Critical thinking and application paper Ethics Case Study

Critical thinking and application paper Ethics - Case Study Example The rule which has the best overall consequences is regarded as the best rule. This article is very pertinent to Gary Briar's issue since it also covers the pervasive corruption in foregin governments. The citizens of Afghanistan are afraid to report instances of corruption because they are afraid that they will be killed by government forces. The continuing corruption done by government officials constitutes a serious malady affecting the government. This article is related to the situation of Danny Briar as it features the strong dilemma of a Turkish government official pertaining to corruption being committed by other government officials. This article refers to the Turkish Interior Minister Saadettin Tantan, the leader of Turkey's anti-corruption drive, who has accused elements of the party of trying to slow his investigations. The move of Tantan was to resign from government office. Hence, Turkey has lost a key government official who could have stemmed the tide of corruption. This article is pertinent to the situation of Danny Briar as it attempts to take a proactive stance in dealing with corrupt officials. The article emphasizes the importance of putting out incentives to make officials forego corruption activities. This article features the private efforts of a Sudanese cellphone billionaire, Mo Ibrahim, who will give an annual prize worth more than US $5 million dollars to an African head of state who was freely elected, turned over power to a freely elected successor and governed well while in office. This prize can help all African leaders to govern well and avoid the temptation of robbing their country of natural resources. d.) "Border Agents, Lured by the Other Side" Randal Archibold and Andrew Becker. New York Times online. Mqy 27, 2008. Available at URL: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/27/us/27border.html This article is pertinent to the case study since it als deals with how government agents, border patrol agents are lured by money officers. The article features two Villarreal brothers who were former Border Patrol agents, who were suspected of helping to smuggle an untold number of illegal immigrants from Mexico and Brazil across the border. The Villarreal investigation were among the corruption cases that have alarmed officials in the Homeland Security Department. e.) "China Confirms Poison Was on Toy Beads" New York Times Online. By KEITH BRADSHER. Published: November 11, 2007. This article is similar to that of Danny Briar as it also features the case of poison found in Chinese toy beads, Acqua Dots. The Chinese government had confirmed the presence of poison on toy beads exported around the world. The brightly colored toy

Criminal Law Problem question Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Criminal Law Problem question - Essay Example The relevant facts in the Kennedy case are substantially similar to the facts in the given problem. In Kennedy, as in the case of Edward, the defendant merely prepared a dose of heroin for the deceased. It was the deceased who self-administered the drug as in Lisa's case. In the Kennedy case, the court ruled that defendant Kennedy cannot be held criminally liable for manslaughter. Applying the Kennedy ruling, then Edward cannot likewise be held criminally liable for Lisa's death because Edward was not the one who injected the deceased with the drug. Under the same principle, Sarah cannot likewise be held criminally liable for Lisa's death as she was not the one who injected Lisa with the drug. Notably, Edward (unlike in Kennedy) was not also the one who gave the syringe to the deceased. If Kennedy (who was the one who gave the syringe to the deceased) is not criminally liable, then a fortiori Edward should not also be held criminally liable for Lisa's death since he was not even the one who gave the syringe to the deceased. In ruling for the defendant, the Kennedy court had occasion to discuss the elements of the crime of unlawful act manslaughter: (1) that the defendant committed an unlawful act; (2) that such unlawful act was a crime and (3) that the defendant's unlawful act was a significant cause of the death of the deceased. In the given problem, Edward admittedly committed an unlawful (and criminal) act by supplying the heroin to the deceased. The mere act of supplying heroin, however, could not have possibly caused Lisa's death since "the supply of drugs would itself have caused no harm unless the deceased had subsequently used the drugs in a form and quantity which was dangerous."2 Clearly, any unlawful act manslaughter charge cannot be based on the mere act of supplying the heroin. According to the Kennedy court, the heroin (as in the given problem) is described as "freely and voluntaril

Examining Revenue Management In The Hospitality Industry Tourism Essay

Examining Revenue Management In The Hospitality Industry Tourism Essay Revenue is dependent on capacity, market segment, duration, supply and demand. To manage revenue means to manage the source of income, by doing which can maximize the profit. Furthermore, the purpose of revenue management is to provide right products to right customers at right time at right price. The illustration below showed the concept of revenue manager: In this article there will be four areas of revenue management being discussed: restaurant, function room, hotel room and golf course. After reading this article, you will understand how revenue management can be applied to these areas, and what it will affect. Restaurant is a perfect candidate for applying Revenue Management because of its five elements: fixed capacity, demand inventory, time-variable demand, appropriate cost structure and segmentable customers. There are two traditional ways to manage revenue in restaurants: duration control and pricing strategy. Duration control helps to maximize the revenue, it consists uncertainty of meal durations and arrivals. In order to analyze and forecast meal durations, history data should be collected from reservations and POS system. Observing the guests during different meal periods will help to have more accurate information. After analyzing and forecasting meal duration, some strategies can be applied to control it. Those strategies include menu design, service process, staffing, improving communication, external approaches and reduce change over time. In addition, arrivals also needed to be controlled because of inconstant customer behavior. Some arrival-related problems may occur for example no shows, short shows and late shows. These can be prevented or avoided by overbooking, applying maximum hold time, taking deposits and forecasting. Reservation strategies and seating methods can help controlling duration. For example, no reservations available for peak hours can prevent having empty tabl es; call-ahead seating during busy times can avoid having empty seats. Pricing strategy could be based on different elements. Common strategies include cost based pricing, competitive pricing and demand based pricing. Cost based pricing is setting the sale price based on cost, for instance sale price equals three times of cost. Competitive pricing is considering the prices of competitors products when setting a price. Demand based pricing means when demand goes up, the price goes up as well, for example higher dinner prices for weekends. Rate Fences are always being used when a restaurant apply demand pricing strategy. A rate fence simply means a certain price provides to a certain people. There are many ways to introduce rate fences to a restaurant for instance buy one get one free, happy hour, coupon, higher price for window seats and so on. While setting a price of a product, business ethics should always be considered. A fair price makes customers happy. Here is a way to make sure the price is fair: compare the price with competitors but not fixing it with them or go much higher than their price. The best way to practice Revenue Management in restaurants is RevPASH, which stands for Revenue per Available Seat-Hour. It gives a clear picture of revenue made by the covers, and combines with the two methods mentioned above. Simply three ways to increase RevPASH: sell more covers, increase average check and increase seat occupancy. There are five steps to develop Revenue Management in restaurants: establish baseline, understand the causes, develop strategy, implement strategy and monitor results. To establish a baseline means to collect information on arrival patterns, RevPASH patterns, unconstrained demand, meal duration, customer preferences, seat occupancy, table occupancy, and so on. Some tools can help to understand the causes of those data, like fishbone diagram and bottleneck analysis. Strategies that have been mentioned above could be applied to a restaurant according to its specific problems or needs. When implementing the strategies, it is important to communicate with employees, to let everyone understand the strategies in order to enhance the productivity, efficiency and as well as ensuring the outcome. After implementing the strategies, the outcome should be monitored consistently. It helps to determine whether the strategies are useful or not and if there is anything that can be improved, monitori ng RevPash performance, dining time, and compare to baseline performance help to measure the results. Revenue management in room: In hotels, the goal of Revenue Management is to sell the right room (types of rooms such as standard, luxury or sea-view, etc.) to the right customers (from a particular segment) at the right time (depending on demand) and for the right price (when customer wants room). The necessary attributes of hotel revenue management include segmented market which hotel bases on to manage the tradeoffs between a higher room rate for business customers, and a lower room rate for leisure customers. Business customers are willing to pay a higher price holding a flexible room which can be book at last minute and