The impact of advertising on market share: Controlling for clutter, familiarity, and goodwill decay

Abstract

The advertising–sales relationship remains paramount. This study—believed to be the largest that focuses on automotive sales and advertising—investigates ceilings and thresholds by optimizing budget allocations among media. The study considered 12 vehicle brands in South Africa, spanning 8 years of sales, reflecting sales and media expenditure. It also considers the effect of competitors’ advertising expenditure and familiarity on the ceilings and thresholds of each medium, as well as the decay rate of advertising goodwill. Findings suggest that the allocation of expenditure among media types is subject to threshold phenomena. The findings also establish the impact of clutter and familiarity on market share, advertising efficacy, and ceilings and thresholds. Results highlight the interaction between current market share and advertising efficacy.