Advertiser risk taking, campaign originality, and campaign performance

Originality is an important characteristic of effective advertising, but what contributes to advertising originality is far from clear. This research examines the effect of the advertiser's creative risk-taking propensity on campaign originality. We draw on agency theory and the creativity literature to develop two behavioral strategies that risk-taking advertiser can employ (i.e., creative qualification and trust in agency) to enhance advertising originality. We find the advertiser's risk taking increases its creative qualification effort and its trust in the chosen agency, and it is through qualification and trust that advertiser risk taking contributes to campaign originality and performance.