Comics as product placement vehicles within the advertising mix:
Effects of modality of comics, narrative transportation and persuasion knowledge on attitude towards the brand.
Lucas Lepoitevin 10841857
Master’s Thesis
Graduate School of Communication - Persuasive Communication
Supervisor: Dr. Daniel G. Muntinga
Abstract
Although dramatically ignored by advertising research, practice shows that comics can be a salient medium for brand integration. The rich characteristics they offer might be a door to novel product placement strategies targeting unique audiences. This study intends to examine the effectiveness of product placements in comics as well as the possible underlying factors mediating this effectiveness. In an online experiment (N = 117), we compare attitudes generated by placements in comic books to attitudes generated by placements in animated comics. Our results show no difference with respect to brand attitude elicited. In addition, narrative transportation and persuasion knowledge do not seem to mediate this relationship. We also compare the results obtained for product placements in comics to attitudes generated through traditional advertising. We find that traditional ads result in higher attitudes towards the brand than product placements in comics. Moreover, the results suggest that this relationship is not mediated by persuasion knowledge. Overall, this study provides theoretical insights into the persuasive scope of comics as a branded entertainment vehicle.
Introduction
Product placement, the paid integration of a product or a brand in multimedia editorial content (Karrh, 1998), may have historically started with the book Around the World in Eighty Days (1873) when the writer, Jules Verne, was solicited by transport and shipping companies and is believed to have included mentions in the text (Butcher, 1995; Gupta, 2009). Ever since, product placement has become the fastest-growing segment of branded entertainment, with global revenues increasing 13.6% in 2014 to $10.58 billion (Quinn, 2015). As entertaining content is now broadcasted through multiple vehicles, branded entertainment has spread across a wide variety of media. Advertisers are consequently acknowledging the potential of product placements in the multimedia campaign mix (Hudson & Hudson, 2006). Because brand placements are easily adaptable to the content they are
embedded in, they can potentially be featured in any sort of editorial content. For instance placements have been integrated into video games (Glass, 2007), music (De Gregorio & Sung, 2009), literature (Nelson, 2004) but also comics (Muntinga, Wilmer & Boerman, 2015).
Comics have recently seen an increase in the brand integrations they contain (Stanton, 2013). They offer a unique setting for product placements as they combine narrativity with different modalities, internal pacing (Muntinga et al., 2015), high involvement and participation of the readers (Chute, 2008; Green & Brock, 2000). Because of this unique set of characteristics, comics are possibly a highly persuasive vehicle for branded entertainment (Muntinga et al., 2015). The fairly common use of brand integrations in comic books in practice demonstrates its capital value to advertisers. For example recently, Marvel’s Avengers conspicuously used Harley Davidson motorbikes over the course of one volume, while DC Comics’ Justice League held a similar partnership with Subway sandwiches (Stanton, 2013). Additionally, the comic book market is booming. In 2014, the total sales of comics in North America reached $935 million with a 7% increase over sales in 2013 (Griep, 2015). As the comic industry matures, it is starting to catch up with the branded landscape of the movie industry, which will increasingly attract the interest of advertisers. However, to this day, academic research on product placement in comics remains scarce (see Muntinga et al., 2015).
With this in mind, this study has three aims. First, we compare the effectiveness of product placement in different comic types. More specifically, we investigate the influence of modality of comics for product placement (i.e. comic books vs. animated comics) on brand evaluations. While studies on the impact of modality of presentation on attitudes have received extensive academic attention (Lehnert, 1981; Posner, Nissen, & Klein, 1976; Russell, 2002), further investigation regarding product placement effectiveness in different
comic types is needed. We propose that differences in generated brand attitudes can be expected because of the intrinsic differences in modality. Second, we leverage the effectiveness of product placements in comics in comparison to traditional advertising. Because the persuasive potential of product placement in comics remains unclear, it appears important to put them in perspective with traditional ads, which have been extensively scrutinized in contrast to product placement in television and movies (Balasubramanian, Karrh, & Patwardhan, 2006; Karrh, McKee, & Pardun, 2003; Russell, 1998), and video games (Van Reijmersdal, Rozendaal, & Buijzen, 2012). In this respect, we examine the extent to which product placement in comics (i.e. both print and audiovisual) can affect brand attitudes compared to print advertising. Third, this research considers the mediating role of two relevant factors in the area of product placement effectiveness, namely narrative transportation (Avramova, De Pelsmacker, & Dens, 2016; Green & Bock, 2000; Slater & Rouner, 2002) and persuasion knowledge (Friestad & Wright, 1994; Van Reijmersdal et al., 2012; Wright, 2002). In other words, the present study explores the extent to which modality of comics for product placement can affect brand attitudes, while taking into account the mediating effect of persuasion knowledge and narrative transportation, and investigates how effective comics are as a product placement vehicle in relation to traditional advertising, while assessing the mediating role of persuasion knowledge.