leisure customers are willing to give up in exchange for a cheaper room. Fixed capacity means the number of rooms in hotels is impossible to increase or decrease. The appropriate cost structure means the fixed cost is higher than the variable cost. Perishable inventory means rooms cant be stored, and can lose its value forever for that night if it is unoccupied. Demand fluctuation which accords with seasons and day of the week, which affect the room pricing process, for example, in peak season, the hotel can increase its room rate to maximize revenue, while during valley season, reducing rate is the best way to increase utilization. (Admin, 2010) Revenue management is introduced in room as RevPar, which stands for revenue per available room. It is a measure of how the how the hotel has been able to fill room during low season and high season with appropriate for rates to maximize the profit. To achieve the most effectivity of RevPar, revenue manager need collect historical data from hotel and consider another hotels to implement it. There are two factors that need to be controlled carefully, including duration control and demand based pricing. For duration control, revenue manager can reduce arrival uncertainty by credit card guarantee, calling customers the day before to confirm the guest reservation and arrival time; overbook rooms to maximize occupancy in order to fill up the no shows, and if there is no show, the revenue manager will have penalties for guest like charging the first night room rate; call the night before to in-house guests to verify their departure time. Besides, there is a money penalty to the guest if they depart earlier. Otherwise, to minimize the duration uncertainty, revenue manager should forecast demand accurately based on historical data. For the pricing, most hotels have the categories of pricing which determine how much customer are going to be charged and who are willing to pay that price. Price are determined by the following three ways: Competitive pricing which the price is esta blish based on comparing with competitors; reference pricing which the price is lower than the hotels main competing brand; and demand based pricing, which price is set up depending on season, or guests demand such as view of room, length of stay. Those prices which decided who are willing to pay are introduced in revenue management as rate fences. Actually, rate fence is a condition somebody has to meet to get a particular price; on the other hand, its also a tool to maximize revenue for hotel, because the hotel takes the ultimate advantage of the rooms condition. In general, revenue manager classify rate fences into physical and logical fences correlating the different market segment, and the condition as well, as shown in the table below: Nowadays, customers consider that hotels set the room rate based on market segment is unfair, such as charging different prices for the same room with different types of customer. Mindshare is one of the biggest challenges for revenue manager and mindshare means that customers are more knowledgeable in the way that hotel set the room rate. Therefore, they examine rate fences as logical, transparent, clear communicated and fixed to generate short-term profits, and create long-term customer loyalty. Revenue management in Golf course: In the golf industry, it is also suitable for practicing revenue management because the condition of fixed capacity, predictable demand and perishable inventory. The land, equipment and facility are fixed capacity; the investment on land, facility and maintenance are incredibly high. The demand can be segment by different season and time. It could be forecast by using historical data, customer profile and arrival pattern. The tee times are perishable inventory. Once the product is not sold, we cannot recall the losses that made from that period. The main sources of revenue come from club membership fees, golf lessons, golf clubs, cart fees and green fees. To practice revenue management in their business, they would need to have different strategies to increase revenue. For example, Duration and arrival control, Discount allocation, Marshalls, Peer pressuring by posting playing time and Different pricing. To restrict the arrival, the company can set up arrival policies to minimize the risks of no show, late show and short show. To control duration, they can use Marshalls and Posting Playing time as strategies to pressure or remind the guest how long they have been playing. The other strategy is having different prices in different times and course. The company can provide Time of the day based pricing according to the Hot and Cold time during a day and provide Membership fees and senior prices to the customer. Discounts can offer to big party, ages and the time of reservation. The discount rate can apply based on reservation time and location. Disney Golf in Orlando applied revenue management to its golf club. First, they have segmented the market to manage the availability of tee times by the party size, business people, and different group for example, locals, foreign. They provide discount and packages to the groups, members of the club and employees. They even provide discount to beginning level golfer. When they forecast the high-demand day comes, they will close lower revenue buckets for all or part of that day and selected profitable course or customer to reach the highest profitable customers and use up-selling to motivate consumer to spend more money. The company said it is so important to know 6W, who, what, where, when, why and how. They use a very attractive way to collect the customer data. The customers who give their personal data and opinion will receive discount where appropriate. By using this strategy, they increased the customer loyalty. Since Disney Golf implemented revenue management in 2001, it is a great success to the company. Lastly, when company set up a price, it has to be logical, transparent and fix. Consumers have an acceptable price to most products in their minds. Company should always communicate and maintain relationship with the consumer. It is an easy way to know their opinion. Do not against the law by fixing the price with the competition and price gouging which setting up the price higher than the fair price. Revenue management in function space: Firstly, the function space cant be extended so that the maximum capacity is fixed. However, the function space can be adjusted since hotels apply air wall which can separate a function room to be 2 or more meeting rooms. Secondly, same as rooms, restaurant, and golf course, if the function room doesnt sell out it means the hotel loses the chance of making revenue- perishable product. Third, there is variable and uncertain demand. Even though customer pays the deposit, they might break the contract. Furthermore, the price sensitive varies from people to people. Lastly, function room pricing structure are setting higher than it should be in case customer demands to cut down the price or a special package. Thus, hotel will not lose money in business. Hotel will send contract which includes time of duration, price, quantity of customers and related agreements after guests confirm with sales to ensure both parties right. There are 2 rights of decisions that hotel hold on hand- price and duration. Pricing a function space need to consider the rooms sales and FB sales. Same as rooms and restaurant revenue management, hotel apply rate fence by physical and non-physical reasons. Physical rate fence can work by facilities and equipment, location and ceiling height. For example, price will be set higher in the high technical function room compare with the others. Non-physical rate fences will determine by booking pace, transaction characteristics, frequency of reservation and timing. Hotels mostly offer special meeting package with two different prices in a day and different price between weekday and weekend since price based on demand. Generally, there is higher demand in the evening day part then afternoon section. However, customers might think it is unfair to get higher price because of different day part. The second element that hotel doing good at control is duration. The duration can be predicted by customer history in Delphi. Hotel normally asks guests refundable deposit and prepayment in order to prevent no-show or cancellation since the duration uncertainty. Furthermore, if guests hold the function room longer then the agreement time, they might have to pay extra fees since hotel need more people to turn down the room. In order to apply revenue management in function space, hotel need to set up the baseline and understand the drivers of performance which needs to consider customer profile, revenue contribution, seasonal demand history, ConPAST, current market environment, and demand behavior of segments. The next step is to develop strategy like pricing, special package and so on. Following the point mentioned above hotel need to implement the strategy properly and also monitor the outcome. According to hotels forecasting, hotel will keep the function room for the most profitable customers for each function room in high demand period. However, hotel wont say obviously that you need to pay higher amount of money in order to get this function room. Actually, people feel it is unethical to reject customers if you are waiting for higher contribution customers. Nowadays, hotel sets the minimum charge for each function room. As long as both party make agreement and sign the contract, hotel dont have rights to sale the reserved function room to other people. Conclusion Revenue Management is a perfect tool to maximize profit in any organizations. Restaurant, Golf, Function Space and Hotel rooms, they all have the same condition of fixed capacity, predictable demand and perishable inventory, they all can implement revenue management to maximize profit in their way. In order to achieve the goal and objective, the strategies have to be logical, circumspect with every single historical data and decision making from your experience.

