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COMPARISON AND EVALUATION OF INFORMATION CONTENT

IN 0.5. AND SOUTH KOREAN TELEVISION ADVERTISING

BY
Kyu Yeol Chang

A DISSERTATION

Submitted to
Michigan State University
in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
Communication Arts and Sciences - Mass Media

1991

654 - (a /:r

ABSTRACT

COMPARISON AND EVALUATION OF INFORMATION CONTENT

IN U.S. AND SOUTH KOREAN TELEVISION ADVERTISING

by
Kyu Yeol Chang

This study compares the information content of U.S. and
Korean television advertising. It focuses on the number of
information cues, information types, and modes of presenting
information.

Preliminary research indicated that the frequently used
Resnik-Stern 14-cue method was inadequate. The study utilized a
coding scheme comprised of 33 information cues. Visual and
auditory modes of presenting information cues were coded
separately.

Five groups of hypotheses were derived from the literature.
It was predicted that U.S. commercials contain more information
cues than Korean commercials, that there are differences
regarding the types of information delivered, and that Korean
commercials use more visual presentations while U.S. commercials
use more auditory means. Product life cycles and product
categories were also used to predict the information content of
commercials.

The study analyzed the information content of 1,228 0.5. and

867 Korean television commercials for products and services

Kyu Yeol Chang

nationally advertised. Data coding instruments and codebooks
were developed in the two languages. Sixteen U.S. and twelve
Korean coders were recruited and trained.

The study found that there are no significant differences
regarding the number of information cues between Korean and U.S.
commercials. But differences were found regarding information
types and the modes of presenting information.

The anticipated product life cycle effects regarding the
number of information cues in commercials were not confirmed in
either nation. However, the product category effects were found
in both nations. Cross-national differences were found in the
number of information cues in commercials for physical products
and for services in the same stage of the product life cycle.
Differences were also found across product categories.

The results confirmed expectations that advertising
information content is associated with cultural variables.

It was found that the coding instrument utilized for the study
satisfactorily identified advertising information. The
instrument made it possible to show the differences in the modes
of presenting information. Managerially, the localized approach
to international advertising between the two nations seems to be
appropriate regarding the information content of television
advertising. Limitations of the study were identified and future

directions for research were suggested.

Copyright
Kyu Yeol Chang
1991

Dedicated to my Parents,
Dong Wook Chang and Sa Joong Shin,
Whose understanding, sacrifices, and support

inspired myself and their other children.

ASKEQELEDQEHEHIé

The research reported herein has been enriched by the
contributions of many individuals with whom I have been
associated throughout the course of my graduate studies at
Michigan State University. The Chairperson of my Guidance
Committee and Dissertation Director has been Dr. Gordon B.
Miracle, Professor of Advertising. Dr. Miracle has led and
guided my academic development in a collegial manner, which
I shall remember as a superb example of the relationship between
a mentor and a student. He has been exceptionally supportive
and consistently been available for priceless advice. His
support has meaning beyond what can be described in these
acknowledgements and for that support I shall always be grateful.

Other members of the Committee have been generous in their
willingness to provide stimulation and suggestions, and to expand
my horizons in regard to my graduate program and the writing of
this dissertation. Dr. Gina M. Garramone, Professor of
Advertising, Dr. S. Tamer Cavusgil, Professor of Marketing and
Director of the International Business Development Center, and
Dr. Joseph Straubhaar, Associate Professor of Telecommunication
have each made unique and significant contributions which I

deeply appreciate.

vi

The data base used in this research was developed as part of
a broader research program by Dr. Miracle with the assistance of
myself who served as his chief research assistant and other
research assistants, especially Hae Kyong Bang, Jae Yung Cho,
Hiromi Maenaka, Sachiko Takaoka, and Charles R. Taylor. The
research group met regularly to design, test, revise and finalize
the many facets of the research. Generous funding was obtained
by Dr. Miracle from Michigan State University, the Hoso Bunka
Foundation (Japan), the Korea Broadcast Advertising Corporation
(Korea), ASI Market Research (Japan), the Yoshida Hideo Memorial
Foundation (Japan), and Youngshin Academy (Korea).

I must also express my deep indebtedness to Dr. Bruce
Vanden Bergh, Professor of Advertising, for his support as the
Chairperson of the Department of Advertising throughout my
graduate studies.

Personal acknowledgements are very much in order.

My parents, Dong Wook Chang and Sa Joong Shin, have always
encouraged my participation in the educational process and helped
in many quiet ways to make this accomplishment possible. They
have been a source of inspiration for myself throughout this
endeavor.

I cannot imagine how I could have passed through the gates
of the academic world and arrived at this juncture without the
unstinting, selfless, and constant support of my wife, Hye Myong

Chang.

vii

Her support and willingness to encourage my graduate studies and
research have been constant. I admire, respect, and am eternally
grateful for her patience, involvement and understanding.

My three-year-old daughter, Connie Juhee Chang, can fully
claim credit for enlightening me with her never-ending happiness

and for reminding me of a Daddy’s many responsibilities.

viii

LIST OF TABLES . . . .
CHAPTER I.

Background . .

Purposes and Contributions

Research Questions
Summary . . . . .

CHAPTER II. LITERATURE
Standardization of

Advocates for
Advocates for

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION . . . . .

REVIEW . .

International Advertising
Standardization . . . . .

Localization

Contingency Approach . .
Standardization and the Dissertation .
Information Content in Advertising . . . . .
Measurement of Advertising Information
Studies on Advertising Information . .
Advertising Information and the Disserta

Product Life Cycle
Product Categories

Cultural Characteristics . . .
Culture and Advertising .

Individualism and Collectivism
Low and High Context Cultures .
Written versus Oral Communication
Confucianism and Buddhism . . . .
Cultural Characteristics and theD

Methodological Concerns . . .
Content Analysis . . . .
Cross-Cultural Research .

Research Hypotheses

Summary . . . . .

CHAPTER III. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY .

Measurement Scale Development

Definition of Advertising
Problems of the Resnik-Stern Measure
Number of Information Cues
Separation of Presentation Modes

Pilot Study . .

Procedures of the Pilot Study . .
Lessons from the Pilot Study . .

ix

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11
12
14
15
16
1_§_
27
27
29
31
31

35
37
4O
43
43
43
44
48
51

52

52
52
54

58
61
61
64

Content Analysis for the Dissertation Research .

Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Taping Commercials and Developing Data Base .
Category Development . . . . . . . . . . . .
Data Coding Instrument and Codebook . . . .
Coders, Coder Training and Coding . . . . . .
Coding of Product Categories, Commercial Lengths,
and PLC Stages . . . . . .
Reliability . . . . . . . .
Administration and Data Input . .

CHAPTER IV. ANALYSIS, RESULTS AND DISCUSSION . . . .

Number of Information Cues . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Types of Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Presentation Modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Product Life Cycle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Product Categories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Summaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
CHAPTER V. CONCLUSIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Summary of Findings . . . . . . . . .

Theoretical Conclusions . . . .
Methodological Conclusions . . .
Managerial Conclusions . . . . .
Limitations . . . . . . . . . .
Directions for Future Research .

APPENDIX

APPENDIX

APPENDIX

APPENDIX

APPENDIX

APPENDIX

Culture and Advertising Information . . .
Product Life Cycle and Product Categories . .

A. COMPARISONS BETWEEN SOUTH KOREA AND THE U.S.A.

B. DIMENSIONS OF INTERNATIONAL ADVERTISING
TO BE CONSIDERED FOR STANDARDIZATION . . . .

C. RESNIK AND STERN’S FOURTEEN CRITERIA
FOR CLASSIFICATION . . . . . . . . . .

D. INFORMATION CUES FOR THE PILOT STUDY . . . . .

E. RESULT OF THE PILOT STUDY: DIFFERENCES OF
ADVERTISING INFORMATION FREQUENCY . . . . .

F. DATA CODING INSTRUMENT . . . . . . . . . . .

66
. 67
68

. 69
. 71
74

74
82

.102
.105
.105
.105
.106
.107
.114
.115

.117
.118

.120
.121

.122

.124

.125

.126

APPENDIX
APPENDIX
APPENDIX
APPENDIX
APPENDIX
APPENDIX
APPENDIX
APPENDIX

APPENDIX

G.

H.

N.

O.

VIDEOTAPING FOR U.S. COMMERCIALS . . . . .
VIDEOTAPING FOR KOREAN COMMERCIALS . . . .
CODEBOOK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
DEFINING THE PRODUCT LIFE CYCLE . . . . .
PRODUCT CLASSES REPRESENTED IN COMMERCIALS
COMMERCIAL LENGTHS . . . . . . . . . . . .
RELIABILITY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
DATA CODING INSTRUMENT (IN KOREAN) . . . .

CODEBOOK (IN KOREAN) . . . . . . . .

LIST OF REFERENCES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

xi

.128
.129
.136
.134
.135
.137
.138
.139
.141

.145

Table

Table

Table

Table

Table

Table

Table

Table

Table

Table

Table

Table

Table

Table

10.

11.

12.

13.

14.

LIST OF TABLES

Page
Mean Number of Information Cues
in Different Length Commercials . . . . . . . . . 76
Mean Number of Information Cues
in lS-second TV Commercials . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Mean Number of Information Cues
in 30-second TV Commercials . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Mean Number of Information Cues
in TV Commercials of All Lengths . . . . . . . . 79

Frequency (t) of Commercials for Each Information
Cue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84

Modes of Presenting Information
(Mean Frequency in 15-second Commercials) . . . . 87

Modes of Presenting Information
(Mean Frequency in 30-second Commercials) . . . . 87

Modes of Presenting Information
(Mean Frequency in Commercials of All Lengths) . 87

Mean Number of Information Cues Across PLC Stages
for 0.8. Television Commercials . . . . . . . . . 91

Mean Number of Information Cues Across PLC Stages
for Korean Television Commercials . . . . . . . . 92

Mean Number of Information Cues
in PLC Stages (ls-second Commercials) . . . . . . 93

Mean Number of Information Cues
in PLC Stages (30-second Commercials) . . . . . . 94

Mean Number of Information Cues
in PLC Stages (Commercials of All Lengths) . . . 94

Mean Number of Information Cues Across Product
Classes (U.S. Television Commercials) . . . . . . 98

xii

 

Table

Table

-able

Table

15.

16.

17.

18.

Mean Number of Information Cues Across Product
Classes (Korean Television Commercials) . . .

Mean Number of Information Cues
by Product Categories (ls-second commercials)

Mean Number of Information Cues
by Product Categories (BO-second commercials)

Mean Number of Information Cues by
Product Categories (Commercials of All Lengths)

xiii

99

.101

.101

.102

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

3.352152132111151

Advertising is expected to provide useful consumer
information, which helps consumers to make better purchasing
decisions (Backman 1968; Borden 1942; Dameron 1942; Kaldor 1950;
Laband 1986; Nelson 1974). As a result of this expectation,
there are studies dealing with information content of advertising
in different media, in different types of messages, and in cross-
cultural settings. Most of these studies use a scheme of
measuring advertising information developed by Resnik and Stern
(1977). These studies have broadened existing knowledge of the
current status of advertising practices and improving information
content in advertising.

This dissertation research compares and evaluates the
information content of U.S. and South Korean television
advertising. While identifying methodological problems
associated with the widely-utilized Resnik-Stern measure of
advertising information, the dissertation research develops,
introduces and utilizes an improved scheme for measuring
information content in television commercials.

The advertising industry of South Korea (henceforth, Korea)

has a history of more than a hundred years. The nation's
advertising expenditure was $2.3 Billion in 1989, surpassing 1.3%
of the nation’s Gross National Product (GNP). The average annual
growth rate of the advertising industry has been over 25% during
the past decade in its expenditure level (Shin 1989). There have
been, however, only a limited number of studies about Korean
advertising (Moon and Franke 1987; Shin 1982, 1989). U.S.
advertising expenditures were $124 Billion in 1989, approximately
2.5% of the nation's GNP (Advertising Annual 1989; Coen 1991).
Appendix A shows comparisons between the two countries regarding
selected basic economic statistics and advertising expenditures.
The Korean advertising market is opening its doors to foreign
investment in 1991. Thus, it is especially pertinent to study
Korean advertising in order to provide international advertisers
with information about the country's advertising (Lee 1990; Shin
1989).

This research will investigate whether or not Korean is
different from U.S. advertising, by comparing the content of the
two nations' television advertising. An improved measurement
scale of advertising information will be used for the research
procedure and analysis. The research also provides information
about the standardization and localization issue in advertising
information between the U.S.A. and Korea.

To derive the hypotheses to be tested in this research, the

literature on international marketing, advertising information,

and cultural characteristics was reviewed. Literature searches
on cross-cultural research methods and content analysis method
were also performed to identify and solve methodological problems

for the study.

Wises

The purposes of this research are: (1) to investigate cross-
cultural differences and similarities between the U.S.A. and
South Korea regarding the information content of television
advertising: especially, the number of information cues,
information types, and presentation modes of information, (2) to
identify specific cultural differences between the two nations
that may relate to or are associated with differences and
similarities in the information content of television
advertising, and (3) to identify relevant marketing theories and
determine if they are useful to predict or explain the
information content of television advertising.

The scope of this research is limited to finding cross-
cultural differences and similarities in information content
between U.S. and Korean television advertising. The
identification of problems with the established and widely-used
method of measuring advertising (Resnik and Stern 1977), and the
development of a new scheme of measurement is also within the
scope of the research.

The scope of the dissertation research does not, however,

include measuring and evaluating effects of advertising
information on consumer attitudes or behavior. This is beyond
the scope of a content analysis. The study's emphases instead
were placed on developing well-defined content categories and
research materials, and on establishing cross-cultural
equivalence in the content analysis of the research. The
dissertation research will only deal with the two nations; the
U.S.A. and Korea, limiting the scope of the study in a geographic
sense.

Affective aspects, such as feeling, mood, etc., of
advertising messages also are not within the scope of the
research. The research will only deal with an objective measure
of information cues contained in television advertising messages.
These limitations suggests possible extensions of the study's
scope for the future research.

This research contributes a better understanding of cross-
cultural differences and similarities in communication patterns
that are reflected in the information content of television
advertising. Concepts in the cross-cultural studies such as
individualism-collectivism (Gudykunst, Yoon and Nishida 1987;
Hofstede 1984a, 1984b; Hui and Triandis 1986), high and low
context languages and cultures (Hall 1983), written versus oral
cultures (Choe 1980), and influences of religious philosophy (Yum
1987) are reviewed to investigate whether these cultural concepts

are related to, or associated with, differences and similarities

of advertising communication patterns in the U.S.A. and Korea.

The study also contributes improvements in advertising
information measurement. Problems are identified within the
widely-utilized Resnik-Stern (1977) l4-cue measure of advertising
information, and an improved measure is developed to overcome
these problems. Detailed discussion of the methodological
improvement is included in the methodology section. The
improved measure is utilized for the dissertation research.

Another methodological contribution is made by applying
cross-cultural research methods which produce a more reliable and
valid cross-cultural comparisons. In order to establish
conceptual, functional, and linguistic equivalence of measurement
material, the translation and back-translation techniques
(Brislin 1970; Triandis 1976, 1980) are carefully and extensively
used in developing research materials such as data coding
instruments and codebooks in both languages. To maintain
internal consistency among coders, intercoder reliability is
checked for each information cue in both countries.

Whether it is better to standardize or to localize marketing
and advertising efforts has been a theoretical as well as a
practical issue for a long time. This study contributes a
practical understanding of this issue by presenting differences
and similarities between U.S. and Korean advertising in
information content.

The dissertation research contributes a better theoretical

understanding regarding a marketing theory, the Product Life
Cycle (PLC) theory. The study tests the explanatory value of the
theory with respect to the number of information cues in Korean
and U.S. advertising. The theory suggests that in the earlier
stage on the product life cycle, the more information is needed
to increase the awareness and knowledge level of consumers about
the product class and brand (Day 1981; Midgley 1981; Rice and Lu
1988). The theory has been initiated and developed mostly in
the U.S. and Western setting. Thus, this study contributes to a
better understanding of the way the product life cycle model
works in another cultural setting. This study contributes to
the broadening of the theory's application to a cross-cultural
level.

Different product categories are expected to deliver varying
numbers and types of information in their advertising messages
(Hong, Muderrisoglu and Zinkhan 1987; Murphy and Enis 1986). The
research also attempts to confirm this idea, by comparing
information content among different product categories in each
country. This effort contributes a better understanding of the
‘product category’ effect on marketing strategies such as
advertising message development.

Another contribution of the study is in providing an
empirical finding regarding differences and similarities of the
information content of U.S. and Korean television advertising.

Whether to confirm or reject the assumption about the content of

Korean advertising relative to the U.S. counterpart discussed
above makes a significant contribution to the advertising
research (Shin 1984).

Finally, this study will help international marketing and
advertising managers. This research provides them with
information about the information content of U.S. and Korean
television commercials, standardization and localization issue,
and product category and product life cycle effects on

advertising information.

8W
With the above contributions in mind, the major research

questions investigated by the dissertation research are;

1) What are the cross-national differences and
similarities between U.S. and Korean television
advertising regarding information content: the total
number, types, and presentation modes of information?

2) Are the differences and similarities related to or
associated with differences in cultural characteristics:
individualism-collectivism, high-low context languages
and cultures, written-oral cultures, and influences of
religious background?

3) Are the differences in information content between
commercials in each country associated with 'product life
cycles' and 'product categories’?

Summarx
The Chapter has discussed the background, the scope and

purposes, the expected contributions of the dissertation
research. It also proposed research questions that the study

purports to deal with.

CHAPTER II

LITERATURE REVIEW

Given the increase in global markets and international
trade, important questions concerning marketing and advertising
have arisen. Is the standardization or localization of
advertising desirable; and to what extent, if any? Numerous
failures of applying successful domestic marketing strategies to
international markets have been reported (Ricks, Arpan and Fu
1974; Liesse 1991; Tanzer 1986).

Due to the high cost of these mistakes, questions and
suspicions about whether a company should standardize its
international marketing and advertising programs abound (Bartels
1968; Britt 1974; Buzzell 1968; Sorenson and Wiechmann 1975).
Some advocate standardization on the basis of the universal needs
of global consumers (Fatt 1967), and the scale advantage of
magnitude in management (Levitt 1983). Additionally, Sheth
(1986) and others suggest a contingency framework that identifies
situations under which standardization will be successful and
other situations under which localization is necessary. With
respect to this issue, three schools of thought are identified;
(1) advocates for standardization, (2) advocates for

localization, and (3) an in-between position advocating the

10

contingency approach.

WM

Blinder (1961) has been considered to be the researcher who
initiated the modern controversy over the standardization issue
of international marketing. Due to a trend toward convergence
in consumer behavior and the mobility of consumers among European
countries, he argues that standardization of advertising for the
European market is possible and necessary.

Other researchers have also advocated standardization of
international marketing and advertising. Some, because of
universal appeals common to average consumers in any nation and
because of advancement of transportation and communication means
(Fatt 1967). Others, in order to have the economy of scale in
operation and to cater to consumers efficiently with consistency
and improved centralized planning and control (Buzzell 1968).

In a classic article, Levitt (1983) argues that the
globalization of markets due to advanced common systems of
technology, communications, and transportation would lead
international marketers to adopt standardization strategies more
frequently. He predicted, however, that standardization in
areas of branding and manufacturing may be easier to accomplish
than in other areas of marketing such as advertising and
promotion.

Pointing out a marketers' need to build consistent images

11

in the global market, Peebles (1989) also maintains that managers
should strive to find standardized advertising approaches when it

is feasible.

El ! E I 1' !°

Weissman (1967) maintains that there are more important
deep-rooted dissimilarities rather than universality or
convergence among those living in different cultural societies.
He argues that marketers would be better off by taking localized
approaches in advertising, especially for consumer goods.

