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Does advertising indicate product quality? Evidence from prelaunch and postlaunch advertising in the movie industry

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  • Reo Song

    (California State University)

  • Sungha Jang

    (Kansas State University)

  • Gangshu (George) Cai

    (Santa Clara University)

Abstract

Literature on the informative role of advertising indicates that advertising quantity can serve as an indicator of product quality. As product life cycles grow shorter, firms in many industries spend significant amounts on advertising during the prelaunch period to create large initial demand. Thus, the role of prelaunch advertising may differ from that of postlaunch advertising, and a proper understanding of these differences is important. This study provides an empirical investigation of whether advertising is a reliable indicator of quality before and after product launches, using the data from the movie industry. Analyses of 1078 movies released during 2003–2011 show that postlaunch advertising is a reliable quality indicator and increases revenues, whereas prelaunch advertising is not a reliable quality indicator, even if it leads to higher revenues.

Suggested Citation

  • Reo Song & Sungha Jang & Gangshu (George) Cai, 2016. "Does advertising indicate product quality? Evidence from prelaunch and postlaunch advertising in the movie industry," Marketing Letters, Springer, vol. 27(4), pages 791-804, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:mktlet:v:27:y:2016:i:4:d:10.1007_s11002-015-9377-7
    DOI: 10.1007/s11002-015-9377-7
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    5. Vithala R. Rao & S. Abraham (Avri) Ravid & Richard T. Gretz & Jialie Chen & Suman Basuroy, 2017. "The impact of advertising content on movie revenues," Marketing Letters, Springer, vol. 28(3), pages 341-355, September.
    6. G. Tomas M. Hult & Forrest V. Morgeson III & Udit Sharma & Claes Fornell, 2022. "Customer satisfaction and international business: A multidisciplinary review and avenues for research," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 53(8), pages 1695-1733, October.
    7. Jordi McKenzie, 2023. "The economics of movies (revisited): A survey of recent literature," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(2), pages 480-525, April.
    8. Zhen, Xueping & (George) Cai, Gangshu & Song, Reo & Jang, Sungha, 2019. "The effects of herding and word of mouth in a two-period advertising signaling model," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 275(1), pages 361-373.

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