Abstract
Developing trust in a product, brand or company is a significant part of building a successful consumer-company relationship. Two-way communication is one of the main factors weighing on the level of consumer trust. Advertising as a communication tool that elicits lots of attention and emotions is a big part of the trust building process. Its character—whether socially responsible or controversial sets a tone for the communication and influences the receptiveness of the message. Companies undertake various efforts to make their messages more attractive to recipients and seek new ways to attract customers’ attention. Many companies experiment with unconventional and controversial advertising designs and tones, as it seems that there is some level of social acceptance for original, emotional and shocking marketing messages. This paper aims to analyze this level of the social acceptance in more detail. The study focuses on the following marketing dilemma: Should companies continue to use socially responsible advertising or should they adopt more controversial or even unethical strategies? The managers of 626 enterprises were interviewed to find out the answer. The research compares controversial advertising efforts with consumers’ evaluations of the messages to which they are exposed.
Highlights
Trust has long been identified as a significant factor of consumer-company relationships [1,2,3]
65.9% of the respondents reported that controversial advertising allowed companies to differentiate themselves from their competitors
Considerations regarding the nature of advertising are complex
Summary
Trust has long been identified as a significant factor of consumer-company relationships [1,2,3]. Reliability and integrity are associated with consistency, competency, honesty, fairness, responsibility, helpfulness and benevolence. This value-based approach is supplemented with Rousseau et al.’s psychological view of the importance of human interactions [5]. They believe that trust is about the intention to accept vulnerability, based on positive expectations of the intentions or behaviors of another. Advertising has become a major element of the socioeconomic development of companies. It is one of the key strategic management tools which support the formation of a competitive position [19]. As managers become more knowledgeable in this respect, they appear to reconsider their marketing strategies and the role of advertising
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
