Abstract
Researchers and marketers have been showing more interest in the areas of green product attributes. They found that consumers usually associate low quality with green products. Little is known about how to design a green message and how to present product attributes in the advertisement. The objective of this study is to examine the different impacts of message content (single vs. double message) and message order (green message presented first vs. later) on green brand attitude in green advertisement, and its moderating effects by its central and peripheral attributes. Two 2 × 2 experimental between-subjects designs were utilized to test the hypotheses. The results of Study 1 indicate that after consumers watched the double-message advertisement, they formed a significantly more positive green brand attitude toward the product compared to watching a single-message advertisement. The product attributes demonstrated their moderating effects on the above result. The central attribute expanded the difference between the double message and single message, but the peripheral attribute diluted the double-message effect. Study 2 examined the order effect in the double-message advertisement, and we found that presenting the green message first instead of later was the most effective method to persuade consumers. However, this effect was only significant when the green attribute of the product is the central attribute. The peripheral attribute would decrease the order effect in the double-message format. Implications and recommendations for future research are provided at the end of this paper.
Highlights
Consumers around the globe have been paying more attention to eco-friendliness and environmental protection when they are choosing the products to buy
The objective of this study is to examine the different impacts of message content and message order on green brand attitude in green advertisement, and its moderating effects by its central and peripheral attributes
Study 2 examined the order effect in the double-message advertisement, and we found that presenting the green message first instead of later was the most effective method to persuade consumers
Summary
Consumers around the globe have been paying more attention to eco-friendliness and environmental protection when they are choosing the products to buy. In response to this trend, numerous branded companies have either introduced new “green” products, added “green attributes” to their current products, or replaced conventional attributes with green attributes. Consumers may have the desire to use and purchase eco-friendly products; they may be concerned about green products having inferior quality, and as a result the actual purchase does not happen because of this hesitation Researchers consider this gap as the “green negative effect” or sustainable liability [7,9,10].
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