M.Tech (Marketing, Faculty of Management Sciences) Vaal University of Technology / Given the pervasive use of celebrity endorsements and the high costs involved in this marketing strategy, it is important for marketers to have knowledge of the right set of procedures to follow in selecting an ambassador to market their products. This study draws from the undertones of Ohanian’s (1990:46) Source attributes theory, comprising elements of the Source credibility theory as well as the Source attractiveness theory. Whereas the former (trustworthiness and expertise) influences consumer attitudes and behaviour through a process called internalisation, the latter (attractiveness) influences receivers of marketing communication messages through a process called identification. The theory is useful when applied during the initial phase of selecting which celebrity to use to endorse products, to avoid costly mistakes of choosing celebrities that do not possess the right set of attributes for persuading consumers. The purpose of this study was to apply the Source attributes theory in understanding the key attributes towards consumers’ evaluations of the credibility of an athlete-celebrity endorser. Moreover, the influence of athlete endorser credibility on consumers’ attitudes and purchase intentions towards the celebrity endorsed advertisement. A quantitative study comprising a non-probability snowball sample of 456 consumers was conducted in 2016, in and around the five major towns of Southern Gauteng province in South Africa. The structured-self administered questionnaire requested participants to indicate their perceptions regarding the attributes of nominated athlete-celebrity, namely, trustworthiness, expertise and attractiveness in endorsing the selected product. In addition, the questionnaire related to consumers’ evaluations of the credibility of the selected athlete-celebrity, consumers’ attitude towards the advertisement where the athlete-celebrity appears and purchase intentions towards the endorsed product. Findings from the study indicated that South African consumers have positive perceptions of the selected athlete-celebrity’s trustworthiness, expertise and attractiveness. In addition, the measurement model was verified using statistical accuracy tests, thereby confirming that the purchase intentions model was a six-factor structure comprising trustworthiness, expertise, attractiveness, endorser credibility, attitude towards the advertisement and purchase intentions. The results of both the confirmatory factor analysis and the structural equation modelling suggest that the three dimensions are valid measures of the overall credibility of the athlete- endorser (R2=0.60). This finding provided support for the scale developed by Ohanian (1990) to be a valid vi measure for selecting celebrity endorsers when applied in South Africa. Moreover, the structural model validated the existence of significant, direct impacts of athlete-endorser credibility on attitude towards the advertisement (path estimate=0.704) and attitude towards the advertisement on purchase intentions (path estimate=0.741). Insights gained from this study will assist both marketing academics and practitioners to understand the perceptions of consumers towards the use of athlete-celebrities in product promotions in the South African market. In this regard, if a determination is made that a celebrity could enhance the marketing campaign, marketers should determine to what extent the celebrity should be used. The correct use of the right celebrity, selected in line with these findings, can help ensure greater consumer persuasion.

Advertisers invest substantial amounts of money in advertising and need to know whether these investments pay off. Given that advertising generally has both short-term and long-term effects and that the behavioral effects of advertising are influenced by numerous other factors, intermediate measures are needed that gauge the mental effects of advertising in the target audience. This thesis explores three broad issues in the measurement of intermediate advertising effectiveness: The relationship between different intermediate measures, the ability of advertising pretest measures to predict the outcome of advertising campaigns, and how measures of certain constructs should be operationalized. These issues were investigated in two empirical studies. The main result from the two studies is that measurement of advertising effectiveness requires multiple measures that are analyzed simultaneously. The results also indicate that some commonly used intermediate measures are not correctly understood and are, therefore, sometimes used for the wrong purposes. This thesis discusses the implications of these and other findings for academics and practitioners. / Diss. Stockholm : Handelshögsk.

