International Advertising

18

Advertising Appeals in Social Marketing

The Effectiveness of Advertising Appeals in Social Marketing Campaigns: A Comparative Study between the U.S. and Asian Countries.

Maria Antonieta Benatuil

Communication 480

University of Massachusetts Boston

ABSTRACT

Social and environmental issues such as recycling are rapidly becoming a global concern. As such, social marketing is faced with diverse challenges to address this, and possibly other similar, issues in an effective way that can reach a broad audience. Although recycling is a global need and desired behavior, marketers need to consider their target audience and its particular characteristics in other to design a tailored campaign which will guarantee maximum impact and understanding of the message. In this sense, this research study intends to evaluate the effectiveness of advertising appeals in social campaigns—specifically focused on recycling—regarding three cultural dimensions that will be compared between the United States and Asian countries. Taken from the Hofstede Cultural Model, these dimensions are: Collectivism, High power distance, and Long-term orientation. A total of 350 American and Asian students respectively will be randomly assignment to one of three mockup advertisements reflecting one of the cultural dimensions mentioned above, followed by a series of questions aiming to collect each student’s attitude, behavioral attitude and behavioral intention toward the ad itself, and the recycling behavior. The purpose of this research is to provide valuable insights regarding appropriate appeals in an intercultural setting for marketing campaigns dealing with environmental issues. Moreover, this study is intended to be heuristic, that is, to lead to further questions that are meant to increase the existing knowledge on the subject of social marketing. Future research could evaluate other cultural dimensions from the Hofstede Model, or even test the hypotheses using a different theoretical framework.

Keywords: Social marketing, Collectivism, High power distance, Long-term orientation, Advertising appeals, attitude, behavior.

LITERATURE REVIEW

Social Marketing

Social Marketing has been gaining prominence and significance in the international light. Perhaps due to growing concern for the future, and future generations; or for social stigmatization; or maybe because of people’s desire for the common good. Donovan & Henley (2010) consider social marketing as a “branch” of marketing. “However, social marketing is more than just the application of marketing to social issues… the social marketer’s goals relate to the wellbeing of the community, whereas for all other, the marketer’s goals relate to the wellbeing of the market” (p.1). Simply put, “If the wellbeing of the community is not the goal, it is not social marketing” (p.1). As mentioned above, this appears to be a rather simplistic conceptual definition for such a broad marketing spectrum. Donovan & Henley (2010) provide other complemental definitions that arose from previous research on the topic. For instance, Andreasen’s (1995) definition of social marketing establishes that it “is the application of commercial marketing technologies to the analysis, planning, execution, and evaluation of programs designed to influence the voluntary behavior of target audiences in order to improve their personal welfare and that of their society” (p.7).

However, social marketing campaigns are nothing new. Kotler & Roberto (1989) were able to identify efforts that resembled social campaigns as far as Ancient Greece and Rome in pro of the freedom of slaves. Similarly, the authors recognize the presence of social marketing campaigns as early as 1721. More prominent social reforms occurred during the nineteenth century such as the suffragette movement, and federal government involvement to regulate food and drugs quality. “In recent times, social change campaigns have focused on health reforms (antismoking, the prevention of drug abuse, nutrition, and physical fitness), environmental reforms (safer water, clean air, the preservation of national parks and forests, and the protection of wildlife refuges), educational reforms (to increase adult literacy, to improve public schools…) (Kotler & Roberto, 1989, p. 6).

Although other countries like Sweden, Canada, and Australia have managed to launch successful marketing campaigns, such has not been the case in the United States. On the other hand, “Developing countries, such as the Philippines, Indonesia, and China, conduct forceful social campaigns to inoculate children against viruses; to make widespread the use of oral rehydration therapies; and to promote family planning, literacy, and healthful diets” (Kotler & Roberto, 1989, p. 6).

