Imitation as the sincerest form of ignorance
Purpose – This paper aims to note the imitation of apparently successful advertising as a replacement for thought by too many advertisers, misapplying the tactics of what seem to be past successes by other companies to current situations, sometimes not even attempting to find insight relevant to the current advertising situation. Imitation of what may be lucky accidents has become a tool for improper applications of old tactics to new problems.Design/methodology/approach – Noting the frequent pronouncements by business journalists that many businesses do things because they know they “work,” the reality is that even among marketing professionals, conventional wisdom is often, at best, an oxymoron.Findings – The pragmatic business need is to analyze new situations and consumer interests.Originality/value – The paper shows that, since advertising decisions are often the recommendations from outside suppliers, business managers who pay for this advice must realize that past success by others does not mean th...
The Stealth Influence of Covert Marketing and Much Ado about what May be Nothing
Most discussions of covert marketing stem from three basic statements: (1) People are generally skeptical of any business-provided sources of information, so publicity or even random endorsements by strangers on the street might provide consumers with more persuasive sales messages; (2) advertising creators repeatedly say that they need to “break out” from the increasingly cluttered mass media environment; and (3) news reports of any pervasive marketing activity include a direct assertion, or at least an implicit presumption, that business managers do it because they know it “works.” Management decisions to use any covert marketing tactic are driven by the first two beliefs, and public policy worries of its improper or deceptive influence on consumers flow from the third. However, most covert marketing efforts are undertaken with professional uncertainty of whether anything really works as they create new areas of consumer skepticism and even more commercial clutter.
MOVING INTERNATIONAL ADVERTISING RESEARCH FORWARD : A New Research Agenda
In introducing the special issue on international advertising, this paper assesses progress made in international research. It begins with an examination of the content of international advertising papers published in the Journal of Advertising during the past ten years. The content of these more recent research articles is then compared to those that appeared earlier in the Journal's history. This paper also surveys four earlier reviews of the international advertising literature and assesses whether issues posed in the reviews have been adequately addressed. A new agenda for international advertising researchers is offered, consisting of eight research questions and some admonitions relating to data collection and collaboration among researchers. The contributions of papers in this issue are then detailed in the context of the proposed research agenda.