Advertising likeability and purchase intention : an experimental investigation using a transformational and an informational advertisement

Abstract

Advertisers of today are experiencing progressive difficulty in attaining the attention of their target audience, and subsequently in influencing their buying behaviour. Advertisements which are liked are not overlooked, so much so that liking of an advertisement is suggested to have a positive effect on consumer purchase intention. Published literature concentrates greatly on exploring what advertising likeability is, rather than its effect on buying behaviour. Even more so, there seems to be a gap in the literature in understanding whether the strength of likeability towards an advertisement has a significant and stronger effect on influencing consumer purchase intention through the mediating factor of attitude towards the brand. Likeability is suggested to have a positive influence on consumer attitudes towards the brand, which is said to have a subsequent effect on purchase intention. A quantitative approach was taken to collect the data for this study. Split testing in the form of structured questionnaires was used to compare the two variations of the responses collected from two separate groups, made up of students currently studying at the University of Malta. The study explored how significant the effect of stronger likeability was on respondents’ brand attitudes and their purchase intention by comparing an informational advert that, by definition, lacks explicit likeability components, with a transformational advert, whose general tone is likeable and appealing. The results indicated that the general tone of the transformational advert elicited greater affective responses than the informational advert. The strength of likeability was found to have a significant and positive effect on respondents’ willingness to purchase the advertised product more after having seen the transformational advert. However, likeability of the adverts did not have an immediate effect on purchase intention. Improvements in brand attitudes were also not as immediate, implying that it would probably take time for increased likeability to impact consumers at a greater level.