For centuries, social marketing has been present in history disguised with different tags and names. Yet, it is not until about ten years ago that social marketing as an independent marketing branch arose. Andreasen (1995) asserts that “Social marketing is a powerful new approach to a wide range of social problems in health, crime, the environment, and social welfare. It draws upon proven concepts and processes from the commercial sector and applies them to challenges such as AIDS, malnutrition, excessive population growth, and recycling. The challenges are not fundamentally different from those in the private sector. They involve influencing the behavior of a target market that has alternatives with which they are comfortable. Community norms and other pressures inhibit change” (p. 33).

Some of the aforementioned pressures that inhibit change, closely related to community norms, and cultural values which affect the marketing scheme. According to Zhang & Gelb (1996), “Understanding cultural differences is often considered a prerequisite for successful international advertising. The reasoning is that consumers grow up in a particular culture and become accustomed to that culture’s value systems, beliefs, and perceptions processes. Consequently, they respond to advertising messages that are congruent with their culture” (p. 29).

The Hofstede Model

Geert Hofstede, a Dutch social psychologist, developed a cultural model that is named after himself. The Hofstede Model identifies and differentiated cultures according to five dimensions. Such dimensions are power distance, individualism-collectivism, uncertainty avoidance, long-term vs. short-term orientation, and masculinity-femininity. According to Ting-Toomey & Chung (2012) the model derived from a “large-scale study of a U.S. multinational business corporation. The corporation has subsidiaries has subsidiaries in 50 countries and three regions (the Arabic-speaking countries, East Africa, and West Africa)” (p. 44). The results of this study led to the development of the dimensions listed above.

Individualism, as is defined by Ting-Toomey and Chung (2012), “refers to the broad value tendencies of a culture in emphasizing the importance of individual identity over group identity, individual rights over group rights, and individual needs over group needs. Individualism promotes self-efficiency, individual responsibility, and personal autonomy. In contrast, collectivism refers to the broad value tendencies of a culture in emphasizing the importance of the “we” identity over the “I” identity, group rights over individual rights, and ingroup needs over individual wants and desires. Collectivism promotes relational interdependence, ingroup harmony, and ingroup collaborative spirit” (p. 44). Moreover, “Individualism pertains to societies in which ties between individuals are loosely linked and everyone is expected to look after himself or herself and his or her immediate family. Comparatively, collectivism refers to societies in which ties between individuals in the community are tightly intertwined. Group members view their fate as interdependent with one another. Although they will look after the welfare of ingroup members, they also expect their ingroup members to look after their interests and concerns throughout their lifetimes” (p. 45). Further research show that aspects such as wealth, industrialization and urbanization lead to more individualistically oriented societies, while poverty, lack of urbanization and traditions lead to more collectivistically oriented societies. Finally, “The top individualist values emphasize freedom, honesty, social recognition, comfort, hedonism, and personal equity. The top collectivistic values are harmony, face-saving, filial piety (respecting parents’ wishes), equality in the distribution of rewards among peers (for the sake of group harmony), and fulfillment of others’ needs” (Ting-Toomey & Chung, 2012, p. 47).

Power distance, which can be understood as either low or high, “refers to the extent to which individuals subscribe to the ideology of equal power distribution and the extent to which members adhere to unequal power distribution in an interaction episode, within an institution or within a society…People in small power distance cultures tend to value equal power distributions, equal rights and relations, and equitable rewards and punishments on the basis of performance. People in large power distance cultures tend to accept unequal power distributions, hierarchical rights, asymmetrical role relations, and rewards and punishments based on age, rank, status, title, and seniority. For small power distance cultures, equality of personal rights represents an ideal to strive toward in a system. For large power distance cultures, respect for power hierarchy in any system is a fundamental way of life” (Ting-Toomey & Chung, 2012, p. 48).

The Long- vs. short-term orientation can be defined, according to De Mooij & Hofstede (2010), as “the extent to which a society exhibits a pragmatic future-orientated perspective rather than a conventional historic or short-term point of view. Values included in long-term orientation are perseverance, ordering relationships by status, thrift, and having a sense of shame. The opposite is short-term orientation, which includes personal steadiness and stability, and respect for tradition…Long term orientation implies investment in the future” (p. 90).

