Age-Related Cues in Retail Services Advertising:

Their Effects on Younger Consumers

ELLEN DAY
of
University Georgia

~ MARIA ROYNE STAFFORD

Universityof North Texas

Although the mature market will become increasingly attractive to retailers, targeting older cwwmers
could have adverse eflects on attempts to also appeal to youngerconsumers. The current stud.v
explored potential problems retail service firms face in using older-age cues in their advertising.
Results indirated that patronage intentions qf younger persons for u less conspicuous service were not
aflected by either the use of older models or mention of a senior citizen discount. In contrast, patronage
intentinns of younger per.s:ronsfor a more conspicuous service were negcttive1.v injluenced by advertise-
ments containing older models when subjects nwuld be uccompunied by same-age friends.

INTRODUCTION

As the older segments of the population continue to grow, marketers and advertisers will
increasingly target these groups. The mature market of persons aged 55 and older repre-
sents over 52 million people and the most powerful buying group in the American economy
(Statistical Abstract of the U.S., 1994). Moreover, with the first of the baby boom genera-
tion now turning 50, the unprecedented growth in the mature market between 2000 and
2020 will affect all aspects of American society. The questions that arise are not whether
business firms are likely to target older consumers but rather how, and whether targeting
older consumers might adversely affect attempts to appeal to younger consumers as well.
One of the most obvious means by which marketers try to attract older segments is
through the explicit offering of age-based price discounts, often referred to as senior citizen
discounts. Such discounts have become common among many types of retail and service
firms. However, Tepper (1994) found that the “younger elderly,” defined as persons aged
50-54, were less likely than persons 55 and older to use a discount promoted on the basis

Ellen Day, The University of Georgia, Department of Marketing and Distribution, Terry College of Business.
Athens GA 30602. Marla Royne Stafford, University of North Texas, Department of Marketing, College of
Business, Denton TX 76203.

Journal of Retailing, Volume 73(2), pp. 211-233, ISSN: 0022-4359

Copyright 0 1997 by New York University. All rights of reproduction in any form reserved.

211
212 Journal of Retailing Vol. 73, No. 2 1997

of age segmentation. The explanation offered was that the age segmentation cues threat-
ened the younger elderly’s self-image or perceived social acceptance. If the “young old”
resist using senior citizen discounts, then younger persons, for example, young adults, may
resist patronizing some establishments offering age-based discounts if they infer that the
firm is targeting mature consumers. That is, such an inference may dissuade younger per-
sons because associating or being associated with older persons may pose a potential threat
to their self-image or perceived social acceptance. Alternatively, younger consumers may
believe that sharing a consumption experience with older consumers would make the expe-
rience less enjoyable. In such cases, older persons would comprise a dissociative or avoid-
ance reference group for younger persons-in general or in particular consumption
situations. If true, then many marketers, including retailers, are faced with the delicate
problem of trying to attract older consumers while not alienating younger segments of the
population. This proposition, however, has not been tested, nor have the effects of other
age-related cues in retail advertising on younger consumers been examined.
The purpose of the study reported here is to explore potential problems retail firms face
in using age-related informational cues, specifically senior citizen discounts and/or older
models, in advertising when targeting consumers in a broad age range, including young
adults. Because product marketers often position brands for somewhat narrow age groups,
the study focused on retail service firms, which, because of geographic limitations to mar-
ket size, serve local markets and often target a broader age range. Hence, the current study
responds to calls for more research on senior citizen discounting (Gillett, Allen, and Fuller,
1995), effects of older models in advertising on younger consumers (Nelson and Smith,
1988), reference group influence on service selection (Arora and Stoner 1995), and adver-
tising by service providers (Abemethy and Butler, 1992).

BACKGROUND

A basic tenet of human behavior is that people tend to interact with others who are similar
to themselves, sometimes referred to as the affinity or like-me principle (Laumann, 1966).
Also well-established in the study of consumer behavior is the concept of reference group
influence (Bearden and Etzel, 1982). The two notions together have spawned the terms
associative and dissociative reference groups, which refer to the degree of homophily
between an individual and referent others.
An individual’s behavior is subject to three types of reference group influence: informa-
tional, utilitarian, and value-expressive (Kelman, 1961; Deutsch and Gerard, 1955). Indi-
viduals within an associative reference group will receive and transmit information
regarding products, services, and stores. Utilitarian influence is present when significant
others approve or disapprove of an individual’s behavior, such as patronizing particular
stores or service firms. Value-expressive reference group influence operates when the indi-
vidual’s behavior affects his or her self-concept, such as patronizing a store or service firm
the image of which is or is not consistent with the individual’s self-concept. Because utili-
tarian and value-expressive influences can be difficult to distinguish when measuring
effects related to marketplace behavior, they are often combined-in discussions and in
Effects of Advertising on Younger Consumers 213

