Advertising Has to Be Liked to Be Successful Advertising

Advertising Has to Be Liked to Be Successful Advertising

Introduction

Issues about the different factors that are connected to the success of an advertising or promotion have been one of the most talked about and tackled subjects in marketing literature. In connection, there are different factors that are important to consider in the process of creating a specific medium or means of advertising. These factors, particularly culture, have an impact on the likings of the people who perceived marketing messages.

This paper will focus on answering the question how liking affects the success of advertising. Furthermore, it will also tackle on effectiveness of likable commercials in order to improve or maintain a product or brand’s popularity and position in the market. In order to come up with the answer, the author used different theories that are related to advertising. Above all, it will use three primary studies or researchers which are: du Plessis’s Understanding and Using Likability; Smith, Van Meurs & Neijens’s Effects of Advertising Likeability: A 10-Year Perspective; and Walker & Dubitsky’s Why Liking Matters.

 

 

Advertising

Advertising is considered as a vital activity in marketing. It is the process of introducing or bringing a given product or brand to the way of thinking of the customers by using different approaches and mediums. Thus, it can be described as paid endorsement of products and services by using different statements and slogans that will capture the attention of the public or target market. Advertising is considered as a primary means of social communication in the modern society (Leiss 1972).

Advertising is important, particularly in today’s business environment that is being affected by globalization. In order to come up with the global taste, it is vital to  create a consistent brand images in the world, spend less resources in establishing uniform appeals, at the same time use only few international agencies in order to handle the entire advertising activities of a company.

Due to the said changes in the business environment, advertising is being considered as tool which helps to smooth the process of making decisions for the customers by offering available information that will offer a line of choices, which will enable them to choose from those products and services, which he or she believed that can satisfy his or her needs. On the other hand, on the side of the business environment, advertising enables to establish a competition in gaining the attention of the customers.

  

How Advertising Works?

The issue about how advertising works is considered as one of the most talked about and tackled subject in marketing literature. This is because of the fact that there are different studies which connect different aspects which include culture, behavior and the likes in the perception of individuals towards a given advertisement, which can affect the overall performance of a given brand or product.

One of the important models of how advertising work was presented by Brown & Stayman (1992) which focused on the impact of attitudes to the commercial influence attitudes to the brand. A meta-analysis study about attitude to an advertisement supports the dual mediation model. This model signifies that attitude towards an ad has an effect through two possibilities: first, it influences attitude toward the brand which in turn influence brand-purchase intention; second, it changes the brand cognitions which also affect the brand attitudes which push the purchase intention. Therefore, base on this model, if the customers the advertising, they will notice and pay attention to that, and they will be expected to absorb and respond to the message. Thus, it will be connected with the theory of affect transfer, meaning, if the customers experience or feel positive stance towards the advertising, they will connect those feelings with the advertisers or the brand being advertised.

The said model was opposed by the idea that in order to get sales message, it is important to use unique selling proposition (UPS). Thus, it shows that advertising woks if consumer buys the product, regardless of what are perceptions of customers towards the advertising or what was called by Reeves (1996) as vampire video. As a matter of fact, this model believe that well-liked ads are considered as too soft in order to break the different hindrance in competition, therefore, it is vital for advertiser to add up the sense of irrational in order to become effective. This can be seen on different commercials that customers love to hate including the campaigns of Wisk’s Ring Around the Collar and Mr. Whipple’s Please Don’t Squeeze the Charmain.

Giep Franzen introduced 7 different models of how advertising works, which include the: sales-response model, persuasion model, involvement model, awareness model, emotional model, symbolism model and likeability model. All of these are directly or indirectly connected on the thinking of how advertising works for different cultures.

Figure 1 How Advertising Works?

The Sales-Response Model

This model is based on the simple stimulus-response model. The message is very direct, with only objective being direct sales or called the buy now strategy. This is considered as an ultimate Anglo-Saxon model that is based on short-term effect. It will be effective to use in cultures of small power distance, high individualism, high masculinity, weak uncertainty avoidance and short-term thinking (Mooji 2005).

 

The Persuasion Model

This model can be compare with the theory of injection needle on how communication works. The objective of this model is short-term shift of attitude, buying intention as well as brand preference via the process of offering arguments. This model was based on the assumption that advertising should be persuasive and direct, which will be effective in cultures with the configuration low power distance, individualism and masculinity (Mooji 2005).

The Involvement Model

The main objective of this model is to build a relationship between the consumers and the brands by the process of creating an emotional closeness. The philosophy behind this model is that the product or brand must be a personality where in human characteristics will be attributed. Therefore, advertising must transfer associations or connection from the brand to the consumer. This model is based on a more indirect advertising process that will be applicable in feminine and individualistic cultures (Mooji 2005).