De Mooij, & Hofstede (2010) clarify that this theoretical model uses a scale from 0-100 with which 76 countries are evaluated and distinguished based on their cultural values and characteristics. A country’s score for each dimension reflects its preference and perceptions in relation to each dimension. Hofstede Insights explain that lower scores reported for individualism reflect societies that are more collectivistic. Similarly, greater scores for power distance reflect societies that can identify with high power distance, while smaller scores with low power distance. Finally, lower scores for long-term orientation stand for societies or cultures that identify as short-term oriented.

According to the Hofstede Insights (2017), the United States’ most recent scores for the Hofstede model dimension of individualism, power distance, and long-vs. short-term orientation are reported as follows. Regarding individualism this country scored 91; power distance 40; and long-term orientation 26. The site also reports cultural values evaluation for Asian countries such as China, which scores 20 in individualism, 80 in the power distance dimension, and 87 in long-term orientation. Similar values are reported for South Korea, where individualism scored 18, power distance 60, and long-term orientation 100. Hong Kong’s reported scores are 25, 68, and 61; Vietnam’s 20, 70, and 57; Japan’s 46, 54, and 88; Bangladesh’s 20, 80, and 47; Indonesia’s 14, 78, and 62 respectively.

Advertising Appeals, Attitudes and Behaviors

Narrowly related to a country’s cultural values and scores in Hofstede’s dimensions, are the marketing and advertising appeals utilized to guarantee the successful delivery of a message to a target audience and, therefore, the success of the marketing campaign. According to Zhang and Gelb (1996), who embraced Hofstede’s definition of culture, explain that ““the interactive aggregate of common characteristics that influences a group’s response to its environment,” and has referred to culture as the “collective programming of the mind which distinguishes the members of one group or category of people from those of another”. According to some researchers, fundamental cultural differences can be identified by examining the culturally generalizable aspects of values. Advertisers heed such differences because values are of central concern in understanding consumer behavior... Such cultural values, norms and characteristics are embedded in advertising appeals, the specific approaches advertisers use to communicate how their products will satisfy consumer needs. The appeals are typically carried in the illustration and headlines of the ad and are supported and reinforced by the ad copy. Researchers have argued that cultural values are the core of advertising messages and typical advertisements endorse, glamorize, and inevitable reinforce cultural values. Evidence indicates that different cultures seem to emphasize different advertising appeals” (p. 30-31).

Soares, Farhangmehr, & Shoham (2006) studied the importance of Hofstede’s cultural dimensions in reference to international marketing and consumer behavior. “Notably, Collectivism influences innovativeness, service performance, and advertising appeals…Power distance affects advertising appeals, information exchange behavior, innovativeness, and service performance…Finally, long-term orientation influences innovativeness” (p. 281).

Advertising appeals, aside from being closely related to cultural values and norms, are also considered partly responsible for consumers’ attitudes and behavior towards the product—or in this case, social campaign. According to O’Guinn, Allen, Semenik, & Close, attitude can be defined as “An overall evaluation of any object, person, or issue that varies along a continuum, such as favorable to unfavorable or positive to negative” (p. 382). Similarly, attitude study is described as “A method of obtaining customer feedback that measures target market’s feelings and opinions about a company’s product, as well as that of the competing brand” (p. 382). Weigel, & Newman (1976) indicate that “attitude measures [in research] should focus on the respondent’s beliefs and feelings about engaging in particular behaviors (i.e., attitude toward the act) rather than on the respondent’s beliefs and feelings about particular objects…the likelihood of engaging in a particular action should be better predicted by one’s attitude toward the act itself than by one’s attitude toward and associated object or class of objects” (p. 793-794).

