Consumers' emotional responses to the Christmas TV advertising of four retail brands

Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services 29 (2016) 82–91

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Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jretconser

Consumers' emotional responses to the Christmas TV advertising of four retail brands Joanna Cartwright n, Helen McCormick, Gary Warnaby School of Materials, The University of Manchester, Sackville Street Building, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PL, United States

art ic l e i nf o

a b s t r a c t

Article history: Received 6 August 2015 Received in revised form 6 November 2015 Accepted 6 November 2015

The aim of this paper is to analyse consumer perceptions of Christmas advertising and its impact on brand perception for four UK fashion retail brands. The research develops the Holbrook and Batra (1987) advertising communications model by taking into account the portrayal of advert content arising from the retailer's positioning and self-perception, and pre-existing brand attitudes, and how these shape consumer response to the brand. Findings include that prior brand attitudes do not necessarily affect consumers' attitude towards the advert; they are able, for example, to enjoy the advert but still dislike the brand. Practical and managerial implications are included. & 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Retail advertising Retailer brands Advertising emotional response Christmas

1. Introduction Consumers' emotional response to TV advertising is an established literature theme, with a corpus of research suggesting affect is critical in the way that consumers understand brand messages (e.g. Aaker et al., 1986; Batra and Ray, 1985; Biel and Bridgwater, 1990; Holbrook and Batra, 1987; Stout and Leckenby, 1986). Mehta and Purvis (2006) state that effective advertising should create appropriate affective responses critical in developing brand-consumer relationships. Research suggests that advertising constructed around emotional appeals is liked more (Stout and Leckenby, 1986), and is influential upon consumer decision-making processes (Holbrook and O'Shaughnessy, 1984), ultimately creating a more positive attitude towards advert and brand (Shimp, 1981). Well-liked advertising arguably increases memorability, and persuades consumers to use the product/brand (Keller et al., 2008). In particular, advertising using sentimental, feel-good, family situations can evoke ‘warm' feelings of love, belonging, family or friendship (Aaker and Bruzzone, 1981). Such positive emotions arguably have greater resonance at Christmas, which is a symbolic time of love, friendship and reconciliation (Clarke, 2007; Gurău and Tinson, 2003), and importantly, closely associated with gift giving (Fischer and Arnold, 1990; Otnes et al., 1993; Pandya and Venkatesh, 1992). Consequently for retailers, Christmas is characterised by high sales volumes (Gurău and Tinson, n

Corresponding author. E-mail addresses: [email protected] (J. Cartwright), [email protected] (H. McCormick), [email protected] (G. Warnaby). http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2015.11.001 0969-6989/& 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

2003), and is, therefore, ‘a central component of the retail calendar' (McKechnie and Tynan, 2006, p.131), and discussion of the seasonal retail ‘winners and losers' is a feature of media comment in the commercial post mortem occurring each New Year, with implications for wider perceptions of the brands concerned. Notwithstanding this, consumers' emotional responses to Christmas advertising-and implications for retailer brand perception-has been neglected in academic research. Related literature addresses the effects of Christmas advertising on children's gift requests (Buijzen and Valkenburg, 2000; Pine et al., 2007; Otnes et al., 1994 and Opree et al., 2014), but there appears to be no research relating specifically to perceptions of the products/brands in question, which in any case, are not retail-related. This paper analyses consumer perception of Christmas advertising and its impact on brand perception for four contrasting retail brands in the UK; Marks and Spencer (M&S), the John Lewis Partnership (JLP), TK Maxx and Matalan. The paper begins by reviewing literature on consumer response to advertising messages and retail brand advertising, and introduces the conceptual framework for the study. The qualitative research design is outlined, before analysing consumers' perceptions of the adverts themselves and their impact on brand perceptions of the four retailers. The paper concludes by discussing implications, and advances an agenda for future research.

2. Literature review 2.1. Consumer emotional responses to advertisements Audience response to advertising has been extensively researched (see Batra and Stephens, 1994; Percy and Rossiter, 1992; Stout and