The Battle of Bougainville :: essays research papers

The Solomon Islands campaign began with the taking of Guadalcanal in December 1942. In February 1943 the Russell Islands fell, and the New Georgia group followed in August 1943. At the end of 1943, the campaign reached its goal when American troops gained a solid foothold on the island of Bougainville. The Russells, New Georgia and Bougainville were objectives Objective: Isolate Rabaul The objective of the Solomon Islands campaign was to cut off Japan's major forward air and naval base at Rabaul, on the island of New Britain. Rabaul was the hub of Japanese air power in the south Pacific--a stopping point for planes coming from New Guinea in the southwest and Truk, the home of the Japanese Combined Fleet, in the south central Pacific. Bougainville was key to neutralizing Rabaul. Preliminary Attacks The first attack on Bougainville occurred Aug. 15, 1943. Eight Corsairs from Marine Fighter Squadron 214 (later known as the Black Sheep) flew up from the Russell Islands to strafe the Kahili airfield during American amphibious landings on the island of Vella Lavella. The lightning strike--a surprise so complete the Japanese did not have time to shoot back--damaged aircraft and refueling equipment on the ground and forestalled a night attack on the American amphibious force. because of their value as air bases. Battle of Empress Augusta Bay The evening of the landing, Army reconnaissance aircraft reported that a large Japanese surface force was heading for Bougainville. Task Force 39 intercepted it about 2:30 the following morning 45 miles west of Empress Augusta Bay. The American ships, executing maneuvers at breakneck speeds in the darkness to avoid Japanese long-range torpedoes, sank two enemy ships after three hours of heavy fire. With two other ships damaged in collisions while trying to avoid American torpedoes, the scattered Japanese chose to retreat. The American force had only two ships hit, both of which sustained moderate damage. The Japanese Response Battle of Empress Augusta Bay The evening of the landing, Army reconnaissance aircraft reported that a large Japanese surface force was heading for

Corporate Responsibility and Marketing Strategies Essay

There is no question that Apple is a remarkable company. In addition to its business turnaround, its innovative design, and its media content and apps, the unadulterated sexiness of all its products makes Apple hard to resist. For me, what isn’t hard to resist, is asking: How can a company that is this extraordinary in other respects be missing in action on corporate social responsibility? Apple’s Supplier Responsibility Report reveals that the company is taking action to stop unethical practices among its suppliers. These have included use of underage labor at 10 facilities, dangerous working conditions at two facilities, falsification of audit materials at four facilities, and bribery at one facility (Forbes, 2014). Apples Current Position on Ethics and Social Responsibility Recently, Apple released a list of suppliers that accounts for 97% of the company’s supply chain expenses. The company also became the first technology enterprise to join the Fair Labor Association, which works to improve labor conditions and boasts such members as Nike, Adidas, and H&M. The increased transparency is welcome after a spate of bad press regarding overseas supplier Foxconn and others raised doubt about Apple’s commitment to corporate social responsibility (CSR). Apple’s public image has the rosy glow of a crisp Gala. A national survey conducted by the New York Times in November 2011 found that 56% of respondents couldn’t think of anything negative about the company, while 14% cited expense as the worst thing about Apple. A mere 2% noted overseas labor practices, but that may be changing with recent stories about appalling labor practices in some of Apple’s suppliers in China picking up pace after the report. The new year ushered in a provocative radio report titled â€Å"Mr. Daisey and the  Apple Factory† from â€Å"This American Life,† detailing awful living and working conditions for people at Apple. Suppliers like Foxconn note that â€Å"This American Life† has since retracted parts of the story, claiming that Mike Daisey â€Å"embellished† portions of his tale, although the radio show acknowledges that the overall problematic conditions at various Chinese manufacturing plants are well documented elsewhere. Soon after, the New York Times followed with an article titled â€Å"In China, Human Costs Are Built Into an iPad,† highlighting similar depressing working conditions at iPad and iPhone factories. The most e-mailed article of the day, it detailed deaths from explosions caused by aluminum dust, n-hexane poisoning caused by screen cleaner, suicide attempts, underage workers, and workweeks of more than 60 hours. Finally, reports came in about a potential mass suicide by 150 Foxconn workers, who threatened to jump from the factory roof. While the crisis was averted, it followed 18 deaths from â€Å"falling† at the plant in 2010 Examine Apple’s Core: Will CSR Prevail? (2012). Business & the Environment, 23(3), 7-8. Apple has had many CSR challenges; over the years; however, Apple has worked to strengthen its programs to help suppliers protect student interns and other at-risk workers. Apple continues to ensure efforts to end excessive work hours. In 2013, Apples suppliers achieved an average of 97 percent compliance with maximum 60-hour workweek. Apple is driving responsible sourcing of minerals, and has publicly released a list of smelters and refiners to its supply chain to promote transparency. In June 2013, Apple’s work hour compliance was 100% the current June 2014 compliance is down slightly to 95%. Apple states that if companies want to do business with Apple, they must uphold the highest commitment to human rights. Apple also states it is looking to eradicate unethical hiring and exploration of workers even when local law suites permit such efforts. Apple is continuing efforts to end excessive work hours and driving sourcing of tin tantalum, tungsten and gold Apple’s 2014 report shows Apple has met its social responsibilities. Apple conducted 33 specialized audits at facilities employing migrant workers who may be at risk for unfair treatment. Apple required suppliers to reimburse US$3.9 million in excess foreign contract worker fees, it was confirmed, in  January, 2014 that all active third-party auditors verified identified tantalum smelters in Apple’s supply chain as conflict-free (Forbs, 2014). Apple’s position on climate change is also a work in progress. Apple is working to improve its position in the world on climate change. Apple says it wants to leave the world better than they found it. Apple strives to create products that are the best they can be in every way. Products that is beautiful, easy to use and powerful. Apples passion for innovation goes into to how Apple thinks about its social responsibility of being environmentally responsible. Apple works tireless on reducing its impact on climate change by finding ways to use greener materials, and conserve the resources we all need to thrive. The Impact of Publications of Ethics and Social Responsibility on Apples Reputation Apple’s reputation was challenged by the impact of the publications of ethics and social responsibility violations made by suppliers. Like every company, Apple faces five types of external pressures that influence its strategies and operational policies: customer loyalty; industry best practices; expectations of major shareholders and the investment community; civil society organizations or NGOs; and, increased government pressure and regulatory oversight. Despite extensive media publications on the impact of the ethics and social responsibilities violations made by Apple’s suppliers, Apple’s reputation has not suffered. There has not been any loss in demand for its products or revenues, which continues to grow unabated. Apple also enjoys broad customer loyalty in China even though customers there have a better knowledge of these working conditions. This is not surprising. Product boycotts are usually very short-lived, except those for products that pose a threat to consumers’ health and safety, such as contaminated food products. Public pressures and media coverage also decline when the issue ceases to be a news event and other more newsworthy items catch media attention. It is highly doubtful that it will be any different this time Two Faces of Apple PRAKASH SETHI APRIL 2012. In sum, Apple’s business model is no different than its competitors. Yet as an industry leader, it surely has the ability, and I contend the obligation, to set standards of conduct that enrich the â€Å"commons† at the same time as it  enriches the company’s investors. Methods Apple Can Utilize To Ensure Wages And Benefits Standards Going forward, Apple can make sure that its suppliers adhere to wage and benefits standards by giving employees a voice and direct connections to its corporate CEO with surveys and frequent meetings either virtual or face – to – face for comments regarding treatment and fair wages. A taskforce can be established to mentor workers, keep in touch and understand what is needed. There are often problems of communication and the taskforce could improve this gap between Apple and its employees, thus creating satisfied workers and less scrutiny and unwanted media publications for Apple. Apple’s Customers and Increased Cost Apple’s customer satisfaction is stellar in light of all of the negative media publications. In addition, Apple’s customer base is loyal. Pundits often refer to them as â€Å"zealots† or â€Å"fanboys.