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Testing IMC Effects With Means-End Analysis

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USING MEANS-END ANALYSIS TO

TEST INTEGRATED MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS EFFECTS


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Introduction

As the field of Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) has grown, it has attracted

both supporters and detractors. The supporters suggest that IMC offers competitive advantages

versus traditional marketing communications approaches because it presents a more consistent

brand image across all aspects of a brands relationship with a consumer. IMC critics question

the concepts validity and point to the fact that most of the supporting evidence of IMCs

effectiveness is anecdotal in nature. This study attempted to contribute to the debate by using an

experimental approach to test for possible IMC effects.

Literature Review

Theoretical components of IMC

A review of the literature on IMC suggests three components are at the heart of the

concept. The first is that all aspects of a brands relationship with a consumer should be

considered, not just the traditional marketing communications (MC) elements of advertising and

public relations (Duncan, 1994; Phelps & Johnson, 1996; Schultz et al., 1993; Stewart, 1996).

There is agreement in the literature that IMC is most effective when all aspects of the product

offering are considered and coordinated.

The second component is that messages should be conceptually consistent across all the

MC elements noted above. This view was confirmed by a study of MC practitioners that found

two of the most distinctive IMC features related directly to consistency. Specifically, respondents

identified the concepts of one voice and coordinated as particularly important elements of

their view of IMC (Phelps & Johnson, 1996). Schultz et al. (1993) have also argued that such

coordination of MC messages is becoming more important due to the complexity of consumer

information processing of competing brand stimuli in todays competitive mass communication


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environment. They suggest a brand message that is more consistent in its message across

different MC media is likely to be processed more effectively.

The third component is that IMC should consist of an ongoing dialogue between

consumers and marketers (Duncan, 1994; Schultz et al., 1993). The literature suggests that IMCs

dialogue is consistent with the relationship marketing concept, an approach which has long

formed the cornerstone of many successful businesses (Payne, 1995, p. 29). The opportunities

for creating and sustaining this type of consumer-marketer dialogue have expanded with the use

of new direct marketing techniques, particularly the use of sophisticated databases.

Definitions of IM C

The literature also reveals that there are serious inconsistencies in the definition of IMC.

Definitions run the gamut from the very simple to the very complex. On the simplistic side of the

range is a definition rooted in the marketing literature, cited by Smith:

Marketing Communications means what it says. It consists of every form of

communication relevant to marketing (Smith, 1993, p. 18).

Another attempt, developed by the American Association of Advertising Agencies

(AAAA), defines IMC as:

A concept of marketing communications planning that recognizes the added value of a

comprehensive plan that evaluates the strategic roles of a variety of communication

disciplines--for example, general advertising, direct response, sales promotion, and public

relations--and combines these disciplines to provide clarity, consistency, and maximum

communication impact (Stewart, 1996, p. 148).

In its simplicity, Smiths definition has two major flaws: first, its reference to every form

of communication is obviously very ambiguous (i.e., does it include interpersonal

communication as well as mass communication?). Fortunately, the AAAA definition seeks to


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address the ambiguity somewhat by delineating some specific communication tools which IMC

would employ. The second flaw in the Smith definition is shared by the AAAA version: both

ignore the nature of the communication which takes place. This is an important omission

because significant new strides have been made in the literature in recent years. These advances

have challenged some earlier conceptualizations of the nature of the mass communication

process as a one-way flow model, where information is transmitted from a source to a receiver

in a single-direction process of delivering a stimulus in order to elicit a consumer response. This

one-way perspective is clearly at odds with more recent literature which suggests consumers are

not simply passive receivers of communication, but rather, can be active participants who have

the potential to respond to marketing communications messagesparticularly through the use of

interactive electronic technologies. Such an interactive perspective was suggested by DeLozier in

1976, before the advent of new interactive media technologies such as the internet. But his

definition still represents an advancement over Smiths and the AAAAs:

Marketing Communications is the continuing dialogue between buyers and sellers in a

marketplace (DeLozier, 1976, p. 168).

Other, more recent definitions, including the following example developed by Duncan,

also incorporating the key notion of communication withcustomers and prospects, not just to

them:

(IMC is) selling with a consistent voice and look and relationship building

through interactivity (Duncan, 1994, p. 21).

Despite DeLoziers and Duncans embrace of themore contemporary dialogue view of

the IMC process, their definitions still suffer from the same lack of specificity of scope of


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communication vehicles as the Smith definition noted above (i.e., which tools does IMC include?

Only communication tools? Or other marketing tools such as physical product attributes,

distribution availability or pricing?). The literature does include a definition that comes close to

the ideal goal of addressing both the scope and nature of the IMC process. This definition was

developed by the faculty of the IMC program at Northwestern University:

IMC considers all sources of brand or company contacts which a customer or prospect

has with the product or service as potential delivery channels for future messages.

Further, IMC makes use of all forms of communication which are relevant to the

customer and prospects and to which they might be receptive. In sum, the IMC process

starts with the customer or prospect and then works back to determine and define the

forms and methods through which persuasive communications programs should be

developed (Schultz, Tannenbaum & Lauterborn, 1993, p. 17).

Despite its attempt at addressing the scope (...all sources of brand or company

contacts...) of IMC, the Schultz et al. (1993) definition still is lacking in its specificity about the

two-way ongoing dialogue nature of the consumer-marketer communication process, suggesting

again that there is still room for improvement in the definition of the IMC concept.