J. Cartwright et al. / Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services 29 (2016) 82–91

Leckenby, 1986). Specific responses will depend on the nature of the advertising appeal, and emotional appeals are one of a range of different types (see Allan, 2008; Klein, 2013). Well-made and original emotionally appealing adverts are more likely to produce higher brand and message recall (Friestad and Thorson, 1986), and cut through media clutter (Mai and Schoeller, 2009). Hazlett and Hazlett (1999) demonstrate that a well-crafted emotional advert can change brand attitudes (see also Holbrook and O'Shaughnessy,1984). Arguably, the primary aim of emotional advertising is to create connections between product/brand and customer (Biel and Bridgwater, 1990; Schmitt, 1999). Television remains the strongest medium for emotional appeals (Clow, 2007; Heath, 2009). One particular emotional expression frequently used to engage TV viewers is nostalgia, relating to an individual's warm feelings about past experience, and reminiscence (Holak and Havlena, 1998). Stern outlines a broad approach to creating adverts that stimulate nostalgic response, noting that ‘idealised memories' (Stern, 1992, p.13) play a critical role in eliciting the positive responses that are important in attitude formation towards advert and brand (Burnkrant and Unnava, 1995). According to Muehling and Pascal (2011), the ability to portray situations that create nostalgia is an important success factor. Christmas is a time renowned for nostalgia (Hall, 2014; Holak and Havlena, 1992) and is therefore an appropriate occasion to use this approach, particularly with regard to retail brands. 2.2. Retail brand advertising A retail brand identifies a retailer's goods and services and differentiates them from competitors, (Keller, 2003), and brand equity is created when marketing/promotional activity attracts a more favourable response from consumers than for other retail brands (McGoldrick, 2002). Retail brand image is also affected by offering manufacturer brands in stores, as this can encourage ‘consumer interest, patronage, and loyalty' (Ailawadi and Keller, 2004, p.4), in that these brands can enhance retailer image and build credibility, further contributing to brand positioning. This relates directly to the retailers in this study, as they sell either manufacturer brands and/or own-brand goods (and in the case of M&S and JLP, very strong own-brands). McGoldrick (2002) states that, for retailers, marketing communications objectives should be: to increase expenditure from existing customers; increase store traffic; increase product sales; and develop store image. Additionally, Keller suggests these objectives also incorporate, ‘building brand equity, creating favourable attitudes towards the brand and maintaining the strength of unique brand association' (Keller, 2008, p.53). Hirschman and Holbrook (1982) state that advertising seeks to gain an affective or emotional consumer reaction, and uses imagery/appeals that deliver the desired self-image and attractiveness (with ensuing emotional gratification), and that this can be displayed through clothing, which is the main product category sold by the retailers studied here. Clothing is a high-involvement product (Solomon and Rabolt, 2006), that can reflect social status, personality and aspirations. Thus, fashion advertising uses visual imagery to present products in idealistic settings (Solomon et al., 2010) and implying that buying/wearing these garments achieves desirable outcomes. However, Kim (2000) notes that little is known about consumers' reactions to fashion-related advertisements. Such research has tended to focus on press advertising (see Kim, 2000; Oh, 2005), and has not focused on retailers' brands specifically. This study aims to address these lacunae by analysing emotional responses to TV advertising by fashion-oriented retail brands at a crucial period of the year.

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2.3. Conceptual framework Given the aim of analysing consumer emotional responses to particular adverts, this study draws on theory relating to ‘attitude towards the ad' 1 (AAD) , whose importance to formation of brand attitude has been attested by Mehta, (1994) and Gresham and Shimp, (1985). Heath, (2009) suggests that AAD is vital for the emotionally biased appeals prevalent in TV advertising. Moreover, consumers' ‘liking' of an advert is a key element in determining how well it increases sales (Biel and Bridgwater, 1990). Holbrook and Batra (1987) utilised an aggregated communications model to demonstrate the role that emotional response plays as the key intermediary between advertising content and attitude towards advert and brand. Thus, advert content affects the consumer's emotional response to the advert (P1), which affects attitude towards the advert (P2), and in turn, affects attitude towards the brand (P3), as shown in Fig. 1. Studies of AAD and emotional response were developed in the 1980's in an attempt to assess attitude to the advert and resulting brand attitude, in a period when quantitative studies dominated research in this area (Höijer, 2008). The communication model was used to summarise this work and assumes a sequential track from advert content to brand attitude, and included the intervening factor of emotional response to the advert as a new area of study. Research of this nature has been criticised (see Kim-Shyan Fam, 2008): studies were often conducted with students who are deemed to have a more emotional response; and adverts were purposively selected for the research, leading to potential bias. The research focused on the adverts themselves, and not peoples' response to them. Furthermore, using predetermined emotional adjectives to describe feelings towards the adverts in question restricted respondents in their answers. Since this time, notwithstanding a greater emphasis on emotional advertising (Bold, 2014), focus on such research appears to have declined. But, given the fact that TV advertising is still important in the UK media landscape, and that for retailers, ‘The battle to “own” Christmas is the toughest fought and most missioncritical one of the year' (Collins, 2014), a deeper understanding of consumer's emotional response to advertising at a critical time in the retail calendar is valuable, as it is often when brand building can be reinforced in the minds of consumers (Chala, 2015).

