Stafford, M., Itai Himelboim, Walter, D. & Ophir, Y. (Accepted). The Evolution of the Advertising Discipline Through Four Decades: A Machine Learning Scope Analysis of Themes, Topics and Methods. International Journal of Advertising.
Abstract: Over the past forty years, what we, as a discipline, define as advertising research has been negotiated through our primary scholastic contribution to the field: peer reviewed journal articles. The question “what is advertising research?” may produce different answers by different scholars during various points of the history of our field. The goal of this study is to identify key developments in advertising research — themes, topics, and methods — over the last four decades (1980-2020), as published by the leading general advertising journals: International Journal of Advertising, Journal of Advertising, Journal of Advertising Research, and (Journal of) Current Issues and Research in Advertising. We use a combination of dictionary methods, qualitative analysis, unsupervised machine learning, and network analysis, to examine the abstracts of all journal articles published during that time (N = 6,084) and identify thematic dynamics in theoretical and methodological foci over time. We explain the evolution of the discipline by identifying trends and changes, areas with both growing and declining research emphasis, and subsequently draw conclusions for the future of the field.
Sun Joo (Grace) Ahn, Jooyoung Kim & Jaemin Kim (Grady PhD student) (in press). “The bifold triadic relationships framework: A theoretical primer for advertising research in the metaverse.” Journal of Advertising, 50th Anniversary Special Issue.
Abstract: The concept of the metaverse was first coined in the science fiction novel Snow Crash published almost 30 years ago, serving as the pre-genesis concept of the next groundbreaking development in communication and technology fields for several decades. Today, the concept of the metaverse is complicated and often discussed as a multi-dimensional notion, generally referring to multiple interconnected virtual worlds where large numbers of users can simultaneously interact in embodied form. In this essay, we propose the Bifold Triadic Relationships Model to help advertising scholars understand how advertising may work in the metaverse and to guide future research endeavors. Although the metaverse as a concept has yet to take form, we hope that this primer presents a clearer layout of how advertising can be studied at the unit level of triadic relationships among consumer, media, and engagement behaviors in the metaverse space. Using what we know thus far about immersive virtual environments and how they relate to advertising practice and scholarship, the present essay serves as an impetus for new directions in advertising theory and research in the metaverse in the years to come.
Abstract: This paper aims to investigate the effect of matching social distance (proximal vs. distant) and the visual rhetoric style (literal vs. metaphorical) of the threatful outcome of texting while driving in persuading young drivers. To this end, this research conducts a series of 2 (social distance frame: close vs. distant) × 2 (visual rhetoric style: literal vs. metaphorical) online experiments on the perspective of construal level theory. This study identified that a fit between social distance and visual rhetoric style of the threat enhances the effect of a social marketing campaign targeting young adults. A message framed in terms of socially proximal entities shows a favorable impact on young drivers’ threat perception and behavioral intention when the visual rhetoric depicts the threats of texting while driving more concrete. On the other hand, more distant social entities in the message show a better impact when the threats are visualized in metaphor. This paper enhances the understanding of threat appeal message design by adding empirical evidence of matching visual rhetoric style and social distance. The findings provide theoretical and practical implications for social marketing campaigns, regarding the strategic tailoring of messages, particularly in PSAs that discourage texting while driving on young adults.
Abstract: Despite the increasing application of consumer neuroscience in advertising research in both academia and industry, many misconceptions about neuroscience research and data persist. One of the challenges for the consumer neuroscience researcher is dispelling these misconceptions for key stakeholders. In this panel, we will address some of these misconceptions with a focus on translating consumer neuroscience knowledge to new biopsychological researchers (i.e., faculty and students) and industry partners. This panel aspires to enhance the accessibility of consumer neuroscience research among advertising scholars in research, teaching, and service. Our expert panelists will discuss topics such as what neuroscience data actually tell us and how it can be used to complement self-report data, conducting web-based biometric research, managing expectations of industry partners, navigating timelines necessary to collect neuroscience data while adhering to important deadlines (such as tenure), and the increasing ease of use and decreasing expense of these measures that will allow more advertising researchers to employ such innovative research approaches.
Eun Sook Kwon, (Grady PhD, Rochester Institute of Technology), Karen Whitehill King (University of Georgia), Greg Nyilasy (Grady PhD, University of Melbourne) and Leonard N. Reid (University of Georgia), (2019). Impact of Media Context on Advertising Memory: A Meta-Analysis of Advertising Effectiveness. Journal of Advertising Research, 59 (1) 99-128.
Abstract: Media professionals and scholars have examined the influence of media context on advertising effectiveness for more than 50 years, but clarity regarding media-context effects remains lacking, amid an abundance of mixed results. This study used meta-analysis to investigate the relationship between media context and advertising memory in quantitative studies up to 2013. Effect sizes were significant by media-context factors, advertising memory measures, and study characteristics, although these were correlated weakly or moderately. The findings strongly reinforce the decision rule that media professionals should consider media context when making media decisions.
