Predicting the Personal Appeal of Marketing Images Using Computational Methods

Images play a central role in digital marketing. They attract attention, trigger emotions, and shape consumers’ first impressions of products and brands. We propose that the shift from one‐to‐many mass communication to highly personalized one‐to‐one communication requires an understanding of image appeal at a personal level. Instead of asking “How appealing is this image?” we ask “How appealing is this image to this particular consumer?” Using the well‐established five‐factor model of personality, we apply machine learning algorithms to predict an image's personality appeal—the personality of consumers to which the image appeals most—from a set of 89 automatically extracted image features (Study 1). We subsequently apply the same algorithm on new images to predict consequential outcomes from the fit between consumer and image personality. We show that image‐person fit adds incremental predictive power over the images’ general appeal when predicting (a) consumers’ liking of new images (Study 2) and (b) consumers’ attitudes and purchase intentions (Study 3).     

‘Faking brands’: Consumer responses to counterfeiting

Whilst counterfeiting is regarded as one of the ‘oldest crimes in history’, contextualised treatments of Middle East and North Africa (MENA region) are rare despite growing interconnections with the global economy. Accordingly, this paper explores consumer motivations to purchase counterfeit products and identifies possible counter‐influences. Data from a survey of 400 respondents drawn from Morocco was tested with logistic regression models to determine the significant factors that trigger responsiveness and deterrence to counterfeit products. The tests were based on three product categories: clothing, cosmetics and mobile phones. Additionally, consumer demographics and selected social triggers were evaluated to build a profile of consumers typically likely to consider buying (or avoiding) counterfeit goods. Results show that concerns related to health, disappointment risk and integrity are the most significant countervailing factors on behavioural intentions towards purchasing counterfeits. On a socio‐demographic level, it was found that low‐income consumers are more positively disposed to buying counterfeits. Gender also seems to have an explanatory force. Women with higher educational backgrounds are less likely than men to consider buying counterfeit goods. For all the products evaluated, quality and price consistently proved the most important factors driving the intention to buy counterfeits. The implications are highlighted; combating counterfeiting is not an exclusive preserve of any single entity (governments, business or para‐governmental agencies) but a shared responsibility. There is a lot at stake for consumers, manufacturers and the industrial nations if the menace is not effectively checked. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

网络环境下第三方评论对冲动购买意愿的影响机制：以产品类别和评论员级别为调节变量

采用问卷调查和实验研究的方法, 构建了以情感为中介的第三方正面评论与网络消费者冲动购买意愿的关系模型, 并检验了产品类别和评论员级别对该模型的调节效应。研究结果表明：第三方评论的好评度、好评数、时效性直接正向影响冲动购买意愿; 好评度以快乐和唤起情感为中介、好评数以快乐情感为中介间接正向影响冲动购买意愿; 消费者购买低涉入度(VS：高涉入度)产品和阅读高级(VS：初级)评论员发布的评论时, 第三方正面评论对冲动购买意愿的影响更强。     

The Selection of Freebies and the Preference for Freebie Promotions—A Perspective on Item Characteristics

Research on consumer decision making has mainly focused on individual products; however, many products are purchased with other items as part of a promotional package. This paper explores how the characteristics (hedonic versus utilitarian) of the items in freebie promotional packages (e.g., buy one item and get a different item for free) influence consumers' preference for the promotional package. Additionally, the authors examine how the characteristics of the focal item influence consumers' choice of either a hedonic or a utilitarian freebie item. Five experiments, rooted in the concepts of consumer avoidance of overloading negative emotions and motivation to seek hedonic pleasure, show that a package with one utilitarian and one hedonic item generates higher purchase intentions and willingness to pay than a package with either two hedonic or two utilitarian items. Furthermore, consumers who purchase a hedonic (utilitarian) focal item are more likely to choose a utilitarian (hedonic) freebie. These effects exist not only in hypothetical scenarios but also in an incentive‐compatible design. Moreover, the impact of the focal item characteristics on consumer choice of freebie is moderated by acquisition format and time separation. The authors also explore the internal mechanism influencing consumers' freebie choices. The findings have significant implications for both theory and practice. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The effect of evolving resource synergy beliefs on the intentions–behavior discrepancy in ethical consumption

Consumers are less likely to buy ethical products than their stated intentions in marketplace polls, due at least in part to the distinct temporal frames guiding their poll responses versus actual purchase decisions. We propose that as consumers' beliefs about the synergy between the resources a firm devotes to their ethical and functional attributes evolve, as part of the broader ethical marketing/corporate social responsibility movement, from negative to positive, this discrepancy between intentions and behavior is likely to disappear. Two studies provide support for this basic contention, implicating the importance consumers ascribe to a brand's ethical attribute as the driver of the temporal frame- and resource synergy beliefs-based differences in their preference for that brand.     