3. Research design This study uses a two stage qualitative approach to examine emotional responses to the adverts shown, why they arise, and how they impact on respondents' feelings, attitude towards the advert and attitude towards the brand. The selection of retail brands whose Christmas adverts were the subject of analysis (see Appendix 1 for background information on retailers) was informed by: (1) Position in the Retail Week top 500 retailers (i.e. established brands, and therefore recognisable to respondents); (2) Targeting of women aged 18–45 (i.e. a broad shopper profile, selling general merchandise for the family). (3) Use of mass media to reach their target audience, with TV advertising featuring media activities to some degree. Retailers featured spent between 13–43% of their marketing communications spend on TV advertising. 1 In the original Holbrook and Batra (1987) paper Attitude towards the Advert was expressed as an equation ,AAD.

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Table 1 Focus group respondent demographics.

Advert Content

Age range

No. of groups

Total respondents

18–24 25–34 35þ Total

2 2 2 6

8 8 7 23

(4) Implementation of a themed TV advertising campaign, on air for the Christmas period (i.e. Nov–Dec 2011 – See Appendix 2 for the description of adverts under study).

P1

P1

Emotional Response

P2

Attitude towards the Advert

P3

Attitude towards the Brand Fig. 1. Conceptual framework adapted from Holbrook and Batra's (1987) Communications Model.

Six semi-structured focus groups were conducted with women aged 18–45. The number of focus groups undertaken exceeds Morgan's (1997) recommend minimum of three in order to achieve construct validity. Further demographic details of the respondents (23 in total) are provided in Table 1. Following Ebren and Çelik, (2011), the data collection process was completed in two stages: (1) an initial individual written form of data capture to record emotional response and attitude towards the advert; and (2) mini focus groups to further discuss and develop the initial written comments. This method of data collection enhances credibility (Roberts and Priest, 2010). The first stage required the respondents to watch each TV advert, and complete a data collection form, with questions adapted from Biel and Bridgwater, (1990) probing emotional response. This identified adjectives articulated in response to each advert. Two adjectives were requested. This provided a clear way to respond, allowing a degree of privacy and thereby overcoming potential difficulty in expressing true feelings, especially if different to other group members (Morgan, 1998). A summative content analysis was undertaken, identifying and quantifying adjectives and emotional responses in order to identify the frequency of specific words. The second stage involved respondents' participation in mini focus groups to further discuss issues relating to emotional responses. Questions were structured as follows: (1) “For each TV advert that is shown, I would like to understand in more detail the thoughts and feelings that have been evoked by the TV advert” (Stout and Rust, 1993; Stout and Leckenby, 1986); (2) “How did you feel when you were watching the TV advert for [the retailer]” (adapted from Biel and Bridgwater, 1990); (3) “Thinking about the advert as a whole, how do you feel towards to the TV advert, did you like the TV advert”. Probe why/why not? (Adapted from Biel and Bridgwater,1990); (4) “Now that you have seen this advert, how do you feel about the brand?” (Adapted from Holbrook and Batra,1987). This enabled deeper motives behind the initial emotional responses to be identified and discussed. Respondents were able to elaborate on their feelings within the broader context of discussion within the mini focus groups without difficulty (Heary and Hennessy, 2002). The resulting thematic analysis, whereby data were coded (Miles and Huberman, 1994), was an immersive process (Kellehear, 1993), seeking to understand perceptions and understanding of the adverts. The research was carried out in close proximity to the launch of the Christmas adverts. However this was an investigative qualitative study and not a controlled experiment, therefore previous viewing of the advert was not a constraint.

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4. Findings 4.1. Emotional responses to the adverts The first stage elicited a range of adjectives used by respondents to summarise their initial emotional response to the adverts. Using a content analysis approach (Bell and Bryman, 2007; Krippendorff, 2004; Zhang and Wildemuth, 2009), the most frequently used adjectives are given in Table 2. The comparison between the emotional responses given in this study and those identified by Holbrook and Batra (1987) shows some similar emotions recorded (i.e. happy, sad, excited, annoyed). However, numerous additional emotional adjectives were identified (e.g. nostalgic, festive, warm, sentimental, intrigued), perhaps more relevant to the particular time of year and category of advert. Table 2 shows a variety of emotional response to the four adverts, with Matalan eliciting most instances of respondents feeling happy, closely followed by JLP. TK Maxx on the other hand drew the highest number of indifferent responses, with remaining responses split between like and dislike, thereby generating a somewhat unclear picture of how the advert was received and how respondents really felt when they watched it. The M&S advert divided opinion, with some respondents saying it made them happy, some annoyed and disappointed. ‘Warm' and 'happy''featured on the positive response list but they were lower than would be expected for M&S, given its brand values and heritage (Gill and Broderick, 2014). 4.2. Attitudes toward the individual adverts and brands 4.2.1. Matalan The family imagery resulted in an overall positive emotional response, with adjectives such as 'warm', ‘hopeful' and ‘nostalgic' Table 2 Summary of advert liking and Emotional Response by Retail Brand. Matalan