Citing several failure stories of standardization approaches
in international marketing, Ricks, et al. (1974) emphasizes the
importance of knowledge about cultures that advertising operates
in. Keegan (1989, p.256) reported the experience of the Parker
Pen Company to show how the globalization approach can fail if it
is planned without a good understanding of cross-cultural
differences. Hornik (1980) found that localized advertising
themes were more preferred by consumers, in his empirical
comparative study of different advertising themes of U.S.
advertising campaigns between the U.S.A. and Israel. Frith and
Frith (1990a), Kaynak and Mitchell (1981) and Sugiura (1990) also
argue that international marketers should recognize the
advantages of localization in marketing communications
strategies, stressing the importance of intercultural

differences. Robinson (1986) maintains that international

 

12

markets are more likely to become increasingly fractured by
culturally and environmentally based preference, though not
necessarily organized on a national basis. Thus, he is strongly
in favor of the adaptation approach.

Harris (1984) admits that there are a number of product
categories that could adopt the standardization approach in
advertising, but he argues that the number is limited. He also
argues strongly in favor of the local adaptation of advertising
and marketing strategies. Martensen (19 9) suggests that there
should be differences between high- and low-context cultures:
high-context culture perceives nonverbal communication as being
more informative than does a low-context culture. She thus
implies that marketers need to pay more attention to cultural
differences than to similarities to effectively execute marketing

and advertising strategies.

W11

Several researchers argue that a variety of contingencies
and environmental variables have to be considered in order to
determine the extent of standardization which should exist in
international advertising (Jain 1989; Kreutzer 1988; Peebles,
Ryans and Vernon 1977; Roostal 1963). They suggest that attempts
be made to identify contingencies under which standardization is
feasible.

Walters (1986), in his review article on the standardization

13

issue, points out that the issue of process standardization has
been taken up frequently in recent studies. Walters (1986)
cites Miracle (1968) as one of the first researchers to adopt the
process standardization position suggesting that standardization
of approach in making advertising decisions be required in
developing international marketing strategies. The work of
Sorenson and Wiechmann (1975) is also cited as arguing that the
process standardization is advisable based on their survey of
managers in subsidiaries of multinational corporations. Dunn
(1976), Peebles, Ryans and Vernon (1978), and Shuptrine and Toyne
(1981) are also cited as adopting and recommending the process
standardization or the programmed management approach.

Sheth (1978) reviews the two opposite schools of thought on
the standardization issue and summarizes eight different levels
of standardization and adaptation, from the complete extension to
the complete adjustment, depending upon the contingencies. He
suggests three major variables which determines the degree of
standardization: consumer expectations, the encoding-decoding
process, and silent languages between countries.

Boddewyn, Soehl and Picard (1986) found, from their survey
of B.B.C. firms, that standardization was in fact practiced by
those firms, albeit with some substantial barriers. Four major
variables were found to be related to the success of the
standardization approach: the nature of the product, the extent

of national differences, the level of competition, and economic

14

conditions. In a replicated study of the Boddewyn, Soehl and
Picard's study (1986) with U.S. multinationals, Hite and Fraser
(1988) found that the standardization strategy was practiced by
only a very small number of firms, and that some combination of
standardization and local adaptation was more widely accepted and
practiced. Blackwell, Ajami and Stephen (1991) also suggest a
combined approach of globalization and localization for sharing
market information, sharing creative ideas and producing

marketing materials.

E: l' . E! i ii !i l !l Ii ! !'

Appendix B was prepared by Professor Gordon B. Miracle of
Michigan State University during the early stages of this
research. It shows a broad range for consideration when making
decisions regarding standardization of international advertising.
Many studies, however, neither cover all of these areas nor
specify even which of these areas were involved in their studies.
This dissertation research limits its scope to the total number,
types, and presentation modes of advertising information in
message strategies (see Appendix B).

Although theoretical arguments and researches based on
survey results with managers may be useful in determining the
extent of advertising standardization, some empirical
investigations and comparisons of advertising content in cross-

national settings are also useful in indicating and determining

15

necessary degrees of standardization or local adaptation. There
is only a limited amount of literature of this nature.

This study attempts to provide empirical data on information
content of U.S. and Korean television advertising with the
standardization issue in mind. Important implications for
marketing and advertising managers will be provided by this
research. These implications, concerning the standardization/
localization issue, focus primarily on the number of information
cues in ads, information types, and modes of presenting

advertising information.

WWW

One of the major roles of advertising is to provide useful
consumer information. Along with persuasive strategies, an
advertising message is expected to contain some forms of
information (Hunt 1976). Although there has been a controversy
over the question whether advertising is information or
persuasion, researchers seem to agree that advertising is an
information medium for consumers as well as a persuasion means
for marketers in order to increase the consumer demand (Backman
1968; Borden 1942; Dameron 1942; Hunt 1976; Kaldor 1950; Laband
1986; Marquez 1977; Nelson 1974). In addition, many critics of
advertising argue that advertising can be a useful means of
communication only when it contains information (Tom, et al.

1984; Kaldor 1950).

16

Hunt (1976) points out the difficulty of measuring the
amount of information objectively, because the quantity of
information may not be independent of the message's quality or
usefulness of information. In addition, the quantity of
information may be individual-specific, meaning that the same
message can be interpreted by different people as containing
different amounts of information.

The latter problem of individual-specific interpretation can
be solved in a content analysis with multiple coders and with
careful reliability checking. The former problem of information
quality or usefulness can also be solved if a researcher can
develop a comprehensive list of information cues that can be
delivered in advertising messages.

Resnik and Stern developed an objective measurement scheme
of 14 "information cues" to measure the level of informativeness
of advertising messages (Resnik and Stern 1977, see Appendix C).
The authors define advertising information as that which permits
a typical consumer to make a more intelligent buying decision
after being exposed to an advertising message than before the
exposure. Coders are instructed to record any of the 14 cues-
present in an advertisement. The authors define that an
advertising message to be informative when it contains at least
one information cue.

Soley and Reid (1983a) compared quantity and type of

17

advertising information to see which of the two determined the
consumers' perception of informativeness. The authors found, in
a sample of advertisements for industrial products, that
perceived informativeness was determined more by the type of
information rather than by the quantity of information.

Aaker (1984) maintains that measuring the informativeness of
television advertising through content analysis does not capture
the entire information content of the ad. The content analysis
method also falls short in that it depends on the subjective
judgement of the researchers to categorize the information they
observe. In addition, it is difficult to create a list of cues
which are of equal relevance to consumers, valid for all products
and reliable for all modes of television advertising. Finally,
Aaker (1984) points out that television commercials are so
difficult to codify due to their gestalt-like nature; the whole
is more than the sum of their parts. As a partial solution,
Aaker suggests adding a measure of the consumer’s perception of
informativeness to the objective content measures.

The problem of coding television commercials pointed out by
Aaker (1984) may be significantly reduced by separately
evaluating the (visuals on screen) and auditory (verbal with
sound) presentation of information.

Although some limitations with the objective measure of
advertising information have been identified, it still has

merits. The objective measure allows cross-cultural and

 

18

longitudinal comparisons of information levels in advertising
messages. It provides policy makers with an objective baseline

from which to work (Resnik and Stern 1977).

5! 1' E: !i i I E !'

Studies about information content of advertising have
increased in number since Resnik and Stern (1977) introduced
their scheme.

Many studies have investigated the information content of
advertising messages of different media and message types
(Harmon, Razzouk and Stern 1983; Healy and Kassarjian 1986; James
and Vanden Bergh 1990; Laczniak 1979; Moon and Franke 1987; Ng
and Reid and Rotfeld 1981; Supaporn.1990; Resnik and Stern 1977;
Stern, Krugman and Resnik 1981; Stern, Resnik and Grubb 1977;
Stewart and Furse 1986; Stout and Moon 1990; Tom, Calvert,
Goolkatsian and Zumsteg 1984). They also analyzed content and
compared information levels in advertisements cross-nationally
(Dowling 1980; Hong, Muderrisoglu and Zinkhan 1987; Huang and Hon
1987; Johnstone, Kaynak and Sparkman 1987; Sepstrup 1985; Madden,
Caballero and Matsukubo 1986; Martensen 1987; Renforth and Raveed
1983; Rice and Lu 1988; Weinberger and Spotts 1989).

With their own 14-cue measure, Resnik and Stern analyzed
information content of 378 U.S. television commercials and found
that 49.2% of commercials were informative according to their

definition of including at least one information cue (Resnik and

19

Stern 1977). They suggest, with the finding, that the non-
informative advertising policy, adopted by over 50% of the
sample, may be self-destructive by virtue of the fact that the
better-educated and more-sophisticated consumers are seeking
relevant product information, and these consumers would purchase
products which could show real benefits over existing
alternatives.

Stern, Resnik and Grubb (1977) report a further analysis of
the same 378 television commercials used in the Resnik and Stern
study (1977). They indicate that television commercials have
room for improvement in providing more useful information to
consumers. The authors also suggest that there might be other
cues that may be considered relevant information by consumers, in
addition to the original 14 provided by Resnik and Stern.

Marquez (1977) analyzed the content of 600 newspaper and
magazine advertisements on a 5-point measurement scale of
messages types. These points are: (1) basic persuasion, (2)
basic information, (3) high in persuasion but low in information,
(4) high in information but low in persuasion, (5) mainly
intimidation. He found that the question whether the advertising
content is basic persuasion or basic information depends on the
type of product being advertised. The findings indicate that
products which are inexpensive and non-technical in nature and
operation tend to be advertised with basic persuasion. By the

same token, products which require advocacy of a point of view,

20

mechanical operations, terms of purchase, or if the product
itself is information, these products are likely to be advertised
with basic information.

Laczniak (1979) did a content analysis of 380 magazine
advertisements, using the Resnik-Stern 14-cue measure. He found
that 92% of the sample had at least one information cue. Thus the
majority of print advertising was found to be informative and
significantly different from television commercials in the amount
of information it presents. In this study, he compares the
Resnik-Stern 14-cue measure (1977) and the Marquez's S-point
judgmental measurement scale (1977) to find that the Resnik-Stern
measure results in a more objective and reliable outcome.

Dowling (1980) uses the 14-cue method in studying
advertising information cross-nationally. He analyzes the
content of 163 Australian television commercials to report that
74% of these commercials contains one or more of the 14 cues, and
compares the finding with the U.S. findings of having only 49.2%
informative messages from the Resnik and Stern study (1977). He
attributes the difference to the strict Australian government-
and self-regulation on advertising content, implying that more
regulation may lead to higher informativeness in advertising. He
also found that in both countries advertising informativeness is
dependent upon television dayparts and product classes
advertised.

Pollay, Zaichkowsky and Fryer (1980) content analyze 884

21

U.S. and Canadian television commercials from two separate
periods; 1971-1973 and 1977 with an extended list of 19
information cues. They found 84.4% of all commercials (85.2% of
Canadian and 83.2% of American ads) were informative, containing
at least one cue. They also found that the level of
informativeness has not been changed between the two periods,
regardless of a resurgence of regulatory vigilance and some
redrafting of legislative or regulatory codes on advertising
practices during the 1970s.

Stern, Krugman and Resnik (1981) found that 86% of 1,149
U.S. magazine advertisements had at least one information cue,
reconfirming the Laczniak's finding (1979) that print
advertisements were generally more informative than broadcast
commercials. The study also confirms that informativeness varies
by product categories being advertised.

Reid and Rotfeld (1981) replicated the Resnik and Stern
study with a sample of 324 Saturday morning television
commercials, which were primarily directed toward children,
finding that 42.3% were informative. They argue that commercial
messages in children's programs are not significantly less
informative than commercials broadcast at other dayparts and
during other program formats.

Using the 14-cue method, Renforth and Raveed (1983) reported
a cross-country comparison between American, Australian, and

Ecuadorian television commercials concerning the amount of

22

information presented in advertising. The authors found that
82.4% of 108 Ecuadorian commercials were informative as compared
with the U.S. (49.2%) and Australian (74.0%) results. They
attributes this cross-national differences to the different
stages in the product life cycle of products being advertised and
to the different levels of economic development among the three
countries.

Harmon, Razzouk and Stern (1983) add one more cue, energy,
to the 14-cue list. They examine comparative and non-comparative
advertisements. They found that comparative advertisements
contained more information cues. They evaluate that the Resnik
and Stern classification system provides coders with a reliable
and objective means of evaluating each advertisement against a
uniform set of criteria.

The effects of government regulation on the informativeness
of magazine advertising was studied by Healy and Kassarjian
(1983). They looked specifically at the regulation of the
Federal Trade Commission (FTC)'s substantiation program. Healy
and Kassarjian found that mere regulation does not necessarily
contribute to the increase of information in advertising messages
over time.

Tom, Calvert, Goolkatsian and Zumsteg (1984) replicated the
1977 Resnik and Stern study, analyzing the content of 348 U.S.
television commercials on the 14-cue list. They found 52.7% of

commercials satisfied the one-cue criteria to be considered

23

informative. They concluded that information content of
television commercials had not been improved in the five years
since the Resnik and Stern (1977) study. Additional analyses by
broadcasting dayparts and by product categories reveals similar
trends to the Resnik and Stern's initial findings (1977).

Sepstrup (1985) developed another extended version of
information list of 24 cues, and content analyzed and compared
commercials on Sky Channel, West German Channel 2, ZDF and print
advertisements from U.S. magazines and Danish newspapers. He
found that television advertising has a limited value since
information relevant for most purchasing decisions is not
communicated to a degree that seem to have any practical
significance for consumers. Furthermore, the information content
of print advertising was found to be clearly better than that of
television commercials.

Madden, Caballero and Matsukubo (1986) compared 832 U.S. and
608 Japanese magazine advertisements with the 14-cue method, and
found that 85% of Japanese and 75% of U.S. advertisements were
informative. These differences between two cultures regarding
information amount were attributed to different cultural
characteristics, different communication styles, different
education levels of average consumers, and different basic
approaches of advertising practitioners.

Stewart and Furse (1986) extended the list of information

cues to 26 information cues and used it in their study of 1,059

24

television commercials. They found U.S. television commercials
contained higher levels of information than previous studies did.
This higher level of informativeness was apparently due to the
additional information cues that were not included by these using
the 14-cue method.

In order to investigate cross-cultural and cross-national
differences in marketing communications, Johnstone, Kaynak and
Sparkman (1987) compared U.S., French Canadian and English
Canadian television commercials regarding information content.
They found that 69.2% of U.S. (139 out of 201), 75.0% of French
Canadian (57 out of 76), and 60.4% of English Canadian (64 out of
103) commercials were informative with at least one of the 14
information cues. Statistical differences were found only
between U.S. English and French Canadian commercials, showing
that such differences appeared to be due to an interaction
between nation and culture, although other possibilities might
exist.

Hong, Muderrisoglu and Zinkhan (1987) compared Japanese and
U.S. magazine advertisements on three dimensions; mood rating,
informativeness, and comparativeness. In dealing with
informativeness, they used the 14-cue method and found that 95%
of Japanese and 90% of U.S. magazine advertisements were
informative, containing at least one information cue. Contrary
to their expectation, U.S. ads were not found to be more

informative than Japanese ads. They explained that this finding

25

might be due to the characteristics of the medium, magazines,
which usually contain large amounts of information in its
advertising, and due to the higher involvement level of magazine
readers compared to listeners or viewers of broadcast media.

Martensen (1987) compared Swedish and U.S. television
commercials and found that 45% of Swedish (out of 102) and 36% of
U.S. (out of 22) commercials were informative with the Resnik and
Stern method.

Moon and Franke (1987) content analyzed 573 Korean magazine
advertisements with the 14-cue method. They found that 80% of
the messages were informative. They also found that
advertisements for international brands carry a little lower
level of information than those for Korean domestic brands. They
also report varying information amount by product categories.

472 Chinese magazine advertisements were content analyzed by
Rice and Lu (1988) with the 14-cue method, and all commercials
(100%) in the sample were found to be informative containing at
least one information cue. They attributed the higher degree of
informativeness in Chinese advertising to different stages of
economic development, different stages of the product life cycle,
different consumer involvement levels in consumers’ decision
making, and different regulation patterns.

Weinberger and Spotts (1989) compared 566 U.S. and 301 U.K.
television commercials regarding information content with the 14-

cue method. They found that 65.3% of the U.S. sample and 55.8%

26

of the U.K. sample were informative. This difference was found
to be significant, and they explained the finding with different
cultural characteristics and regulation systems of the two
countries.

Direct response advertisements, product/store image
advertising copies and institutional advertising messages in
magazines were compared by James and Vanden Bergh (1990). They
found that 99.7% of direct response, 92.6% of product/store, and
94.4% of institutional advertising messages were informative.
They conclude that direct response advertising seems to include
more and diverse information cues than product/store or
institutional advertising messages, because the medium is
supposed to ask for more immediate response than others.

Ng and Supaporn (1990) used the 14-cue method to compare
information content of U.S. television advertising
longitudinally, covering a period of 1975 to 1990. They found
that the overall trend indicates that information amount has
increased over time.

Stout and Moon (1990) content analyzed 655 U.S. magazine
advertisements with the 14-cue method, and found that
advertisements with endorsers generally contained less
information than advertisements without endorsers. They suggest
a need to improve the Resnik-Stern measure to include additional
information cues that individuals may use in making purchase

decisions.

27

Adzsrtisins_Inf2rmafign_and_the_nisssrtatign

With a small number of exceptions (Harmon, et al. 1983;
Pollay, et al. 1980; Sepstrup 1985; Stewart, et al. 1986), most
of the studies on advertising information utilized the Resnik-
Stern (1977) 14-cue measure. This dissertation research,
however, does not use the 14-cue method. Instead, the study
identifies perceived problems with the 14-cue method, and
develops an alternative measurement scheme to be used in
measuring advertising information. Details on the
methodological adjustment will be discussed in the following
methodology chapter.

The research compares U.S. and Korean television commercials

regarding information content; t9ta1_nunbers_ef_inf9rmation_sues.

types and ngsgn§3319n_mggg§. By so doing, the study contributes
to the tradition of advertising information research. The study

also analyzes advertising information by pgggggt_lifig_gyglg
stages. by nrsdust.satssgriss. and by seamersial_lsngth§.

BIQQHQS_Lifi§_Q!§l§
The major thrust of the product life cycle (PLC) theory is
that a product’s sales potential and profitability change over
time. The product life cycle theory is an attempt to recognize
distinct stages in the sales and profit history of a product, and
it suggests four stages; introduction, growth, maturity and

decline (Kotler 1984, and see Appendix J).

28

The product life cycle theory indicates that more
information may be required in the earlier stages because
manufacturers need to build consumer awareness about the
existence, attributes, and performance of the product, with more
informative messages (Midgley 1981). The relationship between
product life cycle stages and the number of information cues has
been found to be consistent in previous studies on advertising
information. They found that product classes in the earlier
stages of the PLC did contain more information (Stern, Resnik and
Grubb 1977; Renforth and Raveed 1983; Rice and Lu 1988). This
research attempts to confirm the relationship between product
life cycle and informativeness levels in Korean as well as in
U.S. television advertising.

Another important aspect of comparing the two countries’
advertising content by the product life cycle stages is related
to the study’s cross-cultural nature. Triandis (1980) pointed
that almost all theories in social sciences are figments of Euro-
American imagination, and questioned if they provide a truly
universal or general account of phenomena that they deal with.
Lee (1991) also suggests that theory building in consumer
behavior is not mature enough to modify consumer behavior
theories and models "made in U.S.A." to improve their explanatory
power and generalizability for the local consumers of different
cultural backgrounds.

The product life cycle (PLC) theory was also initially

29

developed in the U.S. setting and tested mostly in the U.S. and
Western settings. This research contributes to confirm the
generalizability of the product life cycle (PLC) theory in
another cultural setting, by investigating whether the
advertising informativeness can be associated with the product
life cycle stages in Korea with the same pattern as in the U.S.A.
Renforth and Raveed (1983) and Rice and Lu (1988) report
that cross-national differences regarding informativeness of
advertising are affected by the overall differences of product
life cycle stages of products in each nation. They found that
advertising messages of lesser developed nations contained
relatively more informative content because products of these
countries were at the earlier stages of the product life cycle.
The dissertation research will also investigate cross-national
differences of product life cycle stages of product categories

and their association with the informativeness level of

advertising messages.

