Managing Brand Image With Facebook Advertising Content: A Case of Foreign Direct Investment in the United States

Abstract

The U.S. currently receives and invests the largest amount of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) of any nation. The southeastern U.S. has particularly experienced significant growth in majority foreign-owned automobile manufacturing facilities and their component part suppliers. The FDI literature is rich yet incomplete, only recently exploring how social media might impact an FDI brand. No known study tests if or how Facebook advertising sponsored by an FDI firm can enhance that firm’s brand image. In this study, the first main effect features images of an automobile produced by Hyundai Motor Manufacturing of Alabama versus similar test ads featuring images of that firm’s actual employees. The second main effect features one noncomparative, one indirect comparative, and two direct comparative headlines across four treatment ads. Results indicate test ads with images of employees significantly improved Attitude toward the Company (ACOM) regardless of consumer perceptions of the automobile brand, whereas the comparative formats significantly impacted Attitude toward the Ad (AAD), Attitude toward the Brand (AB), and Purchase Intentions (PI).