T K Maxx

M&S

JLP

Total

14 5 4

7 7 9

10 9 4

23 0 0

– – –

POSITIVE Happy Warm Nostalgic/reminiscent Excited/upbeat Festive/Christmassy Touched/sentimental Emotional Intrigued Lively/fun Relaxed Hopeful Surprised Satisfied Joyous

10 8 3 5 4 2 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 0

3 0 0 1 3 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 0

6 7 3 3 2 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0

9 5 6 2 1 2 5 5 0 0 1 1 2 2

28 20 12 11 10 7 5 5 4 2 2 2 2 2

NEGATIVE Confused/unsure Nothing Annoyed Disappointed Sad Ill Angry Bored Irritated

1 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 0

0 7 1 0 0 0 0 1 1

6 0 4 4 0 1 2 1 1

3 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 0

10 9 5 4 4 2 2 2 2

Like (Yes) Like (No) Like (Indifferent) Emotions

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cited. Many related to the togetherness across different generations that the imagery created. However some respondents reacted negatively to the type of family that might wear Matalan clothing and they consequently found it difficult to connect to the advert. The featured music (Set You Free by N-trance) divided opinion-for many, the song made respondents feel relaxed and nostalgic, although not all respondents agreed that the song was a good fit with the advert. The use of snow and the snow globe created a Christmas atmosphere and was deemed to induce a feeling of calm. Despite the overall positive response to the advert, the actual products featured created an overall feeling of negativity, relating to quality and fabric. This impacted upon liking of the advert as it was felt that the cheap product shown reflected the brand. The emotional response towards the advert, whilst generally positive (suggesting that Matalan have developed a creative treatment with appeal to a wide range of consumers), demonstrated that beneath the surface many respondents held a deepseated dislike of the brand. It was evident from many respondents' comments that Matalan are perceived as a cheap, down-market retailer and the advert could not overcome this, supporting Biel and Bridgwater (1990) who argue that liking an advert does not necessarily lead to purchase, or liking the product. In the context of the advert, Matalan's heritage as a discount retailer was confusing, and the image of warehouse trading and membership cards that were the foundation of Matalan still lingered in the minds of respondents, and influenced reaction to the brand. A key part of retail brand image is the product sold (Davies, 1992) and some products featured were perceived to be cheap and poor quality; in particular, party wear (a Christmas staple of retail assortments), which was universally criticised. More positive comments about possible store visits were confined to mothers with children in the 35þ age categories: for this group of respondents Matalan was viewed as a potential additional shopping destination. Consumers are often knowledgeable about advertising (Calfee and Ringold, 1994) and aware of the techniques used, and respondents noticed that Matalan had copied some creative treatments previously used by other retailers such as M&S and JLP. Many respondents were disappointed when the Matalan name was revealed at the end of the advert, indicating lack of brand congruence from this more aspirational targeting strategy to reach beyond its core target demographic. Overall, there was a high incidence of prior negative attitude towards the Matalan brand that the advert could not overcome. 4.2.2. TK Maxx Three key aspects of the TK Maxx advert highlighted by respondents were the voiceover, use of a pantomime, and music. This resulted in a portrayal of Christmas cited by some as being motivational, but others had difficulty in attaching meaningful emotional responses to the content. The voiceover was the first element evident at the very beginning, prior to the visuals. It was deemed to contain too much information and was felt to be too obvious and unnecessary, thereby spoiling the advert. Those irritated by the voiceover (which emphasised the discounts available) felt that the message was incongruous with the Christmas season. The pantomime-style approach divided opinion–some respondents were irritated, and for others it caused confusion as other retailers (e.g. supermarket J. Sainsbury), had used a similar approach. The music (Cool Yule by Louis Armstrong) dominated focus group discussions, with respondents stating that it made them feel happy, uplifted, and cheery. Indeed, it was the key element of the advert that engaged them, although it irritated a minority. Attitudes toward the advert were almost equally split. The