This thesis argues that the FCB (Foote, Cone and Belding) grid can not only be used by advertising students to write strategy, but also to write superior strategies. To demonstrate this, the research in this study identifies two versions of the FCB grid that can serve as guidelines for students when writing advertising strategy. The argument is substantiated by the results of a statistical analysis of strategies written according to the FCB grid and the Bendinger formula. A discussion of the areas which were researched and led to the introduction of the FCB grid, as well as an explanation of the FCB grid, provide the context in which the grid should be viewed as a guideline for writing advertising strategy. Thereafter, a summative overview of what advertising strategy and the Bendinger formula encompass, identifies the complexed nature of advertising strategy, as well as the minimum areas which need to be addressed when attempting to write strategy. A detailed discussion of the method which was employed and the instrument developed to evaluate the effectiveness of strategies, precedes the experimental results. A critical discussion of the results obtained from the statistical analysis and the literature on advertising strategy provide a theoretical foundation on which a model, to be used in conjunction with the FCB grid to write strategy, is designed. The model is then explained to illustrate how students can, in conjunction with the FCB grid, apply it to write advertising strategy. This thesis recommends that, in order to improve on the suggested method of evaluating strategies, the measurement scale developed in this study could be considered as a starting point. A further recommendation is that the experiment comparing strategies written according to the FCB sextant grid to those written according to the FCB quadrant grid, could provide the need for further research. The thesis concludes that as far as could be determined, this was the first time that a study of this nature was undertaken and that the need for future research to validate this study and its results, exists. / Communication Science / D. Litt et Phil. (Communication)

This thesis argues that the FCB (Foote, Cone and Belding) grid can not only be used by advertising students to write strategy, but also to write superior strategies. To demonstrate this, the research in this study identifies two versions of the FCB grid that can serve as guidelines for students when writing advertising strategy. The argument is substantiated by the results of a statistical analysis of strategies written according to the FCB grid and the Bendinger formula. A discussion of the areas which were researched and led to the introduction of the FCB grid, as well as an explanation of the FCB grid, provide the context in which the grid should be viewed as a guideline for writing advertising strategy. Thereafter, a summative overview of what advertising strategy and the Bendinger formula encompass, identifies the complexed nature of advertising strategy, as well as the minimum areas which need to be addressed when attempting to write strategy. A detailed discussion of the method which was employed and the instrument developed to evaluate the effectiveness of strategies, precedes the experimental results. A critical discussion of the results obtained from the statistical analysis and the literature on advertising strategy provide a theoretical foundation on which a model, to be used in conjunction with the FCB grid to write strategy, is designed. The model is then explained to illustrate how students can, in conjunction with the FCB grid, apply it to write advertising strategy. This thesis recommends that, in order to improve on the suggested method of evaluating strategies, the measurement scale developed in this study could be considered as a starting point. A further recommendation is that the experiment comparing strategies written according to the FCB sextant grid to those written according to the FCB quadrant grid, could provide the need for further research. The thesis concludes that as far as could be determined, this was the first time that a study of this nature was undertaken and that the need for future research to validate this study and its results, exists. / Communication Science / D. Litt et Phil. (Communication)

The purpose of this project was to examine the similarities and differences in magazine advertisements directed to women in China and Taiwan. Through content analysis of advertisments in these two countries, the researcher identified how women were portrayed and the social values or lifestyle attributed to them of each society.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / This study uses a rhetorical visual analysis to investigate supplement advertisements within the top three fitness magazines, according to circulation, to provide a richer understanding of the message construction within the visual images the advertisements contain. The advertisements were selected at random over a time span of a year and a half within each of the magazines, totaling nine separate advertisements for analysis. The purpose of this study is to determine to what extent, if any, the construction of advertisements in men's fitness magazines operates as ideographic images establishing legitimacy as determined through application of Sonja Foss' rhetorical visual analysis methodology. Previous research has identified various analyses of visual images within the fitness culture, however, rhetorical visual analysis of supplement advertisement does not appear to have been investigated prior to this project which is the primary concern for the initiation of the current research. Employing rhetorical analysis in order to understand visual images provides a perspective that is imperative to identification of elements and functions of visual images. The current findings indicate that images in advertisements in men's fitness magazines do not establish rhetorical legitimacy, as understood from a rhetorical perspective. However, when examined through a traditional aesthetic intentionalist perspective, the construction of the advertisements operates as ideographic images, establishing legitimacy through the image. This information provides us with the understanding that advertisements within current muscle magazines are operating under a traditional viewpoint, and as such, produce traditional perspectives. The advertisement industry within this genre is reliant upon the consumer first knowing what the product is and then realizing how the image fits into that function. The limitation within this perspective of the advertisement industry is the consumer's knowledge base concerning the product, the product being explained through text and the time the consumer is willing to spend on correlating the intent or function with the images presented.