Decoding demarketing advertising effects through the IMC lens: the role of earned and paid media

Abstract

Green demarketing has received attention as a viable strategy in response to consumers’ demand for sustainable marketing. Only a few studies focused on testing demarketing at the product level. This study tested the synergistic effects of earned and paid media as part of the overarching company’s integrated marketing communications (IMC) efforts. Company background information, such as CSR activity magnitude appearing in press releases, CSR credibility from third-party organizations, and publicity congruency along with advertising was tested to gauge how consumers thread a company’s demarketing efforts. In Study 1, higher CSR credibility increased advertising performance for green and demarketing advertising under certain conditions (i.e. smaller CSR activity magnitude and demarketing advertising; larger CSR activity magnitude and green advertising). Further, perceived company integrity was a significant mediator that drove consumer ratings. Study 2 found that when demarketing publicity is shown first, a follow-up demarketing (vs. green) ad is crucial in increasing perceived congruency, contributing to more positive downstream effects. Demarketing strategies can potentially positively impact society while building a positive consumer relationship. The current study continues this critical line of research by testing its effect in conjunction with other company background information to identify further important IMC elements that might influence the success of demarketing strategies.