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main reasons given were that the advert was uninspiring, reinforcing that the TK Maxx offer is all about price. Respondents across all age groups were accepting of this approach, although did not necessarily feel it was relevant to them, and consequently felt little emotional response. Positive responses came from TK Maxx brand advocates, and for them the advert served as a reminder, and made some feel lively and responsive. The product and price was highlighted by many, and motivated a discussion about the appropriateness of shopping at discount stores for Christmas gifts. It was felt to be informative as a message and was consistent with the TK Maxx proposition. However, it seemed that the advert was unlikely to create many converts to the brand. Despite the fact that the advert did not elicit much emotional response, it seemed effective in terms of making respondents already well-disposed towards the brand want to visit the store, and also as a brand reminder. For respondents with negative perception and a prior dislike of the TK Maxx experience, opinions focused on the fact that the product was discounted and availability of product was not guaranteed. Overall, the analysis indicated that the advert content was judged to be essentially representative of the brand; as one respondent noted, “A functional advert for a functional brand”. 4.2.3. Marks and Spencer (M&S) M&S have had a strong history of creating engaging and entertaining Christmas advertising over the last decade. The family scenes in this year's advert were well received and elicited strong emotional responses, with respondents feeling sentimental, Christmassy, and warm, providing a sense of anticipation and excitement. However, these positive emotions were counterbalanced by the more negative reaction to the use of ‘The X Factor' contestants who sang the song accompanying the visuals2. This provoked much discussion, not necessarily about the song chosen (When You Wish Upon a Star–which was well-received), but about who was singing it. Moreover, because M&S is well-loved and has such strong brand equity (Gill and Broderick, 2014), respondents wanted to see more products and more scenes specifically about the company. The overall impression of the advert seemed to be one of disappointment. Respondents used very emotive terms such as “shocked” and “disappointed” to describe how they felt about the brand in relation to this partnership with The X Factor. However, brand resilience was evident in that most respondents regarded this as an isolated mistake, which did not impact too negatively on brand perception, and that the company would be forgiven, but that they “Need to pick themselves up”. More concerning perhaps was the fact that respondents who were the company's core target audience felt that it was abandoning them, to reach out to younger customers (a theme of wider media comment-see for example, Orr, 2011). This issue was later acknowledged by the company (mands. com, 2012). 4.2.4. John Lewis Partnership (JLP) Discussion of emotional response centred on music used and family portrayal. The music–similar in style and treatment to previous JLP adverts (namely, a well-known song in a slower tempo and changed style)-elicited a strong emotional response, with respondents stating that it made them “tearful” and “sad”, but “happy”. The use of a “normal” everyday family, in a “normal” house, had great appeal to respondents who consequently were able to relate to the advert (Baker and Kennedy, 1994). This was 2 The X Factor is a TV talent search programme aimed at younger audiences, and housewives with children. It seeks to find as yet undiscovered talent from a pool of unknown applicants. It forms a key part of the main UK commercial TV channel's Autumn Saturday night schedule.

especially true of the featured boy, who created strong emotional reactions, particularly among the 35þ group, many of whom had children of similar age. Among respondents, emotional reaction was overwhelmingly positive, with all 23 respondents stating that they liked, and in some cases “loved” the advert. Respondents enjoyed being taken through the story, reporting that the advert moved them from feeling “sad” and “intrigued” to “happy”. Overall, attitudes towards the boy were positive, although did appear at times to be based around sadness and tearfulness; some respondents reported feeling “emotional” and “overwhelmed”. Much of this, when further interrogated, was driven by a raw emotional response to the character. Thus, whilst respondents described their emotional response as tearful, they linked this to the fact that they “Love the little boy”, and where they claimed to feel overwhelmed, this was linked to the emotional content of the advert which in turn related to the boy. Overall the emotional response was very positive, and this linked to a positive brand attitude. Some respondents alluded to the fact that the advert was almost a reward for customers, as it is so enjoyable. The advert enhanced the positive brand image that JLP already enjoyed, especially among respondents aged 35þ. Indeed, respondents in both 25–34 and 35þ groups would be encouraged to visit the store.

5. Discussion This research has uncovered rich information about how consumers respond to Christmas TV advertising by retailers. A picture for each retailer has been developed and discussed and the discussion below focuses on overarching key themes and influencing factors that have emerged from the research, and the theoretical implications, in terms of the theory relating to AAd and brands. 5.1. The Retail Christmas Communications Environment The Christmas communications environment, which includes clutter and large retailer dominance, has been identified as a factor that has influenced attitudes towards Christmas advertising. Consumers see up to 5000 messages a day and are constantly bombarded by promotional efforts and this “cluttering” of media channels is defined by Ha and Litman (1997) as the ‘amount of advertising space in a medium'. Zhao (1997) states that the effect of clutter can be a lowering of attention levels, impediment of recall of the advertisement and impact upon consumer's cognitive response. This is exacerbated at Christmas, when retailers compete even more intensely to attract customers. Cutting through this clutter is, therefore, critical and the success or otherwise of advertising depends partly on its ability to do this. Memorability is also critical, and JLP was cited as the most memorable advert of the four, having succeeded in cutting through the broad array of Christmas advertising. This is partly due to the quality of the advert production and the detail and relevance to the target audience. The investment by JLP into the advert of around d6 m appears to be fully justified by the d600 m sales generated by the campaign (johnlewis.com). The previous dominance of M&S and attention given to their Christmas advertising has created an expectation that they will “deliver” Christmas to consumers through their advertising (particularly among M&S's core demographic target market of the 35þ age groups). Many anticipate the M&S advert, as a signal of the build-up to Christmas and the previous use of celebrities in Christmas advertising campaigns have been acknowledged as critical to their sales success (mands.com 2011). However this research signalled a high level of disappointment with M&S, which allowed JLP to move into a very strong position in the battle for

