Effects of Strategy and Pictures in Travel Agency Advertising

Abstract

This study explores the effectiveness of various types of print advertising as a promotional vehicle, focusing on the main message strategy, the presence or absence of pictures, and the specific nature of the picture. The results show that informational advertising elicits a more favorable response pattern than image-based (or transformational) advertising. However, the picture effect is more pronounced for the informational ad, although the nature of the picture is less important. Recommendations are that smaller travel agencies emphasize informational advertising accompanied by pictures and that larger agencies continue to use pictures but strengthen the informational component of their advertising copy.