ANALYSIS OF CONSUMER RESPONSES TO SOCIAL-ISSUE SPECIAL DAY ADVERTISEMENT FILMS: INTERNATIONAL DAY OF THE GIRL CHILD

Abstract

Thanks to the effects of developments in communication technologies, the awareness of increasing sensitivity to social problems has triggered individuals in the position of consumers in the society to turn to brands that worry about these problems, try to find solutions and prioritize the benefit of society. International Day of the Girl Child, which is celebrated to raise awareness about and to bring up solution suggestions to the inequalities girls face which have been waiting for a solution for a long time both in the world and in Turkey, is also seen as one of the days when consumers want brands to focus, and the literature lacks research which aims to explore consumer reactions to advertisements of this special day. From this point of view, this research aimed to reveal the consumer responses to the advertisements in Turkey within the scope of this special day by examining the consumer comments on YouTube. A total of 459 comments imported through the MAXQDA2020 program were subjected to thematic analysis. The findings indicate that the comments for a total of 18 advertisements aired by for-profit (f=2) and non-profit organizations (f=5) point to the interaction between the advertising channels, and the comments were posted for various reasons expressing consumers’ 'like', 'criticism', 'suggestion', 'desire' and ‘inquiry’. It was found that consumers posted comments not only for the relevant advertisement and the brand, but also for other advertisements and brands, other commenters, the public in general and even themselves for such reasons. Based on the results of the research, suggestions were provided for brands, practitioners and researchers.