A Proposed IMC Defi ni tion.

An alternative definition of IMC is proposed which builds upon the strengths of the

existing definitions noted above. This definition ideally would synthesize three critical

dimensions mentioned in the existing definitions. First, the alternative definition would recognize

the interactive dialogue aspects of the DeLozier and Duncan definitions. Second, it would offer

some specific identification of the scope of marketing communication media vehicle integration,

which the AAAA and Schultz et al. (1993) perspectives contribute. And third, it would

incorporate the notion of the consistent voice and look type of message conceptual integration

suggested in the Duncan definition. To summarize, the following is proposed:


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IMC is a theoretical perspective that advocates a high level of communication

interaction between a brands marketers and its consumers coupled with a high degree

of message consistency across a brands entire marketing mix, ranging from the product

itself to all marketing communications media.

A Proposed IMC Model

To synthesize this definition of IMC into a testable model for the present study, the focus

was placed on two of the components of the IMC concept discussed above, the use of multiple

marketing communications (MC) media and consistency of message design across these media.

For the purposes of this study, the third dimension of the IMC concept, consumer-marketer

interaction, was not included in the test model. Future work would seek to add this third

dimension, and to test for its effects.

The first component of the model, use of multiple MC media, can be conceptualized as a

range of the number of different media vehicles used. The low end of the range would suggest a

limited use of few MC elements. The high end of the range would be consistent with the view of

Schultz et al. (1993) that IMC should include all sources of a brands contact with consumers. At

this high end of the continuum, numerous MC elements would be employed, including direct

marketing, sales promotion, web marketing, as well as advertising.

The second dimension of the model, message design consistency, can also be

conceptualized as a range. The existing literature is vague about a precise explication of the term

message consistency, with little agreement on exactly what it means for elements of an IMC

portfolio to be integrated. Stewart (1996) suggests that IMC requires clarity and consistency

between MC stimuli, and Duncan (1994) proposes that they have a consistent voice and look.

By looking at message integration as a continuum of design consistency, a spectrum of

conceptualizations could be accommodated, ranging from one extreme of messages which are


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highly consistent in terms of design (representing the repetition of the same message imagery

across different MC elements) to the other extreme of diverse and inconsistent message imagery

across different elements.

To visualize the interaction of the two concepts in the model, a two-dimensional diagram

is suggested in Figure 1 below, with the number of MC mediarepresented by the vertical axis

and level of message design consistencyrepresented by the horizontal axis. The model is similar

to one proposed by McGrath (2005a), and suggests that the conditions representing the IMC

concept are depicted by a position in the extreme upper right hand quadrant of the diagram.

These conditions would be characterized by the coordinated use of multiple MC media vehicles

to deliver the brands message, coupled with a high degree of design consistency across the

media.

Figure 1 here

How This Model May Impact Persuasion

The proposed model suggests a more important question: howdoes it work? The IMC

literature suggests the possibility that a brand employing an IMC strategy may create a stronger

image trace in consumers memory. The implication of this stronger trace is that it might be more

easily processed than brand messages which offer bits of conflicting, or at least not highly

consistent, information across different MC elements (Schultz et al., 1993). It is then possible

that the superior processing potential of an IMC strategy could translate into more desirable

effects, including attitudes toward the message, toward the brand, and buying intentions.

The role of images across different MC elements has been explored in the literature for

imagery processing. Specifically, Lutz and Lutz (1977) found evidence supporting the imagery-


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enhancing effects of integrating visual and verbal stimuli. They found that memory was affected

positively when the brand name, product attribute and picture were combined interactively in one

stimulus. Childers and Houston (1984) found a positive relationship between advertisements

integrating a picture with other visual cues and stronger imagery resulting in stronger brand

recall. They believed this effect was due to the chunking of these stimuli at the time they are

encoded by the brain. This may create more powerful imagery than is possible when each

stimulus is processed by the brain individually. They concluded that the stronger memory trace

caused by chunking may lead to easier retrievaland hence recall (MacInnis & Price, 1987).

This memory-enhancing role of the combined stimulus of different MC elements may

hold special significance for the proposed IMC model. It suggests that messages which are

conceptually integrated across different MC media vehicles might help create memory traces that

are reactivated and strengthened upon exposure to subsequent exposures of different MC media

vehicles using the consistent message imagery. This reactivation of existing memory traces

across multiple MC media may have a more powerful impact than either the simple repetition of

a message by one medium or by stimuli using multiple MC media that are not visually consistent.

Research Question

IMC proponents suggest that IMC differs from traditional marketing communications

because it presents a more consistent brand image across all aspects of a brands relationship

with a consumer, not just the traditional mass communications vehicles of advertising and public

relations, for example. They argue that a brand employing this image consistency has a

competitive advantage because it maximizes the synergy of a unified message across different

aspects of the brand to existing and potential consumers (Duncan, 1994; Schultz, 1996a; Stewart,

1996), making it more competitive in todays highly fragmented and complex mass


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communications environment Schultz (1996b). Unfortunately, these hypotheses have not been

proven in a series of empirical research studies. One study has been conducted, an experiment by

McGrath (2005b), that tested for IMC effects in campaigns that featured different levels of

design consistency. That study found that a campaign that featured more consistent design

features resulted in more positive attitudes toward the brand featured in the campaign, although

the effects were not significant for recall measures.

