Advertising's internal audience

Marketing decision makers often do not consider an important internal or "second audience" for their advertisements: employees. Yet employees do notice their employer's advertisements, evaluate them, and are affected by them. The authors report on a qualitative study of the effects of advertising on employees. Data collected from employees and advertising decision makers in four companies reveal that employees evaluate their organizations' advertisements on the dimensions of accuracy, value congruence, and effectiveness. Furthermore, this research suggests specific ways in which employee values and views of advertising differ from those of advertising decision makers. The authors offer a conceptual model of employee evaluation of advertising and explore managerial implications of the gaps found between employees and decision makers.