† The more polite references include â€Å"Mac loyalists.† I am, of course, talking about Apple’s (AAPL) more vocal customers, those who will defend the company and its products in any debate going on around them. The Secret Behind Apple’s Loyal Customer Base Apr. 11, 2007 9:32 AM ET| About: Apple Inc. (AAPL) By Carl Howe Notably, I believe Apple’s customers will pay an increased price to own one of Apples products and stand in overwhelmingly long lines to purchase them. Apples customers would be willing to pay more to keep the most innovative product in the industry if there was a price increase due to Apple needing to pay higher wages to employees to produce an Apple product. What is it that drives their passion for most things Apple? Is it a deluded mind warped by the Reality Distortion Field that Steve Jobs so successfully wraps every new product in? In short, the answer is no. The truth behind the scenes is not that Apple has a large group of customers that are too dedicated and passionate about their products, or the company as a whole. The reality is far more simple and obvious: Apple simply has a large group of very satisfied customers — and that’s the secret ingredient, left out of nearly every analysis or op-ed piece that mentions these â€Å"zealots.† The obvious side to Apple’s customer satisfaction lies in their attention to detail in every facet of product development. All their products are designed, at every stage, with the customer clearly in mind and each product is tailored  to make it as easy to use as possible for the customer, regardless of how technically savvy or not they may be. The less obvious side involves two keywords: freedom and choice. Customers do not really want freedom of choice they want satisfaction in the product they purchase this is what keeps customers satisfied and loyal. Apples Current Overall Marketing Strategy Apple’s current overall market strategy is excellent for developing a very distinct strategy through industry leading innovation. This strategy has allowed them to be the frontrunners in new product introductions and the improvement of existing products. Apple has employed a differentiation strategy in an attempt to meet the needs of a global market by offering customers innovative new products and improved existing products. An important part of their strategy involves meeting the needs of the evolving digital electronics and computer markets. Apple has chosen to implement its strategy by designing and developing its own operating systems and software technologies. This has allowed them to be very flexible in developing new products as they have complete control over the software and hardware. Apple’s strategy is still evolving in an effort to keep up with evolving technology. Initially, Apple sole focus was on the computer industry as they were introducing innovative products. Apple continues to introduce innovative products in the computer industry, but recently has focused a great deal of strategic attention and resources on entering into the digital electronics and computer markets. This, along with the successful entry into the personal media player industry, marks a clear evolution in Apple’s strategy. Also, Apple’s entry into the tablet computer industry with its iPad and the mobile phone industry with its iPhone are evidence of a further evolving strategy. (2012, 02)What Are the Chief Elements of Apple’s Overall Competitive Strategy? Study Mode.com. Retrieve 02, 2012 References Examine Apple’s Core: Will CSR Prevail? (2012). Business & the Environment, 23(3), 7-8. Forbs (2014) Lisa Jackson Vice President of Environmental Initiatives www.insidebusiness360.com †º Management †º Management Ethics Two Faces of Apple PRAKASH SETHI APRIL, 2012 The Secret Behind Apple’s Loyal Customer Base Apr. 11, 2007 9:32 AM ET| About: Apple Inc. (AAPL) By Carl Howe (2012, 02)What Are the Chief Elements of Apple’s Overall Competitive Strategy? Study Mode.com. Retrieve 02, 2012 from htt1://www.studymode.com/essays/What-Are-The-Chief-Elements-Of-928263.html .

Advertising Creativity Matters

Advertising Creativity Matters MICAEL DAHLEN Stockholm School of Could â€Å"wasteful† advertising creativity that does not add to the functionaiity of the advertisement (i. e. , it neither enhances recaii and iiking of the advertising, nor Economics micael,[email  protected] se increases comprehension and persuasiveness of the communicated message) be useful? An experimentai study shows that it can. By signaling greater effort on behaif SARA ROSENGREN Stockholm School of Economics sara. [email  protected],se of the advertiser and a greater ability of the brand, advertising creativity enhances both brand interest and perceived brand quaiity.The effects are mediated by consumer-perceived creativity, suggesting that consumers are important Judges of FREDRIK TORN creativity. Bringing advertising creativity into new iight, the resuits provide impiications Stockholm School of for the development, measurement, and positioning of creative advertising. Economics fredrik,[email   protected] se INTRODUCTION There is no guarantee that creativity in an advertisement makes it more memorable or appealing to consumers (Kover, Goldberg, and James, 1995). In fact, research by, for example, Kover, James, and Sonner (1997) suggests that many creative advertising efforts may be wasted, in the sense hat they do not add to the functionality of the advertisement (i. e. , they neither enhance consumer recall and liking of the advertising, nor increase comprehension and persuasiveness of the communicated message). However, this article argues that such wasteful advertising creativity may have other positive effects. Previous research on advertising spending has found that, when bypassing functional aspects of high spending, for example, that bigger advertisements increase attention or that repeated exposures facilitate comprehension and breed liking, wasteful expenses have positive effects on brand perceptions (e. g..Ambler and HoUier, 2004; Kirmani and Rao, 2000). The pres ent research investigates whether or not the same conclusion follows with respect to advertising creativity. A common view is that creativity is a mission of the entire advertising industry, its raison d'etre (Koslow, Sasser, and Riordan, 2003). The fact that 3 9 2 JDUBOIIL OF (IDUERTISinG BESEflRCH September 2 0 0 8 advertising agencies spend a great deal of time and energy competing for creative awards, even though they are not sure that these efforts actually increase the functionality of their work, suggests that creativity is perceived to be important in its own right (e. g. Helgesen, 1994; Kover, James, and Sonner, 1997). In a frequently cited study. Gross (1972) showed that wasteful advertising creativity in advertising agencies, in the form of an abundance of creative ideas, yield more effective advertisements in the long run. This article takes the notion of wasteful advertising creativity to the level of the individual advertisement to see whether an abundance of creativit y (that does not enhance functionality) in a single advertisement yields positive effects. Building on the research on marketing signals, we suggest it does. Studies show that the very employment of various marketing elements, such s warranties (long-lasting) or price (correlates with quality), sends signals about the brand that guide consumer evaluations and choice (e. g. , Kirmani and Rao, 2000). Advertising expense has been found to be a signal that consumers interpret as the marketers' efforts due to their belief in the brand (Kirmani, 1990; Kirmani and Wright, 1989) or as proof of the brand's superiority or â€Å"brand DOI: 10. 