Does ingredient advertising work? Some evidence on its impact

Purpose - The purpose of this study is to examine the effectiveness of ingredient advertising. Specifically, the authors consider the question as to whether ingredient advertising can increase derived demand and favorably influence purchase intentions and attitudes toward the host product that incorporates the advertised B2B ingredient. Design/methodology/approach - They conduct experiments in two host product categories using a three-group, between-subjects experimental design. Findings - The findings of the study are revealing about the impact of ingredient advertising on the demand for host products, in which the advertised ingredients are incorporated. It is demonstrated that consumer advertising positively affects the attitude and purchase intention toward the host brand that incorporates the advertised industrial product. It is also found that the higher the importance of the advertised ingredient as an attribute of the host product, the greater the advertising effects on the consumer brand. Practical implications - The findings imply that ingredient advertising can help marketers to stimulate derived demand in the sense that it makes consumer brands incorporating the advertised industrial product more attractive to consumers. The positive influence of ingredient advertisements is greater for industrial products that are perceived by consumers as very important ingredients of the final product as consumers are more prone to search for and process ingredient-related information and are also more likely to respond to it. Originality/value - Despite the implementation of ingredient advertising campaigns by many B2B brands and the vast literature on conventional B2C advertising, there has been no previous attempt to investigate this issue in the empirical literature. This empirical study shows how ingredient advertising works and how it can benefit both buyers and suppliers of the advertised B2B products.