Assessing the cross-cultural applicability of tailored advertising

Abstract

This study compares the effectiveness of tailored advertising in two European Union member states: a longstanding member with a long history of advertising, the Netherlands; and a new member with a shorter advertising tradition, Poland. The positive effects of tailored advertising are hypothesised to be stronger among Polish consumers than among Dutch consumers because of the different advertising traditions in these two countries. A between-subjects experiment is conducted to test individuals’ responses to tailored versus generic advertisements for an unknown face-cream brand. The results show that tailoring is effective in influencing message attitudes, brand attitudes and purchase intentions, but only for Polish consumers. This tailoring effect is mediated by involvement with the message, message relevance and scepticism about the message. These findings suggest that tailored advertising can be used successfully in less marketing-savvy countries such as Poland, but that it may not be effective in more marketing-savvy countries such as the Netherlands.