A smile – the key to everybody’s heart?

Abstract

Purpose This paper aims to investigate how to improve the effectiveness of charitable advertising by matching emotional appeal (happy-faced vs sad-faced beneficiary) and message framing (recognition vs request) within advertising messages. Design/methodology/approach Two experiments examining real donation allocations were conducted. Study 1 established the “match-up” effect between advertising image and message. Study 2 replicated the findings of Study 1 as well as testing the mediating role of hope and sympathy. Findings The authors provide empirical evidence that consumers allocate a greater donation amount to a charity when they see an image of a sad-faced child combined with a request message (e.g. “please donate”), or an image of a happy-faced child combined with a recognition message (e.g. “thank you”). Notably, these effects are mediated by the emotions of hope and sympathy, respectively. Research limitations/implications This research highlights the importance of matching images of beneficiaries with the appropriate advertising copy. Depending on whether a charity seeks to position itself in a positive perspective to evoke hope, or alternatively, portray itself in relation to a sadder landscape that elicits sympathy, the respective choice of recognition or request messages can help boost donation outcomes. Practical implications Charities and non-profit organizations can develop more effective charitable advertising by purposively matching specific emotional appeals and message framings when designing advertisements. Originality/value The research illustrates a novel mechanism that shows when and how combining image and message can influence the effectiveness of charitable advertising.