9 - Cross-Cultural and Gender-Based Variation in the Emotional Impact and Appreciation of Marketing Videos

Summary

Chapter 9 reports findings from a study that investigated cross-cultural variation and gender variation in the responses given by participants to marketing videos. It aims to answer the following research questions: To what extent does the figurative make-up of marketing videos evoke different emotions in British and Chinese participants, and how does this affect the extent to which they like and share videos? And to what extent does the figurative make-up of marketing videos evoke different emotions between men and women, and how does this affect the extent to which they like and share videos? With respect to cultural/linguistic background, Chinese respondents are found to be more likely to be surprised by the videos than British respondents, but British respondents are more likely to report negative emotions along with fear and stress. These relationships are sometimes strengthened and sometimes mitigated by the presence of resemblance metaphor, correlational metaphor, dramatic irony, hyperbole, and understatement. Chinese participants are more likely than British participants to indicate that they would share positive and surprising advertisements. In contrast, British participants are more likely than Chinese participants to indicate that they would share negative and frightening/stressful advertisements. With respect to gender, female respondents reported stronger emotional reactions than male respondents, as well as higher levels of appreciation than male respondents. The levels of appreciation and sharing intent expressed by both genders are influenced in a similar way by the emotions that the videos provoked, but male participants are more likely than female respondents to appreciate frightening and/or stressful advertisements.