Advertising in a recession:
Does the economic downturn lead to a change in the design
of magazine advertisements in the Netherlands?
Gerline Netjes
Advertising in a recession:
Does the economic downturn lead to a change in the design of magazine advertisements in the Netherlands?
Faculty of Economics and Business MSc Business Administration Marketing Management
University of Groningen, the Netherlands
Master Thesis Supervisor:
Gerline Netjes Dr. D. Trampe and
s1413724 Dr. J. van Doorn
Summary
The economic crisis, which started in September 2008, was followed by many problems worldwide. During the last quarter of 2008 the economic crisis hit the advertising spending in the Netherlands hard; a decline of 3,5% compared with the last quarter in 2007 (-3,1% in 2009) (Nielsen, 2009). The print media expenditures declined more compared with television and radio. Nevertheless, magazines are still an important advertising medium in the Netherlands. Although magazines have a small share of the total ad expenditures, Dutch magazines have very loyal followers despite of the crisis. A lot of literature can be found about the effectiveness of magazine advertising and about the influence of economic conditions on advertising expenditures. However, no academic research exists about whether the design of a magazine advertisement changes during a recession, therefore the problem statement of this research is: “Does the economic downturn affect the design of magazine advertisements in the Netherlands?”
Advertising design can be separated into four different style elements: text, visual, color and lay-out. A literature study was conducted to analyze how these elements add value to magazine advertisements. The second part of the theoretical framework focuses on the influence of economic conditions on consumer behavior and advertising expenditures. Consumers are in times of economic downturn looking for ways to regain a sense of security by cutting back on spending. The same effect is visible for advertising expenditures, since most firms reduce their advertising budget in times of economic downturn.
Preface
During the last weeks of writing my master thesis the feeling of ending my study period became more and more realistic. I have had a wonderful time in Groningen and enjoyed the master Marketing Management at the University of Groningen a lot. I followed many courses, also from other master studies, and this master thesis will be the final piece of work for my graduation.
From December 2008 until May 2009 I did a marketing traineeship at the head office of NH Hoteles in Hilversum. Initially I would write my master thesis for NH Hoteles, however due to lack of time (I had to work five days a week), I decided not to write my thesis with NH Hoteles and focused on the traineeship itself. Although I found some difficulties, I learned a lot and had a great time with my colleagues, fellow trainees and my roommates in Utrecht.
After the deception of not writing my thesis at NH Hoteles, I had to found a fitting topic myself. During this process my dad helped me a lot and, thanks to some brainstorming sessions, the plan for the thesis was set. My interest in magazines and marketing (advertising) and the pleasure I experienced during the consumer behavior course could perfectly be combined in this master thesis.
I would like to thank some persons who supported me during my research. First of all I would like to thank my two supervisors Debra Trampe for her advice and feedback during the first months of my thesis and Jenny van Doorn for her support, feedback and help with finishing my thesis. I specially want to thank my parents Clazinus and Géke Netjes for supporting and motivating me and for the trust they gave me since I started writing my thesis. The support and love I got during the last months when I went through tough emotional times helped me in finding motivation to finish my thesis. Next to my parents I would like to thank my brother Edwin and my sister in law Heleen for their support, help and tips when writing my thesis and also for being there for me during the last difficult months. Last but not least I would to thank my friends for all their text messages, calls and whatsoever in motivating me to write my thesis and for giving me a fantastic time as a student in Groningen!
Thank you all! ☺
Index
1. Introduction 6
1.1 Background problem 6
1.2 Problem statement and research questions 9
1.3 Thesis structure 10 2. Theoretical framework 11 2.1 Magazine advertising 11 2.1.1 Text 12 2.1.2 Visuals (pictures) 16 2.1.3 Color 20 2.1.4 Lay-out 22
2.2 The impact of the economic climate 23
2.2.1 Economic climate and consumer behavior 24
2.2.2 Economic climate and advertising expenditures 27
2.2.3 Hypotheses 29
3. Research design 35
3.1 Methodology 35
3.2 Sample 36
3.3 Coding categories and variables 37
4. Results 39 4.1 Sample 39 4.2 Number of advertisements 40 4.3 Text 41 4.4 Visual 46 4.5 Color 50 4.6 Lay-out 51
4.7 Recession related content 53
4.8 Overview 55
5. Conclusion and recommendations 56
References 61
1. Introduction
1.1 Background problem
These days advertising and its effectiveness has become a highly discussed marketing issue due to the worldwide economic crisis which started in September 2008. The economic crisis was caused initially by the collapse of the housing market in the United States, which lead to many problems in the financial sector. The Netherlands rapidly after experienced the effect of the credit crisis; unemployment was rising, stock prices dropped and the economy declined. Since the last quarter of 2008 until the third quarter of 2009 the Netherlands were in a recession (two successive quarters of negative growth in gross domestic product, (Tellis and Tellis, 2009)) (see appendix #1).
For advertisers it is vital to understand how consumers react to an economic crisis so that the advertising strategies can be adapted to the new situation. This can for example be measured through consumer confidence, an indicator which explains purchase intention. It defines to what extent households experience the economic climate and shows if they experience if it going better or worse (CBS, 2011). When consumer confidence is low, consumers buy less and expensive purchases like a house or a car will be postponed. So, do advertisers react on recessions through creating advertisements which translate the consumers’ feelings during the recession? Are magazine advertisements linked with the crisis through mentioning for example price reductions? Until the summer of 2008 consumer confidence remained consistent in the Netherlands. Although, during the recession, consumer confidence decreased massively. However, compared with 27 other countries in Europe, the Dutch population can today be seen as ‘optimistic’ with a 5th place in April 2010 (CBS, 2010).
compared with the declines in radio -8,2% and television expenditures -0,7% (Nielsen, 2010). Picard (2001) found as well that print media are more quickly affected by recessions than broadcast media. The effect of the economic downturn on newspaper and magazine advertising expenditures were four times the effect on television advertising expenditures. Although the study does not directly address the issue, the drop in magazine advertising may occur because retailers, manufacturers and large service retailers, upon which magazines depend, reduce expenditures more than television advertisers, since they are less willing to cut their expenditures in television than in other media. On behalf of these findings, question marks can be placed on the issue if magazine advertising is effective during a recession. Firms can cut back, not cut back, or increase on advertising during a recession. The most compelling reason for cutting back advertising is that purchases during a recession are likely to be lower than they would during an expansion (Tellis and Tellis, 2009). On the other hand, increasing advertising will be successful while most firms tend to cut back on advertising during a recession. So, the probability of any single advertisement being noticed, observed and persuading consumers, increases (Tellis and Tellis, 2009). In the Netherlands, Unilever increased advertising with 9,3% in 2009 compared with 2008. KPN, Procter & Gamble, L’Oréal and Albert Heijn increased advertising expenditures as well during the recession (Nielsen, 2010). In 2009 the product sale of Unilever grow with 3,6% compared with 2008. However, due to lower prices the turnover was not in line with 2008 and dropped a little (NRC, 2009).
