| Chapter 2: | Background And Web Ad Effects Model |
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Figure 2.2. Examples of Informational and Transformational Web Advertising
A positively framed message emphasizes the advantages or potential benefits resulting from the purchase or use of the product (or brand). For instance, Thrifty.com placed a banner ad on Yahoo, stating “For our lowest rate on a great car … go Thrifty” and emphasized the consumers’ benefit (e.g., lowest rate) from choosing Thrifty.com. Meanwhile, a negatively framed message highlights the potential losses if the product (or brand) is not chosen (Shiv, Edell, & Payne, 1997). An example is another banner advertisement for Thrifty.com placed on Yahoo, which stated, “Paying too much someplace else … Well, that might” and then highlighted the disadvantages of choosing other rental car companies.
For more than two decades, researchers have argued about how message framing influences consumers’ ad processing and their behaviors. The theoretical base for a series of research studies is derived from prospect theory (Kahneman & Tversky, 1979), which suggests that consumers are risk–averse when encountering positively framed messages, while they are risk–prone when confronting negatively framed messages (Tversky & Kahneman, 1981, 1991).