Consumer involvement with corporate ads vs product ads: a cross-national study

Abstract

Purpose Increasing consumer skepticism of corporate behavior has led companies to actively manage and advertise their corporate brands. However, it remains unclear how receptive consumers across different markets are to such efforts. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate differences and similarities between corporate and product advertising by examining consumer ad involvement (AI) levels (a motivational state activated by the personal relevance of stimuli) and its antecedents and consequences for these ad types across two markets with varying degrees of economic development. Design/methodology/approach Using a 2 (ad type: corporate vs product) × 2 (market type: developed vs emerging) between-subject experimental design, the study was conducted in two markets with varying degrees of economic development, specifically, the USA (n=285) and Pakistan (n=311). Findings Results show that consumer involvement with corporate ads varies for developed (USA: high) and emerging (Pakistan: low) markets but that it remains the same for product ads across markets. Developed market consumers tend to be as involved with corporate ads as they are with product ads, whereas emerging market consumers are more involved with product ads than with corporate ads. Aside from differences in involvement levels, the findings demonstrate substantial similarities in the antecedents and consequences of consumer involvement for both ad (corporate vs product) and market (developed vs emerging) types. Practical implications With advertising and communication campaigns increasingly being standardized across different markets, this study demonstrates that corporate messages do not function similar as product messages across markets. For effective corporate campaigns, ad designs should fit with the motivation levels of the target consumers across markets. Originality/value This study demonstrates the differences and similarities between corporate and product AI across a developed and an emerging market.

The matching effect of anthropomorphized brand roles and product messaging on product attitude

“…Product messaging often leads to product benefits and intangible values the product provides to consumers. It is considered as a vital brand communication vehicle that is directly responsible for aiding consumers' acceptance of the product (Ashraf et al, 2019;Lee and Colarelli O'Connor, 2003). When product messaging focuses on a product's functionality and feasibility, it is often characterized with concrete and detailed information, which leads to a lower-level construal (Ho et al, 2015).…”

How consumers in different cultural backgrounds prefer advertising in green ads through Hofstede's cultural lens? A cross‐cultural study

“…Zhu et al (2022) studied the moderating role of cultural orientation on the relationship between humor styles and consumers' attitudes towards humorous ads and found that consumers from individualist-collectivist and with high/low uncertainty avoidance countries have different favorable attitudes towards and perceive greater humor from affectevoking humorous ads. Ashraf et al (2020) examined corporate and product advertising by examining consumer ad involvement (AI) levels (a motivational state activated by the personal relevance of stimuli and found that developed market consumers (USA) tend to be as involved with corporate ads as they are with product ads, whereas emerging market consumers (Pakistan) are more involved with product ads than with corporate ads. Oyedele et al (2009) studied 28 advertising appeals found in 505 television advertisements from Ghana, Nigeria, and South Africa, whereas, Yu et al (2008) compared US and Korean antismoking websites and examined eight advertising appeals.…”

“…Ashraf et al. (2020) examined corporate and product advertising by examining consumer ad involvement (AI) levels (a motivational state activated by the personal relevance of stimuli and found that developed market consumers (USA) tend to be as involved with corporate ads as they are with product ads, whereas emerging market consumers (Pakistan) are more involved with product ads than with corporate ads. Oyedele et al.…”

“…In general advertising, emerging market consumers focus more on the functional aspects and are less receptive to product/brand intangibles presented in the ads (Zarantonello et al., 2013). Likewise, developed market consumers tended to be as involved with corporate ads, whereas emerging market consumers are more involved with product ads than with corporate ads (Ashraf et al., 2020). In the social context, Geert Hofstede has defined culture as “the collective programming of the mind that distinguishes the members of one group or category of people from others.” (Hofstede et al., 2010, p. 6) and proposed four dimensions for national culture by which individual countries could be evaluated (Hofstede, 1980).…”

A cross-national investigation of psychological factors of donor behavior: the case of university endowment funds

“…On the basis of academic research and government push for funding, universities have started depending on endowments in the last few decades and found it to be a viable source of revenue (Brown et al , 2014; Sörlin, 2007). Although the characteristics of emerging and developed markets are different (Ashraf et al , 2019), developed countries play a pivotal role in introducing new business modes; for example, the United States of America (USA) depends on endowment funds for universities (Chabotar, 2010). The Harvard 2018–2019 report disclosed that the university uses more than 13,000 individual endowment funds, amounting to $1.9bn, contributing 35% of the annual operating budget (Harvard, 2019).…”