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In recent studies, advertising researchers have found that not enough research has been done on a large, nationwide scale involving consumers of all ages, genders, and incomes - and these groups' reactions to advertising. Previous advertising research efforts included surveys given to specific target groups that did not evaluate the reactions of the rest of the consumer groups. Also there has been a call for more research on the likelihood of consumers to switch brands once they have found one that they are content with. From research surveys and analysis, researchers present a more effective way to plan and execute advertising campaigns to their target audiences. Not enough studies have been done on consumers on a larger scale, involving consumers of different ages, genders, and incomes throughout the nation. Most studies previously done were on a smaller scale, for example, research involving middle aged women and their reactions to advertising. One of the motivating sources that called for the need to research groups on a larger scale was pioneered by researcher Mital (1994), who "noted a particular need for current data from large and projectable national samples." (Shavitt, Lowrey, Haefner, 1998) Other researchers agreed that "the use of large, national samples not only enhances the generalizability of survey findings overall, it also allows comparisons to be made between different demographic segments. Gender, age, and income, among other factors, likely predict public perceptions of advertising." (Shavitt, Lowrey, Haefner, 1998) These researchers found this type of research effective and important because surveying large national samples enables researchers to study and compare people of different age groups and incomes on a larger scale, thus being better able to execute more effective advertising campaigns which target all of these groups. Different groups took part in a survey conducted by Shavitt, Lowrey, Haefner on how often advertising helped consumers to make advertising decisions, how much they enjoyed the advertisements, how useful the ad was, and whether they believed the ad should be regulated by the government. "Results revealed a more favorable view of advertising than previous data would suggest." (Shavitt, Lowrey, Haefner, 1998) What this signifies is that by evaluating the reactions of different groups, rather than one specific group, the reactions were more often positive. By looking at the reactions of consumers of various groups, the data was more general. However, people of different gender, income, and age groups within this larger group had varying responses, but overall, the reaction to advertising was favorable. This is relevant because advertisers need to know the general public's reactions to advertising, not only just specific targeted groups' reactions. It is also encouraging to know that the responses, in general, were positive. When the survey did explore how specific groups within the larger group responded to advertisements in the survey, women were less likely to trust advertisements and felt that they were not as enjoyable. This differed from men's responses. Men found that advertisements were more enjoyable and they tended to trust the ads more. In fact, the groups that had the most positive response to advertisements were "males, younger consumers (age 18 to 34), persons with less education and income, and non-whites." (Shavitt, Lowrey, Haefner, 1998) This shows that advertising campaigns have been able to successfully influence the behavior of these particular age and gender groups. Another key factor explored in the survey was consumers' likelihood to switch brands once they have become involved with their brand of choice. Consumers, regardless of age or ethnicity, tended to stick with their brand more often than to change. The response was also more positive when the advertisement they saw was related to something they have previously bought before, continue to buy, or plan to buy. Consumers tended to pay more attention to the ads they felt personally involved with because the ads contained information they found useful in making their purchasing decisions. Overall, "Americans tend to enjoy the advertisements they see, and they tend to find advertising generally informative and useful in guiding their own decision making." (Shavitt, Lowrey, Haefner, 1998) What has been resolved in these surveys is that knowledge of demographic differences (for example, consumers of older age, consumers with less education and income, etc.) offers insights into more effective planning and execution of advertising campaigns. If advertisers are aware of the involvement these groups have with specific brands, then the advertisers can influence the consumers more effectively - by either softening their tendency to not buy a competitor's brand, or to strengthen the consumers' involvement with their current brand of choice. Through this research, advertisers also become more in touch with the motivations behind consumers' responses to advertising campaigns. It has been decided that "the measurement of the effectiveness of the advertising should take place by examining prior relationships that the respondents have with the brand, which have impacted on their propensity to recall and like the advertising, as well as the perception of the advertising message." (Rice, Bennett, 1998) By that, the authors mean advertisers should research the relationships people have had with the brand they use, (which has an effect on the consumer's tendency to recall the advertising) as well as to have a positive reaction to the ad. To delve even deeper into the general public's reactions of advertisements is the "exploration of the impact that consumers' prior psychological relationships with the brands have on their interpretation of advertising." (Rice, Bennett, 1998) The authors claim that the results of their studies suggest that "norm-based approaches to advertising evaluation are fundamentally flawed, unless they take consumer brand relationships into account." (Rice, Bennett, 1998) The authors are saying that any kind of traditional approach to advertising studies are not any good without examining the relationship that exists between consumer and brand first. According to Rice and Bennett, "traditional models of advertising ignore the interactive effect that exists between advertising and consumers." (Rice, Bennett, 1998) Not only does this relate to the general public's responses to advertising, but it also relates to how involved they are with a specific product. The authors, like Shavitt, Lowrey, and Haefner believe that previous studies and models on consumers' reactions to advertising are not as adequate as recent studies, which examine consumers on a larger scale, as well as their level of involvement with the product/brand being advertised, and their reaction to the advertisement. In Rice and Bennett's study, they conducted a survey which explored the relationship between brand usage and advertising. They found that users of a particular product are more likely to like advertisements about the product and feel influenced by them more than nonusers of the product. Regardless of consumers' age, sex, or income group, the general consensus was that if the consumer was already involved in the product, they enjoyed it more. Users of a product were placed into 4 categories: Entrenched - users who are highly involved with the product. Average - users who are unlikely to change brands at the present time, but might change later on. Shallow - users with lower commitment than the "average" users, who might be exploring other alternatives. Convertible - users of the brand who most likely will abandon the product. The research showed that "the more important the category is in the consumer's life, the greater the amount of dissatisfaction tolerated before defecting from the brand." (Rice, Bennett, 1998) This means that the consumer's tolerance for the brand's inadequacy would be higher because the consumer is more reluctant to switch to another brand (given the fact that they are already "attatched" to their current brand.) This is significant because consumers of all groups approach advertisements in this fashion. These two articles have examined the issue of how consumers respond to advertising as well as making a statement that further research must be done on consumers of a larger scale in order to understand how to effectively advertise to consumers of all target groups. Currently, the authors of both articles have made it clear that if marketers follow these research methods, marketers can more effectively execute a campaign that reaches a large target of consumers and advertise to them successfully. Marketers will also be able to influence consumers of all age groups, sex, and genders, if marketers examine the specific attitudes consumers have about advertising to begin with.  |
