You can’t post that, it’s offensive! Investigating the process of taking offense to online marketing communications.

Brands can offend consumers with their marketing communications, either inadvertently or via deliberate attempts to gain awareness through controversy. Offended consumers may respond by spreading negative word-of-mouth about the offending brand, or by boycotting the brands products entirely. Moreover, the online environment has exacerbated the danger for brands as negative sentiment can spread quickly via social media. A dearth of literature has explored the experience of taking offense from a consumer perspective, despite the importance such insights may hold for brands who want to avoid the negative repercussions of causing offense. Thus, the goal for this research was to develop and test a model of taking offense to marketing communications, capturing the experience from exposure to response. The objectives of the thesis were 1) to explore the experience of taking offense to online marketing communications, and 2) to test a model of taking offense to online marketing communications.

A mixed methods approach guided the research’s three stages. In the first stage qualitative methods were employed to address research objective one. The qualitative findings showed that when consumers take offense, they described cognitive evaluations regarding which prescriptive norms are violated, whether the self, and/or others, and/or society are disrespected, and whether the brand’s behaviour is acceptable. Participants also described feeling negative emotions such as anger, shame, sadness, disgust, and surprise. The second stage involved the development of scales to measure cognitions associated with taking offense, perceived disrespect towards oneself, others, and society. Three, four-item measures for these types of disrespect were developed and validated. From the combined insights of stage one and two, a process model of taking offense to online marketing communications was created. Stage three involved testing this process model using quantitative methods, addressing research objective two. The findings validated the proposed process of taking offense and differential effects for perceptions of self or societal-based disrespect were demonstrated. However, other-based disrespect was difficult to disentangle from societal-based disrespect, requiring future research into its nature.

The research contributes to the existing literature by reconceptualising offense within marketing communications as a psychological process. Three new psychometrically tested and validated scales are provided to measure dimensions of perceived disrespect. The research also provides, and quantitatively validates, the process of taking offense to online marketing communications. Managerially, this research gives marketers a framework to better understand how their marketing communications may offend consumers. Moreover, if consumers are offended by a brand’s marketing communication the framework provided can assist marketers in predicting the nature of the consumer response. The findings also provide policy implications, suggesting that more attention should be given to complaints of offensive content that is liable to elicit shame. Moreover, recommendations are given for increasing the moderation of offensive content on social media platforms.