond simple categorization. Rather, research on the key drivers for luxury consumption in China needs to go beyond simple sub-divisions, and look to understand luxury-orientated consumers on their own terms. Such a diverse target market could include people who own a business and find it essential to buy gifts for clients (who are probably responsible for a large proportion of luxury purchases); middle-aged successful business men and powerful officials from second-tier provinces; and young people who do not yet own an apartment and, as a result, have a higher disposable income.

How Far Is Too Far? The Antecedents of Offensive Advertising in Modern China

Gerard Prendergast, Wah-Leung Cheung and Douglas West, Vol. 48, No. 4, Dec 2008, pp.484-495

Previous research has classified offensive advertising into matter (offensive products and services) and manner (offensive execution). This study was designed to (1) develop a more comprehensive schedule of offensive advertising and (2) identify the psychological predictors of taking offense. A survey conducted in Hong Kong and Shanghai showed that offensive advertising could be classified into three categories: advertisements dealing with offensive sexual matter, advertisements for offensive nonsexual matter, and advertisements displaying an offensive manner. Of these categories, manner was perceived as the most offensive. Self-esteem and susceptibility to interpersonal influence both were significant in predicting the level of offensiveness for all three types of offensive advertising.

Wired China: The Power of the World’s Largest Internet Population

Cate Riegner, Vol. 48, No. 4, Dec 2008, pp.496-505

China has the largest internet population in the world—76 percent with high-speed broadband connection. Based on online research of over 8,000 U.S. and Chinese broadband users age 13 and older, this report summarizes key features for global marketers to consider by comparing the similarities and differences between the Chinese and American online populations. The impact of user generated content among those under 35 in both countries is a major focus.

Tradition Meets Technology: Can Mass Customization Succeed in China?

Kun Song and Ann Marie Fiore, Vol. 48, No. 4, Dec 2008, pp.506-522

This study examined Chinese consumers’ responses toward mass customization of apparel. Mass customization, as a marketing approach, was developed in reaction to the increasingly individualized Western markets. This study tested consumers’ value perception about apparel mass customization in the collectivistic Chinese market. Using an experimental design with Chinese respondents, we found that price and customization levels affect various aspects of perceived value that, in turn, affect behavioral intentions. The findings provide information needed for decision making about marketing strategies for companies that would like to implement mass customization in China.

Luck of the Draw: Creating Chinese Brand Names

William Li Chang and Peirchyi Lii, Vol. 48, No. 4, Dec 2008, pp.523-530

In the Asia-Pacific region, supernatural beliefs traditionally are believed to have a strong influence on product sales performance. In particular, name-giving—whether to a person or a product—has a strong perceived connection to fate. This study examined the relationship between branding practices and supernatural beliefs in China. In more than 50 percent of the cases we studied, the creation of brand names was based, in part, on a “lucky” number of total strokes drawn in creation of the characters that spelled out the brand name. Reinforcing that finding was the discovery that brand names comprising a lucky total-stroke number were more common in high-uncertain than low-uncertain market environments.

Integrated Marketing Communications: Practice Leads Theory

Philip J Kitchen, Ilchul Kim and Don E Schultz, Vol. 48, No. 4, Dec 2008, pp.531-546

In the last 20 years, the integration of marketing functions has moved from theory to practice. Its specific applications may vary from market to market—indeed, from enterprise to enterprise—but integrated marketing communications (IMC) programs have become standard for marketing organizations, agencies, and the academic community. A review of the best IMC advertising and public relations practices in the United States, Korea, and Great Britain, however, reveals not just cultural divergence in adoption and practice, but also underlying weaknesses regarding IMC as a process and practice. The findings support the need to focus future IMC research within client organizations.

How Green Should You Be: Can Environmental Associations Enhance Brand Performance

Francisco Javier Montoro-Rios, Teodoro Luque-Martinez and Miguel-Angel Rodriguez-Molina, Vol. 48, No. 4, Dec 2008, pp.547-563

Although few studies have empirically verified the trend, environmental associations seem to have become a generally accepted way of enhancing brand equity. This study used an experimental design (with a sample of 828 adult shoppers) to investigate the relevance of information about environmental performance to the improvement of attitudes toward a brand. According to the Elaboration Likelihood Model, the study shows that the relationship between environmental associations and attitudes toward a brand are conditioned in part by the product category and the brand. As such, the usefulness of environmental associations to improve attitudes toward a brand should not be generalized.

Endorsement Theory: How Consumers Relate to Celebrity Models

Roger Marshall, Woonbong Na, Gabriel State and Sonali Deuskar, Vol. 48, No. 4, Dec 2008, pp.564-572

The relationship of image congruity and postpurchase dissonance has been reported in the advertising literature. The relationship among dissonance, dissatisfaction, and repeat-purchase behavior is a familiar subject as well. But the juxtaposition of all three constructs has yet to be fully explored. In this research, the incongruity between self-image and the image projected by an advertisement is found to correlate to postpurchase dissonance in the purchasers of lipstick. A follow-up study tracks satisfaction and repeat purchase intentions, and through structural equation modeling, it is established that although satisfaction is not related directly to dissonance, repeat purchase is dependent upon both satisfaction and dissonance.

Endorsement Practice: How Agencies Select Spokespeople

B Zafer Erdogan and Tanya Drollinger, Vol. 48, No. 4, Dec 2008, pp.573-582

This research explores how an advertising agency selects a celebrity endorser. The study was conducted in two phases: in-depth interviews that helped the researchers have a greater understanding of the underlying process and a survey mailed to advertising agencies to better examine the steps of the model and test various hypotheses. A normative model of celebrity endorser selection was proposed as a guide for academics and practitioners alike. The model potentially can be useful at each step of the celebrity-endorser selection process.

Learning from Winners: How Research Drove a New Model for the Automotive Industry

Raymond Pettit, Vol. 48, No. 4, Dec 2008, pp.583-590

This article draws on the book Learning from Winners, a collection of essays by Dr. Raymond Pettit, senior vice president of research and standards for the Advertising Research Foundation (ARF). Tapping into the archive of a more than decade of ARF Ogilvy Award winners, Dr. Pettit tells stories and shares lessons that demonstrate how imaginatively applied research can lead to new brand insights, redefine problems or markets, and to support intelligent risk taking. This paper focuses on how Lexus changed the nature of used-car sales with the introduction of a new variety of vehicle-the Certified Pre Owned car that offered the promise of a quality ownership experience that had never been part of the 'used-car' marketplace.

Book Review: How Public Service Advertising Works, ed. Judie Lannon

Reviewed by Ruth Wooden, Vol. 48, No. 4, Dec 2008, pp.591-592

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