Chanmi Hwang, Youngji Lee, Sonali Diddi and Elena Karpova
The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of anti-consumption advertisement on consumers’ attitudes and purchase intentions (PIs) of an apparel product.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of anti-consumption advertisement on consumers’ attitudes and purchase intentions (PIs) of an apparel product.
Design/methodology/approach
An experiment was conducted with a sample of college students (n=1,300) who were randomly assigned to view either a traditional advertisement for a Patagonia jacket or an anti-consumption advertisement of the same jacket. After that, consumer attitudes toward buying the jacket and PIs were measured employing online survey. In addition, consumer environmental concern (EC), perceived intrinsic brand motivation and extrinsic brand motivation (PIBM and PEBM) were measured to test a proposed research model.
Findings
Participants exposed to the anti-consumption advertisement reported less positive attitudes toward and lower PIs to buy the jacket than participants who viewed the traditional advertisement. Participants’ EC, PIBMs and PEBMs were found to be important predictors of the attitude and PI.
Research limitations/implications
This study provides a foundation for future research on consumer attitudes and PIs in the context of anti-consumption behavior and the effects of anti-consumption advertisement. Limitations of the present study include convenience sampling.
Practical implications
Anti-consumption advertising might be used effectively to raise consumers’ awareness on their spending habits on clothing and reduce the clutter of consuming culture.
Originality/value
The research findings contribute to the corporate social responsibility literature in the apparel context, specifically socially responsible marketing, by focusing on the nascent topic of anti-consumption. This was the first study that examined how anti-consumption advertisement might affect consumer attitudes toward buying products displayed in this advertisement.
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Keywords
The purpose of this paper is to explore experiences with shopping for apparel among mothers of young girls who wear plus sizes.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore experiences with shopping for apparel among mothers of young girls who wear plus sizes.
Design/methodology/approach
A qualitative approach was employed to collect data, including in-depth interviews and online observation. Interviews were conducted with mothers because the literature indicates that they typically function as intermediaries between social forces and their children’s developing perceptions of self.
Findings
Three primary emergent themes were used to structure the interpretation: the style factor, a good fit and working around the label. Findings of this study reveal the extent to which the mothers face challenges in finding stylish, age appropriate and well-fitting plus-sized clothing for their young daughters, despite the increasing number of retailers offering expanded children’s sizes.
Originality/value
Despite the notable increase in children who wear plus sizes, there has been little research on the needs of this group, and particularly among those of early (3–5 years) and middle childhood (6–11 years). Although research on plus sizes among adolescents is on the increase, the difficulties of conducting research with younger children in general have likely resulted in a gap in knowledge about their plus-size apparel needs. However, this study offers new insight on the topic of plus sizes in apparel from the perspective of parents as household consumption decision makers.
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Youngjee Ko, Hanyoung Kim, Youngji Seo, Jeong-Yeob Han, Hye Jin Yoon, Jongmin Lee and Ja Kyung Seo
Successful social marketing campaign to promote COVID-19 vaccination for the unvaccinated relies on increasing positive reactions but also reducing negative responses to…
Abstract
Purpose
Successful social marketing campaign to promote COVID-19 vaccination for the unvaccinated relies on increasing positive reactions but also reducing negative responses to persuasive messages. This study aims to investigate the relative effects of narrative vs non-narrative public service announcements (PSAs) promoting COVID-19 vaccination on both positive and negative reactions. Using social media as a tool for disseminating marketing campaigns provides a great opportunity to examine the effectiveness of narrative PSAs on vaccination intention, especially among unvaccinated young adults, who were the target audience of the social marketing. This study explores the role of empathy and psychological reactance as underlying mechanisms.
Design/methodology/approach
An experiment involving unvaccinated young adults was conducted with a one-factor, two-condition (message type: narrative vs non-narrative) design.
Findings
Results indicated that the narrative (vs non-narrative) PSAs led to greater empathy. While no direct effects of message type emerged on psychological reactance or vaccination intention, results of a serial multi-mediator model confirmed that empathy and psychological reactance mediated the effects of message type on vaccination intention.
Originality/value
The study extends the understanding of narrative persuasion by examining an underlying mechanism behind narrative persuasion in a COVID-19 PSA. This study provides empirical evidence of the important role of empathy in processing narrative PSAs. Moreover, the current study expands narrative persuasion’s applicability to COVID-19 vaccination intervention messages for unvaccinated young adults, highlighting the effectiveness of narrative persuasion as a social marketing communication tool.
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Youngji Seo, Marilyn J. Primovic and Yan Jin
The continuation of rapid changes in Web 2.0 has transformed the practice of business communication and stakeholders’ expectations. This paper aims to paramount one issue facing…
Abstract
Purpose
The continuation of rapid changes in Web 2.0 has transformed the practice of business communication and stakeholders’ expectations. This paper aims to paramount one issue facing corporate communicators is stakeholders’ social media fatigue that leads to online disengagement and social media strategy ineffectiveness.
Design/methodology/approach
A systematic review of research literature and a deep dive in the professional reports regarding corporate communication and social media strategies are conducted.
Findings
To tackle the challenge of stakeholder social media fatigue, a conceptual model is provided to guide the development of alternative social media strategies that capitalize on the impact of vicarious interaction and reenergize stakeholders via trialogue based on the corporate-influencer-stakeholder (parasocial) relationships.
Originality/value
A model for overcoming stakeholder social media fatigue via optimizing corporate-influencer-stakeholder (parasocial) relationship is proposed and elaborated, with actionable social media strategies recommended for corporate communicators to use.