 

 

The Awareness Model

This model is based on the process of creating awareness to differentiate brands from similar brands. Association, metaphors, humor and other forms of indirect advertising are based on this model. This is a model, depending on the execution, may well cross borders. It may fit well in those cultures that need awareness as a part of establishing trust including collectivistic cultures. However, because of its lack of persuasiveness, it may not work that effective in cultures that are masculine and individualistic (Mooji 2005).

 

The Emotional Model

The main objective of this model is to establish a positive attitude and brand loyalty. It builds a strong emotional connection between the customers and the brand itself. This model will be very effective for collectivistic and feminine cultures, in order to build relationships and trust. The emotions and the intensity will change in different cultures based on the level of uncertainty avoidance (Mooji 2005).

 

The Symbolism Model

This model focuses on turning the brand into a symbol or a code in order to help to differentiate the consumer from other consumers. It enables to provide or offer cohesion to a group, which made this model a very culture-specific. Symbols are important in advertisement because symbol reflect culture, which can represent status, success, self-expression, stability or any other reflection of culture. It is the communication mode of cultures of large power distance combined with strong uncertainty avoidance but also of collectivistic culture (Mooji 2005). 

 

The Likeability Model

This model is based on the assumption that liking the advertisement will lead the customers to like the brand. In countries used to the direct approach, conditioned to expect arguments and persuasion, this will not be a good model to apply because it will be more effective in collectivistic cultures. The main goal of this model is being achieved by telling a story or by entertaining the audience in order to put consumer in good mood, to induce them to go to the shop where the real information about the brand is available (Mooji 2005).

 

Likeability and Advertising

The importance of likeability in advertising had been studies during early 1990’s, and it popularity in growing until now. As a matter of fact, in 1990, the Advertising Research Foundation (ARF) in the United States included it on the research agenda by establishing the AF Copy Research Validity. This is because the said organization believes that liking was the strongest factor that is connected with the persuasions and sales.

According to Sacharin (2001), likeability is considered as one of the advertising strategies that able to break through the clutter. Oppose from the suggestion of the word, likeability is considered as a more complex set of values which can include warmth, ingenuity, meaningfulness, informative, true to life, believable and convincing (Ereaut & Imms 2002), entertaining, relevant to me, soft sell, strong/distinctive/ sexy, status appeal and trendy/modernity/stylish (Farm 2006). However, it is important to focus on the fact that likeability is also connected with the macro and micro environment where in a given market or customers are included. Thus, it is important to pertain on how culture can affect the perspective of the customers towards likeliness of a given advertisement. Therefore, the interpretation and perspective of an individual about the humor of a given advertisement may differ from another or the other way around.

Likeable advertisements are better at interrupting the scanning phase of consumers or known as the stopping power of advertisements. This can help to improve the process and production of positive judgments of the message end and the brand. As a result, it is believed that likeability has a great impact on the decision of a customer to buy or not a given product or brand. The customer may be willing to pay attention to a commercial is well liked and may be willing to watch it again. If the perception of the customers towards the given commercial is favorable, customer will be likely to continue watching it, which will push him or her to understand fully the message of the message. Therefore, likeability is considered as a gatekeeper for further processing.

On the other hand, there are also studies which show the advertising is already part of the brand. Therefore, customers consider commercials and other advertising strategies of a given brand as a factor to be judged for buying or not that given brand. Therefore, if the customer liked the commercial or advertisement, it will push him or her to buy the product. Therefore, it can be said that likeability can directly affect the feelings of individuals towards a given brand.

In more in-depth analysis, different researchers study the underlying or more profound factors that are connected with likeability of advertising. According to studies, a well-like or fun advertising is more likely to affect the information processing of individual  because it can create positive arousal and activation, which can help to improve the recall of the advertised material and produce more positive judgment about the brand. It is important to take note of the fact that positive feeling has an impact over the memory of individual. In other words, it can be said that well-liked advertising enables the customers to be familiar with the product or brand, store it and then retrieve it during the buying decision. In connection, by showing simple and positive emotions persuade and encourage similar emotions for the viewer. The said persuade emotions, when positive, can help to trigger a positive attitude brand, which can cause higher purchase.

Due to the said factors, likeability can be connected with different factors that are connected with advertising or marketing including brand recall, brand attitude and brand preferences, which are vital factors to consider in planning or implementing advertising activities in order to ensure success of a given brand in terms of popularity and sales.

