An analysis of attractiveness and ethics-related perception of banking advertisements among consumers in UAE

Objective: The objective of this study is to analyze factors that influence the perception of banking newspaper advertisements and on the analysis of the content and the perception and attitudes of customers pointing to the process of cultural and ethical sense-making. The focus of the present study is on an enquiry into the different styles and appeal of the content of recent banking advertisement material coming in regional newspapers in UAE and its impact on the emotive and rational dimensions of perception among the United Arab Emirates nationals and expatriates in the UAE. Design and methodology: Quasi experimental design is used by collecting data from a small sample size of respondents by showing them 9 advertisements and asking them about their preferences and reasons for the same were used in the study. A qualitative method of analysis is used to identify the themes and categories of the content in the advertisements and perceptions of respondents. The first part of the study is done through an analysis of the content of advertisements published by a few large banks of the region in the last few months. Findings: Study found that there is preference for advertisements based on either emotive or rational cues of advertisement content. The categories that emerged were lifestyle, emotive, rational and inspirational. There are many research papers related to advertisement and its effect on intention to buy among consumers, but few are focused on banking or financial services and products. Contributions and implications of the study: Thus the study will be able to contribute to the field of marketing and advertisements knowledge related to banking advertisements which has not been covered much by earlier studies in United Arab Emirates. Limitations: Study is qualitative using a very small sample size.