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Exploring the relationship between identity and message involvement, affect, and recall in advertisements targeted to older adults: An application of Hecht's Communication Theory of Identity
Abstract
As older adults live longer and have more disposable income, they become an increasingly important audience to study. Marketers and advertisers need to reevaluate how older adults should be portrayed in effective communication. A review of existing research reveals that most previous work concerns the underrepresentation and negative portrayals of older adults in advertising. This dissertation is among the first scholarship to abandon the line of research that counts and classifies positive or negative portrayals of older adults in advertising in favor of exploring message strategies that effectively communicate to older adult audiences. To accomplish this goal, the importance of studying identity is established. Hecht's Communication Theory of Identity, which posits that four frames of identity exist, offers a theoretical base. In the first phase of the research, content analysis is used to explore images of older adults, determining that Hecht's Communication Theory of Identity is relevant in context of older adults portrayed in advertising. The second experimental phase explores the different frames of identity as effective means of communicating messages. The research tests the idea that differences exist between the types of identity, and some types are more effective than others. Specifically, the second phase explores the relationship between identity types and various aspects of message effectiveness: involvement with the message, audience's level of affect, and recall of messages. While the results do not suggest that using one type of identity frame is more effective than any other in all situations, they do help advertisers develop more effective message strategies for communication with older adults. Two examples illustrate specific findings. Of all four types of identity, enactment messages were least involving and least remembered by participants in the experiment. Regardless of identity type, affect emerged as a significantly better predictor of brand recall than involvement. Specific propositions based on the findings are offered to develop Hecht's theory.
Subject Area
Mass media|Journalism|Marketing
Recommended Citation
Mitchell, Nancy Ann Doane, "Exploring the relationship between identity and message involvement, affect, and recall in advertisements targeted to older adults: An application of Hecht's Communication Theory of Identity" (1998). ETD collection for University of Nebraska-Lincoln. AAI9826094.
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/dissertations/AAI9826094