DOI QR코드

DOI QR Code

Warmth Paradox: The Interplay of Warmth Ad Exposure Contexts and Construal Levels on Consumer Responses

  • Taemin Kim (Department of Media and Communication, Incheon National University) ;
  • SoYoung, Lee (Department of Journalism, Public Relations, and Advertising, Soongsil University)
  • Received : 2024.07.24
  • Accepted : 2024.08.06
  • Published : 2024.09.30

Abstract

This study investigates the conditions under which the compensation effect occurs in advertising, focusing on the influence of warmth messages on consumer perceptions and responses. By comparing single-ad and comparative ad exposure contexts, the research reveals how warmth messages affect perceived brand competence and the intention to like ads. High warmth messages, when viewed in a comparative ad setting, lead to lower perceived brand competence compared to a single-ad setting, emphasizing the need for strategic message placement in competitive environments. The study further explores how consumers' construal levels-whether considering near-future or distant-future purchase decisions-moderate these effects. The negative impact of high warmth messages on perceived competence is amplified in a comparative context at low construal levels, while high construal levels mitigate this negative impact. These results provide both theoretical and practical insights, highlighting the importance of ad context and construal level in advertising strategies.

Keywords

References

  1. S. Lee, and T. Kim, "How Warmth Advertising Appeals and Consumers' Styles of Thinking Shape Brand Evaluations and Forgiveness in a Product Harm Crisis Situation," The Korean Journal of Advertising and Public Relations, Vol. 23, No. 3, pp. 5-36, 2021. DOI: https://doi.org/10.15830/kjic.2021.23.3.5
  2. C. Peter, and M. Ponzi, "The risk of omitting warmth or competence information in ads: Advertising strategies for hedonic and utilitarian brand types," Journal of Advertising Research, Vol. 58, No. 4, pp. 423-432, 2018. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2501/JAR-2018-040
  3. M. Zawisza, and C. Pittard, "When do warmth and competence sell best? The 'golden quadrant' shifts as a function of congruity with the product type, targets' individual differences, and advertising appeal type," Basic and Applied Social Psychology, Vol. 37, No. 2, pp. 131-141, 2015. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/01973533.2015.1012284
  4. S. Rosenberg, C. Nelson, and P. S. Vivekananthan, "A multidimensional approach to the structure of personality impressions," Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Vol. 9, No. 4, pp. 283, 1968. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/h0026086
  5. S. T. Fiske, "Stereotype content: Warmth and competence endure," Current Directions in Psychological Science, Vol. 27, No. 2, pp. 67-73, 2018. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0963721417738825
  6. A. E. Abele, and B. Wojciszke, "Agency and communion from the perspective of self versus others," Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Vol. 93, No. 5, pp. 751, 2007. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.93.5.751
  7. D. S. Holoien, and S. T. Fiske, "Downplaying positive impressions: Compensation between warmth and competence in impression management," Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, Vol. 49, No. 1, pp. 33-41, 2013. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2012.09.001
  8. N. Kervyn, V. Y. Yzerbyt, C. M. Judd, and A. Nunes, "A question of compensation: the social life of the fundamental dimensions of social perception," Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Vol. 96, No. 4, pp. 828, 2009. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/a0013323
  9. N. Kervyn, C. M. Judd, and V. Y. Yzerbyt, "You want to appear competent? Be mean! You want to appear sociable? Be lazy! Group differentiation and the compensation effect," Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, Vol. 45, No. 2, pp. 363-367, 2009. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2008.08.002
  10. T. Kim, and J. G. Ball, "Unintended consequences of warmth appeals: an extension of the compensation effect between warmth and competence to advertising," Journal of Advertising, Vol. 50, No. 5, pp. 622-638, 2021. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00913367.2021.1940393
  11. J. L. Aaker, E. N. Garbinsky, and K. D. Vohs, "Cultivating admiration in brands: Warmth, competence, and landing in the 'golden quadrant'," Journal of Consumer Psychology, Vol. 22, No. 2, pp. 191-194, 2012. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcps.2011.11.007
  12. T. Kim, and J. Kim, "How spatial distance and message strategy in cause-related marketing ads influence consumers' ad believability and attitudes," Sustainability, Vol. 13, No. 12, pp. 6775, 2021. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/su13126775
  13. C. I. Tsai, and A. L. McGill, "No pain, no gain? How fluency and construal level affect consumer confidence," Journal of Consumer Research, Vol. 37, No. 5, pp. 807-821, 2011. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1086/656570
  14. J. Jung, S. W. Shim, H. S. Jin, and H. Khang, "Factors affecting attitudes and behavioural intention towards social networking advertising: a case of Facebook users in South Korea," International Journal of Advertising, Vol. 35, No. 2, pp. 248-265, 2016. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/02650487.2015.1021892