Mix or Match? Consumer Spending Decisions in Conditional Promotions

Conditional multi‐item promotions are a prevalent marketing tactic whereby consumers have to buy a certain number of products to get a discount. This paper examines how framing a multi‐item promotion in terms of savings on multiple items versus a single item (e.g., “buy two, get X% off on both” vs. “buy two, get 2X% off on the cheaper item”) affects consumers’ decision‐making and product choices. Two laboratory studies and a field study at a boutique clothing store demonstrate that the “2X% on cheaper” framing makes consumers more likely to select similarly priced primary and secondary items. This strategy is driven by increased focus on promotional savings under the “2X% on cheaper” framing, which leads consumers to spend more on their secondary items. Overall, this research shows how a subtle change in the framing of multi‐item promotions changes consumers’ product selection strategies and shopping basket composition.     

Spanish consumers' perceptions of US apparel speciality retailers' products and services

Apparel speciality retailers' success in international markets is contingent upon their knowledge of culturally‐defined values, norms and behaviour that influence consumer decision making and impact acceptance of products and services. An integrated theoretical framework of retail internationalisation guided this investigation of the viability of the Spanish market for US retailers. This study examined consumers' store patronage and apparel purchase behaviour, acceptance of US apparel brands, perceptions of retailers' products and services, and perceptions of the impact of foreign retailers on local communities. Data were collected from 375 consumers in Barcelona, Madrid and Valencia. The influence of retailer characteristics on consumers' store patronage varied by age and income. Product characteristics that influenced apparel purchases varied by gender, income and age, while acceptance of US brands differed by gender and age. The perceptions of Spanish, European and US retailers differed regarding quality, fashionability, product assortment, extent and quality of customer service, convenience of location, payment options, national brands and store layout. Consumers' acceptance of US apparel brands was a function of age, household income, apparel product country of manufacture and price. Perceptions of US retailers were a function of household income, selected apparel characteristics and consumer acceptance of US apparel brands. Differences among perceptions of the impact of retail development were found by city. The findings provide insights into the opportunities and challenges for US apparel speciality retailers as they contemplate entry into the Spanish market. The affinity for US apparel among young Spanish consumers, particularly males, suggests optimism regarding opportunities in this market. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Leave or stay? The role of self‐construal on luxury brand attitudes and purchase intentions in response to brand rejection

Marketing managers of luxury brands often use exclusionary marketing tactics that can lead consumers to feel rejected by those brands. In our research, we examine whether consumers with independent self‐construals are more likely than those with interdependent self‐construals to downgrade their evaluations of a luxury brand when feeling rejected by it. Results of three studies support this hypothesis. Using a manipulation of brand rejection with hypothetical future scenarios, study 1 provides evidence that consumers with a higher chronic independent (versus interdependent) self‐construal are more likely to lower their brand attitudes and purchase intentions of a desirable luxury brand that rejects them. Study 2 replicates the moderating effect of self‐construal at a cultural level, comparing Chinese and American respondents. Study 3 again compares self‐construals at a cultural level, but manipulates brand rejection by asking respondents to recall a prior rejection experience. Importantly, Study 3 reveals a mediating influence of self‐brand connection. That is, independents, when recalling an experience of luxury brand rejection, were more likely than interdependents to report a decrease in their feelings of connectedness to the rejecting brand, which in turn resulted in lower attitudes toward the brand and lower purchase intentions. Our findings provide luxury brand marketers with insights for both niche branding strategy design and cross‐cultural customer relationship management.     

Death Can Be Good for Your Health: Fitness Intentions as a Proximal and Distal Defense Against Mortality Salience1

Although terror management theory has stimulated a wide body of research, no research to date has demonstrated empirically that intentions to engage in health‐oriented behavior can function as a terror management defense. Toward this end, the present studies examined whether increased fitness intentions could be used as both a direct defense against conscious concerns with death, but also as an indirect defense against unconscious death concerns among individuals for whom fitness is important to their self‐esteem. In Study 1, both high and low fitness esteem participants responded to reminders of mortality with immediate exaggerated fitness intentions, relative to controls. Study 2 replicated this effect, but also found that a similar increase in fitness intentions only emerged following a delay when fitness was important to the individuals’ self‐esteem. Discussion focuses on the implications for different types of psychological defense on heath‐related behavior.     