One area of IMC effects has not been addressed, however: whether or not the use of the

IMC model produces any effects which are deeper in nature than the attitudinal and recall

measures employed in the earlier research (McGrath, 2005b). These measures, while helpful in

determining somewhat superficial levels of consumer evaluation, are limited because they do

very little to address the deeper, more abstract meanings which consumers attach to products and

marketing communications efforts (i.e., it makes me feel better about myself, or I feel safe

using it). Such meanings are important to consider, given the marketing literature tradition

which suggests that the relationship between marketers and consumers is based above all else

upon the exchange of meanings (Levy, 1959). An investigation of these meanings requires an

analysis of comprehension processes which are deeper (Peter & Olson, 1987) than the

attitudinal measures noted above.

Means-end theory (Gutman, 1982) has emerged as a helpful lens through which to view

deep comprehension. It attempts to go beyond the rather superficial measures of consumer

attitudes toward advertising or toward a brand noted earlier and delves deeper into the realm of

the meanings that consumers associate with products. Means-end theory essentially suggests that

consumers develop meanings about products only to the extent that a product offers some

characteristics which translate to higher-order benefits or costs. These benefits or costs associated


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with the product ultimately contribute to a belief about the product that is either personally

relevant to the consumer or not. Gutman (1982) and others (Reynolds & Gutman, 1988) have

identified three critical hierarchical levels of this theory.

The first level represents product attributes. These are the most concrete, tangible level of

the hierarchy. Attributes could include such physical characteristics of a product as the type of

hops or yeast used in brewing a beer, for example. These attributes represent the means which

can help contribute to the achievement of higher-order end states, according to the theory

(Gutman, 1982).

The second level of the means-end hierarchy represents the real or perceived

consequences which occur or could occur as a result of using a product with the attributes noted

above. These consequences can manifest themselves as benefits or costs associated with using

the product (Gutman, 1982). Using the beer example, the attributes of imported hops and yeast

could lead to the consequence of a more bitter-tasting beer commonly associated with imported

brands.

The final level of the hierarchy is characterized by the least concrete, most abstract,

values which represent the end state suggested by means-end. These end values can be

thought of as the cognitive representations (Kamakura & Novak, 1992, p. 119) of very

fundamental human needs. These needs can include not only basic biological necessities, but also

some of the social interactional and self-completion needs discussed earlier. Rokeach (1973) has

further defined these values as an enduring belief that a specific mode of conduct or end-state of

existence is personally or socially preferable to an opposite or converse mode of conduct or end-

state of existence (Rokeach, 1973, p. 5).


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The critical integrative aspect of means-end theory is how the concept marries the

analysis of the content of each of the hierarchical levels with an analysis of how the different

levels are connected to each other (Gutman, 1982; Reynolds & Gutman, 1988). The benefit of

using means-end analysis to examine the content of consumer cognitive structures for this project

is that it would be able to provide a deeper level of understanding of consumers meanings

(Olson, 1986, p. 280).

Research tools have been developed that use means-end theory to investigate the deeper

meanings which consumers associate with products and marketing communications efforts.

Laddering (Olson & Reynolds, 1983; Reynolds & Gutman, 1988) is such a technique, and its

methodology has been used to examine a number of different marketing communications case

studies, including non-alcoholic beverages (Olson & Reynolds, 1983), ski resorts (Klenosky,

Gengler & Mulvey, 1993), pet foods, (Gengler & Reynolds, 1995), and vacuum cleaners

(Reynolds, Olson & Rochon, 1997). The use of means-end analysis in these situations provides

an opportunity for this project to test the effects of IMC versus traditional marketing

communications efforts in their relative ability to influence deeper consumer meanings.

Therefore, the following hypothesis is proposed to test IMC effects by applying means-

end theory:

H1: Measures of means-end cognitive structures for a given brand will be significantly

different in response to a set of marketing communications stimuli which employ the IMC

model than for those which employ a more traditional approach.

Methods

Test Product Selection and Development

To address the hypothesis, an experimental design was adopted using a series of three

studies. The series included two pretests prior to the administration of the main study.


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Prior to the beginning of the research process, two test products were selected and

developed. Fictitious brands were created due to the difficulty in securing MC materials from

existing brands that would have satisfied exactly the manipulation requirements of the study, and

because fictitious brands helped eliminate bias toward existing brands.

The literature on product involvement was consulted to determine appropriate types of

products. Hupfer and Gardner (1971) and Laurent and Kapferer (1985) provided a useful

reference, although Zaichkowskys (1985,1994) work provided the most practical application,

with the Personal Involvement Inventory (PII). This tool measures and compares consumer

involvement levels for different classes of products. Applying Zaichkowskys PII to the present

study, test products representing average involvement levels were selected: facial tissues and

pain relievers.

Next, fictitious brand names were created for each of these test products using a

qualitative exploration with two requirements. First, the brand names must be appropriate for the

type of product featured and offer a positive connotation, and second, they must be unique and

not currently used by existing brands. Two brand names were generated that met these

requirements: Softies facial tissue and Relief-24 pain reliever.

