Advertising abstracts

Citation

(2003), "Advertising abstracts", Measuring Business Excellence, Vol. 7 No. 4. https://doi.org/10.1108/mbe.2003.26707dab.003

Advertising abstracts

Advertising abstracts

Sir Martin Sorrell (founder and chief executive of WPP)Lynn, M., Management Today (UK), June 2003, 4pp

Talks to Sir Martin Sorrell, founder and chief executive of WPP, the advertising and marketing services company he founded in 1986. Asks him what ambitions he still has for his company. Identifies improving the quality and research capability of his company, as well as tinkering with the geographical reach and balance of services offered by WPP. Includes a history of the company, with a focus on the acquisitions that have powered its growth. Asks friends and enemies for their views of the man. Notes that he is sought out as a man with an eye for economic and business trends.

Direct line (employee communication)Watkins, J., People Management (UK), 15 May 2003, Vol. 9 No. 10, 2pp

Describes the communications exercise undertaken by Work Communications, a UK recruitment advertising firm, to reassure employees at Park HR during its acquisition of the firm. Explains how the firm used e-mail and a specially designed Web site to keep Park employees informed about the progress of the deal and the implications for their jobs. Discusses how well this approach worked, underlining the care taken to avoid any mistakes and to ensure that the language used, etc., did not give the wrong impression to employees. Quotes from Park employees about their views on the communications process, which was seen as showing the acquiring company was open and accessible, and also cared about the employees' personal situations. Briefly describes the meetings set up between Work Communications directors and the staff at Park HR offices across the UK once the deal was finalized.

The garlic revolution: 25 years of changeBecket, H., Admap (UK), May 2003, Vol. 38 No. 5, 3pp

Comments on changes in the UK in the past 25 years, with the title of the piece reflecting one of the changes – the progression from bland, unseasoned food to today's unselfconscious preparation and consumption of food with herbs and spices (including garlic), often drunk with wine, more frequently prepared by men. Points to "minor revolutions" in consumer taste – people's willingness to talk in public (and on TV) about what would previously have been considered private, for example, and "indulgence shopping" for brands and types of goods (Nike, 4×4 vehicles, Tesco Finest, Bacardi Breezer are all cited) which make a statement about who people are and what makes them tick.

Changing consumers: rethinking your strategyMcDonald, C., Admap (UK), May 2003, Vol. 38 No. 5, 4pp

Begins by pointing to the increasing amount of commercial communication – on TV in the UK, for example, an increase from 500 commercials a day in 1987 to 11,000 in 1997 to a forecast 33,000 in 2007 – and asks if the increasing amount of communication is leading to changes in the way we process this information. Suggests there is an increasing distrust of previously authoritative and trustworthy institutions, including governments, business leaders and authority figures. Proposes four fundamental implications for marketing communications; a shift from projecting a brand image to earning a reputation; greater acceptance of the positive effects of volunteering negative information (citing the UK Skoda Cars campaign); increasing use of "overheard" messages (suggesting there will be more use of deliberately engineered rumor and leaks); and a shift towards "connections planning" (managing all points of influence, not just paid-for media). Concludes that the basic theories underpinning marketing communications, derived 20 years ago and more, no longer hold true.

Why do consumers like websites?Huizingh, E.K.R.E. and Hoekstra, J.C., Journal of Targeting, Measurement and Analysis for Marketing (UK), 2003, Vol. 11 No. 4, 12pp

Studies the effectiveness of Web sites by exploring the relationship between flow and the hierarchy of effects. Begins by outlining the hierarchy of effects model which proposes that advertising influences consumers through four stages: attention, cognition, affection and conation. Next, derives measurement scales from the literature on advertising effectiveness, information search behavior and consumer navigation behavior in on-line environments, collecting data from 80 Dutch respondents via a questionnaire and three search activities. Concludes that the hierarchy of effects model can also be used to investigate the effectiveness of Web sites. Adds that involvement with the subject-matter is a far better predictor of any of the four levels of the hierarchy of effects than Internet experience and therefore recommends that marketers focus on better targeted efforts to generate Web traffic. Also notes that the flow and the four levels of the hierarchy of effects were highly related and therefore advises marketers to design Web sites to create flow experiences which in turn will create a more positive perception of the site.