The relationship of the visual element of an advertisement to service quality expectations and source credibility

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship of the visual element in a print advertisement to service quality expectations and to the source credibility score when a model or spokesperson is used in a service ad. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected from 230 college students at three different Midwestern universities using an experimental design. Three different ads were designed promoting a fictitious brand of automobile insurance, Top Tier. While the copy remained the same, the visual was changed to reflect three different types of visual strategies. Findings The results of the study indicate that both source credibility and service quality evaluations have a definite impact on attitude towards the ad and purchase intentions of a service and the type of visual element used is important in the ad evaluation process. Research limitations/implications Future research needs to examine the relationship between source credibility and attitude towards the ad to determine which is the antecedent. Because of the student sample, use of only one creative message strategy, and one service industry, future research needs to replicate this study for additional creative message strategies and other service industries. Practical implications The findings of this research are important for creatives in designing service ads. If a model or spokesperson is used in the print ad, then source credibility is an important factor. Further, it is important to embed service quality cues in the ad to increase viewers' expectations of the service, thus enhancing purchase intentions. Originality/value This paper provides valuable information to creatives and researchers in the role of the visual element in evaluation of service quality expectations and source credibility. The paper provides an initial foundation for future research and future exploration.