research-into one “normative” factor (Bachmann, John, and Rao, 1993). An alternative
but related view of reference group influence makes distinctions among informational,
comparative, and normative influence (Assael, 1995; Kelman, 1961). Although informa-
tional influence is the same in both perspectives, comparative is similar to value-expressive
influence and exists when individuals compare their beliefs, attitudes, and behavior to those
of referent others, who provide the individual with a basis for evaluating his/her self-image.
Normative influence is similar to utilitarian influence and implies that reference groups or
referent others have the power-through rewards or punishment-to enforce compliance
with group norms.
Despite the importance of the topic, research on reference group influence in marketing
has been limited. Even more sparse is research regarding the influence of relevant others
on choice of retail stores or service firms, as most of the marketing literature on reference
group influence has a decided product focus. For example, Bearden and Etzel (1982), in
extending the work of Boume (1957), found evidence that the degree of reference group
influence varies across products and brands. Specifically, referential influence will vary
along the continuum of public versus private goods, that is, the degree to which the object
in question is conspicuous to others (cf. Childers and Rao, 1992; Boume, 1957). As might
be expected, reference group influence tends to be greater for more public goods (which are
more “conspicuous” because other persons are likely to take notice) than for more private
(less conspicuous) goods. Bachmann, John, and Rao (1993) found that even children rec-
ognize that peer influence is important for some products, such as those publicly consumed,
but not for others, such as those privately consumed. It seems logical that this principle
would extend to stores and services. That is, the more conspicuous the patronage of a retail
store or consumption of a service, the more likely that referential others will influence
choice. Arora and Stoner (1995), in one of the very few studies of reference group influence
on selection of services, in fact found support for this relationship. Building on the work of
Bearden and Etzel (1982), Arora and Stoner found that reference group influence was
greatest for publicly consumed luxuries, specifically restaurants. Despite this “confirming”
study, the paucity of related research begs further empirical inquiry.

The Influence of Others

Because conspicuousness of a choice increases perceived social risk, defined as the risk
that a choice will not meet with the approval of others, classification schemes other than
public versus private goods may also be used in identifying types of choices or purchases
that are subject to greater influence from others. For example, using terminology corre-
sponding to types of reference group influence, Johar and Sirgy (1991) distinguished
between utilitarian (characteriszed as less socially conspicuous) and value-expressive
(more socially conspicuous) products. Because social risk would be greater for value-
expressive products, so should reference group influence be greater. Extending this product
typology to retail services suggests that more utilitarian services (e.g., shoe repair) are less
likely to be subject to reference group influence than more value-expressive, personal ser-
vices (e.g., a bar).
214 Journal of Retailing Vol. 73, No. 2 1997

Reference group influence also varies across individuals (cf. Bearden and Rose, 1990;
Park and Lessig, 1977). Park and Lessig, for example, found that students in general were
more susceptible than housewives to reference group influence for several product catego-
ries. Hence, characteristics of the product and individual have been shown to account for
variations in susceptibility to reference group influence. Likewise, it seems reasonable to
assume that characteristics of a store or service firm, as well as the individual, would affect
degree of reference group influence.
It is likely that situational variables also serve to increase or decrease reference group
influence. For example, if the selection of a store or service firm is made in the presence of
others (referred to as “social surroundings” in Belk, 1973, an individual may be more sus-
ceptible to the influence of relevant others, irrespective of how conspicuous patronage of a
store or retail service firm might otherwise be. That is, although prior research has shown
that reference group influence is weak for a “private necessity” such as a mattress (Bearden
and Etzel, 1982), the presence of significant others at the time of purchase may lead a con-
sumer to choose a well-known national brand, for instance, rather than a less-expensive
store brand. Choice of stores or service firms may be similarly affected. In fact, Evans,
Christiansen, and Gill (1996) point to studies that have found the social context of retail
shopping to be an important factor influencing the shopping behavior of consumers.
In addition, knowledge that a consumption situation involves the presence of other peo-
ple can dramatically influence a consumer’s actions in at least two other ways. First, if the
selection of a store or service firm entails a joint decision, then the participation of others
may result in a different choice from that made by an individual acting alone. Second,
social surroundings may become a part of the service itself. Because a service experience
is shaped by the other people consuming the service at the same time-by “co-consumers”
(Solomon, 1996), as in a restaurant or bar, choice of the service firm can depend on beliefs
regarding “who goes there.” Avoiding a restaurant because families with small children are
known to eat there or avoiding a coffee house because “undesirable” people frequent it are
two obvious examples of how patrons affect selection decisions.
Beyond possible conformity pressures arising from influence of others, value-expressive
(or comparative) reference group influence based on the congruity between the firm’s
image and the individual’s self-image also can play a major role in consumer choices. The
type of person who shops in a store or patronizes a service firm affects choice because of
the tendency to match one’s self-image with that of the store or service firm. Using product
terminology, Johar and Sirgy (1991) define self-congruity as the match between the prod-
uct’s value-expressive attributes (product-user image) and the individual’s self-concept.
The greater the congruence between the product image and individual’s self-image, the
greater is the likelihood that the individual will have a positive attitude toward the product.
Empirical support for the image-congruence hypothesis in store selection is found in Bel-
lenger, Steinberg, and Stanton (1976) and Domoff and Tatham (1972). Domoff and
Tatham, however, found that the influence of self-image on store choice varied according
to store type. Although using a product context, more recently Zinkhan and Hong (1991)
hypothesized that the importance of image congruity depends on product conspciuousness,
whereas Solomon (1996) proposes that image congruity is more important for expressive,
image-oriented products than for functional products. No studies testing these relationships
for retail firms were identified, however.
Effects of Advertising on Younger Consumers 215

The congruity hypothesis and the notions of informational and value-expressive (or com-
parative) reference group influence, in particular, have important implications for retail
advertisers. Advertising contributes to a store’s or service firm’s image, which in turn
affects an individual’s selection, as the individual will tend to patronize those establish-
ments the image of which is compatible, or congruent, with the person’s self-image. Com-
municating “who goes there”--explicitly or implicitly through text or visuals-will
influence store/service firm image and consumers’ judgements as to whether a particular
retail firm is “for me” or “not for me.” In other words, either mentioning a senior citizen
discount or depicting older persons in a retail advertisement, for example, provides infor-
mational or comparative cues that may convey to younger audiences that the establishment
would be an inappropriate choice for themselves. Perceptions of appropriateness are likely
to be more critical in situations involving more conspicuous forms of patronage or service
consumption.