The way advertising will be utilized during a recession is a major marketing issue since advertising is an important way for a brand to create awareness for the brand and its products. During an economic crisis, when consumers spend less, creating an ad which persuades the consumer to buy a product will be inevitable. There are many different media used in advertising like radio, television and print media (magazines, newspapers etc.). In appendix #2 the advantages and disadvantages of these mediums are shown. Print media compared to television and radio advertising, can best provide detailed product information. Besides it can also communicate user and usage imagery. As involvement with a product increases, consumers are likely to search for information about the product more extensively. Consumers may compare advertisements and select the best alternative on behalf of this information or may select a product by experimenting with different brands. In a context of overabundant ads and saturated consumers, message format is crucial in developing effective advertising campaigns (Decrop, 2007). Optimizing advertisements is therefore important for advertisers trying to gain attention from the reader.
contains more than 50% advertising, consumers cannot fully absorb all the advertising and editorial content (Pieters and Wedel, 2004). Therefore, during a recession, when companies tend to cut back on advertising expenditures, every single advertisement should be noticed, observed and persuade consumers to create awareness for the brand and its product. This makes the capture of consumers’ attention an increasingly important aim for print advertising.
In the Netherlands magazines are an important advertising medium, as illustrated by their projected 27% share of the advertising spending in 2003 according to the International Federation of the Periodical Press (2004). A research by TNS Nipo and Nielsen (2010) about the media expenditures in the Netherlands shows that magazines had a quite stable share of net expenditures since 1990, although after 2005 this share declined slightly (see figure 1).
Color meaning: Newspapers Television Magazines Radio Internet
Figure 1, net share of advertising expenditures in the Netherlands 1990-2009 (TNS Nipo & Nielsen, 2010)
Literature shows different studies about the influence of an economic downturn or a recession on advertising expenditures. Also, the effectiveness and use of print advertising is being discussed several times. However, no academic research can be found regarding the effect of a recession on the design of a magazine (print) advertisement. Advertising design is complicated due to the fact that there are numerous creative designs to make and there are various consumer and environmental factors affecting its effectiveness (Burke, 1990). Therefore, advertising agencies have to make a lot of decisions such as how to arrange the visuals and texts, how to deal with the financial and media limitations, how to attract and persuade the target audience, how to amplify the benefits of the advertised products or services and how to communicate the advertising message to the target audience (Cheung and Cheung, 2008). This study will add value in two ways. First, the possible effect of a recession on the design of a magazine advertisement will be analyzed, accompanied with an overview of the major changes in advertising design throughout the last 60 years. Are changes in the use of text, pictures, color and layout throughout the years related to the economic development or are they related to the general tendency of the market? And did the design of magazine advertisements alter in the Dutch market during the recession of 2009? Secondly, insight will be gained into if the number of ads have increased during the recession, while increasing the number of ads tend to experience higher awareness according to Tellis and Tellis (2009). Understanding the nature of these possible changes in advertising design and number of ads are important for firms and advertising agencies to allocate financial resources as efficiently as possible and to create a magazine advertisement which even attracts consumers who will spend less during a period of economic downturn.
1.2 Problem statement and research questions Based on the background problem, the problem statement will be:
Does the economic downturn affect the design of magazine advertisements
in the Netherlands?
To investigate the problem statement the following research questions (RQ) will be analyzed in literature and through a descriptive study:
2. What kind of impact does the economic climate have on (Dutch) consumer behavior? (Literature study)
3. What kind of impact does the economic climate have on advertising expenditures? (Literature study)
4. Are the design and the number of magazine advertisements in the Netherlands altered during the recession of 2009 compared to magazine advertisements in 2008 (before the recession started) and 2009/2010 (after the recession ended)? (Descriptive study)
1.3 Thesis structure
2. Theoretical framework
This part of the research centers around two themes: advertising design and economic climate. Four design components of magazine advertisements (text, visual, color and layout) will be discussed, based on a literature study (RQ 1). The second part will evaluate the impact of economic conditions on consumer behavior of Dutch consumers (RQ 2). Finally, the effect of the economic climate on advertising expenditures will be discussed (RQ 3). At the end, hypotheses will be formed which will be tested in the content analysis.
2.1 Magazine advertising
Advertising is an indirect way of turning a potential customer towards the advertised product or service by providing information that is designed to affect a positive brand attitude (Percy and Elliott, 2005). Through advertising a brand can create a positive feeling/emotion towards the customer. Consumers pass through different stages when responding to marketing stimuli before purchasing a product. They will search for information via their memory (internal search) and through the environment, via friends, family or advertisements (external search) (Chae and Heitmeyer, 2006). The need for information is an important stage in the consumer decision making process, since it is affecting the pre-purchase satisfaction of the consumer (Blackwell, 2006). Pre-purchase satisfaction reflects the feelings of satisfaction that occur in the present time, before a purchase has even occurred (Simintiras, 1997). Therefore, print advertising is essential in both communicating product information and in generating satisfaction.
(Belch and Belch, 2007). However, due to limited attentional resources of consumers, their increasing attention to one ad element may be at the expense of other ad elements, which reveals attention competition. In contrast, attention to a particular ad element may also spill over to other ad elements (Pieters and Wedel, 2004).
As literature shows, the effectiveness of a magazine advertisement depends on many different factors. In the next part the four major elements, text, visual, color and layout of a magazine advertisement (message format) will be analyzed.
2.1.1 Text
The text element is believed to be key in capturing consumers’ attention. Text includes all the words used to tell the complete sales story. It has to be clear, simple, direct, appropriately expressed, relevant and it must be connected with the headline and/or the visual (Wilmshurst, 1999). According to Bovée and Arens (1989) the body copy is ‘where the sale is closed’. It must explain how the advertised product/brand satisfies the consumer’s needs and emphasize the consumer’s benefits in order to create intention to buy. According to this, Mitchell (1986) and Rossiter and Percy (1980) argue that attitude formation and change, and eventually behavior, are based on the acquisition and retrieval of verbal information about the product. Hence, the major goal of the body copy is to inform about the product’s characteristics and advantages. The amount of text is not supposed to attract the reader’s attention. Generally, longer text even proves to have detrimental effects on interest (Belch and Belch, 2007). However, Decrop (2007) found that the longer the text, the higher the informational value and the stronger the intention to buy.