背景音乐对消费者的影响：音乐契合度的视角

音乐契合度指的是背景音乐与广告、消费环境及商品特征等消费要素的契合程度。背景音乐与消费要素的契合可以体现在音乐特性、社会隐义和文化意蕴三个方面,这些契合程度能够对消费者的认知、情绪和行为等方面产生影响。若背景音乐的音乐特性与消费要素之间存在较高契合度,则能够提升消费者的注意效果、加强对商品的记忆并提升购买意图;背景音乐的社会隐义也能与消费要素产生契合关系,两者之间的契合程度决定了消费者对品牌的态度、情绪状态、对商品的记忆和选择;背景音乐与消费要素在文化意蕴方面的高度契合则能够促进消费者对品牌的态度、提升购买意愿、促进购买行为。未来研究应探索背景音乐更多的结构属性,进一步挖掘背景音乐影响消费者的边界条件,突破现有理论探索更深入的理论机制,并进一步探索音乐契合对于消费者认知和情绪的影响效应及其影响机制。     

How Body Feedback Influences Consumers’ Evaluation of Products

Two experiments explored the effect of unobtrusively induced expressions of approach and avoidance on consumers’ evaluation of well‐known products. In Study 1, valenced objects were presented moving horizontally or vertically on a screen, thereby inducing either head shaking or head nodding. Objects were also presented without movement. Induced nodding led to more favorable evaluations of positively valenced products but did not affect the evaluation of negatively valenced ones. Similarly, head shaking led to more unfavorable evaluations of negatively valenced products but did not affect the evaluation of positive ones. In Study 2, participants evaluated positively valenced products more favorably when they flexed their arms while making the evaluation and evaluated negatively valenced products more unfavorably when they extended their arms during evaluation. However, arm flexion had no effect on evaluations of negative products, and arm extensions had no effect on evaluations of positive ones. Participants’ willingness to buy the products followed a similar pattern. The theoretical implications and the applications of these body feedback effects are discussed.     

中国城区青少年对广告价值的评价:前因和后果

通过对北京市7所中学366名学生的调查,探讨了青少年对广告价值的评价以及何种因素影响青少年对广告价值的评价,广告价值的评价是否会进一步影响其决策等问题。运用AMOS 4.0建立结构方程模型对研究假设进行检验,结果表明：（1）青少年对广告价值的评价直接影响到他们的决策意图;（2）在探讨广告价值的影响因素时发现,对广告的知觉因素（信息性和娱乐性）和青少年对广告以及广告商的社会认知（观看广告的社会动机和对广告劝服技巧的认识）对广告价值的影响作用也十分显著,信息性、娱乐性与社会动机都对广告价值产生积极影响,而对广告劝服技巧的认识则对广告价值产生显著的负面影响     

怎样花钱更幸福?购买类型对幸福感的影响

以往研究认为满足基本生活需求后, 消费者购买与幸福感不显著相关。近期研究发现, 购买是否能够提升幸福感, 取决于如何购买, 例如购买体验产品比物质产品更有利于提升幸福感, 但存在边界条件。文章从个人层面的享乐适应、预期利益、非对称后悔视角及社会层面的社会利益视角对这一结论进行解释, 并从个人因素、情境因素及幸福感的类型三个层面识别了物质购买在提升幸福感上表现更优异的边界条件, 同时对该领域未来可能的创新研究方向进行展望。     

Would you post that picture and let your dad see it? Culture,honor, and Facebook

Honor means “high respect; esteem,” but it has different associations for different cultures. In honor cultures (Turkey), esteem depends on one's own perception of self‐worth and on other people's opinions. In those cultures, honor is easily lost and difficult to regain. In dignity cultures (northern America), esteem mainly depends on the individual and cannot be taken away by others. One way to lose honor in Turkey is through behaviors that may be seen as “potentially improper.” Thus, we expected that posting pictures of such behaviors on Facebook (e.g., at a party; with one's boyfriend/girlfriend) and letting others see them would be less likely in Turkey than in the northern United States. Moreover, we investigated whether honor endorsement was the reason for this difference. We examined participants' posting intentions and actual Facebook behaviors. As expected, Turkish participants were less willing to post and let others (especially their relatives) see their potentially improper pictures compared with northern Americans. Moreover, honor endorsement negatively predicted the willingness to post such pictures only in Turkey, especially for women. This suggests that in honor cultures, the concern for losing honor could be the underlying reason for avoiding social media postings that could be potentially perceived as improper. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