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Christmas in 2011. This is not to say that JLP will always dominate Christmas advertising. Indeed the configuration of retail 'winners' and 'losers' may change every year. This situation could be viewed as quite specific to retailing, and one that requires further research with a longitudinal perspective. 5.2. Pre-existing attitudes towards the retail brand The effect of prior brand experience on attitude towards the brand is significant (Machleit and Wilson, 1988), and evident in this study. Prior brand attitude, where brand familiarity was high, is shown to have greater impact on the response to the advert and attitude towards the advert, than when prior brand attitude and knowledge were low. Whilst Matalan delivered a very effective Christmas advert that encouraged feelings of warmth and nostalgia, the deep seated dislike of the Matalan brand among respondents was evident, and the advert did not succeed in counteracting this. This conflicts with the findings of Walker and Dubitsky (1994) who found that likeable advertising encourages usage. Moreover, Hazlett and Hazlett's (1999) view that well-made emotional adverts can change brand attitudes is also contradicted by the Matalan results. Conversely, prior brand experience for JLP was overwhelmingly positive, with some respondents claiming to look forward to viewing the advert. Whether this can be maintained over time will be decided by the response to subsequent JLP Christmas adverts, and those of their competitors. This JLP advert was executed in an exemplary way demonstrating to other retailers the importance of increased memorability and persuasion in terms of propensity to use the retailer (Keller et al., 2008; Walker and Dubitsky, 1994). 5.3. Retailer advertising objectives Advertising performs a number of key communications functions for businesses, including, informing, persuading and reminding consumers (Ambler, 2000). Taking an approach of either reinforcing or attempting to change brand image at Christmas time, it is evident where these adverts have been successful or not. If for retailers, Christmas TV advertising is an important means of communicating brand identity and values at a crucial time of year, then this means of marketing communication is a key factor in building strong retail brands. Clearly, effective and successful advertising is able to communicate the essence of the brand in a way that is believable, credible and relevant for consumers, and especially when done consistently over time (Keller et al., 2011). The example of JLP showed how even to those less familiar with the brand, the attitude formed from viewing the advert was very positive. It also reinforced the positioning of the JLP brand, consistent with more general findings by Moorthy and Zhao (2000) relating to advertising and perceived brand quality. For some respondents, watching the advert definitely created an immediate sense of wanting to go to a JLP store. Critical to achieving realistic advertising objectives is brand congruency. 5.4. Brand congruency Where it is clear that retailers were aiming to communicate a changing brand image, in the cases of both Matalan and M&S the reaction to these adverts demonstrated a lack of congruency between advert content and brand identity and image. Nandan (2005) highlights that misalignment between a company's true brand identity and the image portrayed and received by consumers is damaging. Matalan was deemed to be portraying an image that simply was not perceived as realistic, and when the brand was not revealed until the end of the advert, respondents were disappointed to discover who the retailer was. M&S, in its

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use of The X Factor contestants, chose minor celebrities who lacked credibility to represent a strong and heritage-rich brand. Respondents felt that M&S had almost demeaned itself by partnering with celebrities who were incompatible and chosen without due consideration to the effect on the brand (Erdogan and Kitchen, 1998; Pradhan et al., 2014). Attitudes to TK Maxx were essentially neutral, and whilst the advert represented brand congruence and performed the role of reminder for TK Maxx brand shoppers and advocates (Shimp and Andrews, 2013), it did not have a strong emotional effect on respondents, nor did it appear to be able to attract new shoppers to the brand. John Lewis emerged from this research as the only retailer to have produced a TV advert that fully reflected the brand and its values; that engaged consumers in a non-materialistic, emotional way, and that made participants feel nostalgic, excited and joyful at the prospect of Christmas. This resonates with the work of Stout and Leckenby (1986) in terms of how beneficial and positive a strategy this can be. Participants loved the advert, as many consumers love the JLP brand, and the halo effect of this high quality advertising enhanced the brand significantly, leading to increased sales and ever rising fortunes with sales increasing by 9.3% year on year in the five weeks up to December 2011. 5.5. Advert content Relevance of content to the target consumer is paramount and evidence of success in this aspect came from the response to the JLP advert. The realism displayed throughout drew respondents into the advert, and created nostalgia (often acknowledged with reference to respondents' own childhoods), and such evocation of memories is, it has been argued, critical to success of adverts (Stern, 1992). Indeed, of the four adverts, this was the only one which created this strength of response, perhaps best summed up by one respondent who commented, “You love your sons just a little bit more when you have watched this”. In this context, relevance is critical, and it is important that viewers can relate with key elements of the advert (Puto and Hoyer, 1990). Music also emerged as a critical consideration in terms of the advert content. Indeed song choice is critical (Bozman et al., 2011); and has a strong impact on emotional response (Alpert and Alpert, 1990), and found to be successful in creating positive brand attitudes if the music choice is appropriate (Stout and Leckenby, 1988). Celebrity choice especially in the case of the M&S advert was debated at length; indeed, the use of The X Factor contestants provoked heated discussion and strong emotional responses. Although some respondents liked The X Factor as a show and thought the inclusion of the contestants was acceptable, many more were dismayed, resulting in some strong emotional reactions: hate, confusion, and disappointment. Undoubtedly these would not be the responses that M&S would have anticipated or desired. Many respondents bemoaned the absence of previouslyused celebrities–who were cited as being “normal” celebrities, and were deemed accessible and engaging as well as inspiring–a critical factor in brand endorsement (McCracken, 1989). It is evident that the almost universal condemnation among respondents of M&S's association with The X Factor impacted upon attitude towards the brand, with some respondents, stating that M&S did not need to take this overly-popularist approach. Christmas was cited as fundamental to the underpinning of all of the advert content. 5.6. Emotional response The intervening emotional response to the advert appears to play an important role in both liking of the advert and the potential transfer of this to the brand (Holbrook and Batra, 1987a). This is not however always substantiated, and positive emotional