Headline
to buy the product than the use of visuals. Linking the headline with the picture or illustration in an ad will have positive effects on attitudes and ad recall will be higher (Leigh, 1994).
Brand name
The brand name identifies the source of a product. Based on what consumers know about a brand, for example its quality or product characteristics, consumers make assumptions and form reasonable expectations of the advertised product (Keller, 2008). A brand can be presented verbally, in the form of a brand name presented in the text part, or in the form of a slogan or web address. Brands can also be presented visually in the form of a logo in a separated block or depicted in the picture such as on the package. However, since logos have very specific content, they are of limited informational value (Decrop, 2007). Moran (1990) recommends a maximization of the brand element’s size in magazine advertising as a prominent brand element captures more attention to the brand which is necessary for obtaining the preferred brand communication effects.
Research by McQuarrie and Phillips (2008) shows that during the period 1960-1980 the inclusion of the brand name in the headline only was quite common, occurring in almost one-third of all advertisements. The incidence then drops steadily; about 5% of all ads in 2002 mentioned the brand in the headline alone (see figure 2). Conversely, advertisements which incorporated the brand name in the picture only accounted for less than 20% during 1960-1980. However, the proportion of brand names integrated in the visual raised until 65% in 2002. This is in line with the trend that pictures are no longer a separated element but have taken over the entire advertisement. Brand elements migrate out of the textual portion into the pictorial portion of the ad. Brand identification is now for example accomplished by a reproduction of the package or by the logo presented on the advertised product.
Verbal rhetorical figures
Direct verbal claims such as “Andrelon wast uw haar schoon” accompanied by a realistic picture of expected product benefits are these days rare to find in a magazine advertisement (McQuarrie and Phillips, 2005). Indirect claims, beliefs for which no explicit statements have been made (Smith, 1991), are becoming more predominant especially via rhetorical figures. A rhetorical figure is a manner by which ad content is expressed and can be seen as indirect persuasion due to its openness. This ad style includes rhyme, antithesis, pun, metaphor and other devices. Rhetorical figures are used to attract the attention of consumers, create pleasure in processing, evoke elaboration of the message and may lead to a more favorable attitude toward the ad (Phillips and McQuarrie, 2002; McQuarrie and Mick, 1999). This outcome is strengthened when consumers are high-involved. However, a rhetorical figure could be so deviant as to have a negative impact, creating confusion rather than interest.
The two major categories of rhetorical figures are schemes (e.g. rhyme “taste so great you can’t wait”) and tropes (e.g. metaphor “clothes “fresh and clean as sunshine”). Research of Phillips and McQuarrie (2002) showed that in 1998 45% of the ads in Time Magazine contained tropes compared with 20% schemes.Tropes are more difficult to comprehend are more demanding and run a greater risk of incomprehension than schemes, because they are incomplete, under coded and require closure by the reader. However, using a metaphor may be advantageous because they render the consumer more receptive to multiple, distinct and positive inferences about the advertised product (McQuarrie and Phillips, 2005).
Persuasion vs. information
of the ads were basic persuasion, for example ads for wine and liquor, tobacco, cosmetics and food, compared to 22.8% basic information advertisements, like ads for institutions, books, cars and travel.
Effect of text
According to an analysis of Pieters and Wedel (2004) the text element captures best attention in direct proportion to its surface size. The visual element is superior in capturing attention, independent of its size. Only increments in the surface size of text have a greater effect to this element and to the entire advertisement than do increases in the surface size of the visual element. An increase in text surface size raises attention to this element much more than it simultaneously reduces attention to brand and pictorial elements. Prior evidence shows that motivation and product involvement as well might influence the attention to print advertising. Advertisements for high involvement products gain more from increasing the surface size of their text element than do advertisements for low involvement products (Pieters and Wedel, 2004). Rayner et al. (2001) found as well that consumers spend more time looking at text (70%) than at the picture, even when they indicated that they do not like ads with a lot of text. If there is a lot of text, consumers seemed to read parts that were printed in the large font or that were on the left proportion of the page.
High vs. low product involvement
proposal (central route) or by serving as a simple acceptance rule (peripheral route) (Petty and Cacioppo, 1984a).
Use of questions
An advertising technique used to attract the consumer’s attention is the use of questions. Understanding which question is most effective at reaching consumers will increase the information exchange and will lead to more effective advertisements. A review by Howard (1988) of advertisements in 10 American consumer magazines between 1983 and 1985 showed that 20% were found to contain at least one question. On average 1,6 questions per ad. The majority of questions are used in the headlines and opening or closing lines of the body copy. The use of questions in the headline is utilized to heighten the ability that a reader will read further, to segment the target audience and capturing attention. Questions in the body copy are used to introduce or close the ad or its arguments or to highlight the product features.
Text vs. visuals
Virtually all forms of advertising rely on a combination of verbal and visual elements to convey the intended message. Visual and verbal elements can be seen as inseparable, due to the ability of the visual content to imply the verbal beliefs (Rossiter, 1982). Many authors have demonstrated that advertising effectiveness is stronger when pictures and texts are combined. According to Morelli (1970) the use of visual material increases the memorization effect when pictures are used to illustrate the text. Unnava and Burnkrant (1991) found that when the verbal information is of low imagery accompanied with a picture, the ability of consumers to recall information will increase. Kisielius (1982) postulated that information presented pictorially stimulates more cognitive elaboration and thus results in stronger memorability. As a result, verbal information accompanied by a pictorial representation of the verbal content was recalled more readily than the verbal information alone. In the next paragraph the element visual will be discussed in more detail.
2.1.2 Visuals (pictures) The role of visuals in advertising
pictures in people’s memory is a result of their superior ability to evoke the use of imagery, a process by which a previously experienced stimulus is recreated in one’s mind (Childers and Houston, 1984). Visuals often identify product information discussed in the verbal copy of the advertisement, so consumers seem to rely on visuals as ‘proof’ for the claims that advertisers make. Research on visual advertising has increased heavily in the last 15 years due to recent changes in the market such as the advent of newer media as outdoor ad-screen, globalization and the increased interest in non-verbal communication (Bu et al., 2009). Visual messages in advertising are found to be easily and quickly processed, to stimulate consumers’ imagination, to provide pleasure, and to be more effective in getting attention and stimulating curiosity than verbal messages which were viewed as more functional (Rossiter, 1982; Lester, 2000; Hirschman and Solomon, 1984).