O’Guinn, Allen, Semenik, & Close also explain that “Consumer behavior is defined as all things related to how humans operate as consumers. In other words, if it has anything to do with consuming, it’s consumer behavior” (p. 106). Andreasen (1995) further develops the concept of consumer behavior specifically referring to social marketing by stating, “Behavior change is the bottom line for social marketing programs…It follows that target consumers hold the key to success for any social marketing program or campaign—they are the only one who can actually change their behavior…the social marketer must understand where the target consumer is coming from and what can and should be done to bring about desired change. In simple cases, this may mean understanding the consumers’ mood or preoccupations. In more complex cases, it will mean understanding their perceptions, knowledge, attitudes, and predispositions. In still other cases, it may involve understanding how environments affect their behavior” (p. 141).

Schutte, & Ciarlante (1998), assert that “An individual’s motivation to consume is due not merely to the product’s specific attributes, but also to the culturally based meanings that are embodied in the product and the consumption act. Although a product may sell well in the USA as well as in Japan, the reasons for the product’s popularity may be completely different because of the difference in cultural context” (p. 5).

Moreover, Costa, & Bamossy (1995), provide a more precise definition for consumer behavior understood from the perspective of cultural diversity and cultural identity. They call it “Ethnoconsumerism,” and it “is the study of consumption from the point of view of the social group or cultural group that is the subject of the study. It examines behavior on the basis of the cultural realities of that group” (p. 27).

Although these concepts may be applicable to a broader range of marketing approaches, Lindsey and Strathman (1997) present tailored definitions of behavior towards recycling, which is a rather specific segment of social marketing. They note that recycling behaviors have two broad categories: the amount of people engaging in recycling, and the amount of recycled material. These categories are impacted by personal variables such as demographics, and situational variables like viability and benefits acquired from the behavior. Research has shown that situational variables have greater influence on behavior than personal variables and beliefs.

In social and environmental marketing, a meaningful relation between attitudes and behaviors exist and is constantly monitored. Ajzen, & Fishbein (1977) attempt to define this relation, first by providing baseline definitions for the concepts of attitude and behavior: “Attitudes are held with respect to some aspect of the individual’s world, such as another person, a physical object, a behavior, or a policy…. Behavioral criteria consist of one or more observable actions performed by the individual and are recorded in some way by the investigator. Sometimes investigators have relied on “behavioroid” measures, that is, on the individual’s commitment to perform the behavior under consideration or on self-reports behavior” (p. 889). After having a clear conceptual definition, the researchers establish that “Attempts to predict behavior from attitudes are largely based on a general notion of consistency. It is usually considered to be logical or consistent for a person who holds a favorable attitude toward some object to perform favorable behaviors and not to perform unfavorable behaviors, with respect to the object” (p. 889).

Kim, Jeong, & Hwang (2013), support Ajzen, & Fishbein’s claims of the attitude-behavior relation. In this sense, the researchers note that according to the Theory of Reasoned Action “behavioral intentions are influenced by attitudes and subjective norms. Attitudes reflect the overall evaluation of the performance of a particular behavior, and subjective norms refer to the perception indicating whether significant others approve or disapprove of the behavior” (170).

Hypothetical Development

Based on the theoretical framework developed above, and following the conceptual definitions provided for the different variables to be evaluated, the following hypotheses were developed:

· Hypothesis 1: When exposed to the advertisement that reflect the higher power distance, people in Asian countries will have more positive attitude, behavioral attitude, and behavioral intention than people in the United States.

· Hypothesis 2: When exposed to the advertisement that reflect the collectivism, people in Asian countries will have more positive attitude, behavioral attitude, and behavioral intention than people in the United States.

· Hypothesis 3: When exposed to the advertisement that reflects the long-term orientation, people in Asian countries will have more positive attitude, behavioral attitude, and behavioral intention than people in the United States.

