The Effectiveness of Print Advertising Stimuli in Evoking Elaborate Consumption Visions for Potential Travelers

Abstract

Two imagery-evoking strategies are examined to determine their effectiveness for producing an elaborate consumption vision. Specifically, a 3 x 3 factorial experimental design is employed to examine the effects of pictures and text as advertising stimuli to evoke elaborate consumption visions among the participants, within the context of holiday decision-making. A MANOVA revealed a main effect for each of the two stimuli. The presence of more concrete pictures contributed to the extent of elaboration and quality of consumers' consumption visions. Furthermore, the addition of concrete words together with instructions to imagine increased the elaboration and quality of the consumption vision. A significant interaction effect between the picture and text variables demonstrated that combining instructions to imagine with concrete pictures is the most efficacious strategy. The paper discusses the implications of the findings for theory as well as offering an application of the results for tourism destination marketers.