In the next section, a literature review on the influence of modality in predicting product placement effectiveness in comics is provided and put into perspective with traditional advertising. A close look at the underlying factors influencing this effectiveness will lead to a hypotheses development.
Theoretical background
Characteristics and modalities of comics
Comics are defined by Hayman and Pratt (2005, p. 423) as “a sequence of discrete, juxtaposed pictures that comprise a narrative, either in their own right or when combined with text”. This crossbreed medium is therefore a combination of pictorial and textual information involving verbal narrative processing on the one hand, and graphic narrative processing, on the other (Pratt, 2009). In addition to cognitively processing textual information, readers have to understand the relationship between the images in sequence (Chute, 2008). And because they deal with movement, sound, depth, and time, comics require high levels of involvement from the readers (Muntinga et al., 2015). This combination of high involvement and complementary modalities is likely to make messages carried in comics highly persuasive. Although the educative and communicative potential of comics has been addressed in other fields such as pedagogy (Tatalovic, 2009) or medicine (Green & Myers, 2010), advertising research has generally disregarded comics as considerable conveyers of persuasive messages.
Interestingly, the movement implied by the images and strips is making comic books comparable to audiovisual media; yet they remain an elaborate form of print medium. Consequently, one might expect that comics work differently than movies, and therefore produce dissimilar outcomes with regards to integrated advertising. While comic books present favorable characteristics for branded communications, comic videos may be even more persuasive. Audiovisual media provide viewers with a richer combination of modalities. They present moving images with audio support and may contain textual information, while comic books only present visual and (often) textual information.
The persuasive potential of product placement in comics: effects of modality and pacing. It is generally accepted that advertising effectiveness is impacted by the medium and the context in which the message is featured (De Pelsmacker, Geuens & Anckaert, 2002; Moorman, Neijens & Smit, 2002; Yi, 1990). Norris and Colman (1992, p. 38) suggest that "the same source presenting the same message to the same audience on separate occasions may lead to different effects" depending on message variables. In this regard, the effectiveness of product placements observed in audiovisual media may not be transposed to print media and comics because these media are dissimilar on several dimensions. Differences in brand evaluations can therefore be expected because of the influence of distinct media characteristics such as modality and pacing.
In her study on modalities of presentation, Russell (2002) found that the auditory and visual channels differed in the amount of meaning they transferred. Because it carries the script of the audiovisual program, auditory information is perceived as more meaningful than visual information. These media characteristics are important because meaningful information is processed more thoroughly, generating deeper elaboration into the viewer’s cognitive structure and thus having a greater impact on affective outcomes (Lehnert, 1981). Because it gives indications on how much meaning a stimulus conveys, modality of presentation will therefore be critical in predicting brand attitudes generated by product placements. In this regards, Posner, Nissen and Klein (1976) suggest that auditory information is highly prominent and may be perceived as more obtrusive than visual information, subsequently being detrimental for brand evaluations. However, in a similar line of research, Wright (1974) found that print information generated more elaboration than auditory information. These findings can be ascribed to the differences in pacing (i.e. the reader’s ability to control the speed of information flow; Smit, 1999). In other words, the opportunity to cognitively process the information and develop arguments is greater with print than with auditory or audiovisual
messages. In this respect, Moorman et al. (2002) suggest that both print and audiovisual media differ in terms of audience use and information processing. Comic books are so-called search media with internal pacing, characterized by the ability for readers to control the speed and time of the exposure and information transfer. In contrast, audiovisual media, including animated comics, offer external pacing, displaying information without the opportunity for the audience to control the speed and moment of exposure (Smit, 1999). Pacing may therefore elicit differences in the depth of processing of the editorial content carrying product placements. Consequently, a longer time of exposure might increase the likelihood of generating counterarguments, which will subsequently hinder brand evaluations.
Based on these insights, we propose that because of inherent differences in modality and pacing, product placements in animated comics will lead to higher brand evaluations than product placements in comic books. Therefore, we hypothesize:
H1: Product placements in animated comics (i.e. audiovisual media) will elicit more positive brand attitudes than product placements in comic books (i.e. print media).
The mediating role of Narrative Transportation in explaining the differences between attitudes generated by product placements in comic books and animated comics.