EIQQBQS_§§§§99212§
Previous studies on advertising information found different
levels of advertising informativeness between different product
categories (Aaker 1984; Dameron 1942; Miracle 1965; Healy and
Kassarjian 1983; Stout and Moon 1990; Resnik and Stern 1977;
Stern, Krugman and Resnik 1981; Harmon, Razzouk and Stern 1983;

Madden, Caballero and Matsukubo 1986; Hong, Muderrisoglu and

30

Zinkhan 1987).

Murphy and Enis (1986) review literature on product
classification. They propose that an integrated product
classification scheme which adds ’preference’ products to the
conventional classification: convenience, shopping, and specialty
products. They suggest that different product characteristics
require different marketing and promotional strategies.

The study attempts to examine whether the different product
characteristics lead to differences in informativeness of
television advertising content in the U.S.A. and Korea. The
research attempts to confirm whether the p;g§gg§_gg;ggg;y_gfifgg§
matters in determining information levels of television
advertising in the U.S.A. and Korea.

The dissertation research divides products into three
categories based on durability; nondurable goods, durable goods,
and services. A nondurable good is consumed in one or a very
limited number of uses. A durable good lasts for many uses.
Unlike nondurables and durables which are both tangible, services
are intangible activities, benefits, or satisfactions that are

offered for sale (Scheoll and Guiltinan 1990, p.295).

31

e d v

The relationship between advertising content and the
cultural values of a society has been recognized by researchers.
Advertising content is believed to reflect cultural values of a
society (Frith 1990; Frith and Frith 1990a, 1990b; Holbrook 1987;
Hong, Muderrisoglu and Zinkhan 1987; Madden, Caballero and
Matsukubo 1986; McLuhan 1964; Miracle, Chang and Taylor 1989;
Mueller 1987; Unwin 1974).

McLuhan noted that the advertisements are the richest and
most faithful daily reflections that any society ever made of its
entire range of activities (McLuhan 1964, p.232). Frith and
Frith (1990a) reviews cultural differences between the Western
and the Eastern cultures that are reflected in advertising
contents. These cultural characteristics were direct- and
indirect discourse, individualism and collectivism, horizontal
and vertical identification of personal relationships,
determinism and fatalism, and logical and intuitive problem-
solving.

Advertising’s influence on society has also been recognized.
Pollay (1983, 1986a, 1986b, 1987) notes that advertising has
inescapable and profound effects, mostly negative, on a society.
He summarizes a review of the work of humanities and social
science scholars, indicating that they saw advertising as

reinforcing materialism, cynicism, irrationality, selfishness,

32

anxiety, social competitiveness, sexual preoccupation,
powerlessness, and a loss of self-respect (Pollay 1986a).

Major interest of the research is in the former type of
association between culture and advertising. The study
investigates if cultural characteristics of two nations are
reflected in or associated with information contents of U.S. and
Korean television commercials.

This section reviews literature on cultural characteristics
of Korean and U.S. cultures to derive research hypotheses
concerning information content of U.S. and Korean television
commercials. Four cultural characteristics are reviewed as
related and relevant cultural characteristics; individualism-
collectivism (Becker 1986; Gudykunst, Yoon and Nishida 1987;
Hofstede 1984a, 1984b; Hui and Triandis 1986), high- and low-
context cultures and languages (Hall and Hall 1983; Martensen
1989), cultural preferences for written than oral communication
(Choe 1980; Park, Cambra and Klopf 1979; Unwin 1974), and
influences of confucianism and buddhism (Lee 1991; Kim 1986; Yum
1987).

Although there certainly are additional cultural
characteristics that may be relevant to advertising content,
these four characteristics seem to be useful to explain some of
the different patterns of advertising expression regarding the
number of information cues between U.S. and Korean television

commercials.

33

W

The individualism-collectivism dichotomy has been identified
by several cross-cultural researchers (Hui and Triandis 1986;
Hofstede 1980; Hofstede and Bond 1984; Lee 1991; Waterman 1981).
Individualism is defined as "a situation in which people are
supposed to look after themselves and their immediate family
only," whereas collectivism is defined as "a situation in which
people belong to in-groups or collectivities which are supposed
to look after them in exchange for loyalty (Hofstede and Bond
1984)".

Studies have reported that the U.S. culture is highly
individualistic, and Chinese and Japanese cultures are highly
collectivistic (Hsu 1981; Hofstede 1980). Korean culture is
found to be collectivistic (Kelly, Whatley, Worthley and Lie
1986; Klopf 1981; Lee 1991), even more collectivistic than
Japanese culture (Gudykunst, Yoon and Nishida 1987; Hofstede
1934).

Hofstede (1984) found, in his cross-cultural study on work-
related concepts, that the Korean culture is highly
collectivistic, showing a score of 18 on an individualism scale,
compared to 91 of the U.S. and 46 of Japanese cultures. He
points out that the fundamental issue addressed by the concept is
the degree of ineergenengenee an individual maintains in a
society. Klopf (1981) reported that in Korea the family unit is

more important than the individual, and decisions are made in

34

favor of the entire family, rather than for the sole benefit of a
single individual of the family.

In a collectivistic society, an individual is hardly
supposed to be heard strongly on his or her own, without
authority, social status or group consensus, and people tend to
move toward uniformity, harmony and/or standardization rather
than toward individuality. Because of this characteristic,
Koreans may less appreciate arguments of strength in messages
when communicating with each other, instead putting higher
priority on conformity with authority and other people’s opinions
(Becker 1986).

Lee (1991) indicates that people in a collectivistic society
such as Korea can sacrifice themselves for the benefit of a
group. These benefits largely accrue to a particular social
unit, or even to society as a whole: Koreans are more motivated
toward conforming to the norms of the group that they belong to
than are people in an individualistic society.

This cultural characteristic of collectivism, together with
its manifestations such as standardization and conformity
inclination, may lead Koreans to put less emphasis on individual
differences or strength in argument, and instead put more
emphasis on shared feeling and consonance among persons when they
process persuasive messages such as advertising.

In the context of advertising message development, this

cultural characteristic of avoiding individual confrontation and

35

of seeking harmony and conformity may influence content of Korean
advertising to contain relatively less direct information about
product, brand and company than that of an individualistic

society such as the U.S.A.

WW

Language and culture are so closely tied that it may not be
possible to understand the full meaning of verbal utterances
without a complete understanding of cultural nuances (Kim 1985).
Hall (1976) indicates that cultures of the world can be arranged
on a sliding scale from high to low context. He explained the
difference as follows;

A high context (HC) communication or message is one in

which most of the information is already in the person,

while very little is in the coded, explicit, transmitted

part of the message. A low context (LC) communication

is just the opposite; i.e., the mass of the information

is vested in the explicit code.

People in high context cultures have a general tendency to
fill blanks or gaps based upon the nature of the context or
circumstantial information when they encounter incomplete and
indirect messages. They are apt to become impatient or irritated
when people from a low—context culture give them more information
than they need. Conversely, people from low context cultures are
at a loss when people from high context cultures do not provide

enough direct information (Hall 1976). In a low-context

culture, things have to be described clearly and accurately for

36

effective and proper communication to take place (Unwin 1974).

People in high context cultures may not need the direct
utterance of every bit of information that builds the structure
and meaning of a message. Instead, they rely more upon
contextual information, such as situational characteristics and
interpersonal relationships. Providing detailed information may
sometimes even harass receivers of a message or decrease the
level of effectiveness and efficiency of communication, even
though the information is relevant to the topic.

Hall and Hall (1983) suggest that Japan and other Oriental
cultures can be classified as a high context culture. Gudykunst
and Nishida (1986) indicates that most Asian cultures, e.g.,
Japanese, Chinese, and Korean, fall at the high end of the
context continuum.

Yum (1987) indicated that in Korea Nun-chi was regarded as
an important communicative quality. The Nun-chi is roughly
translated as sensitivity with eyes, or an ability to perceive
what takes place around a conference table or in other persons’
minds based upon looking around. It is through Nun-chi that one
understands what happens without being told in detail. Catching
a correct idea about what other persons have in their minds with
nun-chi provides a solid basis to achieve a high level of
effectiveness in interpersonal communication.

The important point here is that practicing Nun-chi means

that there is no or very little verbal communication among

37

communicators. Instead, they fill in any communicative gaps,
which in most cases are related to affective or affect-laden
cognitive aspects.

Other related evidence to show the Korean culture’s high-
context nature includes verbal phrases frequently used in Korea,
which can be translated as ”there is a bone within what he is
saying", ”truth within a joke", and "he hears one and understands
ten" (Yum 1987).

Due to the high-context characteristic of Korean culture and
language, the advertising communication style may place less
emphasis on a list of articulated strengths and informative cues
about products advertised in television commercials. Instead,
situational cues and circumstantial expression may be more
important in developing and interpreting advertising messages in
Korea. Therefore, the content of Korean advertising may be
expected to contain relatively less direct information about

brand, product, or company than U.S. advertising.

WM

Comparing communication styles of the Western and Oriental
cultures, Choe (1980) stated that the Oriental view of
communication was oriented relatively more to written words,
while the Western view was directed relatively more to spoken
words. He explained that this difference stemmed from the

religious background of each culture, where the theological

38

meaning depended heavily on spoken words at the beginning of
Christianity and written words had a relatively greater
significance at the beginning of Confucianism. The clergymen of
Christianity are expected to speak to the public, while Confucian
scholars are required to read and record with written words (Choe
1980).

Spoken words have been valued less in the traditional Korean
and most Oriental societies, whereas participation with spoken
words has been encouraged throughout the Western history. Choe
(1980) maintains that the Korean social norm does not place great
values on eloquence, refutation, disputation of right or wrong,
argumentation, and explanation with spoken words. To read and
write are supposed to be the profession of scholars and to speak
is supposed to be the act of menials. Frequent usage of bulletin
board posting for demonstrating political arguments compared to
face-to-face debates in election processes, the greater emphasis
given to reading and writing than to verbal skills in the
language teaching, and the preferred usage of written
examinations compared to the formal face-to-face interview when
evaluating candidates may all exemplify the cultural tendency
toward written evidences over verbal articulation (Yoo and Lee
1987).

Another important aspect related to this cultural
characteristic in Korean traditional society is with the means of

writing. Although an efficient phonetic system, Hangul, was

39

invented as early as in the 15th century, the usage of the Hangul
has been officially discouraged and limited to backrooms until
the end of the 19th century. The major means of writing among
the ruling classes instead was Hanja, Chinese characters,
ideographs that were difficult to learn for middle and lower
class Koreans. Furthermore, instruction to learn Hanja was
limited to the ruling class of society. Therefore, the general
public in traditional Korea did not have any effective means and
channels of delivering their arguments and messages through the
social structure, because carrying their messages with spoken
words has been despised by cultural norms and they did not
possess an effective and officially approved means of delivering
their messages through social channels.

With this cultural and historic background, Koreans may need
to avoid direct utterance of their arguments, and instead may
need to crystalize their points of communication into a written
format. Koreans may expect communicative messages to carry fewer
points of argument in accordance with their cultural tendency of
discouraging verbal articulation of ideas.

Korean television advertising may deliver more information
with the visual means than with the auditory means, in the
culture of discouraging verbal articulation of ideas. Thus, the
visual means, including putting informative cues on screen, may
be more frequently used in Korean television advertising than the

auditory means of information delivery. A cross-cultural

40

comparison may be made with the U.S. advertising, where
relatively more auditory means are expected than the visual means
of delivering information.

Traditional respect given to the Hanja system (Chinese
characters) and discouragement of using Hangul (phonetic system)
in Korea may have influenced the Korean public and culture on the
visualizer-verbalizer scale (Richardson 1977; Rossiter and Percy
1980). The system of Hanja is ideographic with its origin in
ancient hieroglyphics, conveying meanings with visual images with
a single character. Having used the system for centuries, Korean
people may have developed a different way of processing
information relying more on visual aspects of communication than
on verbal aspects. From this observation, television
advertising of Korea is expected to deliver information through
more visual (picture on screen) means than auditory (sound)

means, compared to U.S. television advertising.

; E . . l E 1:].

As a philosophy of humanity, Confucianism stresses the
importance of maintaining proper human relationships and
providing proper ways to handle rituals which function to
maintain the social order. Yum (1987) argues that this tradition
of putting the highest value on human relationship results in the
implicitness and indirectedness of Korean language. She

explains that indirect communication helps avoid the

41

embarrassment of rejection by the other person, leaving the
relationship intact. In many cases, the human relationship is
perceived to be more important than the business at hand, even .
though the business initiated the interpersonal interaction (Lee
1991).

The Confucianism also admonishes people to suppress their
emotions and feelings. It maintains that human passions are the
major impediments to the pursuit of profound knowledge and truth
(Yum 1987). Indirectedness and elusiveness in the Korean
communication style are illustrated by such Confucian lessons, as
one should curb one’s anger, hide one’s sorrow, not be obvious in
joy, and so on.

The cultural tradition of Confucianism is also related to
the above-mentioned ‘preferred written communication style of the
society’. There may be a tendency not to have too much verbal
expression of emotion where such direct articulation has been
curbed by the Confucian standard, which had been an official
social norm imposed by the Yi dynasty (1392-1910). Confucianism
emphasizes written communication and de-emphasizes oral
communication, while the Christian tradition of the Western world
encourages oral communication. While the clergymen of
Christianity were asked to speak, Confucian scholars were asked,
first of all, to read and record in written words. While the
former were orators, the latter were literati (Choe 1980).

Kim (1986) also points out that communication styles used in

42

Korean advertising have been significantly influenced by the
Confucian tradition of the society, with many indirect and
roundabout messages. Kim’s (1986) argument is based mainly upon
his industry experience and observation, and this view about
Korean advertising’s expression is shared by other advertising
professionals (Shin 1984).

Even though Buddhism has been oppressed in Korea by the
central Confucian government throughout the Yi dynasty, more
recently Buddhism has been widely accepted due to its egalitarian
nature, especially among the lower class public and women who
were deprived of social status under Confucian ethics.

In Buddhism, however, there is a general distrust of
communication, written or spoken (Yum 1987). Buddhists believe
that words are only approximations of any ideas or events and
cannot convey what we really mean. Thus, implicit communication
and the ability to discern hidden meaning are highly valued in
the Buddhist tradition.

Influences of Confucian and Buddhist traditions on Korean
communication styles may lead Koreans to develop their messages
in more indirect and subtle forms and include less direct
argumentation even when they need to persuade others with their
messages. Thus, advertising messages with many informative cues

supporting the message may not be as effective in Korea as in the

U.S.A.

43

c ' t' ° t

The major thrust of the dissertation research is to find and
to check if there is some association between cultural
characteristics and informativeness level of television
advertising. The association between cultural characteristics
and advertising content may provide an important theoretical as
well as practical clue to international advertising scholars and
practitioners with respect to the globalization and localization
issue. Information about this association also contributes to
the theoretical reasoning process regarding the relationship

between culture and advertising content.

WW
QQBSQE§_An§l¥§1§

Content analysis is the study of the communication message
itself, and it is a research technique for enjeeeige, eyseenaeic,
and geeneieQELEe description of the manifest content of
communication (Berelson 1952). It, thus, does not deal with the
communicator or the audience.

Kassarjian (1977) notes that content analysis is necessary
when the subject’s own language and mode of expression is crucial
to the investigation. Both points are relevant for this
dissertation research. The linguistic aspect of culture is
extremely important in cross-cultural research, and modes of

expression are one of the major investigation areas of the

44

research.

Kassarjian (1977) further indicates that content analysis
can be particularly helpful when the objective and systematic
evaluation of material is needed that is much too voluminous for
a single investigation. In this dissertation research, the
large number of commercials required the use of such a systematic
technique so the above advantage could be realized.

In a content analysis, areas of critical decision include
unit of analysis, categories of analysis, coder selection and
training, and reliability checking (Kassarjian 1977). This
dissertation research requires not only a rigorous systematic
analysis scheme for the content analysis but also a mechanism to
maintain a certain level of equivalence between the different
cultural settings. The next section deals with general concerns

in cross-cultural research.

WW

General concerns in performing cross—cultural research
include the complexity of research design, recruiting competent
and comparable research participants, developing equivalent
research materials, maintaining equivalent research procedures,
and analyzing results (Douglas and Craig 1983).
Ennigelenee_1eenee Campbell (1964) argues that differences in
behavior cannot possibly be interpreted and compared unless a

common underlying process exists. Gordon and Kikuchi (1966)

45

points out the danger of using the same research material without
checking and solving possible equivalence problems between
cultures.

Bhalla and Lin (1987) specify four major types of
equivalence that must be considered in planning cross-cultural
testing of a theory; construct equivalence, operational
equivalence, scalar equivalence, and linguistic equivalence.

genee;eee_egnige1enee deals with the equality of meaning,
the meaning of stimuli, and the concepts or overt behavior under
study. Construct equivalence has three distinct components;
conceptual equivalence, functional equivalence, and category
equivalence (Douglas and Craig 1983).

Conceptual equivalence is concerned with the interpretation
that people in different cultures place on stimuli, product, and
behavior. For example, because of different socio—cultural norms
in Far Eastern societies, comparative advertising may not be
considered as culturally acceptable or desirable as in the U.S.A.
Functional equivalence deals with the similarity of goals of
behavior across different cultures. Meanings attached to
automobile ownership in different cultures may vary according to
each culture’s stage of economic development and societal
environment. Category equivalence refers to the way that
objects, stimuli, and behaviors are grouped. Socioeconomic and
demographic variables used to classify individuals and their

responses may not be equivalent across cultures. For example,

46

the category ’household’ is subject to variation across cultures,
depending upon typical household sizes, whether there are joint
families or extended families, and so forth.

Qne:e§iene1_egnigelenee deals with questions about whether
there are shared operational definitions of a construct. While
‘leisure’ may be ope: -onalized with hours spent in watching
television, it may not be a good operational definition in
societies that do not have 24-hour television transmission
(Bhalla and Lin 1987). §calar egeivelenee deals with ways
measurement scales are structured to measure a construct. Not
all countries express equal familiarity with all scales and
scaling procedures. In the U.S.A., a five- or seven-point scale
may suffice, while in other countries a 10-, 12-, or 20-point
scale may be more appropriate (Douglas and Craig 1983).
Lingnieeie_egeiye1enee refers to equivalence problems in both
spoken and written languages applied to developing
questionnaires, interviewing, training research personnel,
probing open-ended responses, etc. The goal of linguistic
equivalence is to maintain commonality in understanding and
interpreting concepts between different languages (Berry 1969;
Brislin 1983).

In developing research materials for cross-cultural
research, it is required to maintain linguistic equivalence.
Respondents in each culture should interpret and respond to

research materials with the same understanding, if valid

47

comparisons are to be made. Effective translation can help
overcome some problems of equivalence. In all fairness, though,
a very accurate translation is not always foolproof or enough
(Werner and Campbell 1970).

If similar research materials are to be used in two or more
cultures, translation and back-translation should be done to
check whether there may be any discrepancies in meanings and
understandings between different languages (Brislin 1970; Miracle
1988). The technique is to have written material translated from
one language into another, and then back-translated independently
into the original language. The original materials can then be
compared and evaluated with the back-translated versions to
identify problems of equivalence and to determine if these
problems are etic or merely difficult emic problems (Pike 1966;
Jones 1979; Miracle 1988).

ear ' e A comparison between more than
one culture regarding a theory calls for a research design
involving multiple cultures. Designing research for such cross-
cultural settings may be considerably more complex than when a
single country is concerned (Douglas and Craig 1983).
eenjeeee Relevant and comparable subject groups may differ
across cultures by their demographic identification. Although
college students are intensively used as research subjects and
participants in many U.S. studies because of availability and

convenience, some other group or combination of groups may have

48

to be used to acquire a relevant, comparable, and representative
response patterns in other cultures.

t ' en 'ons Some adjustments may have
to be made in a cross-cultural setting regarding administering
experimental sessions, such as in sessions for coder training and
reliability checking. Efforts should be made to ascertain
equivalence between coordinators in charge of each nation’s
research tasks regarding their understanding of all research

procedures.

8W

According to the two cultural differences between the U.S.A.
and Korea, low- and high-context culture and Confucian and
Buddhist influences in Korea, a directional hypothesis regarding
the number of information cues can be stated. The hypothesis
controls for product life cycle stages and product categories,
because there may be extraneous effects from these variables on
the total number of information cues in advertising content.

