Global advertising strategy: The moderating role of brand familiarity and execution style

The significant body of published work in global advertising literature focuses on the standardization and localization of the advertising campaign from a marketing strategy perspective without much concern regarding consumers’ response. In this research, this gap is addressed by gauging consumer perceptions of localized and standardized advertisements in Hong Kong. Consumers generally prefer locally produced to foreign‐sourced commercials, irrespective of brand origin; and they exhibit more favorable attitudes toward foreign‐sourced, standardized commercials in situations involving greater brand familiarity and when execution style is transformational. Therefore, well‐known brands with transformational appeals are more likely to succeed when transferred to Hong Kong, while localized advertising messages will be more effective when brand familiarity is low.