The Effects of Hedonic vs. Meaningful Message Type and Time Units on the Persuasiveness of Concert Advertising

This study was conducted to understand consumers’ concert ticket purchase behavior using an experimental approach and derived a practical sales promotion strategy. More specifically, we investigated an effective concert poster advertisement strategy utilizing a numerosity heuristics of the large versus small time unit matched with the hedonic versus utilitarian message appeal type. In the context of the Bangtan Boys, Study 1 showed that the interaction between time unit (30 days vs. 1 month) used for the ticket opening time and concert message type (meaning pleasure vs. meaning) enhances consumers’ interest in the concert. In Study 2, we showed that a significant interactive effect between the waiting time unit until the concert date (one week versus seven days) and the concert message on the consumers’ attitudes toward the concert was mediated by the joy of waiting. In conclusion, as a performance ticket promotion strategy, this research suggests that advertisement effectiveness can be improved by using a larger time unit for the hedonic appeal and by using a smaller time unit for the meaningful appeal.