Older-Age Cues in Advertising

The limited research on age-related discounts (Tepper, 1994; Spiller and Hamilton,
1993) has examined their effects only on older consumers, and effects of other age-related
cues, e.g., the use of older models or spokespersons in advertising, on younger consumers
have received little attention. In one of the few studies addressing this issue, Rotfeld, Reid,
and Wilcox (1982) examined the effect of using older models in product advertising. They
found that middle-aged housewives seemed less concerned whether models were younger
or older and more concerned with the fit between model and product. The authors con-
cluded that an “old orientation” per se would not repel audience members because of a lack
of fit of the age-orientation with audience self-images. The importance of further studying
the effects of age-related cues, such as senior citizen discounts or older models or spokes-
persons, in advertising is underscored by the fact that the promotion of senior citizen dis-
counts is already widespread (Gillett, Allen, and Fuller, 1995) and advertisers’ usage of
older characters is expected to increase in the future (Greco, 1988). Moreover, the effects
of including age-related cues in retail advertising have been virtually ignored to date.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS

The primary goal of the study was to ascertain what effect the mention of senior citizen dis-
counts in retail services advertising might have on measures of advertising effectiveness,
including patronage intentions, among young adults. A secondary goal was to investigate
the effects of depicting older models and determine whether possible effects depended on
the mention of a senior discount. Reference group and congruity theories, as well as prior
research, suggest that effects should be minimal for less conspicuous, utilitarian services
and greater for more conspicuous, value-expressive services. However, because of the
216 journal of Retailing Vol. 73, No. 2 1997

unique combination of issues involved, the study was largely exploratory and no formal
hypotheses were posited. Instead, the following research question was addressed:

Ql: Does mention of a senior discount or the depiction of older persons in

an advertisement have a significant difSerentia1 effect on advertising
attitudinal measures or patronage intentions among young adults for
a more conspicuous service as compared to a less conspicuous ser-
vice?

Research on situational effects indicates that specific circumstances may affect patron-
age behavior; for example, the presence of relevant others may impact a consumer’s choice.
Thus, the following research question was also addressed:

Q2: Does mention of a senior discount or the depiction of older persons in

an advertisement affect patronage intentions when an individual
would be accompanied by other young adults as compared to older
adults?

Although there is strong evidence supporting variability in reference group influence

across types of products and at least the suggestion of variability across types of stores or
services, at the same time there may be variability across subjects because individuals are
not necessarily equally susceptible to interpersonal influence. Hence, the study also inves-
tigated the following question:

Q3: What is the effect of consumer susceptibility to interpersonal influ-

ence on the relationship between advertising content and attitudinal
measures or patronage intentions?

METHOD

Research Design

To investigate the research questions, an experimental design was used in which two
components of the stimulus advertisements for two different services were manipulated,
resulting in a 2 x 2 x 2 between-subjects factorial design. Independent variables manipu-
lated were type of service (more conspicuous, value-expressive versus less conspicuous,
utilitarian), age of models in the illustration (younger versus older couple), and senior citi-
zen discount (discount mentioned versus no discount mentioned). Two of the four depen-
dent variables reflected attitudinal measures: attitude toward the ad (Aad) and attitude
toward the service (A,,,,). In addition, two patronage intention measures were included:
patronage intention when accompanied by friends (Plf) and patronage intention when
accompanied by an older friend of the family (PI,).
Effects of Advertising on Younger Consumers 217

Selection of Services

Based on prior research (Arora and Stoner, 1995; Stafford and Day, 1995) two services,
photo processing and full-service restaurant, were selected to represent a less conspicuous,
utilitarian service and a more conspicuous, value-expressive service, respectively. A
manipulation check was conducted to confirm that the conspicuousness of these two ser-
vices was perceived to be different. A sample of students (n = 66) similar to subjects used
in the main study were instructed to indicate on a 7-point continuum, ranging from very
inconspicuous (1) to very conspicuous (7), where, in their opinion, each of the two plus sev-
eral “filler” services should be placed. The mean was 3.8 for photo processing and 5.0 for
restaurant. The t-statistic was 2.97, p = .004, demonstrating the appropriateness of the two
test services.
Photo processing is characterized by low employee contact, low to moderate customiza-
tion, and an equipment-orientation, whereas restaurant is a personal service, characterized
by high employee contact and higher customization. Photo processing can also be
described as a more private or less conspicuous service because the physical presence of
the customer is not vital to production of the service (indeed, if the customer uses an after-
hours drop-off option, customer-employee contact is minimal), and production of the ser-
vice is highly mechanized and largely standardized. Moreover, consumption of the service
(i.e., finished photographs) often takes place at home, out of the public’s view. In contrast,
restaurant service is considerably more conspicuous in that purchase and consumption
requires the presence of the customer for an extended period of time in a setting open to
view by others. Not only do these two services exemplify less conspicuous and more con-
spicuous services, but also they are familiar to and used by younger and older persons alike.
Therefore, mentioning a senior discount or using older models in the ads would not seem
unusual or inappropriate.

