Tangibility in Services Advertising: An Investigation of Verbal versus Visual Cues

Abstract As the service sector of the U.S. economy continues to grow dramatically, so does the need for increased attention to advertising strategies for the service sector. The author examines print advertising strategy for services by testing whether the presence of a visual tangible cue (a physical representation) and the use of verbal tangible cues (informational cues related to tangible dimensions of the service) influence the effectiveness of the advertisement. Results indicate that for a hotel (a service high in experience qualities), verbal tangible cues are related to more positive attitudes toward the ad and service, higher patronage intentions and higher levels of recall. For an auto service (high in credence qualities), verbal tangible cues are related positively to attitude toward the ad, attitude toward the service, and recall, but not patronage intention. The presence of the physical representation did not affect any of the four dependent variables.