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responses do not always transfer to the brand. The evidence from the response to the JLP advert clearly demonstrates this to be the case; however the converse is true of the Matalan advert. 5.7. Attitude towards the advert and brand–advert liking Previous research suggests that advertising constructed around emotional appeals is liked more than other types of advertising (Stout and Leckenby, 1986), and is influential upon consumer decision-making processes (Holbrook and O'Shaughnessy, 1984), ultimately creating a more positive attitude towards advert and brand (Shimp, 1981). From this study, well-liked advertising does appear to increase memorability, and can persuade consumers to visit the store or engage with the brand (Keller et al., 2008). Whilst Fam (2006) identified three significant aspects of

likeability–‘entertaining', ‘warmth' and ‘relevant to me' (similar to Biel and Bridgewater, 1990) and these were all highlighted in this study, the key factor that influenced likeability was the element of festivity, whether conveyed through music, family setting, or winter scenes. Therefore a positive emotional response driven by a relevant advert with a meaningful portrayal of Christmas appears to be the critical combination to a successful advert at this time of year. The model, shown in Fig. 2, more explicitly takes into account the fact that the portrayal of the advert content will be influenced by the retailer's pre-existing positioning and self-perception. The model also takes into account the influence of pre-existing brand attitudes from the consumer perspective and how these many also shape a particular response to the brand. The linear approach taken by Holbrook and Batra (1987) is

Fig. 2. Revised Model of Consumer Response to Christmas TV Advertising.

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replaced by a more complex flow of behaviour that demonstrates the interplay between advert content and the emotional response that it elicits, and the backwards and forwards flow of response to both the advert and the brand as a subsequent effect of this. Indeed, this research suggests a more nuanced approach to AAd , as prior brand attitudes can affect consumers' attitude towards the advert in various ways; thus for example, consumers are able for example to enjoy the advert but still dislike the brand, and vice versa. This is contextualised within the Christmas communications external environment which is a crowded and sometimes confusing arena for consumers.

6.2. TK Maxx

6. Conclusion

6.3. Marks and Spencer

From the results of this study it has been possible to examine and address some underlying weaknesses in the original Holbrook and Batra (1987) communications model (Fig. 1). The Holbrook and Batra (1987) approach was of its time, being an experimental research design, and in its linear approach, arguably does not fully consider the effect of other influencing factors such as pre-existing brand attitudes. There is a body of qualitative research carried out in the field of advertising, in particular relating to both cultural studies of and children's responses to TV advertising, (Fam and Waller, 2006, Oates et al., 2003). Given the benefits that are evidenced by a greater understanding of response and a deeper exploration of feelings (Höijer, 2008), qualitative research, usually in the form of focus groups, is also used within the advertising industry for advertising campaign development (Reed and Payton, 1997). The qualitative approach of this study generates rich data and seeks to understand the impact of prior brand knowledge and experience on attitude towards the advert and the brand among people constituting the core audience of the retailers in question. This research has shown the potential for further qualitative work in this area from a longitudinal perspective, for example in examining the change of the retailer's approach over time and the nature and extent of a feedback loop that may influence a retailer's approach to advert content etc., and moreover, the interplay between retailer and consumer perceptions of the advertising in question. Such an approach could also be used in other product categories and contexts. This research is specifically focused on Christmas, where there is an expectation of tugging on the heart strings; a deliberate intention to elicit emotional response. Thus, it is a snapshot in time, but the relationship of brands and advertising is a dynamic one, which perhaps suggests that such longitudinal studies, with an extended examination of the cumulative impact of advertising on consumers' perceptions of the brands concerned, is a fruitful area for further research.

