Suchergebnisse

A content analysis was conducted to examine the portrayal of beauty types and occupational roles of female figures in magazine advertisements. A systematic random sample of 215 advertisements from a popular lifestyle magazine in Hong Kong was analyzed. Results provide evidence of gender role stereotypes. Two thirds of the advertisements adopted classic/feminine beauty type. The other two common beauty types were sex kitten and casual. Over-representation of Caucasian models was found as one-third of the female figures were Caucasian and other minorities. Caucasian models were more likely to be portrayed in trendy beauty type. Over half of the advertisements portrayed females in decorative roles and thirty percent portrayed females as celebrities. Recreational roles and professional roles were featured less frequently. Advertisements for products target females were more gender stereotyped than advertisements for products target males and females. The lack of variety in beauty types and occupational roles among female figures were discussed.

PurposeThis study seeks to quantify how children in urban China perceive someone described as owning many or few expensive toys. It aims to measure the types of possessions and personal characteristics they attributed to such individuals. This is an extension of previous research on perceived links between possessions and personal characteristics.Design/methodology/approachA total of 268 Chinese children aged 9 to 14 were surveyed using a self‐administered questionnaire. Participants saw photos of a child described as having few or many expensive toys. They then imagined the possessions and personal characteristics of such a child. They also reported which child they would prefer to be.FindingsA child with a lot of toys was perceived as more likely to have branded toys and new media toys. Such a child was more likely to be imagined as spending irresponsibly, selfish and envious of others. A child without many toys was considered more likely to have books and sports‐related toys. Participants were more likely to perceive this child as hardworking, with good academic results, smart, and with lots of friends. A total of 40 percent of the participants said they would prefer to be the child without many toys.Research limitations/implicationsThe participants mostly came from lower middle class families, and they may be particularly inclined to project good qualities on people without many possessions.Practical implicationsMarketers and advertisers should be sensitive to the perceived link between possessions and negative personal characteristics of the owner. Advertisers of premium products and brands for children should stress the functional superiority of the products.Originality/valueThese results quantify and verify the results of a previous qualitative enquiry. They provide guidelines for marketers attempting to reach children in China in a culturally sensitive manner.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the use of traditional media as well as the internet among young people in Hong Kong. With the fast development of the internet, the use of interpersonal as well as computer‐mediated communication has changed greatly. A study of how young people use traditional and new media is crucial as it enables commercial and social marketers to fully understand the role of mass mediated messages in the lives of youth. As the youth market expands and consumption power increases, marketers need to capture the latest trends in order to reach the young generation.Design/methodology/approachA survey of 405 Chinese persons aged 15 to 24 in Hong Kong was conducted in February 2006 using a self‐administered questionnaire. Undergraduate students distributed and collected these questionnaires through face‐to‐face interactions.FindingsThe study finds that the internet plays a prominent role among the young people in Hong Kong. A majority of respondents aged 15 to 24 spent one to three hours per day in the internet. The main reasons for internet usage were for listening to music and for fun. The internet was the preferred media choice for information‐driven activities. Magazines retained importance for entertainment and shopping activities while the television retained importance for news and current affairs. Most of the respondents found useful web sites through search engines. Interpersonal information sources gave way to the internet for obtaining information about sensitive issues.Research limitations/implicationsThe sample was a convenience sample and this will limit its generalization.Practical implicationsThe twenty‐first century is a digital age. Marketers should face this challenge. They should take an active role in building their online communication platforms. Social services marketers targeting young consumers should establish a strong presence in the internet.Originality/valueThis paper offers an updated map of the Hong Kong young people's media usage, especially the use of internet. It provides guidelines for marketers to reach them in a cost effective manner.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of peers and media celebrities on young people's endorsement of materialistic values in China. As the Chinese culture is said to be collective, it is expected that social relations, both personal and celebrity‐mediated, play an important role in the establishment of consumption values.Design/methodology/approachA survey of 299 university students in Beijing aged 18 to 24 was conducted using a structured questionnaire. Constructs were measured using established scales.FindingsThe paper finds that peer communication and susceptibility to peer influence were positively related to social comparison. Motivation for viewing advertisements was positively related to imitation of celebrity models. In turn, both social comparison and imitation of celebrity models were positive predictors of materialism.Research limitations/implicationsThe city selected for this study is highly advanced in terms of economical and advertising development when compared with most other Chinese cities.Practical implicationsAs the paper argues that materialism is a negative value orientation, the current study sheds light on de‐marketing to young consumers. Media educators should help young consumers to reflect on how their purchase decisions are influenced by the social relations, including both personal interaction and celebrity‐media communications. Discouraging upward social comparison and imitation of idols is expected to discourage the endorsement of materialistic values.Originality/valueThe paper offers insights about the complex patterns of youth attitudes in a former socialist society migrating to a capitalist society. It is a pioneer work on the study of influence of celebrities on materialistic value orientations.

Materialism and social comparison are important issues, especially in a Chinese context, and especially amongst adolescents. In this paper a theoretical model of the endorsement of materialistic values and social comparison by adolescents was proposed and tested. A survey of secondary
school students in Hong Kong revealed normative peer influence and peer communication were positive predictors of social comparison with friends. In addition, motivation for advertisement viewing was a positive predictor of social comparison with media figures. Social comparison with friends
and with media figures were both positive predictors of materialism. The implications are discussed, with recommendations for further research.