2501/S002184990808046X ADVERTISING CREATIVITY MAHERS fitness† (Amhler and Hollier, 2004): The greater the expense, the more confident the marketer and the more fit the brand. Categorizing advertising creativity as a arketing signal, we expect that greater creativity signals more effort (as creative advertising is harder to produce than â€Å"nofr ills† advertising) and greater fitness (as the sender must have the knowledge resources to take the extra communicative leap and communicate in a nontraditional marmer) and thus produces more favorable brand perceptions. By investigating the signaling effects of advertising creativity on brand perceptions, we bypass the functional aspects that have previously been in focus in creativity research. Previous research focuses on intermediate effects such as advertising recall, liking, and comprehension (e. . , Kover, James, and Sonner, 1997; Stone, Besser, and Lewis, 2000; Till and Baack, 2005), or different facets of creativity, such as originality, meaningfulness, and emotions (e. g. , Ang and Low, 2000; Kover, Goldberg, and James, 1995; White and Smith, 2001). As advertising (and creativity) can take many shapes and forms, it is not very surprising that most authors seem to agree that the research on advertising creativity to date is troubled by contradictory and inconclusive f indings (e. g. , ElMurad and West, 2004; Koslow, Sasser, and Riordan, 2003: Stone, Besser, and Lewis, 2000).For instance, some (awardwinning, which is often the criterion in these studies) creative advertising may be very original and yield high recall, but low liking, whereas other advertising could produce strong emotions and liking, but be harder to recall. Avoiding such obstacles may be achievable by focusing on creativity as a signal in itself, rather than its facets and intermediate effects. The present study includes a number of elements that are novel to advertising creativity research. First, rather than using real advertisements as representatives of more versus less creative advertising, the tudy manipulates advertising creativity in the same manner as Ambler and Hollier (2004) manipulate advertising expense. Thus, we are able to compare advertising for the same brands with the same messages and control for the functionality of the tested advertisements. Most research to date has employed real advertisements, which makes it harder to discern the effects of the creativity in itself, as it also becomes a matter of different brands with different messages. Second, our manipulation does not produce creative advertising that is â€Å"outstanding,† but rather moderately creative. As noted by Haberland and Dacin (1992), the focus n awards creates a dichotomous view of advertising as creative yes/no. It is more likely that advertising varies in its degree of creativity. Not all advertisements win prizes for creativity, but that does not mean that those advertisements are not creative. Third, in addition to manipulating advertising creativity, we also measure consumer-perceived creativity. Previous research has usually kept the degree of creativity â€Å"hidden† from consumers, utilizing awards and expert judgments as assessments of creativity. Whereas advertising effects materialize to a considerable degree without consumer awareness (e. g..He ath and Nairn, 2005), the present study tests the notion that consumer explicit thoughts about advertising creativity matter. ADVERTISING CREATIVITY AS A MARKETING SIGNAL Most markets are flooded with products for consumers to choose between. As consumers are unable to sample all products that are available to them, or even assess the quality of all the products they have actually consumed, they rely on marketing signals (Kirmani and Rao, 2000). Ad- vertising expense is the marketing signal that has gained most attention in advertising research. According to Kirmani and Wright (1989), advertising expense is an ndicator of marketing effort: The more money spent on advertising, the greater the effort—meaning that the advertiser must really believe in the product. Spending a great deal of money on advertising is a more powerful signal to consumers about the quality of the product than the content of the advertising, as the advertiser â€Å"put their money where their mouth is. † More money means greater risk, and thus consumers feel safe that the advertiser will deliver on her promise (Kirmani, 1997). In tests of advertising expense, Kirmani (1990,1997) manipulates advertising sizes, colors, endorsers, and repetition and finds hat they may all increase perceived marketing effort. Interestingly, Kirmani (1990) notes that it is possible that perceived advertising quality (â€Å"includes the care and creativity used to design the ad†) could also have an effect on perceptions of marketing effort. However, Kirmani (1990) does not manipulate advertising quality (and more specifically, advertising creativity). Such a manipulation would result in perceptions of greater marketing effort. Coming up with a creative concept is more demanding for the advertiser than simply applying a standard solution based one's own or others' previous efforts.Consumers are â€Å"advertising literate† enough today to infer that creative advertising is probably the result of a development process that is both longer and more costly (they may even refer this to the employment of a â€Å"fancy advertising agency†). HI: Advertising creativity increases perceived marketing effort. Ambler and Hollier (2004) suggest that advertising expense may not only serve September 2 0 0 8 JDUIIOIIL OF HDUERTISIOG RESEHRCH 3 9 3 ADVERTISING CREATIVITY IVIATTERS An extra degree of creativity may send signais about tiie advertiser tiiat rub off on consumer perceptions of tiie brand. as a signal of effort, but also as a more irect signal of â€Å"brand fitness. † Referring to the biological theory of handicapping, they argue that advertising expense may be a signal of wealth—arguably, the advertiser can afford such wastefully expensive advertising. The wealth, in tum, could be interpreted as proof of previous success due to the brand's great ability to serve the market. Extending the reasoning to advertising creativity, wasteful creativity (i. e. , the surplus creativity that does not add to the functionality of the advertisement) could work as a signal of wealth as well, wealth in the form of knowledge and smartness. For example, the literature n rhetorical figures (which are a form of wasteful creativity as they convey nessages in unnecessarily clever ways) suggests that they may signal smartness on behalf of the sender (e. g. , Toncar and Munch, 2001, 2003). However, this notion has not been tested. Ambler and Hollier's (2004) concept of â€Å"brand fitness† is especially interesting in light of the growing body of research on perceived corporate ability. Perceived corporate ability refers to consumers' beliefs that the company is able to improve the quality of existing products and to generate new products innovatively (Luo and Bhattacharya, 2006).Studies show that perceived corporate ability influences the success of new-product introductions and marketing activities, as well as the market value of the entire company. In fact, perceived corporate ability may be the most powerful source of sustainable competitive advantage (Brown and Dacin, 1997; Luo and Bhattacharya, 2006). Advertising creativity could be a signal of brand ability (the equivalent of corporate ability on the individual, advertised, brand level). Coming up with a creative advertising concept signals the ability and desire to â€Å"think outside the box† and think in new and different ways compared to he competition and compared to the brand's history. Thus, advertising creativity says less about the brand's historical success and more about what could be expected from it in the future. H2: Advertising creativity increases customers' perceived abuity in the brand. ADVERTISING CREATIVITY'S EFFECTS ON BRAND PERCEPTIONS Recent advertising literature argues that the most important and reliable measures of advertising effectiveness are consumers' perceptions and experiences of the brand rather than of the advertising its elf. This influence is due to the facts that consumers are not able to remember r discern all the advertising they encounter (e. g.. Heath and Nairn, 2005; Weilbacher, 2003). Powerful advertising affects consumers' perceptions of the brand immediately (Hall, 2002). As creativity is supposed to make powerful advertising, the expectation is that more versus less powerful advertising results in immediate effects on brand perceptions. The main brand perception that has been uncovered in previous studies of marketing signals is perceived quality. As mentioned previously, perceived marketing effort signals confidence on behalf of 3 9 4 JOUIIIlflL DfflDUERTISinGRESEflRCH September 2 0 0 8 he advertiser (e. g. , Kirmani and Rao, 2000). Perceived brand ability would also signal high quality, as corsumers expect the brand to improve quality over the