Finally, a professional graphics artist developed packaging for each test brand, as well as

two sets of MC stimulus materials for each brand. One set was designed to be very visually

consistent from one piece to another, in accordance with the IMC concept. The other set of MC

materials were designed to be less visually consistent. Each set of materials included four

possible MC stimuli (see Appendix 1a and 1b for visuals of the stimulus materials).

The first set of stimulus materials consisted of 8 x 11-inch four-color simulated

magazine ads promoting the two test brands. The nature of these pieces varied according to the


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design consistency conditions: in the high design consistency condition, they included specific

copy items and graphic design elements highly consistent with those featured in the brands

packaging. In the low design consistency condition, the ads featured the same exact copy points,

but with visuals which were not as consistent with the brand packaging and the other

accompanying stimuli as those materials in the high design consistency condition. These pieces

of stimuli were intended to represent the medium of advertising, and were described by the

researcher using the standardized script as a prototype of an ad that might appear for this brand

in popular magazines should this product ever be introduced on the market.

The second set of stimuli consisted of four-color tri-fold 8.5 x 11-inch brochures. In a

manner similar to that described for the advertising pieces noted above, the presentation of these

pieces varied according to design consistency condition: in the high consistency condition, they

included visuals highly consistent with those presented on the packaging and with the other

accompanying stimuli; in the low consistency condition, they featured the same copy, but with

visuals that were not as highly consistent. These pieces were intended to represent the medium of

direct marketing, and were described by the researcher as a prototype of the type of direct mail

piece you might receive in the mail should this product ever be introduced on the market.

The third set consisted of four-color pre-printed coupons designed to replicate those

found in freestanding inserts in newspapers. The presentation of these pieces also varied

according to the design consistency condition in a manner consistent with the materials noted

above. These pieces were intended to represent the medium of consumer sales promotion and

were described by the researcher as prototypes of the type of coupon you might see in your

Sunday newspaper coupon section should this product ever be introduced on the market.


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The fourth set consisted of complete web sites. The web sites included a home page, as

well as operational hyperlinks to three other pages of content materials including consumer

testimonials, uses for the products, and free sample offers. The copy presented in all these pages

was exactly the same, consistent with the other pieces of stimuli described above. The web sites

were posted on the server at the researchers university, and could be accessed by subjects at the

computers at their test station in the lab. The presentation of these stimuli also varied according

to the design consistency condition in a manner consistent with the pieces noted above. These

items were intended to represent the medium of web communications and were described by the

researcher as a prototype of the type of web site you might see should this product ever be

introduced on the market.

Design Consistency Pretest

This pretest was designed to determine if the stimulus materials accomplished the goal of

creating two different message design consistency conditions (high versus low consistency).

The pretest employed a 2 (message design consistency) x 2 (product) factorial design with

design consistency as a within-subjects variable and product as a between-subjects variable. Two

sets of stimulus materials were exposed to subjects, who were then asked to evaluate the

materials. Subjects were either shown two sets of pain reliever materials or two sets of facial

tissue materials. Two questionnaire instruments were employed to measure subject evaluations.

The approach was consistent with the pretest methodology used by Goldberg and Gorn (1987) to

select television commercials with different levels of emotional appeal.

To collect measures, a perceived design consistency scale was developed. Each of the

three items in the scale employed seven-point bipolar semantic differential scales. The first item

asked for subjects perceptions of the visual appearance of the materials. It wasanchored by


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the statements: very inconsistent/very consistent. The second item asked for perceptions of the

messages contained in the materials and was anchored by the same statements. The third item

asked for perceptions about the overall tone and personality portrayed by the materials and was

again anchored by the same bipolar statements.

Forty-nine subjects were recruited for this study from among the population of

undergraduate students at a small university in the United States. This sample was consistent

with the size of the Goldberg and Gorn (1987) commercial pretest noted earlier.

Half of the subjects were exposed to the materials for the Softies brand and half were

exposed to the material for Relief-24. The stimulus material presentation order was identical:

each group was exposed to the low design consistency set of materials first, followed by the

administration of the first questionnaire to measure their evaluations of the materials.

The results indicated a statistically significant main effect for design consistency, with the

mean design consistency score for the high design consistency materials (M = 6.08, SD = .744)

significantly greater than the mean design consistency score for the low design consistency

materials (M = 4.54, SD = 1.69), F (1, 47) = 36.2, p


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administered to subjects, one after the exposure of each piece of stimulus material. Each

questionnaire was identical and employed three scales.

The first scale was designed to measureAad, using one employed by Hastak and Olson

(1989) in a study of consumer cognitive structures. The second scale was adapted from one used

by Kamp and MacInnis (1995) in their study of the emotions portrayed in television

commercials. The third scale was also adapted from the work of Kamp and MacInnis (1995) and

was designed to measure overall impressions of the ad. It featured three semantic differential

items. The first asked for subjects reactions to this ad, and provided a seven-point evaluation

scale anchored by the terms bad impression/good impression. The second item asked subjects

to what degree to you feel positively toward this ad, and provided a seven-point evaluation

scale anchored by the terms very negative/very positive. The third item asked overall, how

well do you like this ad? It provided a seven-point scale anchored by the terms: dislike very

much/like very much.

Thirty-two subjects were recruited for this study from among the population of

undergraduate students at the same university noted above.

A paired samples t test was conducted for each of the corresponding eight sets of stimulus

materials (i.e., low design consistency Softies magazine ad versus high design consistency

Softies magazine ad). Results of this pretest confirmed there was no statistically significant

difference in the mean overall impression of the ad scores for six of the eight sets of materials.

