Marketplace Advocacy Campaigns: Generating Public Support for Bus ...

(Miller, 2010; Miller & Sinclair, 2009a; Sinclair & Irani, 2005). Surprisingly, many corporations involved in marketplace advocacy have made minimal or no efforts to pretest or measure the impact of their campaign efforts (Burgoon, Pfau, & Birk, 1995). (Several of the campaigns highlighted in chapter 2 demonstrate exceptions to this statement.) Much of what isknown about campaign effectiveness is descriptive in nature, coming from interview research and response rates for requests for information. Given the political nature of marketplace advocacy and the possible ramifications for public policy, an in-depth assessment of marketplace advocacy and its potential influence on audiences is important for both professionals and academic researchers who are interested in understanding the persuasive potential of this form of strategic communication.

Important questions and considerations surround this area of communication. Unlike lobbying, which specifically targets legislators and government officials, marketplace advocacy campaigns are often aimed at the general public. GE’s “Ecomagination” campaign, for example, was designed to reach a broad range of stakeholders, including consumers, corporate customers, investors, lawmakers, and current and future employees (Effie Awards, 2005). Marketplace advocacy advertisements frequently appear during morning and prime-time television news programs, in national newspapers, in popular newsmagazines, on billboards, and in venues such as airports. And communication strategy is not limited to traditional paid advertising. Various public relations techniques are also commonly used, including media relations, sponsorships, and events. If the purpose of marketplace advocacy campaigns is to generate approval for corporate activities and relevant public policy (Arens, 2004; Bostdorff & Vibbert, 1994; Schumann et al., 1991), why target the general public? Is it possible for marketplace advocacy campaigns to engender trust in a business or industry among audiences? Can marketplace advocacy influence public perceptions of a corporation’s actions? How is the end goal of generating approval for the sponsoring corporation or industry accomplished?

This book attempts to answer these questions, examining marketplace advocacy from a panoramic perspective, developing and testing a model