Abstract:

The globalization trend has made an interesting phenomenon emerge in the Chinese market--the coexistence of the nationalization and internationalization of brand strategy and brand advertising appeals. More and more global brands are trying to make themselves localized and suit the Chinese environment and tradition, while lots of China's domestic brands are showing their internationalization. Then which one on the earth can grab consumers’ attentions? National or international? It’s a question attracting interests from both academics and practitioners. The purpose of this study is to compare the effects of different advertising appeals on consumers’ brand attitude and explore the role of brand origin and consumer ethnocentrism. The study adopted an experimental design approach, using 2 (ad appeals: National advertising appeals / International advertising appeals) × 2 (Country of Origin: Domestic brand / Foreign brand) between subjects design. Four sets of questionnaires incorporating 7-point Likert scales were generated. One hundred and Forty-six questionnaires were completed by undergraduates of a university in Beijing. The results are as follows: (1) University students prefer brands that using international advertising appeal to those using national appeal; (2) Consumer ethnocentrism plays a significant role in the relationship among advertising appeal, country of origin and brand attitude. For consumers with higher ethnocentrism, the effect of COO is more salient than advertising appeal. They love Chinese brands more than foreign brands, no matter what advertising appeal used. For consumers with lower ethnocentrism, advertising appeal plays a greater role than COO. These consumers prefer brands that use international advertising appeal, no matter where the brands come from.

Key words: Advertising appeal, Country of origin, Consumer ethnocentrism, Brand love