A test of the hierarchy of advertising effects via a panel data set on email advertising

Advertising changes the consumer. Through advertising exposures, a consumer becomes aware of the advertised product, becomes interested in it, develops a desire, and makes a purchase decision (the hierarchy of effects model). However, despite a wide use of email advertising by advertisers, how email advertising persuades and how it changes the consumer have not been studied. This dissertation focuses on the measurement of email advertising effectiveness based on the hierarchy of effects (awareness – interest – desire – action, AIDA) model which highlights each email advertising recipient’s journey towards a purchasing decision. This dissertation investigates the following research questions: which factors influence the open rate of email advertising (study 1); which factors influence the click rate of email advertising (study 2); and which factors influence the overall purchase behavior (study 3; or company sales). First, study 1 analyzes the factors that influence the open rate of email advertising and identifies five factors including subject line with price discount promotion, subject line stated in a loss frame, utilitarian product attribute, subject line describing a company’s social responsibility and socially responsible actions, and subject line describing holiday celebration that have positive impacts on the email recipient’s opening rate. Also, study 1 finds out that the short interval between email sendings decreases the open rate. Study 2 investigates the effects of email advertising body contents and finds that body contents with price discount promotion, body contents stated in a loss frame, and body contents describing seasonal appeal increase the recipient’s click rate when they open the email advertising. Finally, study 3 examines which factors influence the overall purchase behavior and finds that one factor, body contents with price discount promotion, increases most the purchase rate. This dissertation contributes to the understanding of the effects of email advertising on consumer behaviors. Notably, the three studies in this dissertation examining the factors that influence on the email advertising recipient’s opening, clicking, and purchasing actions contribute to empirical testing of the hierarchy model of advertising effects. The findings of this dissertation can also help advertisers and marketers strategically plan their advertising to achieve their goal