Green and Bock (2000) described narrative transportation as people’s absorption into a story. Narrative transportation involves mental imagery, affective and cognitive responses, attentional focus and suspension of disbelief. According to the transportation-imagery model (Green & Brock, 2000, 2002; Slater & Rouner, 2002), high levels of transportation engender narrative elaboration, which will result in greater mental imagery and cognitive processing of the story-relevant information. Because transportation is related to belief and attitude change, it is important to distinguish between narrative transportation and analytical elaboration (Green & Bock, 2000; Petty & Cacioppo, 1986). Whereas analytical elaboration implies
critical attention to major points of an argument, which might foster criticism (Petty & Cacioppo, 1986), transportation is an immersion into the editorial content. As mentioned by Graesser, Robertson and Anderson (1981), it is also important to differentiate intensity of involvement with a narrative and cognitive involvement with an “information-dense” message, like a product placement. Therefore, under conditions of high narrative transportation, people’s cognitive elaboration focuses on the narrative, diminishing the likelihood that the persuasive nature of a product placement is identified. As a result, brand placements will be merely seen as a part of the story (Mazzocco, Green, Sasota, & Jones, 2010; Slater & Rouner, 2002). Under low transportation on the contrary, people will engage in analytical elaboration and therefore process the commercial information independently from the story (Avramova et al., 2016). In other words, lower levels of narrative transportation will result in deeper processing, increased counter arguing and the hindering of attitude change likelihood.
Based on this reasoning, we expect that animated comics, because of their absorbing properties and richer combination of modalities, will lead to significantly higher levels of narrative transportation than comic books, and that these higher levels of narrative transportation result in higher brand attitudes. Thus, we hypothesize as follows:
H2a: The influence of modality of comics for product placement on brand attitude will be mediated by narrative transportation such that audiovisual media will lead to higher levels of narrative transportation than print media, which in turn will result in higher brand attitudes.
The mediating role of Persuasion Knowledge in explaining the differences between brand attitudes generated by product placements in comic books and animated comics.
In their persuasion knowledge model (PKM), Friestad and Wright (1994) suggest that people exposed to an integrated branded message, such as a product placement, might become
suspicious and produce counterarguments. The PKM illustrates the ability for people to develop awareness about persuasion motives and defines how individuals use this ability to evaluate persuasion attempts (Boerman, van Reijmersdal, & Neijens, 2012). Importantly, Friestad and Wright (1994) point out that in order to activate persuasion knowledge people need to recognize the persuasive intent. Moreover, Boerman and colleagues (2012) propose that the acknowledgement of commercial motives in a message will lead to more critical attitudes. This means that persuasion knowledge implies resistance to the persuasive message which in turn will negatively impact attitude towards the brand. If the placement is too obvious or appears for too long, it will attract the attention of the audience, which will increase their likelihood to contemplate the commercial intent of the placement (Boerman et al., 2012; Van Reijmersdal, Rozendaal, & Buijzen, 2012). This activation of persuasion knowledge will then lead to negative attitudes towards the brand (Friestad & Wright, 1994).
Following this line of research, several studies have pointed out the vital role that persuasion knowledge plays when it comes to forming brand attitudes (Lee, 2010; Wei, Fischer & Main, 2008). In product placement settings, viewers will tend to perceive editorial content as a form of entertainment. Consequently, when the content presents an entertaining and involving experience for the audience, critical advertising defenses are less likely to be triggered (Van Reijmersdal et al., 2012; Wright, 2002) which will result in higher brand attitude than when persuasion knowledge is activated.
Highly involving and entertaining content can thus be expected to distract viewers from the persuasive intent of product placements. Comic books are highly entertaining. Yet they appear to be less absorbing than animated movies because of a somewhat less rich association of modalities (Scolari, 2009). More importantly, because of the internal pacing offered by comic books, viewers will have more time to process information, and thus to contemplate the commercial message carried by product placements (Moorman et al., 2002).
Therefore, comic book readers are more likely to develop higher levels of persuasion knowledge than animated movie viewers, resulting in lower attitude towards the brand. We therefore expect that persuasion knowledge will mediate the effects of modality of comics for product placement on attitudes towards the brand. We hypothesize as follows:
H2b: The influence of modality of comics for product placement on brand attitude will be mediated by persuasion knowledge such that print media will lead to higher levels of persuasion knowledge than audiovisual media, which in turn will result in lower brand attitudes.