Development of Advertisements

Ads were developed by an advertising professional, who was paid for his services.
Comparability and consistency of the copy for the two services were of paramount impor-
tance to avoid confounding effects. Hence, the same six dimensions are reflected in the
two sets of ads: physical/tangible characteristics, experience of provider, expertise of pro-
vider, service/product assortment, availability of specialized service, and positive cus-
tomer experience. Stock art was used for the illustrations of an older and younger couple.
To help insure that there would be perceived age differences between the two couples, a
manipulation check was conducted employing a sample of students (n = 62) similar to the
subjects used in the main study. Mean perceived age was 34 for the younger couple and 63
for the older couple. An ANOVA yielded an F = 300.82, p c .OOOl, supporting the choice
of illustrations.
Aside from mentioning a senior citizen discount or depicting older models in some ads,
no references to age-related attributes or patronage appeared in the copy. The same
mechanical format was used for all ads. To control for pre-existing attitudes that could bias
218 Journal of Retailing Vol. 73, No. 2 1997

the results, fictitious service firm names were used. All restaurant ads were identical, as
were all photo processing ads, except for mention of senior citizen discount and age of
models. Because most retail service firms use local media, print ads suitable for newspapers
or local magazines were developed. Examples of two of the mock advertisements are pre-
sented in Figures 1 and 2.

TECHNOLOGY, SCHMECHNOLOGY...
IT’S THE PERSONAL TOUCH THAT COUNTS

s ure we’re proud we have frames and name-brand

the most technologically photo supplies, and
advanced photo processing personalized cropping and
equipment.. enlarging.
And the most experienced Prompt and courteous
photo lab in town for accurate service is not just a saying
and professional color with us - it’s made us the
reproduction... largest photo store in this
But we’re proudest of the area. A truly enjoyable
well-trained folks who serve you shopping experience.
with a smile that never fades.
Plus a huge assortment of 10% dixount for senior citizens

PHILLIPS
PHOTO
Across From the Post Of&e

Figure 7. Photo Processing Ad, Younger Models, Mention of Discount

Effects of Advertising on Younger Consumers 219

MAR=5 IS THE DIFFERENCE

BETWEN DINING AND EATING

Dining should take place Dining means the 20-

in a tasteful Southern
mansion. That’s h4arryk
Dining requires a
restaurant with a long, long
history of success in this
town. That, too, is h4a+.
Dining means expert
service, the courtesy and
attention such expertise
implies. Also hbrtyk
entree menu is not carved
in stone, that most special
requests are met with a
meal created just for you.
Marty’s again.
And n-ue dining implies
a memorable and joyous
experience at a decent
price. Guess who?

Across from the Post Office

Figure 2. Restaurant Ad, Older Models, No Mention of Discount

220 Journal of Retailing Vol. 73, No. 2 1997

Susceptibility to Reference Group Influence

To examine research question number three, Bearden, Netemeyer, and Teel’s (1989)
consumer susceptibility to interpersonal influence (STII) scale was introduced as a covari-
ate. This scale was used to measure the likelihood that an individual is subject to reference
group influence. The ST11 represents a refinement of Park and Lessig’s (1977) scale and
comprises two dimensions, informational and normative influence. Bearden, Netemeyer,
and Tee1 provided considerable evidence of the reliability and validity of the STII. The
twelve items in the scale were slightly modified for this study in that references to product
or brand were changed to store or service firm. Cronbach’s alpha for the ST11 in the current
study was 37.

Dependent Measures

Four dependent variables were used to measure advertising and patronage effects: atti-
tude toward the ad (A&, attitude toward the service (A,,,.& patronage intention when
accompanied by friends (PZ$, and patronage intention when accompanied by an older
friend of the family (PZ,). Existing validated scales were utilized. The A,, measure, based
on Yi (1990) comprised four bipolar scales, anchored by like/dislike, favorable/unfavor-
able, positive/negative, and bad/good. For A,,,, the three endpoints were good/bad, favor-
able/unfavorable, and negative/positive (Muehling, Laczniak, and Stoltman, 1991). Both
patronage intention measures used the scale developed by Yi (1990) and included three
items: likely/unlikely, possible/impossible, and probable/improbable. Reliability was
assessed through Cronbach’s alpha, and coefficients for the four variables ranged from .92
to .95.

Cognitive Responses

Despite using reliable and valid scales, understanding why subjects respond in certain
ways to various closed-ended questions is likely to elude the researcher unless open-ended
questions allow subjects to voice opinions and beliefs. Therefore, cognitive responses were
also collected to gain insights into the reasons for responses to the structured questions and
to aid in the interpretation of results.

Sample

One hundred and twenty-six undergraduate students from two universities participated
in the study. Because students regularly patronize both restaurants and photo processing
stores, students were considered appropriate subjects. Participation was voluntary, and no
extra credit or payment was awarded. Reflecting the sizable proportion of “nontradi-
Effects of Advertising on Younger Consumers 221

tional” (i.e., older) students, the age range of the sample was 19-48 and average age was
23.9 (standard deviation = 4.3). Nearly 55 percent of the subjects were male, and 16.7
percent were married.

Task

Subjects were randomly assigned to one of the eight cells. They were told that they would
be viewing an ad for an established business that was considering opening in their area.
Each subject was shown one ad. When given the stimulus material, subjects were told they
could peruse the ads as long as they wanted. Following ad exposure, they were asked to
write down all the thoughts that occurred to them while looking at the ad. They were then
asked to complete the questionnaire.

ANALYSIS AND RESULTS

Initially, a MANOVA was run to examine the effects of the three independent variables
without the covariate. The overall Wilks’ lambda was 412.45, p < .05, indicating further
analyses were appropriate. Although MANOVA statistics were significant at p < .05 for the
service-by-illustration interaction, as well as for the main effects of service and illustration,
none of the four univariate models was significant at p -z .05. Subsequently, MANCOVA
was used to assess the potential relationships with consumer susceptibility to interpersonal
influence (STII) as a covariate. The overall Wilks’ lambda was 416.06, p < .05.
Wilks’ Lambda statistics from the MANCOVA, presented in Table 1, indicate that the
three-way interaction (service-by-illustration-by-discount) was not significant [Wilks’
Lambda F (4,114) = 2.23, p > .05]. Further, the service-by-discount and the illustration-by-
discount interactions were not significant. However, the service-by-illustration statistic was
significant [Wilks’ Lambda F (4,114) = 2.63, p -z ,051, as were the main effects for service
[Wilks’ Lambda F (4,114) = 2.99, p < .05] and illustration [Wilks’ Lambda F (4,114) =
3.03, p -c .05]. Hence, univariate tests were conducted.