METHOD

Sampling

The University of Massachusetts Boston’s student population will constitute the sample for this research. From the response set, only responses from American and Asian students will be considered. A total of 350 American students, and 350 Asian students need to be surveyed in order for the findings of this study to be generalizable. Students will be reached through the “UMB” email accounts with a link to an online survey designed to collect the desired data. The university’s faculty and staff will be able to send the survey to their students along with the opportunity for extra credit points for those students who respond.

Considering that the student population at the University of Massachusetts are easy to reach, the sample for this study can be defined as a convenience sampling.

Measures

Attitude: The participants will be asked a series of questions aiming to capture their attitude toward the advertisement being shown and recycling. The questions will follow the Likert-type scale format with answer options ranging from 1 (strongly disagree), to 7 (strongly agree).

Behavioral Attitude: The participants will be asked a series of questions regarding their attitude towards engaging in the desired behavior promoted by the advertisement being shown and recycling. The answers will provide a Likert-type format with answer options from 1 (strongly disagree), to 7 (strongly agree).

Behavioral intentions: The participants will be asked questions aiming to capture their willingness to engage with the desired behavior promoted in the advertisement. The data will be gathered in the form of Likert-type scales that range from 1 (strongly disagree), to 7 (strongly agree).

Procedure

Three mockup advertisements were design reflecting Hofstede’s cultural values of collectivism, long-term orientation, and high-power distance respectively. The advertisements are meant to encourage positive attitudes towards recycling, and promote and entice the target audience to engage in the desired behavior of recycling.

All three ads will show the logo of a fake brand or sponsor: “The Green Coalition.” Similarly, they will show an image promoting the desired behavior and the activity of recycling itself. The ad’s design will be standard with a single variation in the copy. In this sense, for the advertisement reflecting collectivistic values the copy of the ad will read “You are part of a greater community. Recycle.” The ad’s message reflecting long-term orientation will read “For a better tomorrow. Recycle.” Finally, the advertisement for high-power distance message will be “It is a matter of respect. Recycle.”

The research participants will be assigned to the conditions of a 2 (nationality: US vs. Asian country) x 3 (cultural dimension type: collectivism, high power distance, and long-term orientation) between-subject experiment design. American and Asian participants will be randomly assigned to one of the three conditions respectively: an ad reflecting collectivistic cultural values, an ad reflecting the high-power distance dimension, and an ad reflecting the long-term orientation dimension. Following each advertisement will be a set of questions aiming to capture the participant’s attitude and behavior towards the ad and recycling in general, and their disposition to engage with the desired behavior after being exposed to each individual advertisement.

To conclude the data collection process, a set of demographical questions will be asked with the intention of controlling for participants’ gender, age, country of origin and race/ethnicity. The demographic information will be needed to draw conclusions and analyze the responses of each individual participant, as well as the collective responses of specific ethnic groups.

Discussion

Based on the theoretical framework developed above, the research study is intended to increase the common knowledge on social marketing, and especially green advertising focused on recycling. It is expected to increase the knowledge on cross-cultural studies, specifically those using Hofstede’s cultural dimensions to support and provide valid explanations to the research findings. There could be found a lot of literature discussing the impacts and effects of Hofstede’s most common dimension, that of Individualism-collectivism. However, this study also focuses on two other dimension that are not as ubiquitous in the social marketing and green marketing literature.

Moreover, the application of Hofstede’s theoretical model to social marketing and recycling may provide valuable insights for future social marketing campaigns concerning the environment. The increasing concern for the environment in recent years might lead to increase interest in social marketing, and green advertising in particular. This study aims to enlighten those research campaigns in terms of advertising appeals. In this sense, this study focuses on two major cultural groups, and two very significant actors in the environmental scene. These are Asian countries, and the United States. With the growing interest of marketers and advertiser on promoting the common good, and saving the planet, more and more green campaigns are expected to happen. Providing guidelines for these marketing efforts, with the intention of guaranteeing their success, seem like a valid reason to further the research and study of this particular marketing branch.