E1: For the same product classes in the same stages of the
product life cycle, U.S. television commercials will
contain more information cues than Korean television
commercials.

Individualism-collectivism, and low- and high-context

cultural differences between the two nations indicate that

the types fo information cues contained in television commercials

may also be different between the two countries. In this

49

hypothesis, there are 33 information cues included in the
analysis, and a specific direction of each cue is not specified
at the outset.

32: 0.8. television commercials are different from Korean
television commercials, in terms of information types
delivered in advertising messages.

Also, the differences between the two countries; in written
and oral cultures, especially influence of the Hanja writing
system, and influences of Confucianism and Buddhism, lead to the
following directional hypotheses regarding modes of presenting
advertising information in U.S. and Korean commercials;

83a: Korean television commercials deliver information by

more visual means on screen than 0.8. television
commercials.

33b: U.S. television commercials deliver information by

more auditory means than Korean television commercials.

Product life cycle (PLC) theory indicates that there are
relationships between PLC stages and the number of information
cues in advertising messages. The first two hypotheses deal
with intra-cultural comparison between different PLC stages
regarding the number of information cues in television
commercials.

The third hypothesis is structured to make a cross-national
comparison regarding differences in the number of information
cues in different stages of the product life cycle. The

hypothesized direction is based upon the review of the cultural

50

characteristics discussed with H1.

84a: Television advertising for products in the introductory
and growth stages of the product life cycle contains
more information cues than television advertising
for products in the maturity and decline stages of the
product life cycle in the U.S.A.

34b: Television advertising for products in the introductory
and growth stages of the product life cycle contains
more information cues than television advertising for
products in the maturity and decline stages of the
product life cycle in the Korea.

34c: U.S. television advertising contains more information

cues than Korean television advertising for products
in the same stages of the product life cycle.

Product category effects indicate that there are
relationships between product categories and the number of
information cues in advertising messages. The first two
hypotheses deal with intra-country comparisons regarding the
relationships.

The third hypothesis is to compare between the two countries
the patterns of differences in the total number of information
cues by product categories. The hypothesized direction is also

based upon the cultural characteristics discussed with H1.

35a: U.S. television advertising messages for different
product categories--durable goods, non-durable goods,
and services-- contain different numbers of information
cues.

51

HSb: Korean television advertising messages for different
product categories--durable goods, non-durable goods,
and services-- contain different numbers of information
cues.

85c: U.S. television advertising contains more information
cues than Korean television advertising for the same

product categories: non-durables, durables and
services.

Summary

Previous studies about related issues, both academic and
practical, were reviewed. These areas include standardization of
international advertising, advertising information, product life
cycle and product categories, and cultural characteristics. In
addition, the literature on methodological concerns were also
reviewed. Five groups of hypotheses were derived from the

literature review.

CHAPTER III

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

This chapter provides an explanation of methodologies
utilized in this dissertation research and detailed information

on research procedures.

Me eme t Sca ve o t
De ' ' ' ve

Information has been defined in various ways. Littlejohn
(1983) summarized major information theories: (1) the
mathematical model of communication, (2) the semantic information
theory, and (3) the effective information theory.

The mathematical model of communication (Shannon and Weaver
1949) views information in three ways: a measure of uncertainty
(entropy) in a situation, the number of messages required to
reduce the uncertainty, and the number of alternatives available
in predicting the outcome.

The semantic information theory (Bar-Hillel and Carnap 1953)
defines information as a message that not only reduces the
uncertainty but also affects the receiver’s choice of
alternatives.

The effective information theory (Ackoff 1958) emphasizes

the impact of the message on the receiver’s goal. Communication

52

53

may affect the purposeful state of a receiver by conveying
information. Information alters the probabilities of choice,
changes the efficiencies of the course of action, or changes the
values of the outcome.

Most previous studies of advertising information used a
measurement scheme developed by Resnik and Stern (1977). They
defined an "advertising information cue" as that which permits a
typical buyer to make an intelligent purchase decision among
alternatives after being exposed to an advertising message.

The term "intelligent", however, is ambiguous and subject to
subjective interpretation.

For this research, a definition developed by Maenaka,
Miracle and Chang (1991) is used. Advertising information is
defined as a message presented by sound or picture, by which the
advertiser intends: (1) to reduce the listener’s and/or viewer’s
uncertainty about the product advertised, (2) to provide the
alternatives of choice, or (3) to effect a change in the mental
state or behavior of the target audience about purchasing or
using the product. The advertiser puts information in a
commercial anticipating that the target audience will use it:
(1) to decide whether or not, when, where or from whom to buy a
product or service, (2) to discriminate a certain brand from
others, or (3) to establish and maintain loyalty.

A "message" can be oral or pictorial, and it can be verbal

or nonverbal. It can include consumer benefits as well as

54

product attributes, and a reminder of what the consumer may
already know, as well as new information. With this
definition, it seems to be appropriate to consider simple
mentioning of brand name, company name, and showing product or
service as information. These cues can serve as reminder that
evoke top-of-the-mind awareness, which is directly related to the
cognitive process. "Amount of information" refers to the number
of different types of information, and "presentation mode" refers
to means of delivering information cues on television, picture

(visuals on screen) or sound (auditory).

o ' -S 8

Using the same method in different studies under different
settings is desirable and important where a comparison between
different settings is concerned and a replication of the same
research method is necessary. The replication of a study in
other situations and at other points of time is desirable to
reinforce the validity of the original study and to observe if
there have been any changes over time and at different
situations.

One of the major requirements to apply the same method,
however, is that the method should supply a valid measure and
provide a reliable result. Studies on advertising information
amount have been successfully replicated by using the Resnik and

Stern (1977) 14-cue method. Although the measure has been

55

effective in identifying and evaluating the informativeness level
of advertising messages with an accepted objectivity and
reliability (Laczniak 1979; Stern, Krugman and Resnik 1981), the
14-cue method is perceived to have some problems in its format
with respect to its validity. There have been related studies on
advertising information which suggested some guidelines that can
help improve the method. These studies are discussed in the
following paragraphs.

The first problem that was recognized was regarding the
measure’s inadequate definition of ’advertising information’, as
discussed in the above section.

The second problem with the 14-cue method is with the number
of information cues. Sepstrup (1985), Stewart and Furse (1986),
and Pollay, Zaichkowsky and Fryer (1980), for example, have
indicated that the Resnik-Stern measure may underestimate the
informativeness of advertising messages. They suggest that
advertising may deal with more than 14 cues. There can be more
cues that advertising messages can contain to help consumers to
make purchasing decisions. They recognize a need to significantly
extend the list of information cues to include more information
cues.

Thirdly, it is difficult, with the Resnik-Stern measure, for
coders to handle ambiguities caused by the cross-modal effects of
communication between visual (pictorial) and verbal (aural) modes

of presenting information (Jacoby, Hoyer and Zimmer 1983; Liu and

56

Stout 1987). This problem is perceived to be especially serious
in television messages that use bi-modal communications,
particularly in missing visual message components.

The definition of advertising information has already been
addressed. The next section deals with two remaining issues: the
number of information cues, and the separation of presentation

modes.

e o nfo a io ues

With the l4-cue measure, it may be possible that important
information cues cannot be counted because of the limited number
of information cues.

The development of a new measure for this research required
first a literature review on advertising information, and then
informal interviews and brainstorming sessions by advertising
instructors, students, and research participants, both Korean and
U.S. natives, at Michigan State University. The focus of these
activities was to find useful information cues in television
commercial messages that can be identified and used by consumers.

Dameron (1942) lists 46 different information elements that
may serve consumers, based upon his observation of advertising
messages. He maintains that advertising messages contained much
more information than was generally assumed in 1940s.

After the Resnik and Stern study was reported, some

researchers attempted to extend or adapt the 14-cue list to have

57

more information cues, so as to measure information in
advertising messages more properly (Sepstrup 1985).

Although Harmon, Razzouk and Stern (1983) utilize the basic
structure of the Resnik-Stern measure, they added one more cue,
energy, to have a 15-cue list to analyze information content of
comparative magazine advertisements. It is notable that one of
the authors of the Resnik and Stern study (1977) participated in
this study.

Stern, Resnik and Grubb (1977) also suggested that there may
be more than 14 cues in advertising messages that are important
and relevant information to consumers.

Pollay, Zaichkowsky and Freyer (1980) analyzed the content
of U.S. and Canadian television commercials, with an adapted list
of 19 information cues. They explain that the added cues may
result in a higher percentage of informative commercials in the
sample, and also indicate that the extended list may more
adequately measure the informativeness of advertising messages.

Sepstrup (1985) analyzed the content of German and Danish
television commercials with an extended list of 24 information
cues. Stewart and Furse (1985, 1986), in their studies of
television commercials, used a list of 26 information cues. Moon
and Franke (1987), in a study to measure information content of
Korean domestic and international magazine advertisements,
extended the 14-cue list to 20 information cues.

The literature review and group discussions to decide the

58

proper number of information cues for the data base used for this
dissertation indicated that an extension of the 14-cue list was
necessary, and a new list of 33 information cues (Appendix F) was
developed. The decision was made in part by a pretest of U.S.
and Korean television commercials. Detailed discussion on the

pretest will be given in a following section.

5 !. E E ! !' H 1

By its nature, television has a strength that other media
cannot duplicate, delivering messages with sound and picture
simultaneously. Liu (1986) points out that the basic
information presented in television advertising is not at all
unique to the medium; the same basic information can always be
presented in print, still pictures, or oral presentation. He
emphasizes that what is unique about television advertising is
the fern in which the information is presented; the audiovisual
mode.

Harris, Sturm, Klassen and Bechtold (1986) also note that
the impact of the information in the advertisement is partially
dependent on the medium in which it is presented, and that
linguistic factors may be differentially influenced by modes of
presentation.

In this research, separation of the presentation modes was
considered necessary for the following two reasons: First,

there are cultural implications of the presentation modes in the

59

communication styles, as discussed earlier in the section on
cultural variables. Information about cultural differences
regarding presentation nodes may be important for practitioners
when they try to develop messages for different target audiences
and different cultural groups, domestically and internationally.
For example, sometimes, a written message may be preferred over
an oral message in Korea. Secondly, separation of the
presentation modes is important to help coders do an accurate
content analysis of television commercials.

In the rest of this section, the literature supporting the
need for the separation of presentation modes into visual and
auditory is reviewed. Chaiken and Eagly (1976) specify that
messages conveyed through video, audio, or written modes differ
in the impact they have on learning and attitude change.
Richardson (1977) categorizes individual differences regarding
cognitive styles, visualizer and verbalizer, and indicates that
this distinction may be extended to cultures. Visualizers are
relatively more dependent upon the visual cues of communications
in interpreting message contents, while verbalizers are more
relying on the verbal articulation of messages. Rossiter and
Percy (1978), in a study of individual differences in visual
imaging ability, distinguish between verbal comprehension
response and visual imagery response from advertising messages,
and compare the effectiveness of visually oriented advertising

and verbally oriented advertising. They also suggest that both

60

the visual and verbal components of advertising have effects that
lead to visual imagery response and verbal comprehension response
to messages.

The effects of the verbal and visual components of
advertising on brand attitudes and attitudes toward advertising
messages are studied by Mitchell (1986), and the two different
components are found to have different levels of effects on
dependent measures. Jacoby, Hoyer and Zimmer (1983), in a cross-
media comparison between radio, television, and print advertising
regarding miscomprehension levels, found that there are
significant differences between media types and miscomprehension.
Especially with regard to advertising messages, overall
miscomprehension level for television was one of the highest
among different media types. They suggest that television may
not be the best medium for conveying information if an objective
is to have it understood.

Haley, Richardson and Baldwin (1984) and Stewart, Becker and
Graham (1987) stress the importance of nonverbal components of
marketing, and especially the effects of television advertising
on consumers’ persuasion, recall, awareness, and comprehension of
messages. In addition, a general review on the role of imagery
in information processing was done by MacInnis and Price (1987).

This line of research on the nonverbal aspects of
advertising, and imagery, or imaging ability, might be better

served if the video (picture) and auditory (sound) components of

61

advertising content are analyzed separately.

In this dissertation research, auditory (sound) and visual
(picture) presentation modes are handled separately on the data.
coding instrument. Also they are handled separately in coding
the content analysis procedure (see Appendix F). Detailed
information about the data coding instrument and coding tasks

will be discussed in a following section.

W
A list of 36 information cues was developed from a

literature review of Dameron (1942), Sepstrup (1985) and Stewart
and Furse (1986), and from research group discussion sessions
(see Appendix D). The pilot study was performed to examine
whether or not these cues were valid for measuring advertising
information in each country. In addition, the pilot study was
conducted to detect whether or not equivalence problems existed
in other research materials, methods and procedures, so that

improvements could be made for the dissertation research.

WW

Television commercials from two countries were videotaped
off-the-air in May 1987 in East Lansing, Michigan and Seoul,
Korea, respectively. Only national, not local or regional,
commercials for products and services were included in the data

base after editing. The finalized data base for the pilot study

62

included 331 U.S. and 282 Korean commercials. The information
list had four choices to be checked by coders for each
information cue; Xee;eenne, gee;nie§n;e, Xee-boen, and Ne. In
preparing coding instruments and codebooks in two languages, a
procedure of translation and back-translation was utilized
between Korean and English to minimize any linguistic equivalence
problems.

Six native speakers for coding each nation’s commercials
were recruited, in East Lansing, Michigan, as coders for the
pilot study. They were students in advertising programs,
undergraduate or graduate, at Michigan State University.

Coders were instructed only to hear commercials without
looking at television monitor to code the Xee;eeeng column
throughout all 36 cues, and they were instructed to only watch
the same commercial to code the gee;n1e§nze column with sound
turned off. This was done to minimize possible cross-mode
confusions between the two presentation modes, auditory (sound)
and visual (picture).

After finishing the first two lee columns, coders were
instructed to process the commercial with both presentation
modes, hearing and viewing to see if there were any informatiOn
cues not recognized with either of two modes alone. In some
cases, it was found that certain information cues that could only
be identified with both the visual and auditory components of the

commercials. Although it happened rarely, coders were asked to

63

check on the third column, lee;ne§n when it happened.

The third column, Xee-noen was also used when both of the
first two leg columns were checked. If coders found both (sound
and picture) columns were checked after coding on the first two
Xee columns, they were instructed to erase both checks and to
check only on the third column, Isszbeth- If none of these
three columns were checked, coders were asked to check the Ne
column.

To check intercoder reliability, the first 30 commercials in
the data base were used. The procedure involved assigning 30
commercials to pairs of coders for analysis, and asking each
coder to code independently under identical conditions controlled
by a coordinator.

For each information cue, a chi-square test was performed to
see if there were cross-national differences regarding the
frequency of presence. The total number of information cues in
each commercials was also examined to see if there were any
differences in information amount between the two nations.

To check differences in presentation modes, column checks on
Xee;eenng and BOLD were added together to get the sum of Sound,
and column checks of Xee;nieenze and 3253 were also added
together to get the sum of Picture. A t-test was performed on
these aggregated measures to check whether there were cross-
national differences regarding presentation modes.

Areas to be reviewed and checked with the pilot study were

64

the development of data coding instruments and codebooks, the
coder training and instruction, the intercoder reliability and

the statistical analysis.

0 ' ' u

(1) Native Koreans were recruited as coders for the pilot
study. They seemed, however, to have some difficulties in coding
in Korean because they had stayed in the United States to study
at school with English as foreign students. During the coding
procedures, they sometimes apparently used English words and U.S.
or Western perspectives in interpreting and understanding
advertising messages, even though they were initially instructed
to think, process and code only in Korean in processing Korean
commercials. From this finding, a strong need was recognized to
recruit native Koreans living in Korea as coders for the
dissertation study to minimize the ’acculturation’ problem and to
maintain the maximum equivalence in coders’ thinking and
interpreting.

(2) Some linguistic equivalence problems were identified
with respect to development of data coding instruments and
codebooks. It was found that there was a need to use somewhat
longer codebook definitions and to use more examples.

(3) It was found to be important to have a large enough
sample of commercials for each country’s data base in order to

maintain large enough cell sizes to be analyzed whenever

65

subsectional and crosssectional analyses are needed.

(4) The level of intercoder reliability was found to be
satisfactory, showing the average reliability over 85% of coder
agreement in both countries (Kassarjian 1977). A few cues,
however, showed relatively lower reliability levels, indicating
that additional coder training is needed for the main study.

(5) In terms of the number of information cues, it was found
that some adjustments were needed. Information regarding company
was found exist in a very small number of commercials in both
countries (see Appendix E). Thus, seven information cues were
combined into one cue, company information.

Four additional cues were found to be necessary to be

included in the list; size. W
1191119121911. taste. Wasting: Taste and

availability or location were information cues initially included
in the Resnik-Stern (1977) measure. Thus, it was necessary to
put them back in the list. The quantity and supply available or
limitation and size were cues that were not included initially
and frequently asked by coders on how to deal with. Therefore,
it was decided to include them.

The final list of information cues include 33 cues (see
Appendix F).

(6) The separation of presentation modes of advertising
information (see Appendix F) and the data analysis statistics and

techniques seemed to be properly selected and performed for the

66

content analysis purposes. No specific coding problems and

statistical problems were found.

 

Commercials to be analyzed were videotaped off-the-air in
E.Lansing, Michigan in the U.S.A. and Seoul in Korea during the
Fall of 1988 and the Winter of 1989 (see Appendices G and H for
taping schedules). Initial videotaping included program
contents as well as commercials on air in order to avoid missing
any advertising messages by chance.

The taping for the U.S. data was done by the author of this
dissertation and the taping for the Korean data was done by staff
members of the Korea Broadcast Advertising Corporation (KOBACO),
a supporting and funding institution for the study in Korea.»

It should be noted that taping a sufficient number of
commercials took only four weeks for the U.S. sample, while the
same task required twelve weeks in Korea. This may indicate
that there are more identical television commercials on the air
in Korea than in the U.S.A. It may also reflect a government
regulation in Korea that only 8% of total broadcast time can be
used for advertising purposes (Advertising Annual 1989).

Specific taping instructions were developed and used in
taping commercials to acquire representative and proportionate

samples of programs and commercials, covering all major dayparts;

67

primetime, morning, and weekend afternoon (see Appendices G and
H). Three major networks, CBS, ABC, and NBC, and a cable
channel, WTBS for the U.S. sample and three major national
networks, KBS1, KBSZ, and MBC for the Korean sample were used.

An extensive two-step editing process was done. The first
step deleted program contents and the second editing excluded any
duplicate and disqualified advertising messages such as local,
political advocacy, government, and generic demand
advertisements. Thus, the samples include only qualified product
or service advertising materials aired nationally.

The final samples include 1,228 U.S. and 867 Korean
commercials. The samples are comprised of a comprehensive range
of product categories normally sold and advertised on national

television in each country (see Appendix K).

te v c

As reviewed at the above section, a list of 33 information
cues was prepared for the measurement of information content (see
Appendices F and I).

Categories for the product life cycle coding were developed
based upon a literature review on the theory (Day 1981, Midgley
1981, Dodge and Fullerton 1984, Kotler 1986). They include four
categories; introduction, growth, maturity, and decline (see
Appendix J).

Products and services were grouped into 43 different

68

categories (see Appendix K).

nag; Ceding Insteument and Cedebook

The data coding instrument and codebook were developed first
in English, then they were translated and back-translated to
resolve any possible equivalence problems between the two
cultures and languages (see Appendices F, I, N, and O). The
final data coding instrument with 33 information cues contains
all 14 cues included in the Resnik-Stern (1977) measure.

The procedures to code sound and picture were the same as
described earlier for the pilot study.

Another problem perceived with the Resnik-Stern 14-cue
measure was the simplicity of codebook definitions on information
cues. In developing codebooks, thus, a more detailed elaboration
on each cue was attempted and examples were used whenever they

were available in either country (see Appendix I).

; 1 E l I i . i : !'
Sixteen U.S. coders and twelve Korean coders were recruited
for the study. The 0.8 coders were advertising students at
Michigan State University, and the Korean Coders were advertising
or communication students in Seoul, Korea. The KOBACO helped in
recruiting the Korean coders.
Detailed coder instructions on how to deal with information

cues were prepared in written form, based on lessons learned in

69

the pilot study.