Advertising Likeability and Brand Popularity and Preferences

Popularity of the brand, together with the preferences of the customers has a great influence over the success of any company. In this situation, it can be said that advertising is considered as an important activity because it helps companies to introduce and encourage their target customers to avail of their products and become part of their regular market. There are different studies which show the connection between advertising likeability and brand popularity. The national projectable survey of Marschalk Company 19% of the entire respondents claimed that they would buy a specific brand because they are interested that they liked the advertising, while 25% of the respondents claimed that they did not buy a specific brand because they disliked advertising. In support, the study of Stapel with one Dutch print ad for a new coffee product showed that the interests and liking of individuals about advertising is related to their brand preferences (Walker & Dubitsky 1994).

This can be connected on the success of Coca-Cola as one of the most well-known brand in the world. As a matter of fact, it had remained as the top 1 most well-known brand in the world for quite some time. Coca-Cola is known for its marketing strategies, particularly on its advertisements which use different mediums and means in order to reach their target market. Figure 2 shows some of coca-cola ads, which adds up to the popularity of the said company. Coca-cola had been able to create an image which connect with the customers including being glamorous. On the other hand, Coca-cola had been able to launch series of commercials which shows fantasy and artistry at the same time. Furthermore, the company had been able to show commercials which show morals and values which help the company to be popular. One of this is the Things to Go Better with Coke campaign. The said hilltop commercial was shown in the US in July 1971, which causes immediate and dramatic response from the customers. As a matter of fact, during the said year, the company received more than 100,000 letters regarding the advertisement. It had created a massive attention which made the theme song of the commercial very popular. As a result, different versions in different language of the said song were released in different countries. The said commercial was considered as one of the most successful commercial of all time, which created a great opportunity for the brand to be known in the world.

 

Figure 2 Coca-Cola Print Ads

 

 

Another important example is the ongoing popularity of Axe deodorant in different countries due to its fun and exciting commercials, particularly in television. Most of commercials show a man and group of women struggling to have his attention. One example is shown in figure 2. The said commercial had been able to create light, fun and exciting feelings towards the viewer, at the same time, enable to show the message of the commercial. At the same time, all of the Axe Effect commercials and ads enable to create long impression, and based on the model of likeability, it had been able to stay on the minds of the viewers which push them to be familiar with the brand.

 

Figure 2 The Axe Effect

 

Advertising Likeability and Sales Performance

Popularity of a brand and its sales and market share are connected. It can be said that way because, it will be somewhat hard for an unpopular product or brand to be noticed and to have a huge market share compare with those brands and products that are well-known or considered as leading brand. That is the main reason why different companies are spending millions in order to establish and implement their marketing strategy, to introduce their products to the customers.

This was supported by the study of Spaeth, Hess & Tang about the relationship of liking and the response rates from the phone interview. The result of the study showed that two types of liking measures were vitally connected with the sales of performance among the five commercials for a given advertisers. Due to that, the study had been able to show that liking can accurately predict superior performance. In connection, the study sponsored by ARF used six different copy-testing methods were examined in order to determine which of the different Thus, it support the relationship of likeability advertising with the performance in terms of sales.

The said behavior of customers can be attributed to their feelings, particularly anticipation due to the positive feelings and emotions they have gained from the commercial or advertisement.

In the real world, there are different cases which show how liked advertising helps to increase sales and marketing share. One of the most successful advertising campaigns is the New Generation strategy of Pepsi in 1988 by using Michael Jackson as their endorser. It included commercials done in 4 parts entitled Chase. It shows Michael Jackson struggling to escape from the press. The said commercial had become the most eagerly awaited advertising of all time and was hailed by media as the most watched commercial in the history of advertising. Figure 3 shows the poster of Michael Jackson as Pepsi endorser.

Figure 3 Michael Jackson’s Pepsi Commercial

 

 

The said commercial was liked by the customers due to its exciting plot, together with the fact that Michael Jackson is already considered as idol during that time. The result of the said marketing strategy enables Pepsi to become one of the most popular beverages during that time in different parts of the globe. Consequently, in 1989, the company declared that their sales for snack foods had increased by 20% to .2 billion. While, on the other hand, the company’s softdrinks sales had climbed to .8 million, which shows a great increase of 25%. Based on that, it can be said that the likeability of a commercial or advertising has a great impact over the performance of a given product or brand in the market. However, due to the said situation, it is important to consider the fact that the personality of the endorser can affect the likeability of a particular advertisement.

On the other hand, it is also important that, these benefits can also be acquired by different companies by using dislikeable commercials, or those considered as controversial commercials or advertisement due to its message. According to many critics, bad publicity is still publicity; therefore, it can also help to increase popularity of a given product.

For example, Paris Hilton’s commercial for Carl’s Jr., created negative feedbacks from different individuals and groups due to its sexual implicit message. Figure 4 shows Paris Hilton’s commercial. However, the said negative feedbacks and criticisms only created hype about the commercial, at the same time enable Carl’s, Jr. to be popular, not only in the country but also in different part of the globe, because the said commercial had been center of attention in the cyber world.

