When a slur is used, people hear it. Usually, it is either morally wrong or used in a negative way. However, certain nonprofit organizations have turned these words into tools to grab attention in provocative prosocial advertising campaigns. This study examines how such sexist and homophobic slurs can influence consumer engagement and cognitive elaboration. The findings suggest that advertisements containing offensive language can increase the perceived importance of the issue and motivate individuals to seek help or register for training sessions. However, the effectiveness of such advertisements depends on the audience's prior exposure to sexism or homophobia and their perception of the issue's importance.
The study also highlights the potential risks and benefits of using offensive language in social marketing. While offensive advertisements can capture attention and provoke thought, they may also alienate certain audiences. Social marketers should carefully consider their target audience and the context in which offensive language is used to maximize the positive impact of their campaigns.
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This study investigates the impact of influencer follower size on brand responses. It examines whether micro-, macro- or mega-influencers are more effective in increasing brand awareness, positive brand attitudes and purchase intentions. The study finds that micro-influencers, with fewer than 100,000 followers, are more persuasive than larger influencers due to their higher perceived credibility and similarity to the audience. The research highlights the importance of choosing the right influencer size for marketing campaigns to achieve better brand outcomes.
The study also explores the underlying mechanisms that explain the effects of influencer size on brand responses. It identifies three key factors: wishful identification, perceived credibility and perceived similarity. The findings suggest that micro-influencers are more effective in enhancing brand awareness and positive brand attitudes because they are perceived as more credible and similar to the audience.
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Attendees joined us on September 18 for a Town Hall on what ‘premium content’ is and whether it is the right construct for trying to assign values to media. We delved into the following questions and more: Who gets to define premium? Publishers want to claim the mantle of being “premium” and “quality” to justify their higher CPMs, but is the elitism justified? Can marketers justify it on economic grounds? Does it demean and devalue some of the population?
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Immersive technologies, including augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR) and mixed realities (MR), are expected to become increasingly important in advertising. These technologies create extended realities (XR) that enhance consumer engagement and provide new opportunities for marketers. While the fully immersive “metaverse” is still in development, platforms like Fortnite, Roblox and Zepeto already provide touchpoints where consumers connect physical and virtual realities.
Despite the potential of immersive technologies to transform advertising, there are challenges in effectively deploying them within communication strategies. Limited knowledge on how to use specific technologies or combinations of technologies to achieve different promotional objectives, siloed research on AR and VR applications, and the infancy of these research areas are some of the key challenges. This special issue of the Journal of Advertising Research addresses these challenges and provides insights into the future of immersive technologies in advertising.
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