The influence of product placement in comics on attitude towards the brand in comparison to traditional advertising
In addition to benefiting from meaning transfer from the context in which it is integrated (McCracken, 1989), product placement is generally chosen as a subtler promotional technique than traditional advertising (Russell, 1998). They present a number of characteristics that make them ideal for introducing hidden commercial motives. In their study on audience responses to product placements, Balasubramanian, Karrh and Patwardhan (2006) found that product placements tend to be transformational (indirect messages that depict the meaning and implication of product use) rather than informational (hard-hitting direct messages that give factual and detailed information about the product). On the other hand, traditional ads range over the informational/transformational continuum. In other words, placements mostly rely on the affective component of persuasion (Percy & Rossiter, 1992), whereas traditional ads tend to rely on both the affective and the cognitive component. This means that traditional ads will generate higher levels of cognitive processing than placements, which in turn will increase the likelihood for the audience to develop critical advertising defenses (Van Reijmersdal et al., 2012). That is to say that in addition to eliciting lower levels of cognitive processing, which will reduce the opportunity to produce
counterarguments, product placement will result in stronger effects on affective outcomes than traditional ads.
In their study on ad placement differences, Karrh, McKee and Pardun (2003) found that product placements have a greater impact on program audiences than is typically found with comparable ad exposures. More specifically, Nelson, Keum and Yaros (2004) suggest that consumers tend to express higher attitudes towards placements than towards ads. This can be partly explained by the transfer of positive affect from the program to the placed product (Russell, 1998). As placements are better integrated with editorial content than ads, they produce stronger mood spillover effects (Balasubramanian et al., 2006). In other words, the editorial content will be more likely to positively affect mood and thus brand evaluations in a product placement condition than in an ad condition (Forgas & Moylan, 1987). In this respect, the involving and entertaining properties of comics are likely to elicit positive mood and subsequently to positively affect brand evaluations.
Based on these insights, we suggest that because of differences in cognitive processing and medium-induced mood spillover, product placements in animated comics and comic books will lead to significantly higher brand evaluations than traditional advertisements. We propose:
H3: Product placements in comics (audiovisual and print) will elicit more positive brand attitudes than traditional ads.
The mediating role of Persuasion knowledge in explaining the differences between attitudes generated by product placements in comics and traditional ads.
Because of their integration into editorial content, product placements are usually characterized by a high level of disguise (Van Reijmersdal et al., 2012). Traditional ads on the other hand present conspicuous commercial messages and therefore display low levels of disguise and a great obtrusiveness (Balasubramanian et al., 2006). Therefore, the main
advantage that product placements have over traditional advertising is ascribed to the placement’s hidden motive of persuasion (Bhatnagar, Aksoy, & Malkoc, 2004). The persuasion knowledge model predicts that as soon as an ulterior motive is perceived, persuasion knowledge will be triggered (Friestad & Wright, 1994; 1995). In the case of product and brand placements, viewers will tend to perceive the editorial content as a form of entertainment. In this fashion, as Wright (2002) remarked, when the content presents an entertaining setting for the viewers (or readers), critical advertising defenses will presumably not be activated. Therefore, the inherent integrated nature of persuasive messages in product placements will make them less inclined to trigger persuasion knowledge than ads, and subsequently to negatively affect brand attitude. Similarly, Daugherty (2005) proposes that because the audience’s attention is focused on the programming content, the commercial information carried by product placements will be of second order, reducing the risk of criticism.
In this respect, the highly entertaining and involving nature of comics is expected to distract viewers from the persuasive intent of product placements, resulting in higher attitude towards the brand than in a traditional ad setting. We propose that persuasion knowledge will mediate the effects of advertising technique on attitudes towards the brand:
H4: The influence of advertising technique on brand attitude will be mediated by persuasion knowledge such that traditional ads will activate higher levels of persuasion knowledge than product placements in animated movies and comic books, which in turn will result in lower brand attitudes.
Figure 1. Conceptual model.
Method Study design, participants and procedure
To test our hypotheses, an online experiment with a between-subject design was chosen. Participants were randomly assigned to one of the three conditions (namely “product placement in video”, “product placement in comic book” and “traditional ad”) and, immediately after exposure, asked to fill out a questionnaire. A total of 250 people were contacted using non-probability sampling through the researcher’s social networks. 179 of these started the online experiment on a voluntary basis of which 51 did not finish the questionnaire. Additionally, because the stimuli presented content in English via auditory or textual channels, 11 participants were removed because they reported low levels of English (i.e. lower than the median (4) on a 5-point Likert scale anchored by 1 (= low) and 5 (= high)). The data of 117 respondents remained and was used to test our hypotheses. The average age was 25.53 years old (SD = 5.22), 59% were female, for a total of 35 nationalities on five continents. 37 respondents were randomly assigned to the product placement in video condition. 33 were randomly assigned to the product placement in comic book condition. 47
were randomly assigned to the traditional ad condition. The experiment took about ten minutes to complete in the two product placement conditions and about five minutes in the traditional ad condition.