PurposeThis study investigates household access to traditional and new media, media exposure, time spent on media and other activities, and attention to advertising among rural children in mainland China.Design/methodology/approachA survey of 1,008 rural children ages six to 13 in four Chinese rural provinces was conducted in March 2003. Questionnaires were distributed through elementary schools. The number of students in each school varied from 150 (in Heilongjiang) to 575 (in Yunnan). All the schools were situated in counties with population of less than 131,000. A national research company was appointed to administer the data collection.FindingsNinety‐eight percent of rural Chinese children have access to television and 71 percent have access to children's books. Access to other broadcast and print media was under 50 percent. Most of the media consumption was in‐home. Rural children spent most of the time playing with friends, study and watching television. Older children spent more time on media and other activities than younger children. Boys spent more time on electronic games, radio and videotapes than girls. Respondents reported that they sometimes watched television commercials while they seldom attended to advertisements in all other media.Originality/valueThis paper offers insight to design media strategies to disseminate product information to rural children in China.

Purpose– The purpose of this study is to examine how Chinese adolescent girls and boys interpret female images in gendered advertisements based on Tobinet al.'s (2010) gender self-socialization model (GSSM).Design/methodology/approach– In total, 48 Hong Kong adolescents studying in high schools or university year one participated in a focus group study. Four advertisements with different types of female images were presented. Interviewees were asked to discuss the appearance, the personality and the work and family life of the female characters in the advertisements. Interviewers then asked them to select the one most closely representing their ideal female image.Findings– Most of the interviewees chose an urban sophisticate as the character closest to their ideal female image. Female interviewees identified with the urban sophisticate and aspired to the cultured nurturer image. However, they rejected the strong woman and the "flower vase" female images.Research limitations/implications– The generalizability of the findings was limited because of the small sample size and non-probability sampling.Practical implications– When targeting adolescents, advertisers should consider using female images displaying a personality that is neither too strong nor too weak.Originality/value– This is the first study to investigate how Hong Kong adolescents interpret female images from gendered advertisements. This study also clarifies the gender concepts to explain how adolescents perceive gendered advertisements.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of marketing communication factors (specifically advertising viewing and responses to marketing promotions) as well as social influence factors (specifically influences from peers and media celebrities) on adolescents' endorsement of materialistic values in Singapore. As the Asian culture is said to be collective when compared with the Western culture, it is expected that social relations, both personal and celebrity‐mediated, play an important role in the establishment of consumption values.Design/methodology/approachA survey of 190 high school students' aged 13 to 18 was conducted using a structured questionnaire. Constructs were measured using established scales.FindingsThe paper finds imitation of media celebrities and perceived peer influence were positive predictors of materialistic consumption values while marketing communication factors were not significant predictors.Research limitations/implicationsThe data in the paper came from a convenience sample of one high school and may not be representative of adolescents in Singapore.Practical implicationsThe paper found that in fact advertising regulation may not impact adolescent levels of materialism to the degree previously assumed. Visual literacy courses may be a better strategy of reducing the level of materialism through discouraging the desire to imitate media celebrities. In turn, this training and heightened awareness could potentially help to diminish some of the negative peer influences in relation to materialism. Media educators should help young consumers to reflect on how their purchase decisions can be influenced by their social relations, including both personal interaction and celebrity‐media communications, while simultaneously providing them with the tools to critically assess the images they view.Originality/valueThe paper offers insights about the complex patterns of how consumption values develop in an Asian society. It is also a pioneer work on the study of the influence of media celebrities on materialistic value orientations.

This study examines how urban and rural children in Mainland China learn about new products and services, and their attitudes toward different communication channels for market and product information. A survey of 1,977 children aged six to 13 in four Chinese urban cities and four rural provinces was conducted in March 2003 to May 2004. Results indicated that there are significant differences in perception of personal and commercial communication sources among urban and rural children. As predicted by Rogers' and Schramm's theories, urban children found commercial sources more useful and credible than rural children in obtaining information about new products and services. Rural children perceived personal sources more useful and credible than urban children. John's theory of consumer socialization was supported. Older children found parents and grandparents less useful and less credible than younger children. Older children also found commercial sources more useful and credible. (Asian J Commun/NIAS)

The paper examines the historical change in linguistic practice of Hong Kong advertising through the decolonization period and attempts to make sense of it from a local-and-global point of view beyond the conventional national-functionalist perspective. It is found that the prominent patterns of language mixing in the advertising of Hong Kong are not only 'Standard Written Chinese mixed with English', but also 'Standard Written Chinese mixed with both English and Cantonese'. The embedded elements of both English and Cantonese in the Chinese advertisements can take the form of a word, a phrase and/or a full clause and can serve both informational and involving functions. Finally, it is argued that multilingual mix in Hong Kong advertising is a phenomenon constantly emerging in the multicultural process of globalization and that being able to mix different languages or varieties of languages for effective communication should be an aspect of linguistic competence highly valued in the age of globalization and localization. (Asian J Commun/NIAS)

Abstract
This study examines how often rural children in Mainland China interact with different types of retail shops, how they learn about new products and services, and their attitudes toward different sources of product information. A survey of 1008 rural children aged from 5 to 13 years, in four Chinese provinces, was conducted in March 2003. Results indicated that rural Chinese children have limited access to various types of retail shops. Rural children perceived personal sources more useful as well as more credible than commercial sources in obtaining information about new products and services. Older children found parents and grandparents less useful and less credible than younger children for new production information. However, older children did not find peers more useful and credible than younger children.

Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.