identified several factors that are rather unique to advertising. These include: 1) the repetition of the message; 2) consumer skepticism; 3) message coordination; and 4) the cluttered competitive environment (Nan and Faber 2004). It has been suggested that these characteristics should be the central focus of advertising research. Yet, a review of empirical advertising studies published in the top journals during the past decade shows that that less that 10% of these articles address any of these elements that make advertising messages unique. Unlike the vast preponderance of academic research, the studies reported in this book manage to integrate elements of all of the key variables.
Perhaps the most distinctive feature of advertising is its highly repetitive nature. Advertising typically requires a wear-in period involving several repetitions before positive effects begin to occur. Eventually, as repetition increases, wear-out occurs and negative effects such as irritation begin to dominate. Yet less than 7% of all advertising studies in academic journals include repetition as an independent variable.
Another characteristic that separates strategic communication from other forms of communication is its coordinated use of multiple executions and variations of a campaign theme to influence consumers. While rarely examined in most advertising research, both repetition and ad variation represent key independent variables in the studies reported in this book.
The other distinctive attributes of advertising are the level of skepticism the consumers has for these messages and the cluttered environment in which they compete. Public opinion studies report that over two-thirds of consumers view advertising as untruthful, and this percentage has held constant for over 70 years (Calfee and Ringold 1994). Although people don ’ t trust advertising, they are frequently bombarded with it, creating a cluttered environment for advertising messages. As a result, consumers typically want to avoid these messages. A recent public opinion poll found that over half the respondents indicated they actively try to avoid exposure or attention to advertising (Yankelovich Partners Inc. 2005).