The role of subliminal messages in advertisements on changing consumer buying behaviour: with focus on young South-African consumers. Student: Benice Willemse 19014217 Qualification: BA Honours in Strategic Brand Communication Supervisor: Ivan Mkhomazi Module: RESM8419 Wordcount: 12052 I hereby declare that the Research Report submitted for the BA Honours in Strategic Brand Communication degree to The Independent Institute of Education is my own work and has not previously been submitted to another University Institution for degree purposes. Abstract Subliminal advertising is a phenomenon that has been extensively researched over the past few years. There are many controversies regarding the roles and effectiveness of subliminal advertising. The role of subliminal messages in advertisements, in changing consumer buying behaviour is vague. There is uncertainty of how subliminal messages can be implemented in advertisements, in order to change consumer buying behaviour. This study addressed this problem by determining the roles of subliminal messages in advertisements, through means of a mixed methods study. Data was collected through online surveys, and in-depth interviews in order to gain a detailed understanding of the roles of subliminal messages in advertisements. This study focused specifically on an emotional appeal, as well as a sex appeal. Print advertisements was utilized in conducting this study, as the focus of this study is on static advertisements. It was found that subliminal messages in advertisements plays no significant role in changing consumer buying behaviour. This study focused specifically on young South African consumers. Key words Subliminal advertising; print advertisements; emotional appeal; sex appeal; consumer buying behaviour. Table of contents Section 1: Introduction ................................................................................................ 1 Structure of the paper ............................................................................................. 1 Background ............................................................................................................ 1 Research rationale .................................................................................................. 2 Conceptualisation ................................................................................................... 3 Problem statement .................................................................................................. 3 Research Goal ........................................................................................................ 4 Research Question ................................................................................................. 5 Research Objectives ............................................................................................... 5 Overview of research methodology ........................................................................ 5 Section 2: Literature review ........................................................................................ 6 Theoretical foundation ............................................................................................ 6 Review of literature ................................................................................................. 8 Section 3: Research Methodology ........................................................................... 13 Critical realism as research paradigm ................................................................... 13 Research Design .................................................................................................. 15 Population ............................................................................................................. 16 Sampling ............................................................................................................... 17 Data collection methods ....................................................................................... 18 Data analysis methods ......................................................................................... 22 Section 4: Findings and discussion .......................................................................... 24 Findings from quantitative research ...................................................................... 24 Findings from qualitative research ........................................................................ 34 Summary of findings ............................................................................................. 41 Validity, reliability and trustworthiness .................................................................. 42 Section 5: Conclusion ............................................................................................... 44 Research Question, Problem and Goals addressed ............................................. 44 Scope for future research ..................................................................................... 45 Limitations to the study ......................................................................................... 45 Ethical considerations ........................................................................................... 46 Conclusions .......................................................................................................... 47 Bibliography .......................................................................................................... 48 List of figures Figure 1: Johnnie Walker Black Label Scotch advertisement (Kerouac, 2019). ....... 60 Figure 2: An isolated image of the monster found in the first ice cube (Kerouac, 2019). ................................................................................................................................. 61 Figure 3: An isolated image of the Ace of Spades found within an ice cube (Kerouac, 2019). ....................................................................................................................... 61 Figure 4: Isolated image of screaming man found within an ice cube (Kerouac, 2019). ................................................................................................................................. 61 Figure 5: Advertisement 2 (Tsitsuashvili, 2017). ...................................................... 62 Figure 6: Perception of the brand before viewing the advertisement…………………23 Figure 7: Likeliness to use brand before viewing the advertisement………………….24 Figure 8: Perception of the brand after viewing the advertisement……………………24 Figure 9: Likeliness to make use of the brand after viewing the advertisement……..25 Figure 10: Perception of the brand before viewing the advertisement. .................... 27 Figure 12: Perception of the brand after viewing the advertisement. ....................... 28 Figure13: Likeliness to make use of the brand after viewing the advertisement. ..... 28 Figure 14: Emotional impact of advertisement. ........................................................ 29 Figure 15: Feelings provoked by advertisement ....................................................... 30 Figure 16: Emotional impact of advertisement. ........................................................ 30 Figure 17: Emotion provoked by advertisement. ...................................................... 31 Figure 18: Awareness of subliminal advertising. ...................................................... 32 Figure 19: Interpretation of subliminal messages. .................................................... 32 Figure 10: Effectiveness of subliminal advertising. ................................................... 32 Figure 11: Influence of subliminal advertising. ......................................................... 33 Figure 22: Ethical nature of subliminal advertisements. ........................................... 34 List of tables Table 1: Advertisement 1 themes. ............................................................................ 36 Table 2: Advertisement 2 Themes ........................................................................... 37 Table 3: Subliminal advertising effectiveness Themes ............................................. 38 List of Appendices Appendix A: Summary Table .................................................................................... 57 Appendix B: Ethics Clearance Letter ........................................................................ 58 Appendix C: Originality report .................................................................................. 59 Appendix D: Advertisements .................................................................................... 60 Appendix E: Survey .................................................................................................. 63 Appendix F: Interview guide ..................................................................................... 70 Appendix G: Respondent consent forms .................................................................. 72 Appendix H: Questionnaire Responses .................................................................... 77 Appendix I: Interview transcripts .............................................................................. 82 Section 1: Introduction Structure of the paper In this paper the researcher provides a clear introduction to the research problem, by providing background and by contextualising key concepts. The research problem is explained, along with the research goals and objectives.