Many researchers found a positive relationship between the presence of photos or illustrations and readership. As a result, layouts not built around pictures tend to be weaker in attracting the reader. A study by Rossiter and Percy (1980) explored the effect of picture size. They found that a large picture of the product produced almost twice as favorable effect on overall brand attitude as an identical smaller picture did. A larger product picture in an ad may cause consumers to focus on the product rather than the ad, thus generating a stronger product attitude.
Moriarty (1987) created an effective typology of visuals in a content analysis of magazine advertising. Which determines whether a visual is literal or symbolic (see table 1). The literal visuals can be seen as simple visual strategies to create brand or product awareness. On the other hand, symbolic visuals are often more complex and rely on implicit information. The audience need to interpret the message, relying on prior product and advertising knowledge (Bu et al., 2009). Functional products are better communicated with informational direct/hard appeals, whereas symbolic products are better expressed in indirect/soft appeals (Johar and Sirgy, 1991). This corresponds with the typology of Moriarty (1987).
Table 1, the role of advertising visuals (Moriarty, 1987)
L ite ral v is u als S ym b o lic v is ua ls
Identif ication ( B ra n d, lo go , p ac k age ) D e scription ( Wh a t it l o o ks l ik e , att rib u te s, p art s, s ch e m ati c s) Com paris on ( B et w ee n t wo co m p et i to rs, b e fo re & after) D em onstration ( Ho w to do , us e, a pp l y, m ake) Ass ociation (L if est yl e, ty p ic al p e rs on , sit u at io n ) Ass ociation using a characte r or
ce le b ri ty Me ta phor (Al le go ric al u se , u n ex p ec te d su bs ti t u ti o n b ase d o n si m il arity of so m e fea tu re ) Storytelling (N arrat i ve , d ram a, pl ay l et ) Aes the tics
Persuasion vs. information
Pictures often play a major role in persuasive messages since they assist with the evaluation and persuasion process more than with the information process (MacInnis and Price, 1987). The openness of pictures, consumers can infer product claims, is what makes them so persuasive. Pictures may also influence post-message attitudes through visual imagery (MacInnis and Price, 1987), an important determinant of picture-based persuasion (Miniard et al., 1991). For instance the advertisement of Page toilet paper containing a picture of a cute dog may evoke thoughts that reinforce a perception of product softness or a scene of the beach may generate images of having fun in the sun. The affect attached to these images depends on the degree of message elaboration. The Elaboration likelihood model (ELM) (Petty and Cacioppo (1983; 1984a)) provides a useful conceptualization for anticipating how involvement can moderate the influence of pictures. When pictures serve as arguments, their influence will grow as involvement increases. However, high involvement will have the opposite effect for pictures that act only as peripheral cues. Visuals lacking product-relevant information should exert less influence as involvement increases (Miniard et al., 1991). For instance, (celebrity) endorsers act as an important cue for persuasion when consumers are relatively unmotivated or unable to process issue-relevant arguments. A content analysis by Stout and Moon (1990) showed that ads featuring an endorser tend to contain fewer information cues than ads which do not feature endorsers. The characteristics of the source influence the persuasive power of the message and will be strengthened when the source of the message is viewed as highly credible by the target audience, since credible sources facilitate persuasion by reducing counter arguing.
Use of endorsers
ads. The ‘typical’ consumer tends to be used more often in ads for food/drug/liquor or durables. It is important to select endorsers which have a strong connection with product type and target audience (Hawkins et al., 1986) and with who the consumer can identify, because (celebrity) endorsers embody cultural meanings that are then transferred to the product (McCracken, 1989). According to Goldman (1995) female celebrities are many times perceived to be more credible than male celebrities. Therefore, male celebrities are believed to effectively communicate the functional benefits and specific information of a product. Conversely, female celebrity endorsers are used more for products with psychological benefits.
Traditionally, advertising professionals have relied on the assumption that using a celebrity to endorse a brand will result in an increase in consumer recall of the brand (Costanzo and Goodnight, 2005). The extent to which an advertisement can enable consumers to establish a connection between the celebrity endorser and the brand should aid consumer recall of the endorsed brand, the so called ‘match-up hypothesis’ (Till and Busler, 1998). However, the use of celebrity endorsers is not without risk. Negative publicity could arise and could therefore influence consumers’ evaluations of the endorsed brand. The credibility of a brand may also suffer when an endorser is not loyal to the company and endorse other brands/products as well. Researchers have also supported the claim that consumers often do not connect the celebrity to the correct brand or product.
Visual rhetorical figures
2.1.3 Color
Color is widely used in advertising to influence emotional behavior and to increase the effectiveness of advertising in print media. The use of color may serve functions such as attracting attention, creating a more realistic visual, assisting in the interpretation of product attributes and highlighting or emphasizing a distinctive trademark or symbol (Lee and Barnes, 1990). Color is a tool to create, maintain and modify brand images in consumers’ minds. Since colors have specific meanings associated with them, they can be seen as important image cues.
Empirical research on color in marketing can be separated into three streams. The first has examined the specific colors used in magazine ads. The second stream has investigated the efficacy of colored compared with black and white ads. The third has tested the effects op specific colors on consumer responses (Gorn et al, 1997). Some findings of this research will be discussed in more detail below.
The meaning of color
Each color has a certain psychological effect upon consumers, both mental and emotional. A color can excite or calm or it can be refreshing, mysterious, exotic or pure (Lee and Barnes, 1990). Research by Madden et al. (2000) among eight countries showed that overall blue was the most liked color. The right use of color will be an essential cue in increasing the appeal of the product and/or advertisement.
When an ad is viewed under low involvement, the use of color can be used as heuristic, increasing the persuasiveness of the colored ads (Meyers-Levy and Peracchio, 1995). Consumers with high involvement will process the colored ad elements to determine if they substantiate or undermine the verbal claims made (Miniard et al., 1991). If the colored elements substantiate verbal ad claims they will increase the persuasiveness of the ad as well (Fernandez and Rosen, 2000). However, color may undermine ad claim substantiation by usurping resources that would otherwise have been devoted to processing substantiating information (Meyers-Levy and Peracchio, 1995).
