Effetti temporali dei mezzi pubblicitari sulle vendite: evidenze da uno studio italiano

This paper focuses on the temporal effects of advertising expenditures on firm sales. Grounding on some econometric models that have been applied to the measure of advertising effectiveness, we provide evidence that the extent to which advertising investments display their effect over time varies with the goals of the advertising itself. In this respect, we distinguish between informative and persuasive advertising, and analyze whether these two types differ in the magnitude of their carry-over effect on sales. We find that a total aggregate carry-over effect of advertising expenditures exists, and, importantly, we show that the two different categories of advertising have different lagged effects on sales. In particular, persuasive advertising has a more persistent effect than informative advertising. This analysis has been conducted considering both current and past investments in each of the two categories. Empirical analysis has used 72 monthly observations from an Italian service firm covering the 2001-2006 period.