How to Implement Informational and Emotional Appeals in Print Advertisements: A Framework for Choosing Ad Appeals Based on Advertisers' Objectives and Targeted Demographics

Abstract

Advertising nudges consumers along several steps to purchase, and each step necessitates that advertisers set different objectives and message strategy. This study offers a framework for the appropriate choice of advertising appeals based on advertisers’ objectives and target group demographics. The study differentiates magazine advertisements’ effects for five marketing objectives along the hierarchy-of-effect model, while accounting for moderating effects of age and gender. Results show that emotional appeals are superior to informational appeals for most marketing objectives, but not for achieving integration into the evoked set. Consumers’ age and gender significantly influence the effects of advertising appeals and reveal interaction effects.