Coder training sessions were held both in E.Lansing and
Seoul, presided by each country’s native research personnel.
Important points in coder training were to train coders to be
familiar with coding cues and codebook definitions and to
maintain equivalent meaning and interpretation among coders and
between coder groups of both countries. Thus, the Korean
trainer, the author of this dissertation, first participated in
all training sessions held for U.S. coders, and then went to
Korea to train the Korean coders. The Korean trainer’s
participation in all sessions of U.S. coder training prior to the
coder training sessions in Korean was particularly important,
because it contributed to the maintaining of equivalence between
U.S. and Korean coders regarding interpretation of information

cues and codebook definitions.

.dj,.. . - .. p .t-.. '-\ .uu- '. -,.. ,; ,.-5

Product categories were coded (see Appendix K) into 43
product and service categories. The product categories were
regrouped into three categories for the analysis purpose; non-
durable goods, durable goods, and services. Appendix K shows how
each of the 43 product categories was reclassified into one of
these three categories.

Commercial lengths were measured by a stopwatch and coded to

the nearest second. And, for purposed of the analysis, coding

70

results were regrouped into eleven categories; 7-11 seconds, 12-
16 seconds, 17-21 seconds, 22-26 seconds, 27-31 seconds, 32-36
seconds, 37-41 seconds, 42-46 seconds, 47-51 seconds, 52-56
seconds, and 57-61 seconds. These categories were then recoded
for purposes of analysis as 10 seconds, 15 seconds, 20 seconds,
25 seconds, 30 seconds, 35 seconds, 40 seconds, 45 seconds, 50
seconds, 55 seconds, and 60 seconds, respectively.

Special panel coding was used to code product life cycle
(PLC) stages of products and services. The Korean panel was
composed of three persons: a Ph.D. in communication, and two
M.A.s in advertising. They were all native Koreans and one of
the M.A.s was the author of this dissertation. The U.S. panel
was composed of a Ph.D. in marketing, and an M.B.A. in marketing.
Panels were given definition guidelines (see Appendix J) prepared
by Professor Gordon E. Miracle at Michigan State University for
helping panel members to judge stages of the product life cycle.

Initial PLC coding used four categories: introduction,
growth, maturity, and decline. Decisions were made by panel
discussion following each member’s trial independent coding based
on the guidelines. However, because there were very few products
in the introductory and decline stages, it was necessary for
purposes of analysis to recode products and services into two
categories: (1) the earlier PLC stages (introduction and growth)

and (2) the latter PLC stages (maturity and decline).

71

1911M

At the end of each nation’s coder training, all coders were
instructed to code the first 30 commercials in each nation’s data
base to check intercoder reliability (Kassarjian 1977, see
Appendix M). To calculate levels of reliability, a matrix was
developed for each information cue, and the level of agreement
among coders was checked. The matrix was 16 * 30 for the U.S.
sample and 12 * 30 for the Korean sample (16 coders for the U.S.,
12 coders for the Korean samples * 30 commercials). Results of
the reliability check are shown in Appendix N. The overall mean
reliability levels were above the .85 level recommended by
Kassarjian (1977). A few cues, however, showed reliabilities a
little less than .85, so that additional training for these cues

was done after the reliability check (see Appendix N).

Aeminisezatien end Data Input

After the reliability checking sessions, the rest of
commercials were divided among coders and each coder coded
commercials independently thereafter. A typical U.S. coder coded
about 75 commercials and a typical Korean coder coded about 70
commercials, in addition to the 30 commercials coded in the
reliability checking session.

Completed data coding instruments were collected by a
coordinator in each country, and the Korean data coding

instruments were sent to E.Lansing for data input and analysis

72

purposes.

The functions of the coordinators were important in keeping
the research procedure orderly and in maintaining equivalence
between nations. They not only collected data coding instruments
from coders, but also provided guidelines and answers regarding
coders’ questions on coding, functioning as a problem solver for
coders. They met coders regularly during the individual codings
to collect the data coding instruments and to have group meetings
to solve whatever problems that coders had.

The coordinators were also instructed to review the work of
coders and to clean the data coding instruments if there were any
problems on the instrument. The U.S. coordinator was an M.B.A.
in Marketing, and the Korean coordinator was an M.A. in
Advertising (both studying for the Ph.D).

Data input was done with the SPSS/PC+ Data Entry (version
2.0) package, by which a direct on-screen input of data was
possible. Developing the finalized data base included completing
the data input and cleaning the data. This process required
approximately six months. In order to perform these tasks, the
personnel had to be trained to be thoroughly familiar with
codebook definitions and with the cross-cultural scope of the

research project.

73

Summazy
This Chapter discussed the methodology that the current

study used for the investigation. The discussion dealt with the
development of the improved measure, the pilot study, and a

detailed information about research methods and procedures that

the main study utilized.

CHAPTER IV

ANALYSIS, RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

A series of statistical tests was performed, utilizing
SPSS/PC+ (version 3.0) package, to compare the number of
information cues, types of information delivered, and delivery
modes. The ability of the product life cycle and the product
categories to predict information content was also tested in each

country and compared between the two nations.

W

The literature review on cultural characteristics suggested
the following directional hypothesis regarding the number of
information cues contained in U.S. and Korean television
advertising:

Hi: For the same product classes in the same stages of the
product life cycle, 0.8. television commercials will
contain more information cues than Korean television
commercials.

To test this hypothesis, the average total numbers of
information cues were compared between the two countries, for 15-
second and 30-second commercials.

Although the majority (37.1%) of Korean commercials are 20

seconds, the 20-second commercials were not compared between the

nations because there were only eleven (11) U.S. 20-second

74

75

commercials in the data base. The small U.S. cell size did not
allow meaningful statistical testing (see Appendix L).

The two major categories of commercial lengths (15 and 30
seconds) covered 91.5% of U.S. but only 57.8% of Korean
commercials in the data base. To avoid losing information in the
Korean data base, the average total numbers of information cues
for commercials of all lengths were also compared.

As an alternative way to avoid losing information from the
Korean data, a method to normalize the total number of
information cues was considered. In this method, the total
number of information cues of each commercial would be divided by
each commercial’s length, so as to get a normalized total. Then
the mean of normalized totals for all commercials would be
compared between the two nations.

This method, however, assumes that television advertising
messages of different lengths contain information cues roughly
proportionate to the commercial length, that is, 30-second
commercials contain roughly as twice information cues as 15-
second commercials. However, this assumption proved not to be

true (see Table 1). Therefore, this normalization method was not

utilized.

76

Table 1
Mean Number of Information Cues in Different Length Commercials

 

11.5.15... Mean (N1 M2191
15 seconds 5.2186 (366) --(divide by 15)--> .3479

20 seconds 4.7273 ( 11) --(divide by 20)--> .2364

30 seconds 5.9550 (756) --(divide by 30)--> .1985
BOISE

15 seconds 6.0218 (275) --(divide by 15)--> .4015

20 seconds 6.0217 (322) --(divide by 20)--> .3011

30 seconds 6.4115 (226) --(divide by 30)--> .2137

To test H1, one-tailed t-tests were performed on the mean
total number of information cues in Korean and U.S. television
commercials for the same product classes and in the same stage of
the product life cycle. The classification of product categories
included durable goods, non-durable goods, and services. The
stages of the product life cycle were reduced to two categories:
(1) the earlier stages (introduction and growth) and (2) the
latter stages (maturity and decline). The mean total number of
information cues was compared between the U.S.A. and Korea for
the different combinations of the three product categories and
the two stages of the product life cycle, separately for 15-
second, 30-second and all commercials.

The table 2 shows the mean number of information cues
contained in 15-second U.S. and Korean commercials. A
significant difference between the nations was found in only one

of the six combinations at.the .05 significance level; in non-

77

durable goods in the latter stages of the product life cycle.
It is notable that Korean commercials have more information cues

than U.S. commercials, contrary to the hypothesis.

Table 2
Mean Number of Information Cues
in 15-second TV Commercials

1-tailed
- Disses __§__ __2_
Non-durable goods/ Early PLC 5.9231 6.7037 -1.45 .078
( 13) ( 27)
Non-durable goods/ Latter PLC 5.2552 6.2229 -6.73 .000*
(286) (166)
Durable goods/ Early PLC 4.0000 6.0000 n/a n/a
( 1) (15)
Durable goods/ Latter PLC 4.8182 5.2593 -1.37 .088
( 33) ( 54)
Services/ Early PLC 5.0000 4.1667 1.14 .150
( 2) ( 6)
Services/ Latter PLC 5.1304 5.5000 -.29 .386
(23) ( 2)

 

* significant at .05 level.

The analysis of 30-second commercials shows significant

differences in three combinations (see Table 3): non-durable

goods in the earlier PLC stages, non-durable goods in the latter

PLC stages, and services in the latter PLC stages.

It is also notable that Korean commercials for non-durable

physical products have more information cues than U.S.

commercials for the same products.

Service categories, however,

78

show support for the hypothesis; U.S. commercials contain more

information cues than Korean commercials.

Table 3
Mean Number of Information Cues
in 30-second TV Commercials

1-tailed
915181 .Kezes_ __£__ __£_
Non-durable goods/ Early PLC 6.4737 7.3478 -1.82 .038*
( 19) ( 23)
Non-durable goods/ Latter PLC 5.7967 6.6696 -4.88 .000*
(418) (115)
Durable goods/ Early PLC 6.0625 6.5714 -1.00 .165
( 16) ( 7)
Durable goods/ Latter PLC 5.8739 5.7556 .39 .348
(119) ( 45)
Services] Early PLC 6.3846 6.3636 .03 .488
( 26) ( 11)
Services/ Latter PLC 6.3926 5.3684 1.93 .028*
(140) ( 19)

 

* significant at .05 level.

The analysis using all commercials shows significant cross-
national differences in two combinations (see Table 4): non-
durable goods in the latter PLC stages and services in the latter
PLC stages. The former group shows that Korean commercials
contain more information cues than 0.8 commercials, while in the

latter group U.S. commercials have more information cues than

Korean commercials.

79

Table 4
Mean Number of Information Cues
in TV Commercials of All Lengths

 

1-tailed
111.5181 .8213; t _p_
Non-durable goods/ Early PLC 6.3333 6.8519 -1.55 .063
( 36) ( 81)
Non-durable goods/ Latter PLC 5.6693 6.4172 -7.51 .000*
(765) (477)
Durable goods/ Early PLC 6.1667 5.7234 1.11 .135
» ( 18) ( 47)
Durable goods/ Latter PLC 5.6667 5.5372 .70 .241
(165) (188)
Services/ Early PLC 6.1333 5.4091 1.37 .088
( 30) ( 22)
Services] Latter PLC 6.2707 5.1333 2.66 .004*
(181) ( 30)

 

* significant at .05 level.

Hypothesis H1 was based upon the literature review on the

differences in the two cultures discussed in the Chapter II.

The hypothesis suggested not only that there would be cross-

cultural differences but also the direction of the differences,

namely that U.S. advertising contains more information cues than

Korean advertising.

Results, however, were mixed and on balance show no support

for the hypothesis.

The hypothesized cross-national difference

was found only with commercials for the service categories at the

80

latter PLC stages. Commercials for physical products were found
to be either not significantly different or different in the
opposite direction of the hypothesized prediction.

These findings provide important implications for future
research. The hypothesis was based only upon the review of the
four cultural characteristics discussed earlier. The findings of
no significant difference and differences in the opposite
direction for physical products suggest that there may be
additional cultural variables that the current study did not
identify. Additional cultural variables may also help to
understand cross-cultural similarities as well as differences.

These findings also suggest that there may be non-cultural
variables that can also explain advertising informativeness.
Possible variables include: (1) stages of economic development,
(2) rules and regulations governing advertising content and
controls on the advertising industries, (3) structures of the
advertising industries, and (4) demographic characteristics of
advertising personnel. These possibilities suggest directions
for future studies.

The non-significant differences also suggest that a
standardized approach to international advertising in terms of
the number of information cues does not appear to be unsuitable
between the two countries for durable product categories.
However, this suggestion may be limited only to the number of

information cues. Additional investigation is needed to reach at

81

a more comprehensive conclusion about the advertising
standardization issue.

Finally, support for hypothesis (H1) in cross-national
comparisons for the service categories suggests an interesting
managerial implication. This finding and other findings
discussed above suggest that there are significant cross-cultural
differences. Therefore it seems as if a localized approach
rather than a standardized approach to international advertising
may be more appropriate between the two countries for developing
advertising messages for services. Again, a more comprehensive
conclusion about the standardization issue must be reserved at

this point pending additional research.

82

W
The literature discussed in Chapter II suggested the

following second hypothesis:

Hz: 0.8. television commercials are different from Korean
television commercials, in terms of information types
delivered in advertising messages.

Chi-square tests were performed on frequencies of
information cues for all commercials from the two countries, to
see whether there were any differences between countries.

Among 33 information cues, 26 cues were found to differ
significantly at the .05 level (see Table 5). There were 16
information cues that occurred more frequently in U.S. than in
Korean commercials: yelee, glee, eeeneeyL_eeyinee, eeeelyi
guantitx_axailable. methgd_9f_nsxment. QBIBhili§!L_QSP§EQeDili£¥.
MW. milabiliuLlssatien. W
warranties, indenenden; research, eomeeny research, enidentified
geseagcn, Beefernenee, eaeiefecgienl loyalty, seeeriogity cleim,
and W.

Ten information cues occurred more frequently in Korean

commercials: erend heme, egeeuce name, on n nam , erice,

veriety e: eneeuee, eeeliey, neg nzeeuegz new or ineneved

features. 952.929.99.193. W. and W
There were seven cues for which no significant differences

were found: eeeee, eenee;y_infernee;en, ceneenentsl centeneez

ingzeeienee, eeckaeingz snaee, safety, new ideesl new uses,

83

co v n' nc n se.

These findings generally support the hypothesis that
information types differ between Korean and U.S. television
commercials. U.S. commercials contain more information cues
regarding individual attributes and performance of products and
services while Korean commercials contain more information cues
related with general information, consumer characteristics, and
company information.

This finding is consonant with the cultural characteristics
of the two countries. All four cultural characteristics
discussed in Chapter II suggested that the content of Korean
advertising should contain less direct and less specific
information about product, brand and company than the content of
U.S. advertising. Based on current practices in the two
countries, these differences regarding information types used in
advertising messages suggest that the localization approach is
likely to be more suitable than the standardization approach for
developing international advertising messages between the two
countries. This suggestion, however, does not necessarily imply
that effective standardization approaches cannot be found.
Therefore, future research should include effectiveness studies,
particularly with regard to the types of information found in

this content analysis.

84

Table 5
Frequency (%) of Commercials for Each Information Cue

 

2-tailed

U.SLA. ___Kgres__ shizsgi __2_
Brand name 1,182 (96.3) 862 (99.4) 20.18 .000*
Product 1,185 (96.5) 851 (98.2) 4.51 .034*
Company name 683 (55.6) 823 (94.9) 386.55 .000*
Price 129 ( 9.8) 218 (25.1) 87.62 .000*
Variety of product 264 (21.5) 366 (42.2) 102.73 .000*
Value 54 ( 4.4) 7 ( .8) 21.92 .000*
Quality 111 ( 9.0) 107 (12.3) 5.60 .018*
Size 76 ( 6.2) 14 ( 1.6) 24.76 .000*
Economy] savings 123 (10.0) 25 ( 2.9) 38.30 .000*
Supply] quant. avail. 32 ( 2.6) 5 ( .6) 10.92 .000*
Method of payment 34 ( 2.8) 1 ( .1) 20.20 .000*
Dependability 79 ( 6.4) 16 ( 1.8) 23.70 .000*
Nutrition] health 154 (12.6) 80 ( 9.2) 5.32 .021*
Taste 282 (23.0) 189 (21.8) .34 .558
Sensory information 234 (19.1) 183 (21.1) 1.20 .274
Components] contents 425 (34.6) 291 (33.6) .20 .653
Availability] location 125 (10.2) 57 ( 6.6) 7.88 .005*
Packaging] shape 63 ( 5.1) 52 ( 6.0) .58 .447
Guarantees] warranties 47 ( 3.8) 6 ( .7) 19.01 .000*
Safety 25 ( 2.0) 18 ( 2.1) .00 1.000
Independent research 23 ( 1.9) 1 ( .1) 12.35 .000*
Company research 23 ( 1.9) 1 ( .1) 12.35 .000*
Unidentified research 64 ( 5.2) 2 ( .2) 39.71 .000*
New ideas] new uses 21 ( 1.7) 11 ( 1.3) .40 .528
Performance 555 (45.2) 183 (21.1) 128.18 .000*
Satisfaction] loyalty 133 (10.8) 48 ( 5.5) 17.38 .000*
Superiority claim 330 (26.9) 21 ( 2.4) 216.09 .000*
Convenience in use 110 ( 9.0) 85 ( 9.8) .34 .562
Special offer, event 119 ( 9.7) 47 ( 5.4) 12.12 .001*
New product]
new improved features 189 (15.4) 163 (18.8) 3.99 .046*
Use occasion 47 ( 3.8) 182 (21.0) 152.03 .000*
Image of users 133 (10.8) 279 (32.2) 145.27 .000*
Company information 78 ( 6.4) 126 (14.5) 37.78 .000*
Sample sizes (N) 1,128 867

 

* significant at .05 level.

85

e ntat'o es
According to cultural differences between the two nations
suggested by the literature reviewed in the ear 9r chapter,

directional hypotheses were proposed as follows;
83a: Korean television commercials deliver information by
more visual means on screen than 0.8. television
commercials.
H3b: 0.8. television commercials deliver information by
more auditory means than Korean television commercials.

To test these hypotheses regarding modes of presenting

advertising information, the frequencies of sound presentation

 

and the frequencies of nieenne presentation were calculated.
These results were labeled as "Information by sound (IS)", and
”Information by picture (IP)", respectively. IS and IP were
aggregated for all 33 cues to produce a total of each. Analyses
for 15-second commercials and 30-second commercials were done
separately with one-tailed t-tests on the mean frequencies of IS
and IP between the two countries. In addition, the same analysis
for commercials of all lengths was also done.

As shown in Tables 6, 7, and 8, hypotheses were confirmed
that Korean commercials use more visual presentations of
information on screen and that U.S. commercials use more
presentations by auditory means to deliver information cues.
Hypothesis H3a concerning information by picture (IP) is
supported in 15-second, 30-second, and commercials of all

lengths. Significant differences regarding information by sound

86

(IS) were also found in 15-second, 30-second, and commercials of
all lengths, confirming the hypothesized direction in H3b.

These findings may have significant theoretical,
methodological and managerial implications. First, the
literature review suggested different verbal and nonverbal
components of communication messages. The current study
suggested that cross-national differences in terms of these two
presentation modes seem to be especially associated with the
following cultural characteristics: written versus oral
communication, especially the Hanja writing system, and
Confucianism and Buddhism. These findings suggest the need for
further research on the effects of different presentation modes
to convey messages in cross-cultural settings.

Secondly, the method used to separate presentation modes
seems to perform satisfactorily in distinguishing distinct modes
of presenting advertising information and in providing results

showing cross-cultural differences.

87

Table 6

Modes of Presenting Information
(Mean Frequency in 15-second Commercials)

_Q1§181_ _KQISQ_
Info. by Sound (IS) 4.5355 4.2182
Info. by Picture (IP) 4.0656 5.3527
Sample sizes (N) 366 275

 

1-tailed

t ._JL__
2.75 .003*
-11.23 .000*

 

* significant at .05 level.

Table 7

Modes of Presenting Information
(Mean Frequency in 30-second Commercials)

 

_QL§LA&_ .52ISQ.

Info. by Sound (IS) 5.2285 4.8805
Info. by Picture (IP) 4.7371 5.6062
Sample sizes (N) 757 226

l-tailed

__11_. __2__
2.41 .008*
-6.65 .000*

 

* significant at .05 level.

Table 8

Modes of Presenting Information

(Mean Frequency in Commercials of All Lengths)

 

 

l-tailed
_n1§181_ _Kerea_ t ._2__
Info. by Sound (IS) 5.0847 4.5260 6.90 .000*
Info. by Picture (IP) 4.6336 5.4014 -10.14 .000*
Sample sizes (N) 1,228 867

 

* significant at .05 level.