Marks and Spencer is a general merchandiser, offering a number of sub-brands to target a wide consumer demographic. It is a multichannel retailer, recently launching a new look website and transactional app. Marks and Spencer has 798 stores in the UK and its business is split between general merchandise, womenswear, menswear, childrenswear, footwear and home (45% of their turnover), and also food (55% of their turnover). For further information regarding Mark and Spencer visit www.marksand spencer.com.

Appendix 1. Retailers under study 6.1. Matalan Matalan is a multichannel value retailer, selling clothing and homewares instore and online. Matalan has situated itself as a low cost, value retailer, by operating on lower margins by situating in large warehouse style store formats in convenient out of town location; with an average 30,000 sq. ft per store. Due to its large store format Matalan offers a broad range of merchandise including homeware, ladies', mens' and childrens' clothing and footwear. The product range offered uses a ‘good, better, best' pricing architecture, offering a choice of own-brands and branded goods. For further information regarding Matalan visit www.ma talan.co.uk.

TK Maxx sells an assortment of brand-name and designer merchandise at discounted prices which are generally 20–60% below regular store prices. TK Maxx's trademark of “big labels, small prices” is appealing to a broad customer demographic, offering a rapidly changing assortment in womenswear, menswear, childrenswear, footwear and homeware. An average TK Maxx store stocks around 50,000 items with daily deliveries. TK Maxx is currently trying to drive sales by developing its ecommerce platform in order to reach a wider customer demographic. For further information regarding TK Maxx visit www.tkmaxx.com.

6.4. John Lewis John Lewis is a department store selling homeware, ladieswear, menswear, childrenswear and footwear. The company has developed it multichannel strategy over the past few years launching a successful transaction website. The company has focused on developing its product range, becoming more fashion focused offering both own-branded and branded merchandise that appeals to a wide consumer demographic. John Lewis has a “never knowingly undersold price promise” which has underpinned its success during the downturn in the UK. For further information regarding John Lewis visit www.johnlewis.co.uk.

Appendix 2. TV Advertisements under study 6.5. Matalan Christmas advert 2011 (available at http://youtu.be/ cFN3LUPe5XA) The advert strapline is “Something special for everyone this Christmas at Matalan” and it features products from ladies wear, menswear, childrens wear and homewares, particularly focusing on party wear for Christmas. The advert focuses on typical Christmas festivities such as opening presents on Christmas day, sledging, and a Christmas party. The advert called ‘snowglobes' is filmed inside a snowglobe, so as the scenes change, the characters float and rise and fall through the air, as if the globe is being shaken. The music is a recut of the 90 s track Set You Free by N-trance. 6.6. TK Maxx Christmas advert 2011 (available at http://www.you tube.com/watch?v ¼pQTe9lcMMiU) The TK Maxx advert starts with a child putting a star on a Christmas tree and a voiceover promoting up to 60% savings off gifts. It moves into an upbeat soundtrack; Cool Yule by Louis Armstrong with dancing adults and children. Highly choreographed and very stylish and cool in execution; all are dressed and accessorised in beautiful party clothes. Symbols of Christmas abound; namely large stockings filled with gifts, snow and presents wrapped in red paper. The dance sequence ends with

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dancers coming to a standstill with partners and the words ‘Big Christmas small prices' completes the advert and the T K Maxx logo fills the screen on a red background. 6.7. Marks and Spencer Christmas advert 2011 (available at http:// youtu.be/b9wc_m7kSYM) The advert features the final contestants from the UK X factor. The campaign ran during when x factor was aired and the advert was continually edited in the run-up to the final, highlighting the remaining contestants. The contestants sang a line each from When You Wish Upon a Star, which was an original song written for Walt Disney's 1940 adaptation of Pinocchio. In-between showcasing the X factor contestants, different generations where seen unwrapping presents, and the strapline for the advert said “may all of your Christmas dreams come true”. This was a different strategy for M&S, having used British celebrities and models within the Christmas adverts during previous years. 6.8. John Lewis Partnership Christmas advert 2011 (available at http://youtu.be/pSLOnR1s74o) The advert features a boy, waiting for Christmas. The boy is reluctant to play or eat and is counting down the days until Christmas day. His parents begin to get frustrated with his impatience. He eagerly dashes to bed on the eve of Christmas, and when Christmas morning comes the boy wakes happy, runs past his own presents, and rushes to give his parents a Christmas present that he has bought. The strapline for the advert says “For gifts you can't wait to give”. The music track is Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want by The Smiths, performed by singersongwriter Slow Moving Millie. It was first aired on facebook and YouTube and then on the television during the X factor. The advert generated a lot of hits on youtube the week before it was aired and was shared and discussed on many social media forums. The advert called “The Long Wait” is engaging on an emotional level, filmed in a very ordinary/ typical family house, many families in the UK could relate to it.

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