The proposed research aims to broaden the Economics of Marketing by describing what is advertised, where it is advertised, why it is advertised, and how it is advertised. The question of what is advertised pertains to the informational content of advertisements: which product attributes will be advertised by which firms. The question of where information is advertised corresponds to analyzing the choice of medium used for imparting information. The question why addresses the benefits to firms from improved consumer information about firms' products in a competitive setting. How it is advertised addresses the issue of information overload and the problem that advertisers must compete for the attention of prospective consumers by sending messages, and that messages may crowd out messages from other firms.
The analysis is intended to both provide a description of actual advertising practice and to evaluate market performance in fulfilling the goal of information provision. The analysis of information overload will consider bulk (or "junk") mail, "spam" email, telemarketing calls, as well as television and magazine advertising. Policy issues such as the Federal Do-Not-Call program will be addressed within the framework. The analysis of information content will also consider the role of "negative" advertising (highlighting features of rival products), and whether it is desirable to restrict the use of advertising messages that accentuate adverse features of rival products.