competition. Therefore, the hypothesis is that advertising creativity enhances perceived brand quality. H3: Advertising creativity enhances custo mers' perceptions of brand quality. Conventional wisdom holds that creative advertising pushes the message into consumers' minds (e. g. , El-Murad and West, 2004; Kover, James, and Sonner, 1997). However, recent literature argues that the individual brand does not really have much to say (e. g. Ehrenberg, Barnard, Kennedy, and Bloom, 2002; Heath and Nairn, 2005). In the massive marketspace and mindspace competition, it is increasingly difficult to be unique and virtually impossible to persuade consumers to buy your product (Weilbacher, 2003). In line with this notion, a survey among top-level agency creatives ranked the sameness among brands as the number one reason for improved creativity; rather than communicating a specific message (which is likely to resemble competitors'), advertising creativity must make the brand interesting and exciting (Reid, Whitehill King, and DeLorme, 1998).This goal is particularly relevant to established brands, which make up the majority of the market place. The greatest enemies to these brands are predictability and consumer disinterest (Machleit, Allen, and Madden, 1993). Brands must continuously reinvent themselves and challenge expectations to stay in touch with consumers. This touch could be achievable with creative advertising. Creative advertising in itself suggests that the brand has something interesting to offer, as it signals effort and confidence, and ability to deliver ADVERTISING CREATIVITY MAHERS something different from the competition. Therefore, the study expects a positive elationship between advertising creativity and brand interest. H4: Advertising creativity enhances brand interest. CONSUMERS AS JUDGES OF ADVERTISING CREATIVITY Most research on advertising creativity conceptualizes it as a â€Å"hidden tool† for advertising professionals to create powerful advertising. That is, it is important that the professionals perceive the advertising to be creative for it to be effective, but consumers are not supposed to think in such terms, rather just to like the advertising, remember it, and select the brand (e. g. , Koslow, Sasser, and Riordan, 2003; Stone, Besser, and Lewis, 2000; Till and Baack, 2005).However, a professional judgment of advertising creativity is no guarantee that the advertising will be successful (e. g. , Kover, James, and Sonner, 1997). For instance. Stone, Besser, and Lewis (2000) found that while 70 percent of the advertising that consumers remembered and liked was categorized as creative by trained judges, 47 percent of strongly disliked advertising was also categorized as creative by the judges. White and Smith (2001) compare creativity ratings between advertising professionals and the general public and found that the two groups differed in their ratings. The question is, who is the better judge?Kover, James, and Sonner (1997) argue that less professionalism is needed in the judgments of creativity, as at the end of the day, consumers' perceptions are what m atter. The present study puts this argument to the test by testing whether manipulated advertising creativity (pretested on advertising professionals) has a direct effect on our hypothesized variables, without consumers being aware of this â€Å"hidden tool,† or if consumer perceptions of advertising creativity are necessary and mediate the effects. The hypothesis is that consumer perception of the advertising creativity is the first step n the process that leads to all the hypothesized effects in H1-H4: H5: The effects of advertising creativity are mediated by consumerperceived creativity. METHOD To test the hypotheses, we must be able to compare responses between consumers who have been exposed to a more creative versus a less creative advertisement for the same brand with the same message. Furthermore, to test with certainty whether consumer-perceived advertising creativity is an intervening, mediating step between manipulated creativity and our hypothesized effects, we mu st measure creativity perception before versus after he other variables (for H5 to hold, creativity perception should have a greater effect when measured before the other variables, cf. Kenny, 1975). To this end, we chose a 2 (more creative/less creative advertisement) X 2 (perceived creativity before/after) experimental design where informants were randomly assigned to one of the four cells. To avoid stimulus specific effects, four different brands and accompanying messages were used for a total of 16 experiment cells. All four brands are established and well known in their respective product categories (pain relief, coffee, vodka, and condoms). We chose well-known rands for two reasons. First, the majority of advertising in major media are for established brands (e. g. , Kent, 2002). Second, as consumer perceptions of wellknown brands are harder to influence than those of unfamiliar brands, the test brands make a more robust test of our hypotheses. Research instrument development Similar to Ambler and Hollier (2004), we wanted to ensure that only the wastefulness of creativity would differ between advertisements, not their functionality with respect to what was communicated. Therefore, we needed to develop advertising stimuli differing only with respect to the creative execution.To this end, a method similar to that of Toncar and Munch (2003) was used. Four pairs of print advertisements were developed, one pair for each brand. Print advertisements usually have three main elements: the brand, text, and pictorial. In our manipulation, the brand and the pictorial was kept constant, while the text was varied to communicate the same message in a more (employing rhetorical figures, cf. Tom and Eves, 1999) or less (without rhetorical figures) creative way. The number of words was kept constant. The advertisements were pretested to make sure that the pairs communicated the same message, and equally strongly.Twenty plus twenty consumers from the target population (be low) were asked â€Å"how well do you agree that the advertisement's main message is. .. † and rated one of the advertisements from each pair on a scale of 1 = totally disagree/ 7 = totally agree. There were no significant differences within the pairs (A^more creative = 5. 4 verSUS Mjess creative = 5. 5). Next, 12 plus 12 advertising professionals from eight major agencies rated one of the advertisements from each pair on creativity (scale: 1 = not at all creative/ 7 = very creative). The more creative advertisements rated significantly higher than the less creative advertisements Mmore creative = 4. 0 verSUS Mjess creative = 2. 7, p < 0. 01). Notably, although significantly different from each other, neither of the two groups of advertisements was seen as particularly creative. However, September 2 0 0 8 JOURIIIIL OF HDUERTISIOG RESERRCH 3 9 5 ADVERTISING CREATIVITY MAHERS By focusing too much on award-winning advertising and treating creativity as a yes/no variabie, one mis ses out on ail the improvements that can be made and effects that can be attained at more moderate leveis. â€Å"How much do you think development of the advertisement cost? † (1 = very cheap/7 = very expensive), and â€Å"How uch time do you think has been devoted to the development of the advertisement? † (1 = very little/7 = very much). We included the variables both separately and as an index (r = 0. 52) in the analyses. Perceived brand ability ( H2) was mea- we are not interested in the absolute levels of creativity; the goal is to compare differences in degree of creativity. This approach differs from most previous research, which often employs â€Å"outstanding† (award-winning) creative advertisements. The fact that the degree of creativity is fairly low in our more creative advertisements makes our test of the effects of advertising creativity more robust.It also makes the results more applicable in practice, as most advertisements do not win awards, but may still be creative (e. g. , Haberland and Dacin, 1992; Kover, James, and Sonner, 1997). Procedure We employed a procedure similar to Ambler and Hollier (2004). The participants were part of an internet panel of a professional market research firm and recruited to represent a cross section of the working population (56/44 female-male breakdown, age range 18-65 years, average 39 years). In total, 1,284 consumers participated in the study, making a cell size of approximately 80 respondents. Asked to participate in an advertising retest, consumers were randomly exposed to one of the stimulus print advertisements online and then directly filled out a questionnaire. Measures A number of measures were employed to test the advertisement's functionality (which is supposed to be the same