More thoughts for the thesis

It seems my first thesis topic attracted more attentions from my classmates than the second one. And I also think that could lead to some practical findings. Here I would summarize my thesis topic as follow:

How to create global ads attractive to Asian audience in comparison with western audience?

It has been theorized that culture shapes the way people receive and interpret messages. Through eye-tracking experiments, Nisbett has proved that “the characteristic thought processes of Asian and westerners differs greatly.” (Nisbett 2003, 12) Frith and other scholars explored “how culture shapes what people see in global images,” by conducting an experiment among students from USA, India and Singapore.

I would like to explore which visual elements in global ads are especially appreciated by Asian audience in comparison with western audience, and how elements should be arranged to stimulate purchase behaviors or to establish positive corporate images.

I’m considering doing a comparative study between Coca-Cola’s websites in Asia and the western world. And I will try to identify the characteristics of the ads on the websites, and the differences in presenting the same slogan and logo.

Current sources:

Hong, Moonki, Intercultural Differences of the Web Marketing Strategy. Conference Papers -- International Communication Association; 2007 Annual Meeting, p1-1, 1p

Mendelson, Andrew. For whom is a picture worth a thousand words? How does the visualizing cognitive style affect processing of news photos? Conference Papers -- International Communication Association; 2003 Annual Meeting, San Diego, CA, p1-31, 31p, 3 charts, 3 diagrams

Xue, Fei, Zhou, Shuhua, Zhou, Peiqin. Visual Strategies in U.S. and Chinese TV Ads. Conference Papers -- International Communication Association; 2003 Annual Meeting, San Diego, CA, p1-29, 29p, 3 charts, 2 graphs

Zhou, Shuhua, Xu, Jie, Ye, Yinjiao, Zhou, Peiqin. Effects of Culture-Congruent Visuals on Affect, Perception, and Purchase Intention: A Comparison of U.S. and Chinese Viewers. Conference Papers -- International Communication Association; 2007 Annual Meeting, p1-1, 1p