FOCAL AND EMOTIONAL INTEGRATION - CONSTRUCTS, MEASURES, AND PRELIMINARY EVIDENCE

This paper introduces two novel concepts regarding the role of the pro duct in an ad. One concept (focal integration) reflects the extent to which the product is depicted as a central element in the ad. The seco nd concept (emotional integration) reflects the extent to which the pr oduct is portrayed as a causal agent to the actor's emotions. Reliable measures of both constructs are developed and shown to be discriminab le from related constructs and each other. Furthermore, a sample of ex isting ads is shown to vary on the constructs. An exploratory study in vestigating their effects showed that each construct is related to rel evant advertising outcomes and that their effects differ for ads using positive vs. negative appeals. When appeals are negative, both integr ation constructs are related to ad effects. In contrast, when appeals are positive, high emotional integration appears unnecessary for enhan cing ad effects, while high focal integration may be detrimental to ad effects. Implications for future research are discussed.