Marketers use colors to create certain inferences regarding the product’s quality or goodness. Many articles are written about the interpretation of color and the negative and positive connotations colors are associated with. The findings are summarized below based on the written literature.
o Red: active, hot, vibrant, emotional, sharp, exciting, stimulating, warm, pleasure, love, passion
o Green: fresh, natural, organic, wellness, pleasant, coolness, youthfulness, refreshing o Orange: cheap, distressed, disturbed, warm, happy
o Yellow: cheerful, joy, warm, happiness, energy, faithfulness o White: peaceful, calming, pleasant, femininity, positive
o Black: sad, masculine, strong, powerful, negative, passive, expensive o Brown: sad, masculine, mellowness
o Grey: strength, exclusivity, passive
Sources: Fitzgerald (2001), Madden et al., (2000), Cimbalo et al. (1984), Adams and Osgood (1973), Jacobs et al. (1991), Schindler (1986)
Gender difference may interact with color preference. Luckiesh (1927), Poffenberger (1928), Needham and Olsen (1950) and Hoyenga and Wallace (1979) found that females preferred the color red, followed by blue. The order was reversed for the male group. Color is also believed to affect the degree of arousal. According to Wexner (1954) and Jacobs and Hustmyer, 1974 red, yellow and orange are more arousing than blue and green. There are also dissimilarities across cultures (Jacobs et al., 1991), for example with the color purple; Japanese, Chinese and South Korean respondents associate purple with expensive, whereas respondents from the United States associate purple with inexpensive. Therefore, standardizing magazine advertisements in cross-national markets should be carefully considered.
Black and white vs. color
Studies by Starch (1981) indicate that color ads capture higher readership in comparison with black and white ads. Magazine advertisements can be distinguished into full color ads, black and white ads and color-highlighted ads. Color-highlighted ads are primarily black and white ads that use color selectively to highlight certain ad elements such as the featured product. Color-highlighted ads are useful to highlight only objects of high relevance. This will eliminate the distracting influence color can have and reduces the effort required for identifying information relevant to substantiating the ad claims (Meyers-Levy and Peracchio, 1995). Color can increase the credibility of the product and believability of the ad claim, particularly if the claim is color related. A claim of freshness for food should be more believable in color than in a black and white ad (Lohse and Rosen, 2001). Sometimes, color can operate as ‘visual noise’ that distracts attention to irrelevant information at the expense of more relevant information. However, this negative effect occurs primarily under more cognitively demanding conditions. Under such conditions, a relatively non-distracting, simpler black and white ad would be more favorable.
2.1.5 Lay-out
According to Galin et al. (2010) positioning has a significant impact on the recall of advertisements. Ads in the front of a magazine perform better than advertisements in the back of magazines, although this differs per magazine type. Advertisements placed in the last half of automotive magazines yield noting scores that were 9 percent lower than ads placed in the first half. Ads placed in the last half of beauty magazines for women were less noted (-6%) than ads in the first half. This effect is even stronger for travel magazines. Advertisements placed in the first half yield noting scores that were 11 percent higher than ads placed in the last half of the magazine. Another aspect of advertisement positioning is the positioning of ads on the right hand or left hand side of a magazine. A content analysis among 7699 ads found no difference in performance or noticeability between right and left hand side advertisements (Galin et al., 2010).
Berhard (cited in Kroeber-Riel and Barton, 1980) studied the effect of the position of text in advertisements, measured by eye movements. The text placed in the upper half of the page on both the left and right part received more eye fixations than text situated on the bottom right and left part. Berhard also studied the effect of text position with respect to the illustration in the advertisement. When the text appeared beneath the picture it received more fixations than when text was placed above it. The effect of text situated on the left or right side of the illustration did not reach significance. Thus, the position of text in the top left quadrant and beneath the picture received most attention, whereas text in the bottom left quadrant or place above the picture received the least. In line with this research Garcia et al. (2000) conducted a similar study and found that the number and duration of fixations were higher when the image was placed at the lower half or at the left side of the advertisement.
After analyzing the four elements of advertising design, the next step is to take a look at the ‘reader’, the consumer. During times of economic downturn, consumers act differently than during times of economic prosperity. It is interesting to understand how consumer behavior is influenced by the economic climate since advertisers can respond to transformations in consumer behavior by creating an advertisement which translates the consumers’ feelings and behavior best. Part 2.2.1 will discuss the impact of a recession, in particular the current recession of 2008-09, on consumer behavior in more detail. First, a short description will be given concerning the most recent worldwide recessions.
2.2 The impact of the economic climate
economic climate. According to Tellis and Tellis (2009), Rabobank (2011) and statistics of CBS (2011), four periods considered recession since the 1950s (see also appendix #1 and figure 3):
1. 1974-1975; oil crisis, Vietnam war
2. 1980-1982; oil crisis, oil embargo, Iran war, high unemployment 3. 1990-1991; Gulf war
4. 2008-2009; ‘Great recession’, financial crisis
Figure 3, Economic growth (purple line) and unemployment rate (black line) 1980-2010 in the Netherlands (CBS, 2011)
Figure 3 shows the economic growth in percentage of GDP for the Netherlands since 1980. During 2000-2001 the economic growth declined hard due to the internet bubble and the terroristic attack of September 11 in the USA. Although this was a period of economic hard times, no worldwide recession occurred and the Netherlands were as well not considered in a recession.
2.2.1 Economic climate and consumer behavior
The recent recession is affecting the overall economy and is significantly changing consumer behavior. Consumers are in times of economic downturn looking for ways to regain a sense of security by cutting back on spending. This is enhanced by the notion that consumers lose their trust and confidence in the economy relatively quickly, which has been found to be a strong predictor of purchase-adjustment decisions (Allenby et al., 1996). A vast majority of consumers have already made substantial cuts in spending by spending less, seeking out sales, online discount-shopping, buying in bulk, deferring purchases and by avoiding luxury goods and services (Interbrand, 2008). What kind of effect did the recession of 2008-09 have on the consumer behavior of Dutch consumers? And which products and services are hit the hardest?
remains largely unchanged. Regardless of which group consumers belong to, they prioritize consumption by sorting products and services among four categories. (1) Essentials, necessary for survival or perceived as central to well-being, (2) treats, indulgences whose immediate purchase is considered justifiable, (3) postponables, needed or desired items whose purchase can be reasonably put off and (4) expendables, which are perceived as unnecessary or unjustifiable. Throughout a downturn all consumers, except those whose spending remains largely unchanged, typically reevaluate their consumption priorities. Products and services as dining, travel, entertainment, new clothing, automobiles, appliances, and consumer electronics can quickly shift in consumers’ minds from essentials to treats, postponables, or even expendables. As priorities change, consumers may altogether eliminate purchases in certain categories, or they may substitute purchases in one category for purchases in another, (i.e. dining out (treat) for cooking at home (essential)). Since most consumers become more price sensitive and less brand loyal during recessions, they can be expected to seek out favorite products and brands at reduced prices or settle for less-preferred alternatives (Quelch and Jocz, 2009).