TABLE1

MANCOVA Results-Wilks’ Lambda Statistics

Variable Wilks’ lambda F Approx. p-value

Service 2.99 .02

Discount .92 .45
Illustration 3.03 .02
Service x Discount .35 .84
Service x Illustration 2.63 .03
Illustration x Discount .76 A.5
Service x Illustration x Discount 2.23 .07
222 Journal of Retailing Vol. 73, No. 2 1997

TABLE2

MANOVA Results-F-values
Source df A ad
Service 1 8.54’* 6.51* 6.51* .95
Illustration 1 .oo .oo .45 4.09’
Discount 1 .03 .lO .02 1.37
Service x Illustration 1 .61 1.19 .28 3.95’
Service x Discount 1 .92 .13 .02 .36
Illustration x Discount 1 .34 .17 1.20 .05
Service x Illustration x Discount 1 1.26 2.19 .l 7 3.13
Influence 1 5.23’ 4.75’ 1.36 4.16’
Model 8 1.80 1.64 .99 2.20’

15 /
Photo Processing

14
Restaurant

13
1

Younger Older

Figure 3. Service x Illustration Interaction Effect for

Patronage Intention with Friends

As shown in Table 2, neither the model for Aad nor A,,,, was significant. For A,,, F =
1.80, p > ‘05, and for A,,,,, F = 1.64, p > .05. The model for P’f was significant (F = 2.20,
p < .05), but the model for PZ, was not (F = .99, p > .05), suggesting that who accompanies
the patron yields different results. Further, the STII was significant in the Plf model (F =
4.16, p < .OS), indicating that an individual’s susceptibility to the influence of others mod-
erates patronage intention when accompanied by other young adults.
The service-by-illustration interaction effect for patronage intention when accompanied
by same-age friends is presented in Figure 3. For the photo processing store, intention to
patronize the service remains the same, regardless of the illustration in the ad. However,
when older people were depicted in an ad for the full-service restaurant, patronage inten-
tion is significantly lower (mean = 11.16) than when the illustration featured younger
people (mean = 14.35). Therefore, the illustration has an effect for the more conspicuous
Effects of Advertising on Younger Consumers 223

service (i.e., restaurant), but not for the less conspicuous service (i.e., photo pr~~ssing},
when young adults consider patronizing the service establishment with other young
adults.
The lack of an effect for the PZ, measure indicates that if a young adult were to patronize
either a photo processing store or a full-service restaurant when accompanied by an older
adult, the presence of older-age cues has no apparent impact. That is, whether the cues
affect patronage intentions depends on the specific patronage situation.

Cognitive Responses

Consistent with procedures used in previous research (cf. Stafford and Day, 1995;
Muehling, Laczniak, and Stoltman, 1991), cognitive responses were initially coded into
one of four categories: message-related thoughts, ad-related thoughts, service-related
thoughts, and irrelevant thoughts. Thoughts coded as message-related were those
thoughts pertaining to the service provider or the advertised service prompted by the
advertising message, for example, “friendly, happy employees.” Ad-related thoughts
referred to the executional style, layout, or other creative aspects of the ad, for example,
“the words and sentences are very short and concise.” Thoughts coded as service-related
generally pertained to the service type but not specifically to the advertised firm or its
attributes, for example, “customer service is what I am looking for.” All other thoughts
unrelated to the ad, the service, or the advertised service firm were coded as irrelevant,
for example, “Marty’s? thought of old friend named Marty.” Three coders unaw~e of the
research questions independently coded each thought. The reliability coefficient for inter-
coder agreement was .88 (Perreault and Leigh, 1989). To help insure correct interpreta-
tion of thoughts, subjects were instructed to code each of their own thoughts as positive,
negative, or neutral.
To determine whether there were differences in the type of cognitive response by service
type, age of models in the illustration, or absence/presence of senior discount, ~ANOVA
was used with the number of thoughts in each of the four cognitive response categories as
the dependent measures and each of the manipulated variables as the independent variables.
Only the service factor was significant (Wilks’ Lambda F = 3.77, p c .Ol). Further, as indi-
cated in Table 3, the univariate models for both the message-related and the ad-related cat-
egories were signific~t (F= 4.86, p < .Ol and F= 2.84,~ < .05, respectively), with service
type appearing to account for most of the variation. Table 4 presents results for Duncan’s
multiple comparison tests, which indicate that the ad for “Marty’s” restaurant, the more
conspicuous, value-expressive service, generated more message-related thoughts (mean =
2.1) than did ‘*Phillips”’ photo processing, the less conspicuous, utilitarian service (mean =
1.1). In contrast, the Phillips’ photo processing ads generated more ad-related thoughts
(mean = 2.1) than Marty’s restaurant ads (mean = I .3).
Another round of coding cognitive responses involved identifying specific comments
relating to the illustration and senior discount. Responses related to patronage also were
identified in an attempt to ascertain (1) whether certain ads generated a greater number of
comments about the subject’s likelihood of patronizing the service firm and (2) whether
224 Journal of Retailing Vol. 73, No. 2 1997