For the two pairs for which there was a statistically significant difference, mean scores were

higher for low design integration pieces than for high integration pieces at the p = .003 and p =

.000 levels.


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Main Study

The design of the main study focused on the first independent variable representing the

IMC model noted in Figure 1 (high versus low design consistency, as depicted in Table 1 below).

The study also addressed the second independent variable, number of MC elements, by balancing

the number of different media stimuli exposed to subjects.

Table 1 here

A sample of 30 subjects was recruited for this study from among the population of

undergraduate students at the same university noted above. This study was a subset of a larger

IMC quantitative research project involving 144 subjects. All subjects were offered course credit

in exchange for their participation. Subjects in the larger study were asked to volunteer their

time for approximately 30 additional minutes to complete the qualitative procedure for this study.

Thirty subjects volunteered for this extra qualitative session. The sample was skewed toward

females at 70% versus 30% males.

The primary focus of the recruiting was to balance the number of subject volunteers in the

high and low design consistency conditions. This objective was achieved, with 15 subjects

assigned to the high conditions and 15 to the low conditions.

However, the goal of simultaneously balancing the other independent variable, number of

media, was not achieved. Specifically, subjects assigned to the high media conditions

outnumbered the low media conditions by a margin of six subjects (18 volunteers in this study

were exposed to the low media condition in the earlier, larger quantitative experiment versus 12

who were exposed to the high media condition). To correct for this imbalance, six low media

condition cases (every third case) were removed from the sample. The removal of these cases


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preserved a balanced number in each of the design consistency conditions (12 each). It also

resulted in more balanced gender composition with 62.5% female cases versus 37.5% male

cases.

The resulting sample for analysis purposes was 24 subjects. Obviously, such a small

sample would be inadequate for traditional quantitative studies, but it was judged to be adequate

for this study for two reasons. First, the present study uses a qualitative methodology, employing

the use of depth interviews, which, while not quantitative in nature, is nevertheless useful in the

collection of deeper individual thoughts and motivations. Second, the laddering techniques used

in the study (explained in detail below), yielded significant amounts of data, essentially resulting

in the creation of 48 unique ladders for analysis.

The procedure for the main study used the same stimulus materials described in the

pretests, and followed techniques developed by means-end researchers noted above (Olson &

Reynolds, 1983; Reynolds & Gutman, 1988).

In step one, as part of the quantitative study, the researcher presented the MC stimuli to

subjects in small groups. The presentation order of the four different types of media was balanced

to attempt to control for order effects. The order was varied in different combinations, altering

the presentation of the timing of the test product (pain reliever or facial tissue) as well as the

medium (magazine ad, brochure, coupon or website). This process ranged in length from

approximately 25-40 minutes.

In step two, all but one of the subjects from each of the quantitative study groups were

dismissed, leaving the single subject who volunteered for the qualitative means-end laddering

procedure. The researcher explained that the purpose of the one-on-one interview was to secure

in-depth information that might not be available in a group discussion. The researcher advised


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the subject that a number of probing questions would be asked about the two brands of

advertising materials they had seen.

In step three, the researcher used an approach suggested by Reynolds and Gutman (1988)

to help initiate the process. Specifically, the researcher used information gathered in the open-

ended questions of the two pretests to develop a list of seven or eight of the most common

attributes of each of the test brands. For the facial tissue category represented by Softies, this list

included soft, smooth, fluffy, smells nice, clean, pure, designs on box, lotion, and

cost. For the pain reliever category, represented by Relief-24, this list included color of pill or

caplet, strength of medicine, how long the pain relief lasts, gentleness on my stomach,

other side effects, possibility of becoming dependent, and cost.

In accord with Reynolds and Gutmans technique, the researcher presented a sheet of

paper with this list of attributes for the brand being discussed. The researcher asked the subject to

review the list, and to add to it if they felt any attributes were missing. Then the researcher asked

the subject to choose the two most important attributes from among those listed.

In step four, the researcher focused on the top two attribute selections noted in step three

for each brand, and began the laddering process by probing for progressively more abstract

meanings by asking the subject open-ended questions about why each of the attributes they

selected were important to them. This interview technique eventually led the subjects to suggest

consequences for each of the attributes, and ultimately, the values that underlie their feelings.

In cases where the laddering process began to falter short of the identification of a value,

the researcher presented the subject with a sheet of paper providing a listing of common values

identified in the research on value measurement. This body of literature is based upon the work

of Rokeach (1973), Kahle (1983) and others, and is cited in a laddering study by Goldenberg,


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Klenosky, OLeary and Templin (2000). This work suggested the use of a LOV (list of values)

which included the following: security, self esteem, excitement, self fulfillment, sense

of belonging, and sense of accomplishment. Other values were also listed, basedupon work

done by Bell (2000) in identifying core values. These included comfort, freedom,

responsibility, peace of mind, control, and family duty. The use of this list as a prompt in

some cases helped the subjects identify the most appropriate value. Once the researcher was

satisfied that the ladder had satisfactorily reached the values level of abstraction, he moved on to

the second attribute selected by the subject and began the process again. This process was then

repeated for the second test brand.

As a result of this process, two ladders were developed for each test brand for each

subject, resulting in a total of 48 ladders for the sample.