During a recession consumers focus more on the price/quality relationship in stead of focusing on quality alone and consumers therefore become more price conscious (Germeroth-Hodges, 1993; Cravens, 1974). Therefore, price becomes a more important buying decision. According to Estalami and Holden (2001) a recession affects the rise in price knowledge and price sensitivity of consumers while they are searching for price information before and during their purchases more frequently. So, lower prices and value for money have large influence on what products and brands consumer will buy in times of recession.
Consumers also tend to change their categorical buying behavior. Within certain product categories consumers tend to switch to cheaper products and brands. Interestingly, consumers are more willing to switch brands for cleaning products, mineral water and soda instead of beer, hair products and detergents, due to perceived quality and involvement (Kamphuis, 2009). In line with this, consumers cut on groceries. More consumers went shopping in less expensive supermarkets like Lidl and Aldi (26%) and less expensive drugstores (20%). Brand choice depends more frequently on (price) promotions and consumers switch more often to private label products or ‘B-brands’ of discount supermarkets (Van der Peet, 2004). Less than 5% of the consumers who are not affected by the recessions switch to private brands, whereas 50% of the respondents who were affected switched to a private label for soda and dairy products (Van Strien and Wierenga, 2009). Findings from Adformatie (2008) show that in 2008 60% of the Dutch consumers switched from A-brands to less expensive private labels or are willing to do this in the future. Already 51% has switched to discount supermarkets. Overall, when consumers become very pessimistic about the economic situation they switch more often to lower-prized private labels (Appendix #5), whereas consumers with a high income or high education switch less frequently (Van Strien and Wierenga, 2009).
Brands that have fostered a sense of allegiance with their consumers are more likely to withstand an economic downturn than those that lack these customer ties. The brand must be perceived as truly special, clearly differentiated, and have attributes that are unique enough to create a strong and lasting value proposition for its customers. Otherwise, consumers will just choose not to buy it (Interbrand, 2008). In times of recession consumers revert more often on things which are familiar, old and typical Dutch. Brands like Hema, Blokker, Albert Heijn, Kruidvat, Douwe Egberts and Pickwick become more admired. In times of economic prosperity consumer are searching for more ‘exciting’ brands’, like brands with a social meaning or exclusive brands (Marketingonline, 2008). Research by Deloitte (cited in Adformatie, 2008), among 2600 Dutch consumers, showed that 34% would prefer purchasing a Dutch brand for products with the same quality and price. People who strongly identify with the Netherlands are more likely to buy Dutch products and brands (EURIB, 2011)
Beside the above mentioned findings, other changes in (Dutch) consumer behavior and saving decisions during times of economic downturn can be found:
o Consumers find saving money these days more important than spending money (Katona, 1974; Booz & Co, 2010).
o Consumers are more often searching for the best price instead of best brand (Booz & Co, 2010; Deloitte, 2009).
o Consumers think more about what to purchase and purchases are planned better (Managersonline, 2009).
o Consumers who participate in loyalty programs, for example Airmiles, are more loyal to a certain supermarket in times of economic downturn (Verhoef (Cited in Profnews, 2010)). o In recessions consumers become more interested in loyalty programs and redeem
accumulated points more often (Financieel Dagblad, 2009).
o Consumers spend more time at home and with friends instead of seeking new experiences (Managersonline, 2010).
o Dutch consumers obtain more often affordable luxury, like lipstick (Marketingtribune, 2009). o Consumers buy more chocolate and snacks, prefer more often home cooking, delivering of
food (fast food), and typical Dutch food (stew) instead of dining out (Marketingtribune, 2009; Deloitte, 2009).
It is critical to track how customers reassess priorities, switch brands, and redefine value since consumers are more concerned whether they are getting value-for-money from their purchases in times of recession (Datamonitor, 2009). Although there are some differences in how different consumer groups have approached spending cuts, most consumers are making similar trade-offs across major spending areas. It seems that consumers cut little on many different product categories. Therefore, no large concessions have to be made which could cause major changes in the consumer’s way of life (Van der Peet, 2004). Nevertheless, the changes in consumer behavior will probably be ‘sticky’. Even if the economy recovers it is unlikely that they will change rapidly, while consumers will most likely consider making some changes permanent (Booz & Company, 2010). Therefore, companies must understand customers’ shifting needs in order to adjust their communication strategies and (product) offerings.
2.2.2 Economic climate and advertising expenditures
during recessions are that advertising expenditures are ‘deemed postponable’ (Ostheimer, 1980) and that advertising budgets can be quickly amended unlike costs for staff, production, housing or equipment (Galea, 1994). As a result, many firms seem to view advertising as a dispensable luxury in recessions (Biel and King, 1990).
In 2008 the gross advertising spending in the Netherlands closed with a positive trend of 1,7%. However, the effects of the recession became already visible in the last quarter of 2008; a decrease of 3,5% occurred compared with the same period in 2007 (Nielsen, 2009). In 2009 the gross advertising spending still observed the effect of the economic downturn and decreased with 3,1%. The most compelling reason for cutting back advertising during a recession is that sales during a recession are likely to be lower than they would be during an expansion. Firms reduce their advertising budget, price promotions and new-product activity. However, there is strong evidence that cutting back on advertising during a recession will hurt sales during and after the recession. Conversely, not cutting back on advertising during a recession could increase sales during and after the recession. Firms that increase advertising during a recession experienced higher sales, market share and/or earnings during and/or after the recession. Most firms tend to cut back on advertising during a recession which reduces noise and therefore increases the probability of any single advertisement of a firm that advertises to be noticed, observed and to persuade consumers. Since competitive advertising is lower during a recession, any single advertisement would have less competition and greater effectiveness. Thus, the responsiveness of advertising could be higher than during a stable market (Tellis and Tellis, 2009). Research by Meldrum and Fewsmith (1979) found that in the years following on the recession of 1974-1975, firms that did not cut advertising expenditures experienced higher sales than those that cut advertising expenditures in 1974, 1975, or both years. Moreover, the sales of the firms that kept advertising during the recession continued to grow for up to four years after the recession (Appendix #6). Similarly, McGraw-Hill Research (1986) and Kamber (2002) found that not cutting on advertising during a recession helped keep sales growth at a high level. Summarized, during a recession an increasing in advertising expenditures would be more effective than cutting back on advertising. Firms should take advantage of the opportunity to seize sales and market share from their competitors who are cutting back on advertising.