Stimulus Development
In order to enhance ecological validity, the stimuli were taken from existing real life examples (see appendix A, B & C). For better internal control, this study employed an extract from the comic book The Twelve Tasks of Asterix (Goscinny & Uderzo, 1976) in the comic book condition, and the same scene from the eponymous animated movie (Goscinny & Uderzo, 1976) in the video condition. The comic book and the movie are identical with the exception of the format (i.e. print vs. video). This way we made sure there was no difference in the content in which the placement is embedded.
Importantly, a prior mere exposure to the brand can generate preliminary brand attitudes that are persistent and may resist stimulus-induced attitude change (Chaudhuri & Buck, 1995; Zajonc, 1968). Therefore, this study used the brand name mentioned in the original story (i.e. Olympus, a laundry detergent), which does not exist in real life, making it an appropriate unfamiliar product that will not be affected by mere exposure.
In the scene used in the experiment, one of the characters conspicuously presents a laundry detergent in the manner of an advertisement satire. The placement is therefore highly prominent, with a visual foreground appearance combined with several mentions and use by the characters. The appearance of the product was manipulated in both print and video in order to look like a real brand (See appendix A & B).
In the traditional ad condition, an existing laundry detergent ad created for the brand Persil was edited to showcase the brand name and product Olympus (see appendix C). The video lasted about five minutes, the same scene in the comic book consisted of three full
pages for an approximate reading time of two minutes, and the traditional ad presented a plain one-pager ad where participants were required to look at for at least 20 seconds.
Measures
Narrative transportation. Narrative transportation was measured with Green and Brock’s (2000) eleven-item Narrative Transportation Scale (see Appendix D), with all items measured on a seven-point Likert scale anchored by strongly disagree (= 1) and strongly agree (= 7). A principal component analysis using varimax rotation revealed that the eleven items loaded on four factors (Factor 1: Eigenvalue = 2.60, explained variance = 23.61%; Factor 2: Eigenvalue = 2.13, explained variance = 19.38%; Factor 3: Eigenvalue = 1.40, explained variance = 12.70%; Factor 4: Eigenvalue = 1.17, explained variance = 10.67%). A reliability analysis was conducted on the five items loading on factor 1 (“While I was attending the proposed content/story, I could easily picture the events in it taking place”; “I could picture myself in the scene of the events described in the narrative”; “I was mentally involved in the narrative while reading/attending it”; “I wanted to learn how the story ended”; and “I found myself thinking of ways the narrative could have turned out differently”). The reliability coefficient was acceptable (Cronbach’s α = .66; George & Mallery, 2003) and these five items were computed to form the narrative transportation scale (M = 4.62, SD = 1.12).
Brand attitude. Brand attitude was measured with Spears and Singh’s (2004) five-item brand attitude scale (see Appendix E), all measured on seven-point Likert scales anchored by strongly disagree (= 1) and strongly agree (= 7). A principal component analysis revealed that the items loaded on one factor (Eigenvalue = 3.34, explained variance = 66.79%, Cronbach’s α = .87). (M = 5.16; SD = .98).
Persuasion knowledge. Persuasion knowledge was measured based on Ohanian’s source trustworthiness scale (Ohanian, 1990) (see Appendix F). All five items were measured on a seven-point Likert scale anchored by strongly disagree (= 1) and strongly agree (= 7). A
principal component analysis revealed that the items loaded on two factors (Factor 1: Eigenvalue = 2.39, explained variance = 39.88%; Factor 2: Eigenvalue = 1.23, explained variance = 20.43%). Moreover, the scale was not sufficiently reliable (Cronbach’s α = .34). Therefore this scale could not be used to measure persuasion knowledge. An additional question aiming to evaluate conceptual persuasion knowledge (Boerman et al., 2012) was also measured by asking participants to indicate on a 7-point Likert scale (1 = strongly disagree, 7 = strongly agree) to what extent they thought the comic, video or image was an advertisement (M = 5.72, SD = 1.49). According to Rossiter (2011), a single-item indicator such as this one-item scale is sufficient to measure a concrete, singular object. Therefore Ohanian scale was disregarded for this study and the single-item conceptual persuasion knowledge scale was used instead.