across conditions): Brand identification w as measured as an open-ended question, where respondents typed in the brand name they believed was featured in the advertisement. Key message identification w as measured by asking respondents to tick the correct message out of four alternatives (the alternatives were the same across all cells and were designed to be plausible for all four rands). Furthermore, we measured difficulty of comprehension (1 = very easy to comprehend/7 = very difficult to comprehend), advertising attitude (â€Å"What is your opinion about the advertisement you just saw? â€Å"), and brand attitude [â€Å"What is your opinion of (brand)? ,† both on a scale from 1 (very bad) to 7 (very good)]. We also measured brand familiarity and price estimates to rule out confounding effects of consumer knowledge or competing signals (cf. Kirmani and Rao, 2000). Similar to Till and Baack (2005) familiarity with the brand was measured before exposure (1 = never heard of it/7 = know t very well). Price estimates were measured after exposure with an open-ended question where respondents were asked to type in how much they estimated that the advertised product cost (employ ing familiar brands and products in the study, we expected no differences between conditions). We calculated differences in price estimates within the advertising pairs and compared them by product category. The following measures were used for the hypothesis tests: Perceived marketing effort ( HI) was mea- sured with two items on a 7-point scale. 3 9 6 JOUBflflL OFflDUERTISlOGflESEflRCHS eptember 2 0 0 8 ured with three items (1 = do not agree/ 7 = agree completely): â€Å"(Brand) is smart,† â€Å"(Brand) is likely to develop valuable products in the future,† and â€Å"(Brand) is good at solving consumers' problems. † We included the items both separately and as an index (Cronbach's alpha = 0. 83) in the analyses. Perceived brand quality (H3) was as- sessed by asking: â€Å"What is the general quality level of the brand? † with answers given on a scale from 1 (very low quality) to 7 (very high quality). Brand interest (H4) was measured with two items on a 7-point scale: â€Å"I find (brand) interesting,† and â€Å"I want to buy the brand† 1 = do not agree/7 = agree completely). We included the variables both separately and as an index (r = 0. 68) in the analyses. Perceived advertising creativity (H5) was measured by asking: â€Å"To what extent do you think that the advertisement you just saw is creative? † (1 – not at all creative/ 7 = very creative). The question was placed before the measures of perceived effort (HI) and brand ability (H2) in one-half of the questionnaires and after the same measures in the other half. This design enables us to test the direction of causalities between the variables (Kenny, 1975). It has been used in previous research on, for xample, the causal effects between slogan evaluations and brand perceptions (Dahlen and Rosengren, 2005). RESULTS Manipulation and confound checks Comparing the groups of more creative versus less creative advertisements. ADVERTISING CREATIVITY M AHERS perceived creativity rated significantly TABLE 1 higher for the group of more creative ad- Effects of Advertising Creativity vertisements (M = 3. 94 versus M = 3. 37, p ; 0. 01), suggesting that our manipulation of advertising creativity was successful. See Table 1. Furthermore, the analyses include testing for differences in function- More Creative Less CreativeAdvertisements, Advertisements, Planned M {SD) M (SD) Comparisons ,. . ,. Manipulation check ality between the groups with respect to †¢ ^ 5 iF brand identification, message identification, comprehension, and advertising and brand attitudes. Only comprehension and advertising attitude differed between conditions, suggesting that the more creative advertisements were more difficult to com, , . , ,. , , , , prehend and were better liked than the less creative advertisements. To rule out competing effects from these variables. they were included as covariates in the subsequent analyses, meaning that these ^ †¢;  ° ifferences were accounted for in the re- r, †¢ ^ †¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¢ Perceived creativity 3,94 (1. 51) 3. 37 (1. 64) p ; 0 . 01 ^^'^^  °^ advertising functionality †¦. ^rapd identification 0. 99(0. 26) iVIessage identification 0. 99(0. 18) Comprehension 4. 96 (1. 71) 0,98(0. 28) 0,99(0,11) 4. 64 (1. 79) n . s. n,s, p < 0 . 01 Advertising attitude  ° †¦.. ^. ‘[^uf?.. ^. ^^. ‘! ^. ‘^. ^.? Confounding variables Brand familiarity ^ ^. ^ . . ,. „ Estimated pnce, difference ,. ^ by product category 4. 08(1. 47) †¢ f^. :^l. ‘ih^^). 3. 81(1. 28) p < 0 . 01 †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ ^. ^^.. {hf! ‘^). â€Å". :! ; 4-,58 (2,23) „„^ +0. 04 4. 44 (2. 23) :28. (1:45) 3. 14 (1. 54) 3,41 (1,75) 2. 96 (1. 58) 2. 78 (1,50) 3. 16 (1. 71) p < 0 . 01 p < 0 . 01 p < 0 . 01 3 . 67(1,71) †¢ †¢ 3. 22 (;i. 26) 4. 25 (1. 19) ^ . . ,^ ,-^^ 3. 44 (1. 51) 3,42(1. 40) †¢ †¢ †¢ 3. -. 04. (1. 37) 4. 00 (1 ,70) ^ ^ , r-^ 3. 12 (1,50) p < 0 . 01 †¢ †¢ P†¦ ; p < 0. 01 † r†¦ 7. Smart 4. 02 (1. 53) 2. 37 (1. 40) p ; 0. 01 significantly greater when consumer- Develop valuable products 5. 02 (1. 25) 3. 35 (1. 55) p ; 0. 01 perceived creativity precedes the other vari- Good problem solver 4. 20 (2. 44) 2. 29 (1. 67) p ; 0. 01 Perceived brand quaiity 5. 48 (1. 16) 4. 02 (1. 0) p ; 0 . 01 DiSCUSSION Waste in advertising creativity matters. Brand interest 4. 62 (1. 51) 2. 56 (1. 41) p ; 0. 01 The results of the present study show that Interesting 4. 50 (1. 62) 2. 39 (1. 43) p ; 0. 01 Purchase intention 4. 73 (1. 71) ;. ! 2. 73 (1. 78) . ; p ; 0. 01 † r:.. 7. ^^^ † â€Å"^^ ^†Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ^^^^ ^ ^ * ^ ^^^^- ^^^^^' * ^^† improving the functionality of the adver.. ^ j u .. u tisement and push the message into †¢^ †¦. P^. ‘P^. ‘y^. l^^O':* H2 consumer-perceived creativity and the mar, .. . , j /o^ ^u i†¢ ketmg signals, and (2) the correlations are ables, implying a causal direction from he former onto the latter. H3 H4 Note: F(4, 729) = 80. 40, p < 0. 01, Wilkes' lambda, 0. 53. Consumers' minds, which conventional September 2 0 0 8 JDUROHL OF RDUERTISIIIG RESEHRCH 3 9 9 ADVERTISING CREATIVITY MAHERS lished brands that consumers were familiar Regression Coefficients, Test of Mediation by Perceived _ .. Advertismg Creativity s ? Coefficient t-Statistic p< Dependent variable Perceived marketing effort Independent variables .^, ,^ .. v ertising creativity is a p owerful signal when communicating familiar brands a s ,, well. The signaling power of Advertising creativity 0. 18 2. 31 0. 1 Advertising creativity (after inclusion of 0. 02 0. 16 n. s. perceived advertising creativity) Perceived advertising creativity , v ant mamly when communicating with c onsumers that a re u nfamiliar with t he b rand (e. g. , Kirmani a nd R ao, 2000), a d- Standardized gg^g Variables k eting signals argues that they a re r ele- 0 . 33 7. 69 0. 01 advertising creativity Recent research suggests that it is b ecom†^g i ncreasingly harder t o p osition a nd differentiate brands with advertising (e. g.. Ehrenberg, Barnard, Kennedy, a nd Bloom, Dependent variable 2002; Heath a nd N airn, 2005). A s m arkets †¦ ^. ^. ‘[^^}}'. ^^.. ^. ^^! ^^.. ^'! ^'! }]^y.. a re c rowded with similar products, c om- Independent variables m unicating a u nique message or m aking Advertising creativity 0 . 29 2. 56 0. 01 a dvertising that sticks is v irtually impos- Advertising creativity (after inclusion of perceived advertising creativity) 0. 16 0. 99 n. s. 0. 38 5. 76 0. 01 ^^^^^ â„ ¢ ^ ^^^ ‘ ^^ ^ °Ã¢â‚¬ ^^ * ° ‘^†Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ^'^^^'^^ ‘ ^^^ † ‘^ â€Å"†Ã¢â‚¬ Ã¢â‚¬ Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ^ important than ever to use creativity that really pushes the message ,, . / I T-,  » , , j , . , r,r,r,A^ t hrough (cf. E l-Murad a nd West, 2004). A nother Conclusion would b e t hat creativ-P erceived advertising creativity ^ Note: n. s. = noi significant. ity becomes less a m atter of m essage a nd content generation, a nd m ore a m atter of y/^BLE 5 form a nd s ignaling power. Crowded m ar- Correlation Coefficients, Test of Causality ^^*' ^†'^ ^^†^  °^ differentiation are the very reasons provided for the use of m ar- Perceived Creativity Perceived Creativity k eting signals such a s a dvertising e x-  »Ã¢â‚¬ ¢perceived creativity x „.. „ Perceived effort iVIeasured First -„_ 0 . 35 iVIeasured Last ^„, 0. 24 Difference „„^ p ; 0 . 05 P^-^ived ability Perceived quality 0 . 42 0 . 43 0. 32 0. 4 p ; 0 . 01 p ; 0 . 01 Brand interest 0 . 49 0. 40 p ; 0 . 