TABLE
3

MANOVA Results-Cognitive Responses

Cognitive Response
Category Variable F p-value

Message-Related Thoughts 4.86 .003

Service 13.72 .ooo
Illustration 60 ,440
Discount .27 ,603

Ad-Related Thoughts 2.84 ,040

Service 7.38 ,007
Illustration .ll ,737
Discount 1.04 ,309

Service-Related Thoughts .86 .462

Service 1.24 .267
Illustration .15 ,703
Discount 1.20 .275

Other (Irrelevant) Thoughts 1.14 ,336

Service .I4 ,712
Illustration 2.48 ,118
Discount .80 ,372

TABLE
4

Cognitive Response Results-Duncan’s Comparisons

Service N Mean

Message-Related Thoughts
Restaurant 62 2.11”
Photo Processing 64 1.12h
Ad-Related Thoughts
Restaurant 62 1 .33a
Photo Processing 64 2.11b
alpha = .05, df = 122

Nole: *Means with different letters within a category are slgnificmtly different.

subjects explicitly attributed their patronage intentions to the models in the ads or men-
tion of the discount. As shown in Table 5, the nature of the cognitive responses varied
across the 2 x 2 x 2 factorial design. Total number of recorded thoughts is approximately
the same for the two services, but the pattern of responses differs. Subjects made some-
what more comments relating to the illustrations in the photo processing ads than in the
restaurant ads, although the same stock art with minor modifications (to reflect the two
different settings) was used in both. Restaurant produced more comments related to
patronage, with the restaurant ad containing both older models and mention of discount
generating the most (13).
Effects of Advertising on Younger Consumers 225

TABLE5

Frequency Tabulation of Cognitive Responses

Number of Responses Relating to
Ad Stimulus Illustration Discount Patronage A// Categories

Photo Processing
Young models, no discount 6 0 50
Young models, discount 6 4 1 47
Old models, no discount 8 - 1 63
Old models, discount 4 4 1 44
Total 24 8 3 204

Restaurant
Young models, no discount 9 2 49
Young models, discount 1 1 48
Old models, no discount 3 5 42
Old models, discount G 1 13 56
Total 19 2 21 195

DISCUSSION

The principle of similarity or congruence between advertising cues and intended audience
is rooted in early social psychological theories, for example, social comparison theory (Fes-
tinger, 1954; also, cf. Richins, 1991; Mills and Jellison, 196X), and is reflected in current
marketing, advertising, and consumer behavior literature. The present study produced
interesting results in that some findings do not appear altogether consistent with this prin-
ciple. The mention of a senior citizen discount appeared to have no effect for either the
(more conspicuous) restaurant or the (less conspicuous) photo processing store. Neither the
mention of a discount nor age of models appeared to affect attitudinal measures for either
service, suggesting that the inclusion of older-age cues in advertisements may have little
impact on attitudes toward the ad or service provider. In contrast, findings indicate patron-
age intentions for restaurant were sensitive to whether subjects would be accompanied by
same-age friends or older friends of the family. A plausible explanation is that use of the
older models (a more “vivid” cue than mention of an age-based discount) communicated to
subjects that the advertised service would not be an appropriate place to take friends. This
finding brings into question Greco’s (1988) contention that “age identification” may be less
of an issue for services such as hotels, travel, and vacations because one’s self-image is less
likely to be at stake. The lack of effects for patronage when accompanied by an older adult
suggests that behavioral norms vary across social situations-and can affect selection cri-
teria. Although self-congruity may be less, or even lacking, the similarity between the older
models and the younger person’s companion may lead to situational correspondence. That
is, the consumption context involving an older companion may cause the younger individ-
ual to adopt a different frame of reference when evaluating the ad content.
Although the effects of reference group influence were limited to patronage with same-
age friends, including the measure of consumer susceptibility to interpersonal influence did
226 Journal of Retailing Vol. 73, No. 2 1997

capture additional variance. Hence, in answer to the third research question, results indicate
that this factor moderates the relationships between the manipulated independent variables
and the dependent (attitudinal and intentions) variables. This finding bolsters the conten-
tion that perceived social norms governing service selection may differ across consumption
situations.
Analyses of cognitive response data produced insights into the quantitative results. Even
though the total number of responses was approximately the same for the two service types,
the ads for the more conspicuous, value-expressive service (full-service restaurant) pro-
duced more thoughts related to the advertising message, whereas the ads for the less con-
spicuous, utilitarian service (photo processing) generated more thoughts about the ad itself,
that is, executional aspects. In other words, it appears that subjects found the ad content for
restaurant more interesting than that for photo processing. Since the ads were very similar
in structure and content, it may be that subjects felt that the more conspicuous, value-
expressive service was inherently more interesting than the less conspicuous, utilitarian
service. If true, then some types of service retailers face a bigger challenge in creating ads
that hold the attention of their intended audience.
A close inspection of all illustration-related thoughts in the second round of cognitive-
response analyses revealed that those subjects exposed to the ads with older models tended
to refer to the models’ age, whereas comments of subjects exposed to ads depicting the
younger couple tended merely to reflect the presence of a visual. An analysis of the few
responses related to the mention of a senior citizen discount revealed that subjects holding
an opinion about the discount (as opposed to those simply acknowledging the discount)
tended to make positive comments like “it is nice.” The patronage-related responses pre-
dominantly pertained to the restaurant and were concentrated in the older models-discount
cell. An examination of these thirteen responses revealed that all would have negatively
affected patronage intentions. Typical of the statements are: “[I’m] not sure why they are
targeting the ‘old’,” “ [I] don’t necessarily want to dine with a lot of old people,” and “the
picture implies that you cater to older, mature audiences; personally I may not go for that
reason.” Three of the five patronage-related responses in the restaurant-older models-no
discount cell also reflected negative attitudes, for example, “it’s for old people.” It therefore
appears that the older models had a greater influence than mention of discount, but the two
age-related cues together contributed to explicit attributions in the cognitive responses
about target market and “who goes there.” Hence, the cognitive responses are consistent
with and help explain the service-by-illustration interactions and other findings from the
quantitative analyses. Cognitive response data do however suggest that subjects’ percep-
tions of the service firm (restaurant, in particular) were influenced by the illustration and
potentially by copy points, although attitude toward the service was not significant in the
quantitative analysis. What appears to be a contradiction may merely suggest that percep-
tions and attitudes are different concepts. That is, well-formed perceptions can possibly
lead to neutral (global) attitudes but positive or negative patronage intentions.
Results from both sets of analyses suggest that the explicit offer of a senior discount per
se may have little effect on young adults. The introduction of a different older-age cue
(models in the ads), however, did have an effect for the more conspicuous service. There-
fore, it may be that older persons generally represent a dissociative reference group in
selecting a provider of a more conspicuous, value-expressive service but an irrelevant
Effects of Advertising on Younger Consumers 227