Control variables
A number of control variables were measured to make sure that effects of product placements and traditional ads on attitude towards the brand were not caused by other differences between the experimental groups. All items were measured on seven-point Likert scales anchored by strongly disagree (= 1) and strongly agree (= 7). The following variables were measured: familiarity with the comic series Asterix (M = 5.40; SD = 2.15), likeability of the comic series Asterix (M = 5.44; SD = 1.61), likeability of comics in general (M = 4.86; SD = 1.60), familiarity with the episode presented (M = 2.36; SD = 1.96), likeability of the episode presented (M = 4.87; SD = 1.59) (Boerman et al., 2012). Furthermore, because the stimuli for the product placement conditions were in English while the sample was drawn from an international population, we measured participants’ English proficiency on a five-point scale (1 = low, 5 = high) (M = 4.71; SD = .46). Finally, age, gender, nationality and education were measured.
Results Randomization
The experimental groups did not differ with respect to sex, χ2 (2) = 1.22, p = .543, age, F(2, 114) = .83, p = .438; familiarity with the comic series Asterix, t(68) = .35, p = .724; likeability of the comic series Asterix, t(68) = 1.29, p = .203; likeability of comics in general, t(68) = - 1.95, p = .055; familiarity with the episode presented, t(68) = - 0.03, p = .979; likeability of the episode presented, t(68) = - 1.09, p = .278; and English proficiency, F(2, 114) = .04, p = .966. Therefore, the randomization was successful. We included these measures as control variables in our analyses, to make sure they did not impede the effects.
Effects of modality of comics for product placement on brand attitude, and mediating role of narrative transportation and persuasion knowledge.
A mediation analysis using Hayes’ (2013) process macro, estimating the path coefficients in a mediator model and generating 95% bootstrap confidence intervals for total and specific indirect effects, was conducted to test the effects of modality of comics for product placement on brand attitude (H1), as well as the mediating role of narrative transportation and persuasion knowledge (H2a & H2b). This method uses 5,000 bootstrapped samples to estimate the bias corrected and accelerated confidence intervals (BCACI).
The results showed no statistically significant direct effect of modality of comics for product placement on brand attitude, b = - 0.016, p = .950. Brand attitudes did not differ significantly between the video condition (M = 4.91, SD = 1.19) and the comic book condition (M = 4.74, SD = 1.05). Although the effect is in the expected direction (i.e. videos generate higher brand attitude than comic books), this means that H1 cannot be supported.
With regard to the expected mediation effects, although transportation into the narrative significantly predicted attitude towards the brand, b = 0.293, p = .01, there was no significant effect of modality of comics for product placement on transportation, b = - 0.147,
p = .614. Therefore, there was no significant indirect effect of modality of comics for product placement on brand attitude through narrative transportation, b = - 0.037, BCa 95%CI [- 0.325, 0.016], indicating that H2a cannot be supported. Finally, there was no significant indirect effect of modality of comics for product placement on brand attitude through persuasion knowledge, b = 0.011, BCa 95%CI [- 0.055, 0.152]. Therefore H2b was not supported. Narrative transportation and persuasion knowledge do not appear to mediate the effect of modality of comics for product placement on brand attitudes (see Figure 2).
Figure 2. Summary of mediation analysis for modality of comics for product placement predicting brand attitudes through narrative transportation and persuasion knowledge.
Effects of advertising technique on brand attitude and mediating role of persuasion knowledge.
To test the effects of advertising technique (i.e. product placement in video and comic book vs. traditional print ad) on brand attitude (H3), taking into account the mediating role of persuasion knowledge (H4), we conducted a mediation analysis using Hayes’ (2013) process macro. The results showed a statistically significant direct effect of advertising technique on
brand attitude, b = .671, p < .001. Brand attitude was higher in the traditional ad condition (M = 5.60, SD = .83) than in the product placement condition (M = 4.86, SD = .96). Although the effect is statistically significant, this result is reversed to what we expected and therefore our third hypothesis cannot be supported.
With regard to the expected mediation, although advertising technique significantly influenced persuasion knowledge, b = 1.165, p < .001, the results showed no significant effect of persuasion knowledge on attitude towards the brand, b = 0.108, p = .145. Therefore, there was no significant indirect effect of advertising technique on brand attitude through persuasion knowledge, b = 0.071, BCa 95%CI [- 0.099, 0.225]. Therefore our fourth hypotheses could also not be supported. Persuasion knowledge does not appear to mediate the effect of advertising technique on brand attitudes (see Figure 3).
Figure 3. Summary of mediation analysis for advertising technique predicting brand attitudes through persuasion knowledge.
Discussion
This study examined the influence of product placements in print and audiovisual comics on attitude towards the placed brand, investigated the relative effectiveness of product placements in comics vis-à-vis traditional advertising, and shed light on the roles of narrative transportation and persuasion knowledge.