The duration of the laddering interview process averaged approximately 30 minutes.

The primary independent variable employed in this study was design consistency. The

main studys approach to this variable was consistent with the descriptions offered above for

each of the two pretests, including the use of the same product packages and MC stimulus

materials.

The second independent variable employed in this study was the number of media

vehicles. As noted above, the number of media exposed to subjects was balanced, either two

items (for the low media condition), or four items (for the high media condition).

Means-end structures were operationalized via the laddering techniques described in

detail above. The qualitative data generated by these techniques resulted in the creation of

ladders that were refined and quantified using the LadderMap software (Gengler & Reynolds,

1995). The LadderMap data was, in turn, transferred to SPSS to analyze the mean scores for


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each cognitive response on the three levels of means-end analysis (attributes, consequences and

values). Data for each of these measures were then compared between the two primary

conditions, high versus low design consistency.

Data Collection and Analysis

Five steps were involved in the collection and analysis of this data, all of which were

greatly facilitated by the use of the LadderMap software.

The first step in the data tabulation and analysis process was the entry of verbatim

responses from each of the interviews. These responses were entered into the LadderMap

program, and classified by the researcher either as an attribute, a consequence or a value.

The second step involved the identification of a set of synonyms to categorize each level

of responses (attributes, consequences values), followed by the actual synonym categorization

task, performed independently by two researchers, and then cross-checked for inter-coder

reliability (Klenosky et al., 1993). Of the 240 categorizations of consequences and attributes

(respondents had already selected specific attributes during the experimentand therefore these

did not need to be further categorized by judges) the judges agreed on 183 decisions yielding a

reliability rate of 76.2%. This relatively low level of reliability was due to the subjective nature

of coding for the highly abstract verbatimresponses. Ultimately, however, the 57 coding

disagreements were resolved by the mutual agreement of two judges.

The third step involved the creation of an implication matrix (Reynolds & Gutman,

1988), aided by the LadderMap software, which identified and summarized the total number of

times each concept was associated (paired) with another concept by all subjects across all the

one-on-one interviews. Once the pairings were identified, the program assigned them a binary

code depending upon whether they were judged to be among one of the most frequently


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associated pairings (value =1), or among those pairings judged to have a much less frequent

number of associations (value = 0).

The fourth step was the creation of a hierarchical value map (Reynolds & Gutman,

1988) for each of the two primary conditions by the LadderMap software. This type of map

depicts the relative location and strength of the attributes, consequences, and values which

comprise the means-end structure for the condition. An example of the specific hierarchical value

maps generated for this study is depicted below in Figure 2. This specific map illustrates the

composite hierarchy of subject responses to the high design condition for Relief-24. The

hierarchy begins at the attribute level at the lowest row of the diagram, progresses upward to the

consequence level in the light shaded areas, and finally to the values level represented by the dark

shaded areas at the top. Similar composite ladders were created for the other three conditions of

the study (low design condition for Relief-24 and high and low design for Softies).

Figure 2 here

The final step was the transfer of the LadderMap data into an SPSS database to facilitate

conventional statistical analysis. This step represented a departure from the majority of the

literature on means-end analysis. Specifically, the literature suggests that the laddering approach

has been primarily used as a diagnostic tool in helping to define consumer meanings and to

identify promising marketing communications strategies. However, this study relied upon a

technique pioneered by Gengler, Howard and Zolner (1995) in a study comparing the cognitive

structures of different groups of sales professionals. In that study, the researchers demonstrated

that data generated by LadderMap could be analyzed using a t test.


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Results

A series of independent samples t tests were conducted to evaluate the hypothesis that

there would be differences in the cognitive structures of subjects exposed to high design

consistency stimulus materials versus those exposed to low design consistency materials. The

tests were run on each of the three levels of cognitive structures identified in the means-end

literature noted earlier.

A compromise power analysis (Erdfelder, 1984), employing Cohens (1977) effect size

conventions, indicated that the sample size for this study was adequate to detect both medium

and large effect sizes for t tests (.83 for eta2 = .50 and .94 for eta2= .80). However, the analysis

indicted that the sample size was inadequate to detect small effect sizes (.65 for eta2 = .20).

The results of tests conducted on concepts at the attribute level of the means-end

hierarchy were all nonsignificant, ranging from t (94) = .000, p = 1.00 to t (94) = -1.016, p =

.312.The results of the tests are detailed in Table 2 below.

Table 2 here

The results of tests conducted on concepts at the consequence level of the means-end

hierarchy were also all nonsignificant, ranging from t (94) = .000, p = 1.00 to t (94) = -.733, p =

.465. The results of the tests are detailed in Table 3 below.

Table 3 here

The results of tests conducted on concepts at the values level of the means-end hierarchy

were also all nonsignificant, ranging from t (94) = .000, p = 1.00 to t (94) = -1.694, p = .094. The

results of the tests are detailed in Table 4 below.


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Table 4 here

Based on the findings noted above, H1 was not supported since there were no statistically

significant differences in the nature of the means-end structures formed in response to the

stimulus materials for the high versus the low design consistency condition, as predicted.

Discussion

The results described above represent a disappointment to the advocates of IMC. They

failed to demonstrate the proposed IMC models hypothesized effectsgiven the current sample

and experiment. A discussion of two critical areas might help to explain the findings, as well as

to suggest future research work. The first is a discussion of possible theoretical explanations; the

second is an investigation of possible methodological flaws.