group in the choice of a firm providing a less conspicuous, utilitarian service, which would
be consistent with relationships posited by Zinkhan and Hong (1991) and Solomon (1996).
The importance of the models depicted in advertising is further underscored by several
studies relating to the use of African-American actors. Results from early research were
mixed, even contradictory, but more recent research indicates that consumers are more
favorably disposed towards ads featuring actors of the same race as the audience (Qualls
and Moore, 1990). Most studies, however, have pertained to products (e.g., Whittler, 1991,
1989). Therefore, although the research findings support matching advertising models with
the targeted audience for various products and intuitively one would expect similar findings
for services, further investigation is needed. Moreover, no study has specifically addressed
effectiveness of different ethnic models in advertising for conspicuous versus inconspicu-
ous products or services. The results of the present study suggest that consumer sensitivity
to actors portrayed in advertising will vary, depending on conspicuousness of purchase and
consumption as well as on the consumption situation.
In addition to prior research on the effects of different ethnic models in advertising, the
importance of visual versus verbal stimuli in message communication is well-documented
(cf. Kisielius and Sternthal, 1984; Edell and Staelin, 1983; Mitchell and Olson, 1981). Of
relevance to the present study are Smith’s (1991) findings that visual ad claims appear to
dominate inference formation when they differ from verbal claims. That is, mention of a
senior citizen discount in the restaurant ad had no effect on the dependent measures when
the younger couple was depicted. However, cognitive response data indicated that when
older models were included-irrespective of mention of a senior citizen discount-subjects
tended to infer that the restaurant was “for older people.”

limitations

Some limitations to this study should be noted. The student subjects, albeit they were on
average older than traditional undergraduate students, are not necessarily representative of
all young adults. However, Englis and Solomon (1995) defend the use of college student
samples in asserting that the college student market is substantial, as this group spends $20
billion a year on goods and services. Indeed, many retailers and service firms near colleges
and universities specifically target students, and students may comprise a significant mar-
ket for some full-service restaurants and photo-processing retailers. Most important, if any
segment of the young adult market is negatively affected by older-age cues, then retail ser-
vice firms employing such informational cues in their advertising may fail to attract con-
sumers in a broad age range.
Another limitation is that only two services were tested, although they represent common
retail services and differ significantly on defining characteristics. Also, forced exposure of
mock print ads devoid of editorial context contributes to artificiality of the experimental
task, but at the same time avoids the possible confound of contextual effects (Norris and
Colman, 1992).
An informal review of the cognitive responses yielded another possible limitation. Four
subjects commented that Phillips’ photo processing was probably expensive, while ten
228 Journal of Retailing Vol. 73, No. 2 1997

made such an attribution to Marty’s restaurant, despite the explicit copy reference to
“decent” prices. Terms like “elegant” and “classy” also appeared among the restaurant
comments. It therefore appears that elements of the ads other than older-age cues influ-
enced perceptions of the restaurant, in particular, which may in turn have affected patron-
age intentions for a few student subjects. Nevertheless, because subjects were randomly
assigned to treatments, there is no reason to assume that subjects in one cell would have
been more sensitive to potential upscale cues than subjects in other cells. In other words,
statistical significance was obtained for patronage intentions, even though, overall, patron-
age intentions may have been slightly lower than if a different restaurant ad had been used.

Directions for Future Research

The number of studies relating to services advertising is growing, but considerably more
empirical work is needed to understand advertising’s influences on patronage decisions.
Further investigation into the effects of using older models or spokespeople is clearly war-
ranted. Also, the effects of other age-related cues in advertising copy should be studied.
Utilizing different types of retail stores or service firms, as well as sampling different pop-
ulations (including mature segments) and employing other media, is recommended. One
caveat is in order, however: according to Wolfe (1987), survey research has indicated that
older people are uncomfortable with such terms as “senior citizen” (despite its common
usage). Hence, if research is undertaken to assess both older and younger persons’ reactions
to age-related cues in advertising, choice of labels should be carefully considered, even
tested. Also, if restaurants, or other services in the hospitality industry, are selected for use
in future research, then pretesting patronage intentions for a more upscale and for a more
“middle-class” establishment should help in assessing the effect of restaurant image-
before other variables or manipulations are introduced.
Because perceptions and attitudes are two different concepts, including image profiles or
measures of belief structures, as well as global affective measures (such as Aserv used in the
present study), in future research should contribute to a better understanding of how adver-
tising specifically influences members of the target audience. That is, consumers may have
well-formed perceptions or beliefs about a retailer (e.g., “expensive,” “trendy”) that would
determine the likelihood of patronizing the store, even though the consumers may not hold
strong evaluative feelings such as the store is “good” or “bad,” “negative” or “positive.”
Although many researchers employ global attitudinal measures, using scales representing
the tripartite view of attitudes (e.g., Baker and Churchill, 1977) is likely to yield greater
insights into the effects of advertising.
Just as the present study demonstrates the relevance of the contingency hypothesis in
testing advertising effects (Holbrook and O’Shaughnessy 1984) at least one advertising
practitioner has called for more research investigating “how types of advertisements work
in types of circumstances” (McLaughlin et al., 1994). Based on the present study, whether
an individual is susceptible to the influence of relevant others appears to depend on service
conspicuousness and on who accompanies the individual. Therefore, future studies explor-
ing the susceptibility of individuals to the influence of relevant others should use products
Effects of Advertising on Younger Consumers 229