 

 

Figure 4 Paris Hilton’s Carl’s Jr.

Therefore, it can be said that, it is not only important for an advertising to be likeable in order to be successful, because there are some instances where in some out of culture commercials can create more appeal and can draw more attention from the customers. However, because of the fact that image is considered as an important factors for any brand, this method or advertising can be said as risky, because it will not assure always positive effect.

This can be seen on the case of Nike in the China market, where in the company establish a massive advertising which star LeBron James in a battle with an animated cartoon kung fu master. The said commercial was banned by the government because it insults the Chinese national dignity. This is because; the Chinese government focuses on maintaining respect for their culture. The said controversy had affected the image and popularity in China. This is important because Chinese market is considered as one of the most sensitive market in terms of their cultural aspect.

Tackling the issue about the incident in China, it can be connect on the theory that likeability is linked and related to different factors in the macro and micro environment. As have been mentioned, the culture is considered as one of the most important factors that must be considered by advertisers. As a matter of fact, it is the reason why different multinational companies are implementing and launching different versions or types of marketing strategies in different countries, because the customer’s perception about a given commercial or advertising activities may differ based on their culture and their behavior. What is funny in America does not mean funny in China, and the other way around. The culture of individuals has a great impact on their decision-making, because culture affects the entire personality and behavior of a given group. Aside from that, it also has impact on their likes and dislikes, needs and desires. Therefore, it is vital for advertising agencies and their partner companies to integrate researchers in implementing and launching massive advertising activities.

 

Conclusion

Advertising is indeed a vital and complex activity that must be done by any company in order to ensure success and staying power in a given industry. It can be consider as the preliminary connection or communication process between the company and the brand with the target customers. In that case, it can be said that advertisements or commercials can help to create either positive or negative impression of the brand or product. Therefore, it is important to focus on the different characteristics or factors that must be included in an advertisement such as excitement, elegance, calming effect, humor and other positive emotions.

Likeability of an advertisement or commercial has a great impact on the overall performance of a product or brand, including its popularity and sales. It is easy to say that, in order to ensure successful advertising, it has to be liked, however, it is also important to add the fact that there are different factors that must be considered including the macro-environment, which can affect the perception of the entire group of target customers towards the message, medium and approach of a commercial or advertisement. It is important to include the aspect of culture in distinguishing what are likeable and dislikeable factors that must be included or excluded in an advertisement. First, it is important to focus on the general characteristics of a given population which include their feminine and masculine side, together with the different characteristics that might affect the buying behavior of the customers. For instance, in terms of humor, it is important to consider the fact that humor can also create negative reaction from the customers or viewers, particularly if it tackles the behavior of the entire society.

Other than that, it can be said that likeable of advertising or commercial has a great influence over the perspective of a customer towards a given product or brand. Primarily, a good and likeable commercial enables customers to have a recall, because of the positive feelings or emotions that they have obtained watching it. Due to that, it can help the customers to be aware of the product, and relate the product and brand to that positive feelings or emotions. Consequently, these positive feelings or emotions will create new feelings for the customers, and that is the curiosity or anticipation to see for themselves a particular products. Thus, it will motivates the people to try or purchase the product, and after their trial or test, and they have found out that the product or service is good, they will ask for more that will later on lead to brand loyalty.

However, like what have mentioned, there are also some cases, where in dislikeable advertising had been able to create an opportunity for popularity and increase of sales and market share. This can be seen on the materials which were presented in this paper. Due to that, it can be said that there are some exception to the rule.

 

References

du Plessis, E 1994. “Understanding and Using Likability.” Journal of Advertising Research. vol. 34, no. 5

Ereaut, G & Imms, M 2002. Analysis and Interpretation in Qualitative Market Research. SAGE

Fam, K.S & Merrilees, B 1996. “A Promotion Mix Budgeting Model For Retailing”, International Review of Retail, Distribution and Consumer Researc. vol. 6 no.4, pp.25-37

Meyer, A, Meis, E, Busetti, M & Otto, A 1990. Inside the Leading 50. Find Articles: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3289/is_n7_v159/ai_9354791/?tag=content;col1 [July 3, 2009]

Mooji, M 2005. Global Marketing and Advertising. SAGE

Smith, E, Van Meurs, L & Neijens, P 2006. “Effects of Advertising Likeability: A 10-Year Perspective.” Journal of Advertising Research. vol. 46, no. 1

Walker, D & Dubitsky, T 1994. “Why Liking Matters.” Journal of Advertising Research. vol. 34, no. 3

 

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