01 p ense (Kirmani a nd R ao, 2000). Focusing on the execution in itself, rather than the actual message, t he a dvertiser could u se c reativity a s a p owerful marketing signal a s w ell. O † ‘ a nalysis reveals that more versus less advertising creativity pr oduces a s ignal of m arketing effort that is s imilar t o advertising expense. This is g ood news, wisdom holds t o be the major benefit of t aken a s proof of the b rand's smartness, a s t his revelation implies that t he a dver- creativity, a n e xtra degree of c reativity nd ability t o s olve problems a nd de- t iser does n ot n eed t o s pend excessive may send signals about t he a dvertiser that velop valuable products. A s a r esult, con- a mounts of m oney t o s ignal confidence i n rub off on c onsumer perceptions of the s umers became more interested i n the her p roduct. Instead of s pending money brand. I n our e xperiment, more versus brand a nd p erceived it to be of h igher o n b igger advertising spaces or l onger less creative advertising signaled greater quality. T he l atter is a p articularly inter- a nd m ore frequent campaigns (e. g. , Kir- ffort o n the a dvertiser's behalf a nd was e sting result, a s t he s tudy featured estab- mani, 1990, 1997), t he s ame effects m ay 4 0 0 JDUBnflL OF eOUERTISIIlG BESEIIIICH September 2 0 0 8 ADVERTISING CREATIVITY MAHERS be attainable by increasing creativity instead. Thus, the present study provides compelling evidence that creativity could be a way to produce greater results per advertising dollar. Creativity seems to have the greater effect through signaling brand ability than through effort. One reason for this is that creativity may fit more logically with what the brand, and advertising in general, is erceived to be about: displaying great solutions in the advertised product category. While high versus low creativity also has a signaling effect through perceived effort, most consumers would probably agree that trying hard is not the true purpose of any advertising or brand. Advertising is not primarily about spending money; advertising is about cleverly presenting the brand, and a desirable goal for any brand should be to deliver a more sophisticated product than the competition (cf. Brown a nd Dacin, 1997). The very (creative) form of the advertising could be a powerful clue to consumers about the brand.Creativity Is not a yes/no The presented numbers reveal that the advertising creativity in our study was not very high (ratings were not above the midpoint of the scale for either the more or the less creative advertisements). Thus, the study does not test the effects of outstandingly creative advertisements. Neither of the advertisements in the study would likely win an award. Still, at these (relative to previous research and to awardcompeting advertisements) low levels of creativity, increases did matter. This result provides evidence that creativity is not only important at an award-winning level, t is important at any level. By focusing too much on award-winning advertising and treating creativity as a yes/no variable, one misses out on all the improvements that can be made and effects that Consumer perceptions of the creativity in an advertisement mediate the adve rtisement's effects on the brand and malee the impact of the manipulated (â€Å"hidden†) creativity much greater. can be attained at more moderate levels. Considering the high risk that is associated with high levels of creativity (e. g. , El-Murad and West, 2003; West, 1999), taking baby steps is both easier and safer han quantum leaps—viewing creativity as a spectrum rather than a high absolute level encourages increases in advertising creativity across all advertising campaigns. Creativity is not a iiidden tool Given the signaling power of advertising creativity, viewing creativity as a hidden tool for advertising professionals is a mistake. Consumer perceptions of the creativity in an advertisement mediate the advertisement's effects on the brand and make the impact of the manipulated (â€Å"hidden†) creativity much greater. This is a powerful case for Kover, James, and Sonner's (1997) call to bring consumers nto the agencies' processes and invite them to pa rtake in the development—and definition—of creative advertising. Whereas copy testing is becoming more common in practice, advertising professionals still interpret the results on behalf of the consumer, deciding whether her responses indicate that the advertisement is creative or not. Not surprisingly, Koslow, Sasser, and Riordan (2006) find that formal testing had no effect on agencies' self-assessed creative output. If advertising professionals both ask the questions and interpret consumers' answers to them, what need is there to actuaUy ask consumers?If agencies had included consumer perceptions of the advertisements' creativity in the testing, Koslow, Sasser, and Riordan's findings would probably have been different. As Kover, James, and Sonner (1997) suggest, taking a consumer perspective offers new ideas and nuances in the creative process and provides more concrete feedback on the creative level of the advertising that would facilitate benchmarking and enhancem ent of the creative output. In enhancing perceived brand ability, the very creative form of advertising could be a way of branding. As suggested in the corporate ability literature, ability could e a powerful positioning in itself (Biehal and Sheinin, 2007; Brown and Dacin, 1997). For brands that have no particular unique feature, becoming increasingly common with the overwhelming number of alternatives available in most markets, ability in itself could be a sustainable source of advantage leveraging consumer expectations and trust in any product the brand introduces. This view is particularly interesting considering the trend toward continuously releasing new products under the same brand (Biehal and Sheinin, 2007). The research on marketing signals focuses mainly on unfamiliar brands (Kirmani and Rao, 2000).Whereas it still needs to be tested, creativity should have important effects on unfamiliar brands as well, as they may benefit more from marketing signals in general. However, the present study shows that high versus low creativity works as a signal for familiar and September 2 0 0 8 JDURHIIL OF BDOERTISIIIG RESEflRCH 4 0 1 ADVERTISING CREATIVITY MAHERS Creative advertising does increase consumer interest in ations and Consumer Product Responses. † Journal of Marketing 6 1, 1 (1997): 68-84. the brands, not by communicating a new message, but by COHEN, JACOB, a nd P ATRICI COHEN. Applied ommunicating the same message in another way. Multiple Regression/Correlation Analysis for the Behavioral Sciences. H iilsdale, NJ: Erlbaum, 1983. established brands. Such brands make up the bulk of advertising in major media (Kent, 2002), They need to stay interesting to consumers even when they have nothing new to say (Machleit, Allen, and Madden, 1993), Creative advertising does increase consumer interest in the brands, not by communicating a new message, but by communicating the same message in another way. The present study focuses on a small number of advertis ements for consumer products.We employed only one exposure that was forced on consumers. Our experimental design was a way to test previously uncovered effects of creativity in a controlled setting. This way, we show that advertising creativity may work in different ways than in previous literature and have powerful effects. Whether these effects materialize in a real setting (with noise, less motivated consumers), and for different kinds of products, must be subject to further research, within advertising, PR, and brand communications DAHLEN, MICAEL, a nd SARA ROSENGREN, † Brands have been published in, for example, the Journal ofAffect Slogans Affect Brands? Brand Equity, Com- Advertising Research, the Journal of Advertising, the petitive Interference, and the Brand-Slogan Link. † Journal of Current Issues and Research in Advertising, Journal of Brand Management 1 2,3 (2005): 151-64, and the Journal of Brand Management. EHRENBERG, ANDREW S . C , N E I L BARNARD, FREDRI K TORN is a Ph. D. candidate at the Stockholm RACHEL KENNEDY, a nd H ELEN BLOOM, † Brand School of Economics, focusing on incongruent brand Advertising a s C reative Publicity. † Journal of communications. His studies have been published in, Advertising Research 42, 4 (2002): 7-18. or example, the Journal of Advertising, the Journal of Current Issues and Research in Advertising, and the Journal of Consumer Behavior. EL-MURAD, JAAEAR, a nd D OUGLAS C . W EST, â€Å"Risk and Creativity in A dvertising,† Journal of Marketing Management 19, 4 (2003): 657-73, REFERENCES and â€Å"The Definition a nd Mea- surement of C reativity: What D o We K now? † AMBLER, T IM, a nd E. A N N H OLLIER † The Waste Journal of Advertising in Advertising Is the P art That Works. † Journal 188-201. 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