88

Thirdly, the significant differences between U.S. and Korean
commercials suggests a managerial implication: For advertising
messages to Korean consumers, pictorial presentations on screen
may be more frequently required than in commercials for U.S.
consumers. Conversely, commercials for U.S. consumers may need
more verbal presentations of information cues than those for
Korean consumers. These results suggest the local adaptation of
messages between the U.S.A. and Korea. This suggestion, however,
does not necessarily imply that effective standardized approaches

cannot be found.

89

W

The literature review of the product life cycle theory
suggested the following hypothesized relationships between stages
of the product life cycle and the number of information cues
contained in advertising messages in each country:

H4a: Television advertising for products in the introductory
and growth stages of the product life cycle contains
more information cues than television advertising
for products in the maturity and decline stages of the
product life cycle in the U.S.A.

84b: Television advertising for products in the introductory
and growth stages of the product life cycle contains
more information cues than television advertising for
products in the maturity and decline stages of the
product life cycle in the Korea.

To test hypotheses H4a and H4b, t-tests were performed on
the differences in the mean number of information cues in each
country, with two groups of the product life cycle stages: the
earlier stages (introduction and growth) and the latter stages
(maturity and decline). Separate analyses of 15-second and 30-
second commercials were done. In addition, 20-second commercials
were also analyzed for the Korean comparisons. Also an analysis
of commercials of all lengths was done.

H4a about U.S. commercials is not confirmed for 15- and 30-
second commercials. There were small differences in the numbers,
in the hypothesized direction, but the differences were not

statistically significant. H4a is, however, mildly supported

when U.S. commercials of all lengths were analyzed, showing that

90

products at the earlier stages of the product life cycle contain
more information cues than products at the latter stages.
However, the absolute difference is still small (see Table 9).
The results provide only limited support for proposition that the
product life influences the number of information cues.

This finding may indicate that U.S. advertisers do not use a
substantially different number of information cues for products
at different stages of the product life cycle. They may be well
advised to include more information cues in commercials for
products in the earlier stages to gain higher levels of awareness
and knowledge for the products and services (Midgley 1981).

This finding may also be due to the small cell sizes of the
products at the earlier stages (17 15-second and 63 30-second
commercials; see Table 9) of the product life cycle. This
possibility may suggest a need for a further investigation with

larger samples.

91

Table 9
Mean Number of Information Cues Across PLC Stages
for U.S. Television Commercials

 

1-tailed
Earlier_§tages Latter_§tasss __t__ __n__
15 seconds 5.6471 5.1977 1.17 .123
( 17) (349)
30 seconds 6.2222 5.9375 1.18 .115
( 63) (688)
All 6.1685 5.7749 1.87 .030*
( 89) (1,133)

 

* significant at .05 level.

The results of the analysis of Korean commercials also only
partially support hypothesis H4b. No significant differences
were found in comparisons of 15-second, 20-second, and
commercials of all lengths. A significant difference was found
only in the 30-second comparison, indicating that commercials for
products in the earlier stages of the product life cycle contain
more information cues than commercials for products in the latter
stages.

Korean commercials appear to be similar to U.S. commercials
regarding the product life cycle effects. The results indicate
that Korean advertisers also do not use a substantially different
number of information cues for products at different stages at

the product life cycle. In addition, it is also possible that

92

the small sample sizes may contribute to this inconsistent

finding as in the U.S. case.

Table 10
Mean Number of Information Cues Across PLC Stages
for Korean Television Commercials

 

1-tailed
W __s__n_
15 seconds 6.1176 5.9820 .61 .272
( 51) (222)
20 seconds 5.8333 6.0752 -.94 .175
( 54) (266)
30 seconds 6.9286 6.2951 2.18 .015*
( 42) (183)
All 6.2756 6.1062 1.17 .120
(156) (706)

 

* significant at .05 level.

Comparisons of the number of information cues in commercials
in the two countries by stages of the product life cycles were

done to test the following hypothesis:

84c: U.S. television advertising contains more information
cues than Korean television advertising for products
in the same stages of the product life cycle.
In 15-second commercials, a cross-national significant
difference was found for products in the latter stages of the

product life cycle (see Table 11). The finding indicates that

commercials for Korean products in the latter stages of the

93

product life cycle contain more information cues than those of
U.S. products at the same PLC stages. However, between products
of the two countries at the earlier stages, no significant
difference was found.

30-second Korean commercials contain significantly more
information cues in both the earlier and the latter stages of the
product life cycle than U.S. commercials (see Table 12).

The analysis of commercials of all lengths shows that Korean
products in the latter stages contain significantly more

information cues than U.S. products at the same stages (see Table

13).
Table 11
Mean Number of Information Cues in PLC Stages
(15-second Commercials)
1-tailed
.915181 .39121 __I__. __n__
Earlier Stages 5.6471 6.1176 -1.09 .140
( 17) ( 51)
Latter Stages 5.1977 5.9820 -6.10 .000*
(349) (222)

 

* significant at .05 level.

94

Table 12
Mean Number of Information Cues in PLC Stages
(BO-second Commercials)

1-tailed
_H1§1A1 .3912! __§__ __P__
Earlier Stages 6.2222 6.9286 -2.14 .018*
( 63) ( 42)
Latter Stages 5.9375 6.2951 -2.36 .010*
(688) (183)

 

* significant at .05 level.

Table 13
Mean Number of Information Cues in PLC Stages
(Commercials of All Lengths)

1-tailed
_HL§&AL. .KQIBA __§__. ._Jl__
Earlier Stages 6.6185 6.2756 -.46 .649
( 89) (156)
Latter Stages 5.7749 6.1062 -3.83 .000*
(1,133) (706)

 

* significant at .05 level.

These results indicate that there are significant
differences in the opposite direction of the hypothesis between
the two countries’ commercials for products and services in the
latter stages of the product life cycle in terms of the number of
information cues; Korean commercials contain more information
cues. In addition, for products and services at earlier stages,

Korean commercials also seem to contain more information cues

95

although differences were not statistically significant. This
pattern was consistent in both 15-second and 30-second
commercials.

These findings also show that Korean products and services
are generally in earlier stages than U.S ones. The data base
contains 156 Korean commercials (18.0% of Korean commercials) for
products and services in the earlier stages of the product life
cycle. Only 89 U.S. commercials (7.2% of U.S. commercials) were
for products and services at the same stages. This fact can
partly explain the higher-than-expected level of informativeness
in Korean commercials. Previous studies also found that
commercials in lesser developed countries tend to contain more
information cues because their products and services are
generally in the earlier stages, requiring advertisers to provide
consumers with more information (Renforth and Raveed 1983; Rice
and Lu 1988).

These findings may also suggest that the localization
approach is more pertinent for international advertisers than the
standardization approach. This suggestion does not necessarily

imply that effective standardized approaches cannot be found.

96

W

Hypotheses H5a and H5b were presented as follows, as
suggested by the literature review:

35a: U.S. television advertising messages for different
product categories--durable goods, non-durable goods,
and services-- contain different numbers of information
cues.

ESb: Korean television advertising messages for different
product categories--durable goods, non-durable goods,
and services-- contain different numbers of information
cues.

Analysis of variance (ANOVA) tests were performed for three
product categories from each country: durable goods, non-durable
goods and services. Separate analyses of 15-second and 30-
second commercials and an analysis using commercials of all
lengths were done. In addition, the 20-second commercials were
also analyzed for the Korean data.

Across product categories, U.S. 30-second commercials were
found to be significantly different, as were commercials of all
lengths. 15-second commercials also show differences, but not
statistically significant. This result may be due to the small
cell sizes for durable goods and services (see Exhibit 14).

These findings generally support H5a, showing differences in
the number of information cues between different product
categories. The product category effects on the number of

information cues are confirmed and it was found that U.S.

television commercials for different product categories contain

97

different numbers of information cues. This finding confirms
that different message strategies are needed for commercials for
different product categories, regarding the total number of
information cues.

The pattern of information cues is also clear from results.
Commercials for service categories seem to contain more
information cues than other categories, with those for non-
durable goods containing the fewest cues. Those for durable
goods are in the middle. However, this overall pattern is not
clear in 15-second commercials, possibly due in part to the small

sample segments for durable goods and services.

98

Table 14
Mean Number of Information Cues Across Product Classes
(U.S. Television Commercials)

2-tailed
Nen:dnrables Durables Ssrxisss __E__ __n__
15 seconds 5.2843 4.7941 5.1200 1.567 .210

(299) '( 34) ( 25)

30 seconds 5.8250 5.8897 6.3916 6.015 .002*
(440) (136) (166)

All 5.6990 5.7120 6.2512 7.418 .001*
(804) (184) (211)

 

* significant at .05 level.

Note: The following numbers in each pair in this table differ
significantly at the .05 level, as indicated by the t-test.

1) 30-second commercials: 5.8897 and 6.3916
6.3916 and 5.8250

2) all commercials: 5.6990 and 5.7120

5.7120 and 6.2512
6.2512 and 5.6990

Significant differences were found for Korean commercials of
all lengths: 15 seconds, 20 seconds, 30 seconds. In addition,
significant differences were also found when all commercials were
analyzed (see Table 15). Thus, the product category effects on
the number of information cues are confirmed for Korean
television commercials. The most informative Korean commercials
are for non-durable products, the second are those for durable
products, and the least informative are those in the service

category. These findings suggest that different message

99

strategies regarding the number of information cues are

appropriate for different product categories in developing

television commercials in Korea.

15 seconds

20 seconds

30 seconds

All

Table
Mean Number of Information Cues Across Product Classes

15

(Korean Television Commercials)

Nenzdurables

6.3077
(195)

6.4619
(197)

6.7770
(139)

6.4848
(560)

5.4203
( 69)

5.4587
(109)

5.8654
( 52)

5.5612
(237)

4.5000
( 8)

4.4444
( 9)

5.7333
( 30)

5.2500
( 52)

Durables serxiees __£;_ __2__

2-tailed
15.782 .000*
17.544 .000*
8.664 .000*
37.768 .000*

 

* significant at .05 level.

Note: The following numbers in each pair
significantly at the .05 level, as

1) 15-second commercials:

2) 20-second commercials:

3) 30-second commercials:

4) all commercials:

6.3077
4.5000

6.4619
4.4444

6.7770
5.7333

in this table differ
indicated by the t-test.

and
and

and
and

and
and

6.4848 and 5.5612
5.2500 and 6.4848

5.4203
6.3077

5.4587
6.4619

5.8654
6.7770

100

Comparisons of the number of information cues in commercials
in the two countries by product categories changes were done to
test the following hypothesis:

KSc: 0.8. television advertising contains more information
cues than Korean television advertising for the same
product categories: non-durables, durables and
services.

In the analysis of 15-second commercials, it was found that
Korean commercials contain more information cues for non-durable
and durable goods than U.S. commercials for those products.

The analysis of 30-second commercials shows that Korean
commercials for non-durable goods contain more information cues
than U.S. commercials (see Table 17).

The analysis of commercials of all lengths found that Korean
commercials for non-durable good contain more information cues
than U.S. commercials for the same products. But U.S.
commercials for services have more information cues than Korean
commercials for services.

The testing of HSc shows that there are cross-national
differences in the Opposite direction to the hypothesis regarding
the pattern of containing information cues in television
commercials for different product categories. For non-durable
products, Korean commercials appear to contain more information
cues than U.S. commercials, while U.S. commercials contain more
information cues for services than Korean commercials.

These differences suggest that the local adaptation

101

regarding the number of information cues, by product categories,
is more suitable for international advertisers between the U.S.A.
and Korea. This suggestion does not necessarily imply that '

effective standardized approaches cannot be found.

Table 16 .
Mean Number of Information Cues by Product Categories
(15-second commercials)

 

2-tailed

.lhjhlu. _Keree t ._JL__

Non-durable goods 5.2843 6.3077 -7.46 .000*
(299) (195)

Durable goods 4.7941 5.4203 -2.10 .019*
( 34) ( 69)

Services 5.1200 ' 4.5000 .98 .167
( 25) ( 4)

 

* significant at .05 level.

Table 17
Mean Number of Information Cues by Product Categories
(BO-second commercials)

 

2-tailed
Q,S.A. Korea t e
Non-durable goods 5.8250 6.7770 -5.79 .000*
(440) (139)
Durable geods 5.8897 5.8654 .09 .464
(136) ( 52)
Services 6.3916 5.7333 1.56 .060
(166) ( 30)

 

* significant at .05 level.

102

Table 18
Mean Number of Information Cues by Product Categories
(Commercials of All Lengths)

 

2-tailed
U.§.A, Korea t
Non-durable goods 5.6990 6.4848 -8.37 .000*
(804) (561)
Durable goods 5.7120 5.5612 .91 .363
(184) (237)
Services 6.2512 5.2500 3.06 .002*
(211) ( 52)

 

* significant at .05 level.

This Chapter presented results of statistical analyses to
test the hypotheses given in Chapter II, and provided discussions
of their meaning and implications.

No support was acquired for H1 which suggested that Korean
television advertising contains more information cues than U.S.
commercials. Further research on additional cultural and other
related variables with respect to advertising informativeness was
suggested.

H2 predicted cross-national differences regarding types of
information cues delivered, and was supported by the results.
Twenty six (26) out of thirty three (33) cues were found to
differ significantly between Korean and U.S. commercials.

Support for the localized approach to international advertising

103

was suggested from the findings, and a need to further
investigate these findings was indicated.

The results provided support for H3a and H3b. Korean
commercials use more visual presentations than U.S. commercials
while U.S. commercials use more auditory means to communicate
advertising information to consumers. The findings were in
harmony with what the cultural variables had suggested and
suggested the localization approach over the standardization
approach in international advertising between the two countries.

H4a and H4b, which predicted the relationships between
stages of the product life cycle and the number of information
cues in each nation, did not receive support. However, the
results showed cross-national differences in the opposite
direction of the hypothesis H4c, indicating that Korean
commercials contain more information cues for products in the
latter stages of the product life cycle. Managerial
recommendations to use more information cues for products and
services at the earlier PLC stages in each country and to take
the localization approach in developing international advertising
between the two nations were suggested.

H5a and H5b were supported by the results, indicating that
the numbers of information cues contained in television
commercials are different depending on product categories. H5c
regarding cross-national differences in the number of information

cues was not supported. This was because there were cross-

104

national differences in the opposite direction of the hypothesis
especially between non-durable goods and between services of the
two countries. From these findings, it was suggested that
different message strategies are required for different product
categories in each country, and that the localization approach is
likely to serve better than the standardization strategy between

the two nations in developing advertising messages.

CHAPTER V

CONCLUSIONS

W

The hypothesis predicting cross-cultural differences in
terms of the number of information cues contained in television
commercials (H1) did not acquire support from the results.
Furthermore, the results report contradicting findings to the
hypothesized direction for physical products, showing that Korean
commercials contain more information cues than U.S. commercials.

The hypotheses dealing with types of information did,
however, have support from the results. Significant cross-
cultural differences were found in 26 cues on the 33-cue list,
regarding frequencies of uses of those cues (H2). These
differences suggest that cultural characteristics are associated
with the types of information cues used frequently in television
commercial of each nation.

It was further found that Korean commercials use more
visuals on screen than U.S. commercials, while U.S. commercials
use more auditory means than Korean commercials, to deliver
information cues. This finding suggests that the previously
presented cross-cultural differences are associated with these

two modes of presenting advertising information. It also

105

106

suggests the need for further investigation of advertising.

These findings showing cross-national differences suggest
that the localized approach may be more suitable than the
standardization approach between the two countries in developing
international advertising messages. However, this does not
necessarily mean that effective standardized approaches cannot be

found.

P c c 'e

Although most previous studies confirmed the relationships
between the stages of the product life cycle and the amount of
advertising information, the results from the current study did
not find the relationship as predicted. Only partial support
could be given to the hypothesis in either country. Cross-
national comparisons show that Korean commercials generally
contain more information cues than U.S. commercials in all stages
of the product life cycle.

The number of advertising information cues was found to
differ significantly in different product categories in both
countries. Cross-national comparisons also show that Korean
commercials contain more information cues than U.S. commercials
for commercials for physical products. But U.S. commercials for

services contain more information cues than Korean commercials.

107

Theorericel gonelueions

The major purpose of the current study was to investigate
whether cultural characteristics are associated with the
information content of U.S and Korean television commercials.
The hypotheses were based on the following cultural
characteristics: (1) individualism and collectivism, (2) high and
low context culture, (3) written and oral communication, and (4)
influences of Confucianism and Buddhism in Korea. Theory based
on these cultural characteristics suggested the nature of the
information content in television commercials from the two
countries, as expressed in the hypotheses. To the extent that
the hypotheses are accepted or rejected, the underlying theories
based on the indicated cultural characteristics are supported or
not supported.

Hall (1983) indicated that the level of context, high or
low, has implications for communication content and style.
People in high context cultures such as Korea may feel others are
talking down to them when they present too much information.
Conversely, too little information may mystify people in low
context cultures such as those of the U.S.A. or Germany.
Yum (1987) pointed out that the Korean communication style can be
characterized as implicit and indirect as a consequence of the
religious and philosophical legacy from both Confucian and
Buddhist tradition. In contrast, the U.S. communication style

tends to be relatively explicit and direct. Therefore, it was

108

inferred and hypothesized that the content of Korean advertising
would contain less information than U.S. advertising.

The results, however, showed that these characteristics did
not predict the comparative number of information cues in
television commercials of the two countries. In contrast to
theory, the results showed that Korean commercials generally
contain more information cues than U.S. commercials. These
results cast doubt on the ability of these two cultural variables
to predict or explain the total number of information cues in
advertising.

This study, however, found cross-national differences
between the two nations regarding the types of information cues
and modes of presenting information. It was inferred, from the
collectivism literature (Hui and Triandis 1986; Hofstede 1980 and
1984; Hofstede and Bond 1984) that collectivism in Korea,
together with its manifestation such as conformity and
inclination to seek harmony, may influence the country’s
advertising content to contain relatively less direct and
confronting information about specific brands and products than
that of an individualistic society such as that of the U.S.A.

The high and low context culture dichotomy (Hall 1976, Hall
and Hall 1983, Gudykunst and Nishida 1986) was also used to
derive the hypothesis regarding information types. It was
inferred that, due to the high-context characteristics of the

Korean culture and language, the advertising communication style

109

may place relatively little emphasis on the articulated strengths
of products and brands advertised on television. Instead,
situational cues and circumstantial expression may be more
important in Korean commercials than in U.S. commercials.

This expectation was generally confirmed by the results of
the study. It was found that U.S. commercials contain more
information cues regarding individual attributes and performance
of products and services while Korean commercials contain more
information cues related to general information, consumer
characteristics, and company information. Also, the more
frequent uses of company name and company information in Korean
commercials than in U.S. commercials reflect the cultural
inclination toward collectivism in Korea. Korean advertisers may
use these types of information cues more frequently for consumers
who rely relatively more on the good name and reputation of
manufacturers rather than relying on attributes of the product or
the brand. These results suggest that cultural characteristics
can indeed be used to predict or explain types of information
content and the modes of presenting information.

Consonant with the expectation based upon the high and low
context cultural dichotomy (Hall 1976, Hall 1983), Korean
commercials were found to less frequently use information cues
directly related to the specific product or brand than U.S.
commercials. Korean advertisers may not include many

information cues directly related to the brand in their

110

commercials, because they know that Korean consumers may not need
to hear or see those types of cues. General information such as
mere identification of product, brand, or company name, and
situational information such as use occasion and image of users
are more frequently used in Korean commercials. These reflect
the high context culture that does not need as much specific
direct information about the product or the brand. U.S.
commercials contain more direct information cues related to
performance and attributes of a specific product or brand, such
as durability, nutrition or health, research evidence,
performance, superiority claims, special offers or events.

