Goodvertising and attitude: influence on Lebanese students

Abstract

This thesis examined the influence of ‘goodvertising’ campaigns on Lebanese students’ attitudes towards a social issue, specifically women’s empowerment. Goodvertising is a relatively new advertising approach that many brands across the world have started using in their marketing strategies. Studying its influence on individuals can aid in understanding its effectiveness. Although many studies (Amos, Holmes, & Strutton, 2008; Buizjen & Valkenburg, 2003; Deighton, Henderson, & Neslin, 1994; Edquist, Horberry, Hosking, & Johnston, 2011) have been done on the effectiveness of traditional advertisements, there is still a lack of research done on goodvertisements in Lebanon. Thus, drawing on the persuasion theory, this thesis examined the influence of goodvertising campaigns on Lebanese students’ attitudes toward a social issue, specifically women’s empowerment. To investigate the topic, an online survey was used on 314 undergraduate students from Lebanese universities. The findings of this study revealed that people’s positive attitude toward goodvertising influenced them to develop a positive attitude toward women’s empowerment. In addition, both genders had equally positive attitudes toward the social issue while females had more positive behavioral intentions toward women’s empowerment than males. The findings also revealed that source credibility positively influenced people’s attitude toward the social issue. Finally, people’s attitudes towards the goodvertisements positively influenced their opinions on women’s economic, social and political empowerment as well as women’s beliefs about their own personal strength.