Magazine advertising suffer more during recessions than television and radio. The effect of economic downturns on magazine advertising expenditures is four times that of the effect on television advertising expenditures (Picard, 2001). Although the study does not directly address the issue, the drop in magazine advertising may occur because retailers, manufacturers and large service retailers, upon which magazines depend, reduce expenditures more than television advertisers since they are less willing to cut their expenditures in television than in other media. According to Linnett (2002) magazines suffer relatively strong from recessions because magazines offer primarily access to niche audiences; a strong point when the economy is doing well but limiting their advertising revenue sources when the economy is in decline. Deleersnyder et al. (2009) and Chang and Chang-Olmsted (2005) found that advertising is very sensitive to economic cycles. Advertising expenditures are a function of economic growth, measured by changes in GDP. Advertising’s average co-movement elasticity with GDP is 1.4. A one percentage change in GDP results in a 1,4 percent change in advertising expenditures in the same direction. This pattern is evident across major world economies. However, the sensitivity of advertising to the economy is stronger in countries whose culture exhibits a tendency toward short-term orientation and avoidance of uncertainty, like the Netherlands, since firms adjust their behavior more quickly with fluctuating business cycles. Kamber (2002) showed that a strategy of anti-cyclical advertising tends to be successful. Nevertheless, most companies reduce advertising during recessions and raise their budgets again when the economy is recovering. This aligns with the microeconomic principle that aggregate advertising demand in an economy depends on that economy’s income, as measured by GDP (Van der Wurff et al., 2008). Next, we develop hypotheses about the effect of a recession on magazine advertising design and the number of magazine advertisements.
2.2.3 Hypotheses
advertising spending still observed the effect of the recession and decreased with 3,1% (Nielsen, 2009). Print advertising is more sensitive to business cycle fluctuations than radio or television. Magazines suffer relatively strong because magazines offer primarily access to niche audiences which limiting their advertising revenue sources when the economy is in decline (Linnett, 2002). During a recession magazine advertisers are forced to revise their advertising strategy and budget. Increasing advertising expenditures would be more effective than cutting back on advertising. Though, since magazines suffer more during a recession and firms can easily cut back on advertising, we suppose that during the recession advertisers cut back on Dutch magazine advertising. Thus:
H1: The number of magazine advertisements is lower in times of recession.
During recessions consumers set stricter priorities and reduce their spending. Therefore, any single advertisement should be noticed, observed and persuade consumers to create awareness for the brand and its product. Creating an ad which persuades the consumer to buy a product will be inevitable. The use of text in magazine advertisements is a manner by which persuasion is attempted. The headline is a vital textual element of print ads (Ogilvy, 1985) which draws attention to the ad and present the complete selling idea (USP) (Wilmshurst, 1999). It is considered as the most important ad element by many advertisers (Belch and Belch, 2007). Therefore, it is supposed that in times of recession headlines will be used more frequently. A series of studies have shown that most readers of a print ad first look at the headline, followed by the visual, and finally read the body copy (text) (Belch and Belch, 2007). The body copy is ‘where the sale is closed’. The amount of text in the body copy is not supposed to attract the reader’s attention. However, Decrop (2007) found that the longer the text, the higher the informational value and the stronger the intention to buy. According to an analysis of Pieters and Wedel (2004) an increase in text surface size raises attention to this element much more than it simultaneously reduces attention to brand and pictorial elements. We presume that in times of recession body copy will be used more often and the number of words used will be higher to attract attention to the ad. Increasing the number of arguments in a magazine advertisement, like an expert as message source, the complexity of language or the total number of arguments to support the product (‘the more, the better’) enhances persuasion by giving consumers more information to think about (Maddux, 1980). Or they serve as a simple acceptance rule when consumers are low-involved with a product (Petty and Cacioppo, 1984a). Therefore, we expect that in times of recession more arguments are given to persuade consumers to purchase the product. Thus:
H2a: In times of recession advertisements contain more headlines and headlines refer more often to the advertised brand.
H2b: In times of recession advertisements contain more often body copy and body copy includes a higher number of words.
H2c: In times of recession advertisements use more arguments to persuade consumers. Further, in times of economic downturn, consumers cut back on spending or postpone luxurious products. To convince consumers to still buy the advertised product it is essential to communicate product information like the performance, quality or availability. It is supposed that in times of recession advertisements contain more information cues to persuade consumers. Other ways to gain attention towards an advertisement is via the brand name and rhetorical figures. Moran (1990) recommends a maximization of the brand element’s size in magazine advertising since a prominent brand element captures more attention to the brand and does have a positive effect on the entire ad. During a recession it is important that any advertisement will be noticed, so we expect that ads contain more brand mentionings. Especially headlines are supposed to refer to the brand (see H2a) since readers take a first look at the headline (Belch and Belch, 2007). Besides, the use of verbal rhetorical figures is a manner to persuade consumers due to its openness. They are used to attract the attention of consumers and to provide pleasure in reading. Therefore, we suppose that this advertising technique will be used more frequently in times of recession. Thus:
H2d: In times of recession advertisements contain more information cues.
H2e: In times of recession brand identification will be presented differently and the brand name will be mentioned more often in the advertisement.
H2f: In times of recession advertisements use verbal rhetorical figures more frequently.
H3: In times of recession visual elements are used in a different way than before and/or after the recession.
H3a: In times of recession product and/or package depictions are displayed more often in the visual.
H3b: In times of recession the size of the visual in magazine advertisements will be larger.
The role of visuals can be literal or symbolic. Literal visuals can be seen as simple visual strategies which create brand or product awareness, whereas symbolic visuals are often more complex and rely on implicit information. Since literal visual are more informational we expect that in times of recession the role of visuals is most of the times literal. Like verbal rhetoric, visual rhetorical figures have large impact on the attractiveness of advertisements. They produce pleasure and lead to a more favorable attitude toward the ad and product. So, to stand out during a recession it is important to use rhetorical figures more frequently to persuade consumers. Another way to persuade readers is by using an endorser as a message source. The use of a celebrity as an endorser influences the persuasive power of the advertisement remarkably when the person is viewed as highly credible by the consumer. Nevertheless, the use of celebrities is expensive, so that in times of economic downturn the usage of celebrities would be a first thing to cut back expenditures on. However, we expect that the attractiveness of a celebrity will offset the high costs even in times of recession. Thus:
H3c: In times of recession the role of visuals will be more literal than symbolic.
H3d: In times of recession advertisements use visual rhetorical figures more frequently. H3e: In times of recession advertisements will use more often a celebrity in the visual as an
endorser for the advertised product.
