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Green or social? An analysis of environmental and social sustainability advertising and its impact on brand personality, credibility and attitude

Author

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  • Frauke Sander

    (Hochschule Pforzheim University)

  • Ulrich Föhl

    (Hochschule Pforzheim University)

  • Nadine Walter

    (Hochschule Pforzheim University)

  • Vera Demmer

    (Hochschule Pforzheim University)

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to examine the impact of sustainability advertising on brand personality, credibility, attitude toward the ad and brand attitude; special attention was given to whether or not environmental and social sustainability advertising have different effects. The results of an online survey revealed that environmental sustainability advertising has a stronger influence than social sustainability advertising. Thus, the findings suggest that a focus on environmental aspects delivers the more impactful advertising content when promoting a brand’s sustainability. This result is consistent with the existing studies on the sub-dimensions of sustainability; although only researched in different contexts, earlier findings also showed that environmental sustainability has a higher impact. Furthermore, an explicit integration of environmental aspects into the measurement of brand personalities offers a new and interesting field of future research. The study is based on data collected from 166 respondents. The impact of sustainability advertising is investigated by an experimental manipulation of the advertising condition. To test the hypotheses, structural equation models are applied, as well as one-way analyses of variance.

Suggested Citation

  • Frauke Sander & Ulrich Föhl & Nadine Walter & Vera Demmer, 2021. "Green or social? An analysis of environmental and social sustainability advertising and its impact on brand personality, credibility and attitude," Journal of Brand Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 28(4), pages 429-445, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:pal:jobman:v:28:y:2021:i:4:d:10.1057_s41262-021-00236-8
    DOI: 10.1057/s41262-021-00236-8
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    2. Evangelia Ktisti & Leonidas Hatzithomas & Christina Boutsouki, 2022. "Green Advertising on Social Media: A Systematic Literature Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(21), pages 1-25, November.
    3. Zhang, Zhian & Tang, Jiayi & Ye, Ziyu, 2023. "New evidence of the relationship between media, culture industry, and mineral efficiency in high and low income asian economies," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 87(PB).
    4. Minjae Sun & Joonseok Kim, 2023. "Sustainability and Brand Equity: The Moderating Role of Brand Color and Brand Gender," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(11), pages 1-19, May.
    5. Chenyu Gu & Shiyu Liu & Subai Chen, 2022. "Does Viewing Green Advertising Promote Sustainable Environmental Behavior? An Experimental Study of the Licensing Effect of Green Advertising," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(22), pages 1-14, November.
    6. Sun, Jianmin & Sarfraz, Muddassar & Ivascu, Larisa & Han, Heesup & Ozturk, Ilknur, 2024. "Live streaming and livelihoods: Decoding the creator Economy's influence on consumer attitude and digital behavior," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    7. Agarwal, Neha Dhruv & Kumar, V.V. Ravi & Gunasekaran, Angappa, 2024. "Leveraging social media to examine sustainability communication of home appliance brands," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    8. Katherine Brookfield & Charlotte Dimond & Susannah G. Williams, 2022. "Sustainability Messages in Residential Property Advertising," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(1), pages 1-14, December.

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