Possible Theoretical Explanations and Impli cations

One possible theoretical explanation comes from the Heuristic-Systematic Model.

Ironically, if IMC mediates cognitive processing as the proposed model suggests, it may also

promote one of the HSMs two hypothesized routes to persuasion: heuristic processing. As Eagly

and Chaiken (1993) suggest, heuristic processing occurs when an individual either lacks the

opportunity or the motivation to carefully consider a message. The HSM explains this lack of

motivation as a common human tendency to expend the least effort necessary to process a

message. As a result, consumers tend to process heuristic messages in a more cursory way, using

the types of mental shortcuts implied by the term heuristic. Unfortunately, the HSM also suggests

that this type cursory processing results in more limited cognitive processing or elaboration

(borrowing from Petty & Cacioppo, 1986). This lower level of elaboration, in turn, leads to

persuasion which tends to be more fleeting and less resistant to counterarguments than messages

which are processed more intensively. Could it be that an IMC strategy, relying on its repetition


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of one voice, one look messages, encourages a more heuristic level of processing? This

outcome would suggest that IMCs hypothesized benefits might be counteracted, if not negated

entirely, by the type of heuristic processing it would promote.

The possibility of heuristic processing of IMC messages suggests an opportunity for

future research to employ some HSM research techniques to determine whether or not IMC

stimulus materials are processed any differently than traditional materials. These techniques

could include the type of experimental manipulations of stimulus materials similar to those used

by Jain and Maheswaran (2000). They exposed subjects to information about a brand featuring

the types of cues which would tend to encourage heuristic processing (i.e., an attractive source),

versus exposure to information designed to encourage more systematic processing (i.e., objective

ratings of a brand). Other types of manipulations used by Kalyanaraman and Oliver (2001) might

also be considered. They manipulated three variables, including endorser credibility, animation

(for web site stimuli) and messages of different argument strength.

Another possible theoretical explanation comes from the literature on consumer variety-

seeking. This notion suggests that consumers sometimes choose variety in their behavior--even

when this is a departure from familiar and positive past behaviors (Kahn, 1998). Three of the

most common explanations for variety-seeking behavior are the cognitive need for stimulation, a

natural desire for curiosity, or the suggestion that consumers may simply reach a threshold of

exposure to a stimulus. Beyond this threshold of exposure, consumers may become satiated and

more open to considering alternative stimuli (Ratner, Kahn & Kahneman, 1999). Variety-

seeking theory would therefore seem to run counter to the one voice, one look consistency of

messages advocated by the IMC conceptand suggest that IMC might accelerate the process of

reaching the threshold of exposure noted above--therefore prompting consumers to seek variety


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in the visual appearance of MC stimuli. As a result, IMCs hypothesized benefits might be

moderated.

These variety-seeking behaviors suggest an opportunity to adapt the methodology used by

Ratner et al. (1999) to test consumer reactions to repeated tracks of music. They varied exposure

of repeated segments of songs that subjects rated positively versus negatively utilizing computer

programs to record subject reactions. Perhaps this methodology could be adapted for use in

testing groups of messages employing an IMC strategy versus messages employing a more

traditional strategy. Such an approach could help to address the possibility, noted earlier, that the

repetition of messages employing an IMC strategy may accelerate subject satiation and therefore

help promote variety-seeking behavior.

Possible Methodology Fl aws and Impli cations

One possible methodological flaw could have been the selection of two products from a

single involvement level. The problem may not lie in the choice of facial tissues and pain

relievers, but in the selection of only average involvement products rather than a mix of products

of high, average and low involvement. Could it be that IMC effects might be moderated for

average involvement products since these products tend to stimulate neither high nor low levels

of cognitive processing? Would the inclusion of products with different involvement levels have

elicited different effects, not only for the IMC condition, but for the other conditions as well?

Would the inclusion of a high involvement product encourage more central processing?

This learning suggests that future research should consider the use of test products from

multiple involvement levels. Such a variation in involvement might be more effective than this

project in eliciting the hypothesized IMC effects.

Another flaw could be related to the design of the stimulus materials. First, the Affect


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Pretest was designed to ensure that each piece of stimulus material in the high design integration

conditions was liked no more than its corresponding piece in the low design consistency

conditions. The results confirmed that this desired outcome occurred. In fact, in two of the eight

cases, the affect scores for the high design consistency condition pieces were significantly lower

than their low design consistency counterparts. Did these lower affect scores handicap the high

design consistency conditions? If so, this may have suppressed the dependent variable measures

for the IMC condition. Second, even though the Design Consistency Pretest indicated that there

was a significant perceived difference between the two conditions, the design consistency

manipulation check of the main study failed to mirror this result. This weakness in the desired

manipulation could have also moderated the hypothesized effects.

This learning suggests that, in future research, test materials should be pretested and

revised, where necessary, to achieve a goal of equal affect levels between conditions. Where

differences are found, a graphic designer should use the input from newly added open-ended

questionnaire items as diagnostic information to revise the materials to achieve the desired

balance of affect. This input might also help design stimulus materials that achieve a stronger

manipulation of design consistency differences that hold up in pretests as well as the main study.

