This paper discusses current understanding of the concept of information framing by bringing together the diverse range of framing strategies in one conceptual framework. A review of the key literature is illustrated in order to offer an understanding of the role of framing strategies on consumer response to advertisements. The mediating information processing styles triggered by the various framing strategies are conveyed and potential individual different and product type moderating variables are explored. This helps to generate a comprehensive conceptual model and highlights specific areas which require further testing. A number of conclusions arise from this study. While some of the relationships presented have been empirically investigated, a degree of contradiction exists in the findings, and a substantial number of propositions require empirical analysis.
First, a clear finding emerging from this literature review is the lack of empirical research comparing different framing strategies across a range of contexts. It is rare that rhetorical figures are compared to narrative or mental simulation, with scant exceptions (Feiereisen et al. 2008, Hoeffler 2003). These studies generate important findings and challenge traditional thinking (e.g. Gregan-Paxton and Roedder John 1997) by indicating the differential effectiveness of mental simulation over analogies for really new products. Rhetorical figures are typically compared to argument in empirical studies (Toncar and Munch 2001) as is narrative framing (Mattila 2000). A lack of research compares transporting framing strategies and those that fall under the scope of rhetorical figures. This is perhaps due to the lack of a unified terminology and definition of the concept of framing strategies which may indicate that such diverse strategies as rhetorical tropes and transporting framing strategies are not viewed as alternatives. Narrative in particular represents an important framing strategy for intangible products (i.e. services) (Padgett and Allen 1997), contradicting traditional thinking which recommends association strategies (e.g. metaphor) to reduce the intangibility of services (Berry and Clark 1986). This indicates the need for further empirical testing comparing different framing strategies in order to increase our academic understanding of this topic. Also, while it is known that drama, narrative and mental simulation lead to attitude change via transportation; it is not known whether they transport consumers to varying degrees. Further empirical research is required to compare the extent that consumers are transported in response to these framing strategies.
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Second, this conceptual model illustrates the role of individual difference variables on consumer response to different framing strategies. Further research is required in order to clarify and understand the impact of these variables for specific framing strategies. For example, it has been shown that affect intensity moderates the affective response experienced from being transported into a narrative (Escalas, Moore and Britton 2004). Whether affect intensity also moderates the affective response to tropes (i.e. the ‘pleasure of the text’) is not yet known. Further research is required to investigate if this individual variable moderates consumer response to rhetorical tropes. There exists a contradiction in the literature related to the impact of cognitive capacity on transportation into a narrative. On the one hand it is argued that sufficient cognitive capacity is required in order for a narrative to engage individuals cognitively and emotionally (Chang 2009), on the other hand it is asserted that consumers with high cognitive resources available resist transportation, engaging instead in analytical processing (Wentzel et al. 2010). Therefore the impact of varying cognitive resource levels on consumer response to rhetorical figures is also warranted. Contradiction also exists related to the role of consumer involvement in consumer response to different framing strategies. It is argued that motivation must be sufficiently high for framing strategies to impact consumer responses, as low motivation individuals evaluate advertisements heuristically (Peracchio and Meyers-Levy 1997). In contrast, research on the impact of rhetorical tropes indicates that tropes will positively impact attitudes to the ad and the brand, but only in conditions of low involvement (Toncar and Munch 2001). This is argued to be because the congruity inherent in rhetorical tropes motivates low involvement consumers to process the ad, whereas high involvement conditions consumers are argued to process the ad regardless of the framing strategy. Both the gaps and contradictions in the literature call for further research on the role of individual difference variables on consumer response to different framing strategies.
Finally, the advancement of research on framing strategies needs to be relevant and consistent with digital developments. 2012 saw a more than 6% rise in global advertisement spend on digital formats, and this is predicted to grow by a further 13.5% in 2013. Despite the prevalence of digital media in today’s advertising media mix, how framing strategies impact consumer response to digital communications remains virtually untouched. One recent study examines the effectiveness of employing narrative versus argument to frame service response to integrity violating blog posts (Van Laer and de Ruyter 2010). This study shows that the combination of denial content and argument, and apologetic content and narrative framing
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are more effective than alternative combinations. The impact of framing strategies on consumer response to customer reviews of products and services also warrants attention. Our understanding of the role of framing strategies for information presentation must extend to internet advertising, user generated content, and social media marketing. In summary, this literature review indicates substantial scope for future research on this area. This includes;
developing our understanding of the effectiveness of different framing strategies by comparing transporting framing strategies to rhetorical tropes across different product types;
clarifying and increasing our understanding of the moderating impact of individual difference variables on consumer responses to framing strategies; and finally, investigating the importance of framing strategies in a digital context.
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CHAPTER 3: