A strategic response to the financial crisis: an empirical analysis of financial services advertising before and during the financial crisis

Abstract

PurposeThis paper aims to investigate how the US financial services organizations (FSOs) provided marketing information and the way they strategically used various appeals through their advertising before and during the current financial crisis.Design/methodology/approachThis takes the form of a content analysis examining a total of 2,480 financial services ads (FSA) in print magazines within two periods – the two years before the crisis (2005 to 2006) and the two years during the crisis (2007 to 2008).FindingsThis study showed three significant findings: because of the economic struggle, there was a significant decline across the two periods in the total number of yearly FSA; the economic crisis led to a significant increase in the use of informational message strategies across all FSOs; and financial value and atmospherics appeals were predominant after the crisis. However, each FSO used appeals in a different way.Research limitations/implicationsThis study focused on only print media. A future research project aimed at other traditional media such as television and new media such as the internet or weblogs could provide additional analysis of financial advertising strategies.Practical implicationsThe findings of this study suggest that FSOs may rely much more heavily on informational than on transformational approaches during an economic crisis. The findings may provide further valuable implications for non‐profit institutions and international marketers.Originality/valueThis study contributes in several ways to understanding of the strategic communicative reactions of FSOs during the crisis.