Since many consumers feel that they are personally affected by the recession it is expected that more full color ads will be used in times of economic downturn. Color is used to influence emotional behavior and increases the effectiveness of ads (Lee and Barnes, 1990). Full color ads may evoke positive feelings and may provide pleasure in reading. The intensity of colors, explained by colorfulness is expect to be higher in times of recession as well. A higher level of colorfulness used as an executional cue, elicit greater feelings of excitement, which will in turn increase ad likeability. As it is important that advertisements are noticed by the reader and persuade the consumer, a higher level of colorfulness is supposed in times of recession. Thus:
As found in literature, large ads tend to stand out on the page. Besides, a large advertisement size contributes to the ad’s attentional value in two ways; it enhances the probability of the ad being viewed due to its sheer size and it reduces the number and/or the size of other surrounding materials (i.e. other advertisements, editorials) which may detract from the ad’s attentional value (Sandage et al., 1979). The size of the advertisement is therefore expected to be larger during the recession. Conversely, full page spreads are more expensive than half page advertisements, but we believe this will not weigh against the noticeability of ads. According to research by Galin et al. (2010) ads in the front of automotive and beauty magazines perform better than advertisements in the back of magazines. Therefore, we presume that during the recession more ads are positioned in the first half of the magazine. Text (body copy) placed in the upper half of the page on both the left and right part receives more attention than text situated on the bottom half of the advertisement. In times of recession it is important that consumers will take a look at the text, since arguments en information is given in the body copy to convince the consumer to buy the product. In line with this, we expect that body copy is positioned more in the upper half of advertisements during a recession. Thus:
H6: In times of recession the element lay-out is used in a different way than before and/or after the recession.
H6a: In times of recession the advertisement size will be larger.
H6b: In times of recession advertisements will be more often positioned in the first half of the magazine.
H6c: In times of recession body copy will be placed more often in the top half of advertisements.
For advertisers it is vital to understand how consumers react to an economic crisis so that the advertising strategies can be adapted to the new situation. It is critical to track how customers
reassess priorities and redefine value since consumers are more concerned whether they are getting value-for-money from their purchases in times of recession (Datamonitor, 2009). In times of recession consumers revert more on things which are familiar, old and typical Dutch (Marketingonline, 2008). Many Dutch consumers would prefer purchasing a Dutch brand for products with the same quality and price, especially in economic bad times. Therefore, we suppose that in times of recession magazine advertisements refer more often to the Dutch nationality to make consumers aware of the ‘Dutch’ products. Thus:
stead of focusing on quality alone. Consumers become therefore more price conscious (Germeroth-Hodges, 1993 and Cravens, 1974). A recession affects the rise in price knowledge and price sensitivity of consumers while they are searching for price information before and during their purchases more frequently (Estalami and Holden, 2001). As a result, consumers are more often searching for the best price instead of the best brand (Booz & Co, 2010; Deloitte, 2009). So, during a recession lower prices and value for money have large influence on what products and brands consumers will buy. Therefore, we expect that in times of recession advertisements refer more often to price by stating the price itself or by mentioning that a product is ‘best buy’ or ‘value for money’ (etc.). Overall: H8: In times of recession price references are more often present in advertisements.
As priorities change, consumers may altogether eliminate purchases in certain categories, or searching for more information about the best product, brand or price to support their purchase decision. In times of recession consumers tend to compare the prizes of supermarkets more often and use product ranking web sites more frequently to compare brands, prices and products. 75% of the consumers compared prizes of supermarkets and 44% was more focused on reductions and sales promotions during the recession (Deloitte, 2009). Household products, luxurious products and vacations are 10-15% more often compared on product ranking websites then during the months before the recession (Marketingonline, 2009). Consequently, we presume that magazine advertisements will more often make brand, price or product comparisons to assure the consumer that buying the advertised product will be the best choice compared with other brand and/or products. So:
3. Research design
In this chapter the research design for the descriptive study, in the form of a content analysis, will be described in which will be examined if the design and number of magazine advertisements in Dutch magazines altered during the recession of 2008-09. First the methodology, procedure and sample will be discussed. Secondly, coding categories will explain how the magazine advertisements will be coded.
3.1 Methodology
In this particular study, a content analysis was conducted to determine if the recession of 2008-2009 had impact on the number and design of magazine advertisements in the Netherlands. A content analysis will be an appropriate method to use since this study wants to analyze the message itself and not the communicator or the audience (Kassarjian, 1977). The recession started in the Netherlands during the last quarter of 2008 (October) and lasted until the third quarter of 2009 (June), according to statistics of CBS (Appendix #1) (CBS, 2010). Although consumers still feel the effects of the recession and the economy needs to recover more, the data of CBS will be used to determine the period of ‘actual’ recession. The content analysis will examine if differences in number of advertisements and advertising design can be found when comparing advertisements that appeared in magazines before the recession, during the recession and after the recession. Since the recession persisted for about 9 months, the same length of period will be analyzed for the test periods before and after the recession. So, three periods of 9 months will be analyzed in this study:
Before Recession After
Test period 1 Jan 2008 - Sept 2008
Test period 2 Oct 2008 - June 2009
Test period 3 July 2009 - March 2010
More details on which variables are being measured and their operational definitions can be found in part 3.3 and appendix #9.
3.2 Sample
A total of 611 advertisements were gathered from two different popular Dutch consumer magazines: Viva and Autoweek. All advertisements of at least a quarter page or larger in each analyzed edition, such as full-page or double-paged advertisements are included in the sampling frame. The selection of advertisements that were excluded from the sample was based on the following three criteria; (1) advertisements which recruit subscribers for the magazine itself, (2) advertisements smaller than a quarter page and therefore (3) single pages with more than four advertisements (e.g. the section “Mode & Lifestyle” in Viva.)
The magazines are initially chosen because they are high-circulation publications, based on circulation figures of HOI (2010), and they represent different segments/audiences. Autoweek is a magazine targeted at men of the age 15-50 years who wants to know more about the range of cars (not car ‘freaks’). Car news, tests and car comparisons are some major topics in this magazine. Autoweek is the only magazine in de the car- and motor magazine segment in the Netherlands which is published weekly. In the third quarter of 2008, when the recession started, Autoweek had the largest circulation: 113,518, and therefore the most reach. In the third quarter of 2009, after the recession ended, Autoweek was number 1 in circulation as well: 105,160 (index: 92,6). Viva is a weekly magazine targeted at women of the age 20-35 and is chosen because it is not a glossy (like Elle, Cosmopolitan) and therefore targets a broader audience, Viva is a very up to date magazine that covers relationships, sex, lifestyle, health, beauty, fashion, work and home and had the second highest circulation in Q3 of 2008; 117,761. In Q3 of 2009 the circulation was 111,081 (index: 94.3). Advertisements in women magazines are target at woman and therefore provide more ads of cosmetics than advertisements in men’s magazines, which are for example more focused on cars and watches. By analyzing advertisements in a broad range of types of magazines, a larger variety of product categories can be examined. An examination of advertised product categories will provide insight about advertised product categories during the recession and if they differ from categories before and after the recession.