These results regarding high and low context cultures also
suggest an adjustment in the content of the Hall’s (1976, 1983)
definition. In its present form, the definition seems to deal
only with the amount of information that a message contains,
indicating that messages of high context cultures contain less
information, and those of low context cultures contain more
information in the explicit code. But, the results of this
study suggest that the definition should also deal with the types
of information in addition to the amount of information. The
following revised definition may serve more properly:

A low context (LC) communication or message is one in

which relatively much direct or issue-relevant information

is contained in the explicit code of the message. A high

context (HC) communication or message is just the opposite;

i.e., relatively little direct or issue-relevant information

is contained in the explicit code of the message. The high
context message instead contains relatively more information

111

providing contextual and circumstantial ideas, and

information suggesting that the message source can be

trusted and depended upon. The dichotomy of low and high
context communication, thus, is based on the types as well
as the amount of information contained in the message.

It should be understood in the above paragraph that "direct
or issue-relevant" information is used in a sense that is
appropriate for the English language and the U.S. culture.

In the U.S.A., such information may be considered to include
primarily the advantages of purchasing and using a particular
brand or product. In Korea, however, direct or issue-relevant
information may be considered to include primarily information
for a consumer to select a trusted and dependable company or
source instead of brand or product features or benefits.

Cross-national differences regarding the modes of presenting
information cues also provided support for the inference that
cultural variables are related to written and oral communication,
especially the use of the Hanja writing system in Korea, and the
Confucian and Buddhist written tradition manifested in the Korean
culture.

Choe (1980) pointed out that the Oriental view of
communication was oriented relatively more to written words,
while the Western view was directed relatively more to spoken
words. Yum (1987) also reported that the Confucian tradition in
Korea may encourage the written form of communication while

suppressing oral communication. Indeed the religious and

philosophical background in Korea seems to discourage the use of

112

auditory means of presenting information. From these arguments
and observations, it was inferred that Korean commercials are
expected to use more visual means on screen and U.S. commercials
are expected to use more auditory means to deliver information
cues.

The results confirmed the expectation. It was indeed found
that Korean commercials use more visual means and U.S.
commercials use more auditory means in delivering information
cues. Therefore, the cultural differences based on the written
and oral communications seem to be useful in explaining the
differences in presentation modes. Theory building regarding
influences of different religions and philosophies on the content
of advertising seems to be needed. Also, further efforts to
develop theoretical explanations about the relationship between
the presentation modes and consumer reactions seem to be
worthwhile for future research.

The current study also attempted to investigate the
relationships between marketing theories and the number of
information cues contained in television advertising and
marketing theories, namely, product life cycles and product
categories, within each nation and between the two nations.

The results did not support the product life cycle theory.
Products and services at different stages of the product life
cycle did not contain different numbers of information cues, as

suggested by the theory. Also, contrary to the theory, the

113

results also showed that Korean commercials contain more
information cues than U.S. commercials for products in each stage
of the product life cycle. The direction is contrary to the
hypothesized expectation.

However, the results showed that commercials for different
product categories contain different numbers of information cues
in each country. Commercials for Korean non-durable goods
contain the most information cues, those for durables the second
most, and those for services the least. Among U.S. commercials,
those for services contain the most information cues, those for
durable goods are second, and those for non-durables are third.
These findings seem to be consistent across different commercial
lengths. This finding indicates that ’product category’ is
useful to predict the information content of advertising.
However, a comprehensive explanation of these patterns is not
within the scope of the current study. Further efforts are
needed to build a theory regarding this issue.

In sum, the usefulness of cultural variables in explaining
some aspects of the information content of advertising was
demonstrated by the current study. Individualism and
collectivism, high and low context cultures, written and oral
communication, and influences of Confucianism and Buddhism were
found to be associated with the information content of U.S. and
Korean television advertising, especially with respect to types

of information cues and presentation modes.

114

Methodologieal Conclusions
The results of this study show that the new methods for the

current study was useful to identify advertising information cues
properly. On average, the U.S. and Korean television
commercials were found to contain five to six information cues.
Those who used the Resnik-Stern 14-cue measure usually found one
to two information cues per advertisement (Resnik and Stern 1977;
Hong, et al. 1987; Madden, et a1. 1986; Rice and Lu 1988). This
difference suggests that advertising may be much more informative
than indicated by those who used the Resnik-Stern limited list of
information cues.

Another notable aspect of the improved measure is the
separation of visual and verbal modes of presenting advertising
information. This separation significantly reinforces the
measure of advertising information by providing an additional
dimension of the measurement of advertising information. The
study was able to find that advertising messages are
significantly different cross-nationally along the dimension of
presentation modes, in accordance with the hypotheses which were
based upon cultural characteristics. It is recommended that
those who study advertising information should investigate both
visual and verbal cues, especially if the study deals with
television advertising or if it involves cross-cultural
comparisons. Cultural variables appeared to be associated with

the modes of presenting of information content.

115

Due to the cross-cultural scope of the study, special
concerns were taken inevitably throughout the research
procedures. It was important and critical to maintain
equivalence of research methods and procedures between the two
nations. Those areas include; the development of data coding
instruments and codebooks, the recruitment of research personnel
and coders, the coder training and coder instructions, control of
the coding process, the administration and the data input, and
the analysis and the interpretation of results. The methods
developed for cross-cultural studies such as translation and

back-translation techniques were utilized for the study.

MenagerieLgenelusiebs

No significant differences were found in the overall numbers
of information cues between U.S. and Korean commercials. Korean
and U.S. television commercials, however, were found to be
different in modes of presenting information used and types of
information cues delivered. Cross-national differences regarding
advertising informativeness were also found to be associated with
different stages of the product life cycle and different product
categories.

Discussions of the standardization of international
advertising were based on the results of this study in Chapter
IV. The findings from the current study suggested that the

local adaptation approach was recommended for international

116

advertisers between Korea and the U.S.A. Differences in
cultural characteristics appear to be associated with the
information content of television commercials from the two
countries. It seems clear that cultural characteristics are
associated with information types and modes of presenting
advertising information.

Although the current study deals only with the content of
domestic advertising messages of the two countries, the
differences found from the results may guide international
marketers and advertisers. The content of domestic advertising
reflects important cultural characteristics. Thus the certain
culturally based content can be accepted readily in each country,
but sometimes not in the others. Therefore, the results of this
study can be used to prepare guidelines for international
advertisers interested in doing business between Korea and the
U.S.A.

Those cross-national differences include: (1) U.S.
commercials contain more specific information regarding
attributes and strengths of products than Korean commercials, (2)
Korean commercials use more visual presentations while U.S.
commercials use more auditory means to present advertising
information, and (3) U.S. commercials for service categories
contain more information cues than Korean commercials, while
Korean commercials for non-durable products contain more

information cues than U.S. commercials.

117

Findings regarding the product life cycle suggest that
marketing and advertising managers should pay more attention to
the managerial implications of the theory. The theory suggests
that products in the early stages of the cycle need to contain
more information cues in their advertising messages. But the
results show that there were no clear differences in the number
of information cues in commercials for products and services in

different stages of the product life cycle.

A key limitation of this dissertation research is that the
study is descriptive in nature. It analyzes the content of
television commercials and does not involve any investigations of
the effects of advertising information on consumers. However,
as Kassarjian (1977), Holbrook (1977) and Holsti (1968)
suggested, a content analysis is especially appropriate when
objective systematic evaluation of material is too voluminous for
a single investigator, and when the subject’s own language and
mode of expression is crucial to the investigation.

The problem of subjective coding of information cues was a
methodological problem. Although efforts were made to develop
clearly defined cues and codebook definitions of the cues, and
to assure the cross-cultural equivalence of research materials
and procedures, a certain level of subjectivity seemed to be

inevitable in deciding whether each information cue on the list

118

was present in each commercial. The addition of a measure of the
consumers’ perception of informativeness to the objective content
measure might provide a partial solution to this problem of
subjectivity, as suggested by Aaker (1984).

The country-specific findings of the research may be another
limitation. The findings and conclusions of the study might be
appropriate only for comparisons of U.S. and Korean television
advertising messages. To overcome this limitation, future

studies dealing with other countries will also be needed.

Directions for Eerure Beeeerch

To extend the scope of the current study, a further
investigation of the effects of information cues on consumer
reactions may be suggested. According to Aaker (1984), a
consumer perception measure of advertising informativeness, as
well as to the measure provided by content analysis, is an
important guide to future research. A content analysis can
illustrate the characteristics of messages. It cannot, however,
show what impacts the messages may have on consumers, regarding
effectiveness measures such as recall, retention, comprehension,
persuasion, attitudes toward advertisements, attitudes toward
brands, intentions to purchase, and actual purchase.

Content investigation of television commercials from other
countries will help overcome the country-specific limitation of

the current study. This extension should attempt to provide a

119

more comprehensive understanding of the relationships between
cultures and effective advertising content.

Investigation of additional cultural characteristics and
their association with advertising informativeness is needed to
have a more comprehensive understanding about cross-cultural and
cross-national similarities as well as differences. Other
cultural variables may include power distance, masculinity,
uncertainty avoidance, etc. (Hofstede 1984b). Investigation on
non-cultural variables related to economic and societal
conditions was also suggested earlier. It is speculated that
one of the most fruitful topics for further research is to
identify and test the relationships between these additional
variables and the advertising informativeness.

Finally, there seems to be a need to review the entire body
of literature dealing with characteristics of different cultures
as they relate to marketing communication. Such a review will
provide a base for research to develop a linkage between cultural

characteristics and social phenomena such as advertising.

APPENDIX A

COMPARISONS BETWEEN SOUTH KOREA AND THE U.S.A.

120

 

Appendix A
betw e ou 0 nd U. . .
I. General Statistics
U.S.A. Koren,

Population 248,777,000 (’89) 42,380,000 (’89)
Density per sq. mi. 68 (’89) 1,106 (’89)
Gross National Product $4,880,600M (’88) $112,947M (’87)
Advertising EXpenditure $123,930M (’89) $2,303M (’89)
Per Capita Income $19,860 (’88) $2,690 (’87)
Literacy 95.5% (’80) .92.7% (’81)
Average household size 2.6 (’88) 4.0 (’87)
Average household income $32,144 (’87) $8,510 (’87)
Newspaper circ./ 1,000 pop. 255 (’88) 265 (’86)
Television ownership 1 / 1.3 persons 1 / 4.9 persons
Teieenene oenerehin 1 L 1.9 bereene, 1 l 4.1 pereene

 

Source: Encyclopedia Britannica 1990.

 

II. Advertising Expenditure (1989)'

(in $,000s)

 

 

U.S.A. Koree
Newspapers 32,368,000 (26.1%) 903,972 (39.2%)
Magazines 6,928,000 ( 5.6%) 121,631 ( 5.3%)
Television 26,891,000 (21.7%) 773,972 (33.6%)
Radio 8,323,000 ( 6.8%) 92,117 ( 4.0%)
Direct Mail 21,945,000 (17.7%)
Outdoors 1,111,000 ( 0.9%)
Misceiieneees 2 364 00 2 .3 41 404 7.9 *
TOTAL 123,930,000 2,303,096
Sources: Ha 1990 and Coen 1991.
Applied exchange rate for Korea (US $:Korean Won) = 1:679.60

* Miscellaneous in Korea includes outdoors, direct mail,

overseas,

and other miscellaneous advertisements.

APPENDIX B

DIMENSIONS OF INTERNATIONAL ADVERTISING
TO BE CONSIDERED FOR STANDARDIZATION

121

Appendix B

Dimensions of International Advertising
t b ’ a 'zat' oca izat'o °

I. Advertising Objectives

- Communication tasks
- Defined target audience
- Specified periods of time

II. Advertising Message Strategies

- Theme

- Appeals

- Positive vs. negative approach

- Benefits or product/service attributes
- Information amount and types

- Image vs. product attributes

- Comparisons vs. no comparisons

- Spokesperson vs. voice-over

- Color mix, etc.

III. Advertising Media Strategies

- Choice of media categories and vehicles
- Size and length of advertising materials
- Scheduling patterns; continuity, flighting, pulsing

IV. Advertising Budgets

- Heavy, medium, or light weight

- By product

- By market area

- By customer classification

- By selected media

- For selected creative or message approaches
- Match or not match competitors

- Contracyclical or not

V. Advertising Decision Processes

 

' Prepared by Professor Gordon E. Miracle.

APPENDIX C

RESNIK AND STERN’S FOURTEEN CRITERIA
FOR CLASSIFICATION

 

122

Appendix C
Resnik and Stern’s Fourteen (14) Criteria'
f as ' 'cat' as a 've o No - o at've
Price-Value

- What does the product cost?
- What is the need satisfaction capability] dollars?
- What is its value retention capability?

Quality
- What are the product’s characteristics that distinguish a
particular product from competing products based upon an
objective evaluation of workmanship, engineering,
durability, excellence of materials, structural
superiority, superiority of personnel, attention to detail,
or special services?

Performance
- What does the product do and how well does it do what it is
designed to do in comparison to alternative purchases?

Components or Contents
- What is the product composed of?
- What ingredients does it contain?
- What ancillary items are included with the product?

Availability
- Where can the product be purchased?
- When will the product be available for purchase?

Special Offers
- What limited-time non-price deals are available with a
particular purchase?

Taste
- Is evidence presented that the taste of a particular
product is perceived as superior in taste by a sample of
potential customers? (The opinion of the advertiser is
inadequate.)

Nutrition
- Are specific data given concerning the nutritional content
of a particular product or is a direct specific comparison
made with other products?

9.

10.

11.

12.

13.

14.

123

Packaging or Shape

- What package is the product available in which makes it
more desirable than alternatives?
- What special shapes is the product available in?

Guarantees and Warranties
- What post-purchase assurances accompany the product?

Safety
- What safety features are available on a particular product
compared to alternative choices?

Independent Research
- Are results of research gathered by an "independent"
research firm presented?

Company Research
- Are data gathered by a company to compare their product
with a competitor’s presented?

New Ideas
- Is a totally new concept introduced during the commercial?
- Are the advantages of the idea presented?

 

’ Source: Stern, Resnik and Grubb (1977).

 

APPENDIX D

INFORMATION CUES FOR THE PILOT STUDY

1.

3.

5.

7.

9.
11.
13.
15.
17.
19.
21.
23.
25.
27.
29.
31.
33.

35.

124

Appendix D

io es 0

Brand name

Company name

Variety of the product
Quality

Durability

Aesthetic appeals
Methods of purchasing
Guaranty/warranty
Nutrition/health

Research done by
company

New uses/application
of the product
Consumer satisfaction

Usage convenience

New product/improved
features
Users’ characteristics

Company’s experience
and size
Location of company

Policies toward
government

t

2.

4.

6.

8.
10.
12.
14.
16.
18.
20.
22.
24.
26.
28.
30.
32.
34.

36.

t est

Product name

Price

Value

Economic value/savings
Sensory information
Contents/ingredients
Packaging

Safety

Research from outside
company

Research from unknown
sources
Results of using
Product superiority
claim
Special event or
special offer
Usage occasion

Image, reputation
of company
Variety of business

Policies toward
public

Policies toward
employees

APPENDIX E

RESULT OF THE PILOT STUDY: DIFFERENCES OF
ADVERTISING INFORMATION FREQUENCY

125

Appendix E
Results of the Pilot Study:
HifisAs KQBEA Snizégs

1. Brand name 313 282 13.95 .0002
2. Product 326 280 .30 .5828
3. Company name 195 272 116.21 .0000
4. Price 27 84 46.60 .0000
5. Variety of product 66 126 42.19 .0000
6. Value 21 13 .58 .4484
7. Quality 47 37 .07 .7877
8. Economy/Savings 29 14 2.81 .0938
9. Dependability 33 9 9.93 .0016
10. Sensory Information 110 149 23.19 .0000
11. Components/Contents 138 77 13.22 .0003
12. Availability 24 13 1.44 .2308
13. Packaging 73 174 97.85 .0000
14. Guarantees/Warranty 16 12 .02 .8825
15. Safety 5 11 2.55 .1105
16. Nutrition/Health 48 71 10.42 .0012
17. Independent research 2 0 .36 .5505
18. Company research 4 0 1.82 .1774
19. Research from unid. source 23 4 9.79 .0018
20. New uses 9 8 .00 1.0000
21. Results of using 132 119 .25 .6173
22. User’s satisf.]Loyalty 97 107 4.74 .0295
23. Superiority claim 121 17 79.61 .0000
24. Convenience in use 58 18 16.39 .0001
25. Special offer or event 26 14 1.64 .2005
26. New product] 78 33 13.66 .0002

New or improved features
27. Use occasion 130 138 5.39 .0202
28. Characteristics or image 133 66 18.79 .0000

of users
29. Company image or 19 44 15.01 .0001

reputation
30. Company age or size 7 8 .09 .7532
31. Variety of company 2 0 .36 .5505

business
32. Location of business 4 3 .00 1.0000
33. Policies toward public 1 3 .44 .5066
34. Policies toward government 0 0 n.a. n.a.
35. Policies toward employees 0 0 n.a. n.a.
36. Other information 0 50 61.56 .0000

SAMPLE SIZES (n) 331 282

- Reported are number of commercials having each information
cues in each country, chi-square, p-value, and * is marked
where significant difference is at .05 alpha level.

APPENDIX F

DATA CODING INSTRUMENT

9.

10.

11.

12.

13.

14.

15.

16.

17.

Appendix F

 

WW
YES
Picture Both
2 3

Brand name

Product name
Company name

Price

Variety of Product
Value

Quality

Size

Economy or savings,
quantity/price

Supply, quantity available
or limitation

Method of payment, cash,
credit, etc.

Dependability, reliability
or durability

Nutrition or health
Taste

Sensory information (other
than taste)

Components, contents or
ingredients

Availability, location

NO

18.

19.

20.

21.

22.

23.

24.

25.

26.

27.

28.

29.

30.

31.

32.

33.

Packaging or shape
Guarantees or warranties,
return, privilege, return
service

Safety

Independent research

Company sponsored research

Research from unidentified
source

New ideas, new uses

Performance, results
of using

User’s satisfaction or
Loyalty

Superiority claim
Convenience in use
Special offer or event

New product or new or
improved features

Use occasion

Characteristics or
image of users

Company information

127

 

APPENDIX G

VIDEOTAPING FOR U.S. COMMERCIALS

Fall 1988
Winter 1989

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

Sunday

128

Appendix G
Teeing Eeriods for U.S. Commercials

October 10, 1988 - October 23, 1988
January 16, 1989 - January 29, 1989

(4 weeks)
c . omm ' s
(63 hours per week)
10 a.m. - 2 p.m. 6 p.m. - 11 p.m.
ABC (10-12 noon) CBS (6-9 p.m.)
NBC (12-2) WTBS (9-11)
CBS (10-12) ABC (6-9)
WTBS (12-2) NBC (9-11)
NBC (10-12) NBC (6-7)
ABC (12-2) WTBS (7-8)
CBS (8-11)
NBC (10-12) CBS (6-8)
CBS (12-2) ABC (8-11)
ABC (10-11) ABC (6-8)
NBC (11-1) CBS (8-9)
WTBS (1-2) NBC (9-11)
1 p.m. - 5 p.m. 6 p.m. - 11 p.m.
ABC (1-3) NBC (6-9)
CBS (3-5) WTBS (9-11)
NBC (1-3) ABC (6-9)
CBS (3-4) CBS (9-11)

WTBS (4-5)

APPENDIX H

VIDEOTAPING FOR KOREAN COMMERCIALS

129

Appendix H
Inning Eerieds for Kereen Commercials

Fall 1988 October 24, 1988 - December 4, 1988
Winter 1989 January 16, 1989 - February 26, 1989
(12 weeks)
V o 'n c o ea Co cia s
(63 hours per week)

6 a.m. - 10 aeme 6 poms - 11 p.m.
Monday KBS-1 (6-8 a.m.) KBS-1 (6-7 p.m.)