Contrary to our expectations, results demonstrate that product placements in animated movies did not generate higher brand attitudes than product placements in comic books. In other words, comics in their print format and in their audiovisual format did not differ with respect to attitudes elicited by the persuasive message they carried. This suggests that the similarities between comic books and videos (i.e. entertaining content, involvement, combination of modalities, movement, etc.) might be more prominent in predicting attitudes than their dissimilarities (i.e. pacing, auditory modality). As mentioned by Russell (2002), the auditory channel transfers more meaningful information than the visual channel. However, Wright (1974) suggests that print information generates greater elaboration than auditory information. It appears that comic books and movies involve similar levels of elaboration and information transfer, which will consequently affect the likelihood of generating arguments in the same way, and in turn, produce analogous brand evaluations. Additionally, in parallel with Moorman and colleagues’ (2002) study, it seems that the differences in pacing between print and audiovisual comics did not influence participants’ attitude towards the brand. The sequential form of comic books (Hayman & Pratt, 2005) implies a certain flow in the images and in the information presented. In this context, the pacing of comic books might not be rightfully characterized as internal. Instead, one might argue that the hybridity of comic books renders them comparable to audiovisual media in terms of speed of the information flow.
There was no indirect effect of modality of comics for product placement on brand attitudes through narrative transportation. In line with previous research (Avramova et al., 2016; Slater & Rouner, 2002), participants’ transportation into the narrative predicted their attitude towards the brand. However, the modality of comic did not influence narrative transportation. Interestingly, it seems that comic books and videos lead to corresponding levels of transportation into the narrative. One particular feature of comic books is that they combine textual and visual narrative tracks. Because of this combination of narrative
modalities, comics may produce similar effects to audiovisual media, consequently generating roughly identical levels of transportation. In this, respect comics seem to present highly absorbing properties, facilitating brand integrations and positive brand evaluations (Green & Brock, 2000) regardless of the modality.
Finally, there was no indirect effect of modality of comics for product placement on brand attitudes through persuasion knowledge. Because comics in their print and audiovisual format did not differ with respect to persuasion knowledge, this study did not find a mediating effect of persuasion knowledge. Modality and pacing did not influence the audience’s attention to the commercial message in different ways. Therefore, both conditions elicited similar degrees of likelihood to contemplate the commercial motive of the placement (Boerman et al., 2012).
The effectiveness of placements in comics in relation to traditional advertising.
This study also looked into the influence of different advertising techniques - namely product placements in comics and traditional print advertising - on brand attitudes. As opposed to our predictions, product placements in comics, both audiovisual and print, generated lower brand attitudes than the traditional print ad we selected. These results can be partly explained by the conspicuous use of the product by the characters in the placement condition. As mentioned by van Reijmersdal et al. (2009), when a product is prominently placed, it will be perceived as highly obtrusive and therefore it will lead to negative attitude towards the brand. Moreover, the placement was highly incongruent with the content. Russell (2002) found that incongruent placements were seen as incoherent and unnatural, which in turn was causing the audience to produce negative attitudes towards the brand. In line with this, one major aspect that may explain these results is that in the product placement condition, the audience perceives the placement as a hidden motive of persuasion, which will trigger resistance to the commercial message (Friestad & Wright, 1994). On the contrary, in
the traditional condition there is no hidden motive, the persuasive intent is clear and therefore better accepted by the audience. This means that similarly to product placements in movies and television (Balasubramanian et al., 2006), comics must adopt subtle placement strategies in order to produce better affective outcomes than traditional ads.
Additionally, there was no indirect effect of advertising technique (i.e. product placement vs. traditional advertising) on brand attitudes through persuasion knowledge. In line with our expectations, the advertising technique influenced persuasion knowledge, however, as opposed to previous research (Friestad & Wright, 1994, 1999; Van Reijmersdal et al., 2012), persuasion knowledge did not predict brand attitude. Again, it appears that because people recognize the hidden motive of persuasion in the placement condition, they develop criticism towards the commercial message (Friestad & Wright, 1994), whereas in the ad condition the persuasive intent is clear and not disguised, hence better evaluated by the audience.
Practical implications
The present study contributes to the existing research on product placement effectiveness in several ways. It advances that comics have a substantial persuasive potential. Whether in their print format or in their audiovisual format, comics present interesting properties, such as vivid absorption and narrativity, making them highly suitable for brand integrations. The results from this study point out the persuasive capacity of comics and uncover novel opportunities for product placement practitioners. Comic books seem to be a good alternative for product placements: less expensive than product placement in movies, in their print format they generate relatively high and comparable attitudes to placements in audiovisual media. Although they have a small audience compared to cinema and television, the latter is very specific and will therefore allow advertisers to target clear-cut groups.