or services representing disparate points on the conspicuousness (alternatively the utilitar-

ian/ value-expressive or functional/hedonic) continuum and use consumption scenarios
involving different kinds of co-consumers or companions. Also, identifying which type of
reference group influence (e.g., informational, utilitarian, or value-expressive) appears to
be operating under different conditions would be important to further development of ref-
erence group theory.

IMPLICATIONSAND CONCLUSIONS

Perceptions of the clientele of a store or service provider make it more or less attractive to
customers. Indeed, “who goes there” may serve as a retail selection criterion. However,
judgements of “appropriateness” are likely to be more important for more conspicuous
forms of patronage or service consumption, suggesting that targeting consumers in a broad
age range is less risky for less conspicuous, utilitarian services,
Because the explicit offer of a senior citizen discount appears to have had no effect, the
findings of the current study seem consistent with the claim that senior discounting appears
at least to be publicly tolerated by younger adults (Gillett, Allen, and Fuller, 1995). The cur-
rent study does suggest, however, that some types of service providers may run the risk of
jeopardizing young adult patronage by including other age-related cues in their advertising.
For example, simply depicting older models may influence patronage intentions, because
the models may lead younger persons to infer that the establishment is targeting older con-
sumers and therefore is “not for me.” In the words of one subject, exposed to an advertise-
ment with the older couple but no mention of senior discount, “I thought this was a
restaurant for senior citizens and therefore would probably normally [have] read no fur-
ther.” Nevertheless, one cannot draw the simple conclusion that reference group influence
is greater in general for more conspicuous, value-expressive services. This study demon-
strated that situational variables, specifically the presence of others, can affect patronage
intentions. That is, judgements of appropriateness appear contingent on who accompanies
an individual.
Appealing to older consumers while not alienating younger segments is a concern of
many retail advertisers. In the absence of other information about a particular retail service
firm, consumers may use advertising as a source of social cues regarding their patronage
behavior. Portraying “typical consumers” is one way advertisers attempt to exert compar-
ative influence, but if the target audience cannot identify with the models in the ads then
the ads are less likely to achieve intended results. Although mention of a senior citizen dis-
count may have little or no effect on inference formation, depicting older persons in adver-
tising may negatively affect patronage by younger persons, especially for services that are
publicly consumed and involve co-consumers. Services such as a full-service restaurant
tested in the present study that can also be characterized as experiential, largely hedonic,
and a form of socializing may represent situations in which consumers are particularly sub-
ject to reference group influences or concerned with image conguity. For example, consum-
ers may be more sensitive to social comparison cues in the advertising for services in the
hospitality industry (e.g., restaurants, bars, hotels, resorts) and in the entertainment industry
230 Journal of Retailing Vol. 73, No. 2 1997

(e.g., theatres, nightclubs, amusement parks) than for more privately consumed utilitarian
services. Of course large national chains have advertising budgets that permit more precise
targeting through the use of specially created ads in specialized media; for instance, through
the use of both visual and verbal cues, McDonald’s targets older consumers with ads in
Modern Maturity. However, the local service firm may not have sufficient funds to support
separate advertising appeals, in which case depicting the interior of the establishment or its
product (e.g., cuisine) would be the safe alternative to depicting “typical customers” or pos-
sibly even customer-contact personnel.
Finally, this study seems to confirm that retail services advertising, at least in the absence
of other information, shapes perceptions of service firm image and consequently influences
patronage intentions. Indeed, consumers often form inferences about product or service
attributes for which no explicit claims are made in an ad (Smith, 1991). The results of the
present study reinforce prior research findings demonstrating the powerful effect of visual
stimuli on consumers’ responses to advertising. The fact that the older models in the Phil-
lips’ photo processing ad did not produce the same effects as the older models in the
Marty’s restaurant ad suggests that both service conspicuousness and consumption situa-
tion are relevant. That is, not only might consumers be seen in a restaurant by referent oth-
ers but also consumers share the experience with co-consumers. Not wanting to project the
“wrong” self-image or not wanting to share the consumption experience with dissimilar
others could discourage some consumers from patronizing a particular “conspicuous” ser-
vice. In contrast, because patronizing other types of service providers, for example, photo
processing and shoe repair, usually involves a brief visit and limited interation with others,
psychological and social risk would be minimal for most consumers.
The dramatic growth of the services marketing literature and present study notwithstand-
ing, retail services advertising remains underresearched. The present study does provide
insights into the effects of age-based advertising cues on younger consumers of retail ser-
vices, but further investigation of the complex relationships is clearly warranted. Under-
standing more fully how retail services advertising works and how it can be made more
effective is paramount, especially as the aging of the population spurs retailers to reevaluate
their target markets and advertising practices.

Acknowledgment: The authors thank the editor and reviewers for their helpful and constructive
comments on an earlier version of this paper. Also, the authors gratefully acknowledge the financial
support received by the second author in conjunction with the Media Research Club of Chicago’s
annual research award.

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