An Examination of the Visual Element Used in Generic Message Advertisements: A Comparison of Goods and Services

Clow, Kenneth E.; James, Karen; Kranenburg, Kristine E.; Berry, Christine T.

doi:10.1080/15332960802467755

Cited by 11 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…Moreover, little evidence has revealed that younger online shoppers may pay more attention to images in review content than older shoppers. This is because an image is one of the most important elements for people to make judgments and attract their attention, particularly for low-involvement individuals (Clow et al , 2009; Small and Verrochi, 2009). Thus, the recruitment of voluntary responses from a younger sample may not be a bias because the majority of those who responded to the two studies are typical users or shoppers on the internet.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Pictures are used to attract attention to advertisements, to display a product, to demonstrate how it can fit into a consumer’s life and to elicit an emotion (Clow et al , 2009; Small and Verrochi, 2009). We can observe the divergence in the type of images used in online review content, and it is important for online platforms to understand the impact that such images may have on important consumer judgments, particularly online review helpfulness.…”

Section: Literature Review and Hypotheses Developmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The design of pictorial components or visuals is prominent in information processing and persuasion in the field of advertising (McQuarrie, 2007). Pictures are used to attract attention to content, to display a product, to demonstrate how it can fit into a consumer’s life and to elicit an emotion (Clow et al , 2009; Small and Verrochi, 2009). Indeed, 75 percent of the information absorbed by consumers is through visual observation (Cobb-Walgren and Mohr, 1998).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The helpfulness of online reviews

Chen

Teng

Chiou

2019

OIR

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Purpose Online reviews are increasingly available for a wide range of products and services in e-commerce. Most consumers rely heavily on online reviews when making purchase decisions, so an important topic is that of understanding what makes some online reviews helpful in the eyes of consumers. Researchers have demonstrated the benefits of the presence of customer reviews to an online retailer, however, few studies have investigated how images in review content and the facial expressions of reviewers’ avatars influence the judgment of online review helpfulness. This study draws on self-construal theory, attribution theory and affect-as-information theory to empirically test a model of the interaction effects of images in review content and the facial expressions of reviewers’ avatars on online review helpfulness. Furthermore, the purpose of this paper is to identify an underlying mechanism of causal attribution toward store performance on the above effects. Design/methodology/approach This study conducted two online experiments. Study 1 is a 2 (images in review content: one person with a product vs a group of people with a product) ×2 (facial expression of the reviewer’s avatar: happy vs angry) between-subjects design. Study 2 is a 3 (image: product alone vs one person with a product vs a group of people with a product) ×2 (facial expression of the reviewer’s avatar: happy vs angry) ×3 (valence of the review: positive vs negative vs neutral) between-subjects design. Findings The results indicate that when consumers were exposed to a happy-looking avatar, they were likely to express higher perceptions of online review helpfulness in response to an image showing a group of people in a restaurant than they would for an image of one person in the same situation. In contrast, when consumers were exposed to an angry-looking avatar, their perceptions of online review helpfulness did not differ in response to images of either a group of people or of one person. Furthermore, cause attribution toward store performance mediated the interaction between images in content of reviews and the facial expression of a reviewer’s avatar on the perceptions of online review helpfulness. Practical implications The authors provide insights into how to develop guidelines on how online reviews should be written so that readers perceive them to be helpful, and how to design effective reward mechanisms for customer feedback. Originality/value Compared with previous studies, this study provides further contributions in three ways. First, it contributes to the literature on review content by showing which images in reviews are deemed to be helpful. Second, it extends previous findings from the literature relating to online peer reviews by demonstrating the importance of facial expressions in reviewers’ avatars (i.e. happy vs angry) when explaining helpfulness, rather than the strength of purchase intent. Third, this study contributes by further highlighting a novel mechanism which shows that a causal attribution toward store performance motivates the perceptions of online review helpfulness.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Literature Review and Hypotheses Developmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The helpfulness of online reviews

Chen

Teng

Chiou

2019

OIR

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“…Although previous research suggests that the visuals make a difference in the ultimate success of the campaign (Edell & Staelin 1983;Childers et al 1986;Clow et al 2009), related research is found limited in CRM. Lafferty and Edmondson (2009) first compared the two execution styles of CRM from an ad campaign that depicted as the main focus either the Nature Conservancy as the sponsored cause or Nature Valley Granola Bars as the brand partner.…”

Section: Study Developments and Hypothesesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Execution with pictorial components or visuals is prominent in consumer perceptions and information processing. Pictures placed in an ad are used to attract attention to the ad, to display a product and demonstrate how it can fit into a consumer's life, and to elicit an emotion (Clow et al 2009). Pictures also evoke emotion easily (Small & Verrochi 2009).…”

Section: Study Developments and Hypothesesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Missing ingredients in cause-related advertising

Chang

2012

International Journal of Advertising

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Building corporate reputation, overcoming consumer skepticism, and establishing trust: choosing the right message types and social causes in the restaurant industry

Kim

2018

Serv Bus

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This study aims to examine the effects of message type and adoption of various social-cause categories on consumers' reactions in building trust, reducing consumer skepticism, and bolstering corporate reputations within the restaurant and foodservice industries. A 2 (type of message: a text-only message versus one with text and visuals) × 4 (types of social causes: health, human services, animal welfare, and environmental concern) between-subjects experimental design was employed. The sample involved 433 U.S. adult consumers who volunteered to take a survey. Participants responded with the lowest levels of skepticism, the highest levels of trust, and the greatest respect for corporate reputation when the messages they viewed included visuals to go along with the message text. No differences were found among the four types of social causes with regard to participants' responses, except for perceived trust. We also found interaction effects on participants' responses regarding the relationships between types of messages and social-cause categories.

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An Examination of the Visual Element Used in Generic Message Advertisements: A Comparison of Goods and Services

Cited by 11 publications

References 18 publications

The helpfulness of online reviews

The helpfulness of online reviews

Missing ingredients in cause-related advertising

Building corporate reputation, overcoming consumer skepticism, and establishing trust: choosing the right message types and social causes in the restaurant industry

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