The selection of the cultural cluster was far from random. Both in the United States and Asian countries, environmental issues have gained prominence and importance. A lot has been said about their environmental contributions, and their lack or contribution as well. The research study’s purpose is to focus on countries that could make a positive impact on the environment, and that have a lot of potential to improve. Also, the choice of the countries was determined by their cultural values and cultural diversity. As reported in the literature review section, the United States and the Asian countries listed are very far apart on the individualism-collectivism, long- vs. short-term orientation, and high vs. low power distance continuum respectively. Therefore, the findings could be easily explained by the cultural differences, while also provided specific guidelines for future marketing efforts specifically designed for each of those countries.

Even though the research findings are meant to be applied to future marketing efforts, it is necessary to clarify that this specific research study was designed to evaluate recycling behaviors only. In this sense, the theoretical framework provided for the attitude and behavioral relation might not apply to other similar studies, or other studies regarding green advertising. In other words, it might be possible that the findings from other studies, although similar, might differ from those resulting from this research effort.

Finally, this study is only one of many. The intention is to highlight its heuristic nature. The development of theory should incite further questions, and the constant search for knowledge. From this perspective, the topic of social marketing revolving around recycling has much more knowledge to be discovered. Further research could evaluate other dimensions of the Hofstede model that are not commonly found in the literature; explanations for actual facts could be found in other theoretical models such as the GLOBE, or Schwartz cultural values. Similarly, the research design could be adapted to investigate other branches of green advertising, or even social marketing without being directly related to environmental marketing.

WORKS CITED

Ajzen, I., & Fishbein, M. (1977). Attitude-Behavior Relations: A Theoretical Analysis and Review of Empirical Researhc. Psychological Bulletin, 84(5), 888-918.

Andreasen, A. (1995). Marketing Social Change: changing behavior to promote health, social development, and the environment. Washington, DC: Georgetown University.

Costa, J., & Bamossy, G. (1995). Marketing in a Multicultural Word. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.

De Mooij, M., & Hofstede, G. (2010). The Hofstede model: Applications to global branding and advertising strategy and research. International Journal of Advertising, 29(1), 85-110.

Donovan, R., & Henley, N. (2010). Principles and Practice of Social Marketing: An International Perspective. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Hofstede Insights (2017). The Hofstede Insights Country Comparison Tool. Retrieved from https://www.hofstede-insights.com/product/compare-countries/

Kim, S., Jeong, S., & Hwang, Y. (2013). Predictors of Pro-Environmental Behaviors of American and Korean Students: The Application of the Theory of Reasoned Action and Protection Motivation Theory. Science Communication, 35(2), 168-188

Kotler, P., & Roberto, E. (1989). Social Marketing Strategies for Changing Public Behavior. New York, NY: The Free Press.

Lindsay, J., & Strathman, A. (1997). Predictors of Recycling Behavior: An Application of a Modified Health Belief Model. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 27(20), 1799- 1823.

O’Guinn, T., Allen, C., Semenik, R., & Close, A. (2015). Advertising & Integrated Brand Promotion (7th ed.). Stamfor, CT: Cengage Learning.

Schütte, H., & Ciarlante, D. (1998). Consumer Behavior in Asia. New York, NY: New York University Press.

Soares, A., Farhangmehr, M., & Shoham, A. (2006). Hofstede’s dimensions of culture in international marketing studies. Journal of Business Research, 60(2007), 277-284.

Ting-Toomey, S., & Chung, L. (2012). Understanding Intercultural Communication (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

Weigel, R., & Newman, L. (1976). Increasing Attitude-Behavior Correspondence by Broadening the Scope of the Behavioral Measure. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 33 (6), 793-802.

Yoon, H., Kim, Y. (2016). Understanding Green Advertising Attitude and Behavioral Intention: An Application of the Health Belief Model. Journal of Promotion Management, 22(1), 49-70

Zhang, Y., & Gelb, B. (1996). Matching Advertising Appeals to Culture: The Influence of Products’ Use Condition. Journal of Advertising, 20(3), 29-46.