Moreover, the possibility to adapt comic books into audiovisual programs provides additional opportunities for integrated marketing communications.
Limitations and directions for future research
This study extends evidence on the effects of placements in comics on attitudes (Muntinga et al., 2015). Nonetheless, our results emphasize the necessity to broaden the conceptual framework regarding the effectiveness of product placements in comics, as well as the understanding of underlying processes in future research. This study failed to find significant results for the influence of modality of comics on attitude towards the brand and specifically. Future research should consider including prominence (Muntinga et al,. 2015) and congruence (Balasubramanian et al., 2006; Russell, 2002) as possible moderators to gain a better understanding of the underlying factors influencing the effectiveness of product placements in comics. This study did not find an advantage of placements in comics over traditional ads in predicting attitudes. An interesting aspect of the print ad selected in our stimuli is that it presented a likeable picture (see Appendix C) which might positively affect attitude towards the ad. Shimp (1981) found that attitude towards the ad was positively related to attitude towards the brand. Therefore, to further explain these findings, follow-up research should take into account possible factors of importance in predicting brand attitudes such as attitude towards the ad or likeability of the ad (Boerman et al., 2012; Shimp, 1981). It is also important to note that our study manipulated the three stimuli by using an unfamiliar, non-existing brand. In this respect, as unfamiliar or unexpected stimuli are incongruent with prior expectations, they tend to attract greater attention and produce superior cognitive outcomes (Balasubramanian et al., 2006), which in turn will hinder brand evaluations. Contrarily to existing brands, fake brands tend to break the immersion inside the editorial content (Nelson, Keum & Yaros, 2004). Future research should scrutinize the effects of product placements in
comics under different levels of familiarity in order to discern the extent to which it may impact their effectiveness. It is also important to note that the two stimuli employed in the placement conditions presented a mismatch in the fit between the product placed and the content of the comics. The product placement employed in this study was somewhat informational (i.e. direct message providing factual and detailed product information). If the placement is not perceived as joke or as the satire of an ad (as it is intended in the original story), then this informative placement will irritate the audience by impairing the story they want to follow (Craig-Lees, Scott, & Wong, 2008; Gangadharbatla & Daugherty, 2013). Future research should seek to improve this fit in order to diminish the obtrusiveness of the placement. In addition, follow-up studies may consider using full-length stimuli, as results obtained for a five-minute video or for a three-page extract from a comic book might not render outcomes comparable to real-life situations (Muntinga et al., 2015; Storm & Stoller, 2015). Finally, Krugman (1965) proposed that audiovisual channels are low-involvement media, producing attitudinal outcomes by repetition, as opposed to print being highly involving and generating a somewhat long-lasting attitude change. Future research should measure attitudes after a longer period of time to see the possible benefits of product placements in comic books over animated comics.
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Appendix A
Original and manipulated comic stimulus extract - The twelve tasks of Asterix (Goscinny & Uderzo, 1976)
Appendix B
Original and manipulated movie stimulus - The twelve tasks of Asterix (Goscinny & Uderzo, 1976)
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nlhk7UOkQc Manipulated appearance of the product:
Appendix C
Original print ad stimulus - Persil (2010)
Appendix D
Narrative Transportation Scale Items (Green & Brock, 2000) Please indicate the extent to which you agree with the following statements:
1. While I was attending the proposed content/story, I could easily picture the events in it taking place.
2. While I was attending the proposed content/story, activity going on in the room around me was on my mind. (R)
3. I could picture myself in the scene of the events described in the narrative. 4. I was mentally involved in the narrative while reading/attending it.
5. After finishing the narrative, I found it easy to put it out of my mind. (R) 6. I wanted to learn how the narrative/story ended.
7. The narrative affected me emotionally.
8. I found myself thinking of ways the narrative could have turned out differently. 9. I found my mind wandering while reading/attending the narrative. (R)
10. The events in the narrative are relevant to my everyday life. 11. The events in the narrative have changed my life.
Appendix E
Brand attitude scale items (Spears & Singh, 2004)
Please describe your overall feelings about Olympus, the brand pictured in the image/comic/video you just saw:
1. Appealing. 2. Bad. (R) 3. Unpleasant. (R) 4. Favorable. 5. Likable. R = reverse-scored.
Appendix F
Persuasion knowledge scale items (Ohanian, 1990) Please indicate to what extent you think the comic was:
1. Honest. (R) 2. Persuasive. 3. Reliable. (R) 4. Prejudiced. 5. Unbelievable. R = reverse-scored.