Promotion M anagement Implications

From an industry standpoint, this study sought to confirm an idea that some marketing

communications professionals have believed for years: that consumer attitudes toward a brand

may be enhanced by pursuing a strategy that consistently integrates messages across advertising,

consumer sales promotion, direct marketing and other marketing communication tools.

Unfortunately, the present studys results did not support this view. However, if some of


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the suggested methodology improvements noted above were followed, future research might lend

statistically significant support to the hypothesized beneficial role of IMC.

Such findings would have far-reaching impact on marketersand their supporting

agencies, ranging from packaging consultants to advertising agencies. The result would be clear:

it is not only desirable, but cost-effective to ensure the consistency of brand messages across all

elements of a brands offering. This would probably encourage two competing trends in the

industry. First, marketers could use the results to force their suppliers to work much more closely

with one another to better integrate their message design efforts on behalf of their clients. Or

second, marketers could instead increasingly opt to turn to large agency holding groups that are

already integrating diverse marketing communications functions under one roof such as package

design, web design, direct marketing and advertising. Either way, the result would likely be

more of the seamless one voice, one look consistency across all aspects of the product offering

suggested by IMC proponents.

Conclusion

The objective of this project was to add additional experimental research to the very

shallow body of such work in the IMC field, and to provide some empirical evidence to support

the proposed IMC models hypothesized effects.This study failed to find any support given its

methodology. The project did succeed, however, in one key respect. It provided a foundation for

the study of IMC effects in future research. The study builds on earlier work testing IMC effects

using attitudinal measures. It also broke new ground by using means-end analytical techniques.

Hopefully, this learning can be employed by other researchers to continue the quest toward a

definitive answer to the IMC debate.


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High(high degree of

visual consistencybetween MC

materials)

High(High degree

of visualconsistencybetween MC

materials)

High(Use of manymedia vehiclesfeaturing a consistent design)

Low(Little or no visual

consistencybetween MC

Figure 1.

A Visualization of the IMC Concept

_______________________________________________________________

Number of Media

_______________________________________________________________

IMC

Design

Consistency

Low(Use of few media vehicles

featuring a consistent design)


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Table 1.

Two Primary Conditions of Main Study

Low Design Consistency High Design Consistency

Weak design consistencybetween product packaging and the

following additional MC stimuli:

- 2 vehicles (low media condition)

- 4 vehicles (high media condition)

Strong design consistencybetween product packaging and the

following additional MC stimuli:

- 2 vehicles (low media condition)

- 4 vehicles (high media condition)


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Figure 2.

Example of Hierarchical Value Map(for Relief 24 High Design Consistency Condition)

Freedom

N = 3

ControlN = 4 Accom -

plishment

N = 2

SafetyN = 6

Responsible

N = 2

ComfortN = 9

Peace

of Mind

N = 2Enjoyment

N = 2

ReliefN = 3

ConvenienceN = 3

WrongMedicine

N = 1

BudgetN =3

DangerN = 4

Fast

ActingN = 9Not LongLastingN = 1

EffectiveN = 10

Speed ofReliefN = 9

StrengthN = 7

Type ofRelief

N = 1

PriceN = 2

Length ofReliefN = 8

SideEffectsN = 3

Values Level

Consequences Level

Attributes Level


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Table 2.

Attribute Level Cognitive Concepts

t Test Results

Attribute

Low DesignConsistency

M S.D.

High DesignConsistency

M S.D.

Differences BetweenConditions

t pSoft .17 .377 .23 .425 -.763 .448

Price .21 .410 .17 .377 .518 .606

Speed .15 .357 .13 .334 .295 .768

Strength .15 .357 .15 .357 .000 1.00

Length .06 .245 .06 .245 .000 1.00

Side Effects .06 .245 .06 .245 .000 1.00

Fluffy .04 .202 .04 .202 .000 1.00

Sanitary .02 .144 .06 .245 -1.016 .312

Designs .02 .144 .02 .144 .000 1.00

Lotion .02 .144 .02 .144 .000 1.00

Prints .00 .144 .02 .144 .000 1.00

Type .02 .144 .00 .000 1.000 .320

Gentle .00 .000 .02 .144 -1.000 .320

Scent* .00 .00 .00 0 n/a n/a

* Data for this attribute totaled zero when six Low Media condition cases were removed


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Table 4.

Values Level Cognitive Concepts

t Test Results

Values

Low DesignConsistency

M S.D.

High DesignConsistency

M S.D.

Differences BetweenConditions

t pComfort .35 .483 .33 .476 .213 .832

Responsibility .19 .394 .13 .334 .838 .404

Control .10 .309 .13 .334 -.317 .753

Safety .15 .357 .10 .309 .612 .542

Esteem .02 .144 .10 .309 -1.694 .094

Peace of mind .08 .279 .02 .144 1.377 .172

Accomplishment .04 .202 .04 .202 .000 1.000

Freedom .04 .202 .04 .202 .000 1.000

Enjoyment .06 .245 .04 .202 .455 .650

Family duty .00 .00 .02 .144 -1.00 .320


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Appendix 1a.

Facial Tissue Stimulus Materials

High Design Consistency Condition

Magazine Ad Direct Mail Piece Website

Coupon

Low Design Consistency Condition


Coupon


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Appendix 1b.

Pain Reliever Stimulus Materials

High Design Consistency Condition


Coupon

Low Design Consistency Condition


Coupon

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