谁更愿意购买绿色产品？认识绿色消费者

绿色消费虽然备受关注但消费者积极性却不高,这可能和个体差异性有关。为了考察绿色消费的积极性,本研究从个体差异的视角出发,引入购买时间距离这一变量,以揭示面对绿色产品的矛盾性消费者究竟更愿现在购买还是将来,决策模式是否会存在个体差异。研究发现,时间距离调节绿色消费观与产品购买意愿的关系,而产品价值感知部分中介了该调节作用。具体来说,绿色消费者不会受到时间框定的影响,而非绿色消费者则表现出时间框定效应即更倾向于在将来而不是现在购买绿色产品;这是因为绿色消费观以自上而下的方式影响绿色消费者动机加工,使绿色产品的价值感知较为稳定,而非绿色消费者的价值感知则根据购买时间距离的不同而变化。研究结果说明在生态文明建设日益紧迫的当下培育个体绿色消费观具有重要的意义。     

谁更愿意购买绿色产品？认识绿色消费者

绿色消费虽然备受关注但消费者积极性却不高,这可能和个体差异性有关。为了考察绿色消费的积极性,本研究从个体差异的视角出发,引入购买时间距离这一变量,以揭示面对绿色产品的矛盾性消费者究竟更愿现在购买还是将来,决策模式是否会存在个体差异。研究发现,时间距离调节绿色消费观与产品购买意愿的关系,而产品价值感知部分中介了该调节作用。具体来说,绿色消费者不会受到时间框定的影响,而非绿色消费者则表现出时间框定效应即更倾向于在将来而不是现在购买绿色产品;这是因为绿色消费观以自上而下的方式影响绿色消费者动机加工,使绿色产品的价值感知较为稳定,而非绿色消费者的价值感知则根据购买时间距离的不同而变化。研究结果说明在生态文明建设日益紧迫的当下培育个体绿色消费观具有重要的意义。     

The Mere‐Measurement Effect: Why Does Measuring Intentions Change Actual Behavior?

Recent research has demonstrated that merely measuring an individual's purchase intentions changes his or her subsequent behavior in the market. Several different alternative explanations have been proposed to explain why this “mere‐measurement effect” occurs. However, these explanations have not been tested to date. The purpose of this article is to test several competing explanations for why measuring general intentions to purchase (e.g., How likely are you to buy a car?) changes specific brand‐level behavior (e.g., which specific brand of car is purchased). The results provide a clearer understanding of the cognitive mechanism through which the mere‐measurement effect operates. The results show that when asked to provide general intentions to select a product in a given category, respondents are more likely to choose options toward which they hold positive and accessible attitudes, and are less likely to choose options for which they hold negative and accessible attitudes, compared to a control group of participants who are not asked a general intentions question. These results provide support for the conjecture that asking a general purchase intent question influences behavior by changing the accessibility of attitudes toward specific options in the category.     

预期性思考、自我调节导向与非计划购买

当消费者对非计划购买产生犹豫时,营销者应如何引导他们的购买行为？本文通过准实验与控制实验的方法探究该问题。研究结果显示：（1）营销者可以通过设计预期欣喜和预期后悔信息提高其非计划购买意向;（2）但是预期性思考的有效性还受到消费者自我调节导向的影响：预期欣喜对提高趋利导向消费者的非计划购买意向较有效,预期后悔对提高避害导向消费者的非计划购买意向较有效;（3）预期欣喜和预期后悔通过影响消费者对购买合理性的判断而影响他们的非计划购买意向。     

思维聚焦对发展型文化消费产品购买意愿的影响

本研究探析了消费者的思维聚焦（过程聚焦/结果聚焦）对发展型文化消费产品购买意愿的影响,发现结果聚焦的消费者比过程聚焦的消费者对发展型文化消费产品的购买意愿更强烈。同时,时间距离对这一效应存在调节作用,即时间距离远时,这一效应显著;时间距离近时,思维聚焦对发展型文化消费产品的购买意愿没有显著影响。此外,本研究进一步考察了时间距离较远时,消费者的未来时间洞察力部分中介了思维聚焦对发展型文化消费产品的购买意愿。