KBS-2 (8-9) KBS-2 (7-9)

MBC (9-10) MBC (9-11)
Tuesday MBC (6-8) MBC (6-7)

KBS-1 (8-9) KBS-1 (7-9)

KBS-2 (9-10) KBS-2 (9-11)
Wednesday KBS-2 (6-8) KBS-2 (6-7)

MBC (8-9) MBC (7-9)

KBS-1 (9-10) KBS-1 (9-11)
Thursday KBS-1 (6-8) KBS-1 (6-7)

KBS-2 (8-9) KBS-2 (7-9)

MBC (9-10) MBC (9-11)
Friday KBS-2 (6-8) KBS-2 (6-7)

MBC (8-9) MBC (7-9)

KBS-1 (9-10) KBS-1 (9-11)

1 p.m. - 5 p.m. 6 p.m. - 11 p.m.
Saturday MBC (1-2) MBC (6-8)

KBS-1 (2-3) KBS-1 (8-10)

KBS-2 (3-5) KBS-2 (10-11)
Sunday KBS-1 (1-2) KBS-1 (6-8)

KBS-2 (2-3) KBS-2 (8-10)

MBC (3-5) MBC (10-11)

* KBS is Korea Broadcasting Systems, state-owned stations, and
MBC is Moonhwa Broadcasting Company, state-controlled station,
where higher than 51% of its financial rights are owned by

the state.

APPENDIX I

CODEBOOK

10.

11.

130

Appendix I
9999.59.95.

Brand name: Refers to the brand name(s) of the product(s)
or service(s) advertised.

Product: Refers to describing or showing of the product
advertised.

Company name: Refers to the name of the manufacturer or the
service entity.

Price: Refers to the amount the consumer must pay for the
product or service; this may be in absolute terms, like a
suggested retail price, or relative terms, like a 10
percent off sale.

Variety of the product: Refers to claiming for or featuring
more than one kind of product.

Value: Refers to some combination of price and quality or
quantity, as in more for the money, better quality at a
low price, the best value for the dollar.

Quality: Refers to how good the product or service is; may
refer to craftsmanship and/or attention during manufacture,
use of quality (better, best) ingredients or components,
length of time to produce or create the product. May refer
to or use symbol of quality standard, such as Good
Housekeeping Seal of Approval in the USA or KS or Q in
Korea.

Size: Refers to the physical size or capacity of the
product, how long, tall, wide, heavy, capacity to do
particular size tasks.

Economy/Savings: Refers to saving money or time either in
the original purchase or in the use of the product
relative to other products in the category.

Supply, quantity available or limitation: Refers to how
much or how many items are available and directly or
indirectly the need to act before the supply is exhausted.

Method of payment: Information on preferred method to pay,
for example by credit card over the telephone.

12.

13.

14.

15.

16.

17.

18.

19.

131

Dependability/Reliability/Durability: Information
concerning how long the product will last without repair,

service records, and so on.

Nutrition/Health: Information concerning the nutritional
or health-related characteristics of the product--for
example, "fortified with vitamin D," " the formula doctors
recommend,” "relieves iron-poor blood.

Taste: Primarily for food, drink or personal care product.

Sensory information (other than taste) (fragrance, touch,
comfort, styling, color, sound): Information concerning a
sensory experience, appearance, classic beauty, beautiful
sound, and so on of the product either when purchased or
when prepared in final form; "smells April fresh," "feels
silky smooth," "luxurious comfort."

Components/Contents]Ingredients: What went into the
making or manufacture of the product--for example,
"contains lanolin," "made with pudding." These contents
should be in the products purchased, not ingredients added
to the product by the consumer in preparation for use.

Can also refer to several items served in a restaurant
meal, or components of other services such features in a
life insurance policy.

Availability: Any information concerning the place(s) the
consumer may purchase or otherwise obtain the product--for
example, "available in supermarkets," "look for it in the
dairy section." May also refer to places where the
product is not available-~for example, "not available in
all areas."

Packaging or shape: Information about the packaging of
the product--for example, "look for the package with the
red spoon,” "look for our special two in one package,"
"the package is reusable," "in the convenient one serving
package." If no package, information about the shape,
ease of handling, functions related to shape such as ease
of storage, protected from damage.

Guarantees/Warranty: Refers to any information concerning
the presence of a guarantee or warranty, including but not
restricted to money back offers, offers to repair or
service the product in the event of problems, or offers to
replace the product if the consumer is dissatisfied or has
a problem.

20.

21.

22.

23.

24.

25.

26.

27.

132

Safety: Information concerning the safety of the product--
for example, "has a built-in cut-off switch," "won’t harm
delicate hair," "nontoxic."

Independent research results: Information offered about
tests of the product or of product users that were carried
out by an identified individual or organization other than
the company manufacturing or distributing the product,
such as Underwriter’s Laboratory, a leading university, or
the U.S. government. Such test may concern objective
product characteristics ("lasts twice as long") or may be
related to user preferences ("preferred by two-thirds of
the people surveyed”).

Company research results: Information about tests of the
product or users of the product that were carried out by
the company manufacturing or distributing the product--for
example, the Pepsi challenge.

Research from unidentified source: Information about tests
of the product or users of the product when the source of
the test results is not identified.

New ideas, new uses: Refers to any information about a new
way to use an established product--for example, ”use x
brand paper cups for sorting and storing nuts and bolts,"
"use Y baking soda to deodorize refrigerator."

Performance, results of using (either tangible or
intangible): Any information concerning the outcomes
associated with the use of the product. These outcomes
may be in a positive form-- "gives hair bounce," "gives a
smoother ride," "makes you feel healthier,"--or a negative
form--"won’t yellow floors.” Performance deals with
whether the product accomplishes a consumer purpose, e.g.
clean dishes. Includes side benefits such as softer hands
after using a detergent.

User’s satisfaction/loyalty: Refers to any information
concerning users’ satisfaction, dedication, preference for
the brand, or length of time consumer has used the
advertised product--for example, "I’d never give up my
Tide,” "I’ve always used ...."

Superiority claim: Information that claims the advertised
product is better than competitive products or better than
an older version of the advertised product in some
particular ways.

28.

29.

30.

31.

32.

33.

133

Convenience in use: Information concerning the ease with
which the product may be obtained, prepared, used, or
disposed of.

Special offer or event: Information concerning special
events such as sales, contests, two-for-one deals, premi-
ums, or rebates to occur for a specified limited time.

New product or new or improved features: Refers to any
information concerning a new product introduction, new
components, ingredients, features, or characteristics of
an existing product or an improvement (qualitative or
quantitative) in any feature, component, ingredient, or
characteristic of an existing product--for example, "new
and improved," ”now with 50 percent less sugar," ”new,
milder.....” "new, stronger....,” "now with built-in
flash."

Use occasion: Information that clearly suggests an
appropriate use occasion or situation for the product--
for example, "buy films for the Christmas season," "enjoy
Jello at a birthday party," ”the beer for special
occasions.”

Characteristics or image of users: Refers to any
information concerning the type(s) of individual(s) who
might use the advertised product--for example, "for the
young at heart," "for the busy career woman."

Company information. May refer to any information about
the image or reputation of the company that manufac-

tures or distributes the product--for example, "we’ve been
in business longer than anyone else," "we try harder,"
"babies are our business.” Indicates the company is
competent, reputable or trustworthy in certain ways. May
refer to company age or size such as claiming accumulated
business experience of the company throughout its history,
or bigness in terms of sales or employees. May refer to
claims relating to varieties of business that the company
is involved in, for example a conglomerate. May refer to
location of business such as claiming advantages because
of the geographical location of the company’s business, or
its raw materials.

APPENDIX J

DIFINING THE PRODUCT LIFE CYCLE

134

Appendix J

For purposes of this project, the life cycle is defined
broadly by product categories (rather than by product type, form
or brand). Thus we are concerned with categories such as word
processors, Videocassettes, FAX machines, air conditioners, beer,
fruit juice, passenger automobiles, cookies, cereals, disposable
diapers, life insurance, shoes, and telephone answering machines.

There are four stages in the product life cycle:

1.

2.

3.

4.

Introduction or Development. When the product is first
brought to market and sales are low.

Growth. When demand begins to accelerate causing a rapid
expansion of sales.

Maturity. When demand levels off and grows only at the
replacement rate or at the rate of growth in population
or new families.

Decline. When product sales begin to decline.

There are several indicators by which to judge the stage of life
cycle for each product:

1.

Comparative sales volume over time; comparison with
previous time periods; the rate of sales change; whether
sales are increasing or decreasing. Sales are low, and
increase only slowly when a product is in the
introduction stage. Sales increase at an increasing
rate in the growth stage. Sales increase only slowly and
level off during the mature stage. Sales decline, first
slowly, then more rapidly during the decline stage.

Level of sales compared to potential sales. The ratio is
low in the introduction stage, and increases up to the
maturity stage, becoming very high in the decline stage.

Variety of products. Only one or a few varieties
initially; increasing variety in the growth stage;
decreased variety in the maturity stage; and further
reduced variety in the decline stage.

Comparative advantage of products; competitive
substitutes; product and brand differentiation. Great
comparative advantage, few competitive substitutes and

135

great differentiation in the introduction and growth
stages. In the mature stage products become more
alike; parity products; small comparative advantages;
close competitive substitutes; differences created
largely by advertising and brand differentiation. This
is carried to the extreme in the decline stage.

5. Manufacturer price variability or stability. In the
introduction and growth stages there are substantial
price differences among sellers. There is a tendency
toward price parity in the maturity stage. Very little
price variability among sellers in the decline stage;
prices are essentially the same, with competitive
pressure tending to force all prices downward, generally
stable prices unless there is a price war.

6. Retailer price variability or stability. In the
introduction stage there are high retail prices with
little variability. In the growth stage there is an
increase in variability in prices at which retailers sell
the product. In the mature stage there is strong
pressure on retailers to compete on a price basis and
therefore relatively less retail price
variability/greater price stability. This is continued
to the extreme in the decline stage.

7. Number and types of competitors. There are few
competitors in the introduction stage, gradually and then
rapidly increasing into many competitors through the
growth stage, and then a reduced number of competitors
in the maturity stage. There are relatively few
competitors in the decline stage.

8. Number of dealers, retailers. There are few
dealers/retailers in the introduction stage, and an
increasing number during the growth stage, and a leveling
off and then a reduced number during the maturity stage.
There are few during the decline stage.

It should be noted that the above characteristics are
interrelated and interdependent. Moreover, they are relevant and
can be judged only with respect to each particular product
category, and not on an absolute basis. Therefore it must be
remembered that the final decision rests upon the coder’ 3
judgement, based on an understanding of the several complex
characteristics relevant to each particular product category.

 

' Prepared by Professor Gordon E. Miracle and research staff for
the project.

APPENDIX K

PRODUCT CLASSES REPRESENTED IN COMMERCIALS

136

H

g...

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UNOBOF‘WIAP‘OIAC)N<DO\h(JO\O(hN)UldK)NOJ~JH

H

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U

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PU
eeeeeeee
hummNNON

vvvvvvvv

HNUQH

e
U
v

3.1)
.5)
1.8)
2.8)
.1)
.8)
.1)

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

(

( ~2)
( 1.5)
( ~3)
( 2.8)
( .7)
( -0)
( 1.8)
( 1.5)
(
(
(
(
(
(
(
(
(
(
(
(
(
(
(

Appendix K
W
=Nondurables, D=Durables, =Services; Frequency (%)
Qless__usa__l<_9_ree_

Food/beverages N 332 (27.0)
Alcoholic beverages N 26 ( 2.1)
Tobacco product N 1 ( .1)
Over-the-counter drug N 123 (10.0)
Automobile/bicycle D 85 ( 6.9)
Lawn & garden equipment D 0 ( .0)
Auto-related supplies N 25 ( 2.0)
Personal care N 150 (12.2)
Detergent/cleaners N 66 ( 5.4)
Housing supplies N 19 ( 1.5)
Clothing/shoes D 24 ( 2.0)
Textiles/fabrics D 1 ( .1)
Furniture D 9 ( .7)
Ceramic/glassware D 0 ( .0)
Electronic appliance D 9 ( .7)
Electronic product supplies D 7 ( .6)
Entertainment supplies N 21 ( 1.7)
Cameras and related D 5 ( .4)
Photo supplies N 1 ( .1)
Computers and related D 2 ( .2)
Computer supplies N 0 ( .0)
Clocks, watches D 2 ( .2)
Communication equipment D 4 ( .3)
Toys & games D 24 ( 2.0)
Sporting goods D 9 ( .7)
Pets and related N 21 ( 1.7)
Publications N 18 ( 1.5)
Stationery N 2 ( .2)
Musical instruments D 0 ( .0)
Building materials D 3 ( .2)
Hotel, motel S 6 ( .5)
Restaurants, bars 8 42 ( 3.5)
Movies, theaters S 13 ( 1.1)
Department stores 5 5 ( .4)
Supermarkets S 18 ( 1.5)
Other retailers S 27 ( 2.2)
Banking, finance service S 32 ( 2.6)
Transportation service S 28 ( 2.3)
Telecommunication service S 19 ( 1.5)
School, education service 8 1 ( .1)
Hospital, medical service 8 2 ( .2)
Other services 8 18 ( 1.5)
Other 28 ( 2.3)
TOTAL (N) 1,228

00
O)
\l

APPENDIX L

COMMERCIAL LENGTHS

137

Appendix L

Qommereial Lengrhs
Frequency (%)

u,§,a, Koree
Shorter than 15 seconds 18 ( 1.5) 4 ( 0.5)
15 seconds 366 (29.8) 275 (31.1)
20 seconds 11 ( 0.9) 322 (37.1)
25 seconds 10 ( 0.8) 32 ( 3.7)
30 seconds 757 (61.6) 226 (26.1)
Longer than 30 seconds 66 ( 5.4) 8 ( 0.9)

TOTAL (N) 1,228 867

APPENDIX M

RELIABILITY

138

ooer :-

Appendix M
1‘ '10. ' ye-g 'e i! 1" 0
9-5:
Brand name 94.2
Product name 86.9
Company name 78.1
Price 98.8
Variety of the product 82.0
Value 97.3
Quality 85.0
Size 96.9
Economy or savings, 96.9
quantity] price
Supply, quantity available 99.8
or limitation
Method of payment, cash, 100.0
credit, etc.
Dependability, reliability 94.4
or durability
Nutrition or health 93.3
Taste 77.1
Sensory information (other 84.2
than taste)
Components, contents or 81.3
ingredients
Availability, location 95.6
Packaging or shape 96.7
Guarantees or warranties, 97.3
return privileges, return
service
Safety 100.0
Independent research 98.3
Company sponsored research 99.4
Research from unidentified 97.9
source
New ideas, new uses 95.4
Performance, results 83.3
of using
User’s satisfaction or 90.6
loyalty
Superiority claim 78.3
Convenience in use 95.0
Special offer or event 99.4
New product or new or 89.2
improved features
Use occasion 92.1
Characteristics or 93.1
image of users
Company information 96.0
OVERALL MEAN 92.8

“n‘1t on
KQEEQ

98.9
91.4
89.4
98.6
82.5
97.8
89.7
98.6
95.6

99.4

100.0

99.7
97.8
86.4
83.3
84.2
95.8

85.3
98.6

98.3

100.0
100.0
100.0

98.6
86.7

96.4
97.8
91.7

97.5
88.3

84.4

Cue

APPENDIX N

DATA CODING INSTRUMENT (IN KOREAN)

10.

11.

12.

13.

14.

15.

16.

139

Appendix N

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commercials, because they know that Korean consumers may not need
to hear or see those types of cues. General information such as
mere identification of product, brand, or company name, and
situational information such as use occasion and image of users
are more frequently used in Korean commercials. These reflect
the high context culture that does not need as much specific
direct information about the product or the brand. U.S.
commercials contain more direct information cues related to
performance and attributes of a specific product or brand, such
as durability, nutrition or health, research evidence,
performance, superiority claims, special offers or events.

These results regarding high and low context cultures also
suggest an adjustment in the content of the Hall’s (1976, 1983)
definition. In its present form, the definition seems to deal
only with the amount of information that a message contains,
indicating that messages of high context cultures contain less
information, and those of low context cultures contain more
information in the explicit code. But, the results of this
study suggest that the definition should also deal with the types
of information in addition to the amount of information. The
following revised definition may serve more properly:

A low context (LC) communication or message is one in

which relatively much direct or issue-relevant information

is contained in the explicit code of the message. A high

context (HC) communication or message is just the opposite;

i.e., relatively little direct or issue-relevant information

is contained in the explicit code of the message. The high
context message instead contains relatively more information

 

111

providing contextual and circumstantial ideas, and

information suggesting that the message source can be

trusted and depended upon. The dichotomy of low and high
context communication, thus, is based on the types as well
as the amount of information contained in the message.

It should be understood in the above paragraph that "direct
or issue-relevant" information is used in a sense that is
appropriate for the English language and the U.S. culture.

In the U.S.A., such information may be considered to include
primarily the advantages of purchasing and using a particular
brand or product. In Korea, however, direct or issue-relevant
information may be considered to include primarily information
for a consumer to select a trusted and dependable company or
source instead of brand or product features or benefits.

Cross-national differences regarding the modes of presenting
information cues also provided support for the inference that
cultural variables are related to written and oral communication,
especially the use of the Hanja writing system in Korea, and the
Confucian and Buddhist written tradition manifested in the Korean
culture.

Choe (1980) pointed out that the Oriental view of
communication was oriented relatively more to written words,
while the Western view was directed relatively more to spoken
words. Yum (1987) also reported that the Confucian tradition in
Korea may encourage the written form of communication while

suppressing oral communication. Indeed the religious and

philosophical background in Korea seems to discourage the use of

112

auditory means of presenting information. From these argument:
and observations, it was inferred that Korean commercials are
expected to use more visual means on screen and U.S. commercials
are expected to use more auditory means to deliver information
cues.

The results confirmed the expectation. It was indeed found
that Korean commercials use more visual means and U.S.
commercials use more auditory means in delivering information
cues. Therefore, the cultural differences based on the written
and oral communications seem to be useful in explaining the
differences in presentation modes. Theory building regarding
influences of different religions and philosophies on the content
of advertising seems to be needed. -Also, further efforts to
develop theoretical explanations about the relationship between
the presentation modes and consumer reactions seem to be
worthwhile for future research.

The current study also attempted to investigate the
relationships between marketing theories and the number of
information cues contained in television advertising and
marketing theories, namely, product life cycles and product
categories, within each nation and between the two nations.

The results did not support the product life cycle theory.
Products and services at different stages of the product life
cycle did not contain different numbers of information cues, as

suggested by the theory. Also, contrary to the theory, the

 

113

results also showed that Korean commercials contain more
information cues than U.S. commercials for products in each stage
of the product life cycle. The direction is contrary to the
hypothesized expectation.

However, the results showed that commercials for different
product categories contain different numbers of information cues
in each country. Commercials for Korean non-durable goods
contain the most information cues, those for durables the second
most, and those for services the least. Among U.S. commercials,
those for services contain the most information cues, those for
durable goods are second, and those for non-durables are third.
These findings seem to be consistent across different commercial
lengths. This finding indicates that 'product category' is
useful to predict the information content of advertising.
However, a comprehensive explanation of these patterns is not
within the scope of the current study. Further efforts are
needed to build a theory regarding this issue.

In sum, the usefulness of cultural variables in explaining
some aspects of the information content of advertising was
demonstrated by the current study. Individualism and
collectivism, high and low context cultures, written and oral
communication, and influences of Confucianism and Buddhism were
found to be associated with the information content of U.S. and
Korean television advertising, especially with respect to types

of information cues and presentation modes.

 

114

W
The results of this study show that the new methods for the

current study was useful to identify advertising information cues
properly. On average, the U.S. and Korean television
commercials were found to contain five to six information cues.
Those who used the Resnik-Stern 14-cue measure usually found one
to two information cues per advertisement (Resnik and Stern 1977;
Hong, et al. 1987; Madden, et al. 1986; Rice and Lu 1988). This
difference suggests that advertising may be much more informative
than indicated by those who used the Resnik-Stern limited list of
information cues.

Another notable aspect of the improved measure is the
separation of visual and verbal modes of presenting advertising
information. This separation significantly reinforces the
measure of advertising information by providing an additional
dimension of the measurement of advertising information. The
study was able to find that advertising messages are
significantly different cross-nationally along the dimension of
presentation modes, in accordance with the hypotheses which were
based upon cultural characteristics. It is recommended that
those who study advertising information should investigate both
visual and verbal cues, especially if the study deals with
television advertising or if it involves cross-cultural
comparisons. Cultural variables appeared to be associated with

the modes of presenting of information content.