Advertising for a good cause or simply good advertising? A quantitative study of the brand-related and social effects of purpose-driven advertising claims.

Sammanfattning: Brands frequently engage in purpose-driven advertising where they promote a social issue, often without communicating any information about related CSR activities. Still, little is known about the effects of such purpose-driven advertising claims, both on the brands engaging in such advertising (brand-related effects) and the societies in which it is present (social effects). This thesis investigates the effects of purpose-driven advertising on consumer evaluations, purchase intentions, and issue-related support behaviors. A quantitative experimental study with 313 Swedish respondents was used to examine the effects of exposure to purpose-driven advertising with claims addressing two different social issues; environmental protection and gender equality. The results indicate that purpose-driven advertising claims can have significant positive brand-related effects but show no evidence of influence on consumers' issue-related support behaviors. The present study adds to the existing body of research on advertising with a social dimension and suggests that advertisers can benefit from the positive brand-related effects of purpose-driven advertising by showing public-serving intentions. Further, the thesis examines value theory in an advertising context and highlights the boundaries of influencing individual values and behaviors through advertising as a situational cue.