The editors of the Journal of Advertising Research welcome article proposals from academic authors as well as from practitioners working in the fields of advertising, marketing, and marketing research.
Download the guidelines here
Academic submissions
How to submit
Manuscripts must be submitted for peer review via www.editorialmanager.com/jar.
First-time authors will be required to create an Editorial Manager user account in order to proceed. Paper submissions are not accepted.
Before you submit
Before submitting your paper please ensure that the paper conforms fully to our Guidelines for Contributors, which can be found below. Papers that do not meet the guidelines will be returned to authors for correction.
Guidelines for contributors
The Journal of Advertising Research's mission is to be the leading R&D vehicle for academics and professionals in advertising and media. The JAR provides a forum for sharing findings, applications, new technologies, methodologies, and avenues of solution. The JAR brings together both academic and practitioner communities, and aims to provide a direct dialogue between these two audiences. This means there is an emphasis on publishing papers that achieve advancements in theory and improvements in practice. Researchers submitting to the JAR have an unparalleled opportunity for their research to directly impact advertising practice and thinking.
Types of Articles
We publish the following articles:
- Peer reviewed papers – these are largely empirical papers that make discoveries about advertising and media, and have direct implications for practice. Case studies are acceptable if they are representative of a broad set of circumstances affecting JAR readers or offer innovative insights that contribute to broadening the field of knowledge.
- Short technical notes – these may be published in the shorter article format of an 'Observations' section.
- Point-of-view articles – these cover issues relevant to a large segment of the JAR readership. Note: Peer-reviewed papers are submitted through our editorial manager online system (See 'How to submit' above). Please submit short technical notes and point-of-view articles directly to the managing editor and editor-in-chief.
Sampling
Authors should clearly articulate the sampling frame and relevant details including response rates and tests for non-response bias. With real-world relevance in mind, we do not accept papers with student samples, unless the research directly investigates the student experience (such as in the case of research into, for example, university advertising).
Style
JAR papers must be readable, jargon-free and understood by readers with varied backgrounds. Please adhere to the following guidelines:
- Submissions ideally should be 4,000–6,000 words. Papers over 6,000 words may be sent back to authors for reduction prior to the review process. Authors will not be penalized for succinct papers.
- Use short, impactful titles to attract the attention of readers – a combination of a short title and a subtitle help advertise the most important content.
- Write in an interesting, readable manner. Short simple sentences and paragraphs, clear logical flow, and ample use of subheadings reduce the reader's workload and improve readability. Minimize the passive voice, and avoid first-person narrative (e.g., we/I); refer to yourself as “the author” or “the author of the current study.”
- Background and literature reviews should be focused on issues of direct relevance only. Tangential issues and repetition should be avoided.
- Avoid using technical terms where possible and, if unavoidable, provide definitions.
- Do separate out the results and discussion sections, so the distinction between the findings and the interpretation of these findings is obvious to the reader.
- All JAR papers need a section on implications for practice. These implications should be directly as a result of the research.
- Similarly use references to support an argument. For example “Black is white (Precourt, 2013)” rather than “Precourt (2013) found that black is white.”
- Please pay attention to grammar and spelling, e.g. avoid common mistakes such as “data is/was” instead of “data are/were.” Italicize all Latin abbreviations.
Submission structure
Editorial Review
Author information can be included in a cover letter, including any acknowledgment of financial or technical assistance. However, the authors’ names should NOT appear on the title page or text of a manuscript as papers are subjected to double-blind review. If a submission passes the desk-reject stage, manuscripts are passed on to three reviewers (normally including at least one academic or one practitioner).
Abstracts
Each paper should be summarized by an abstract of 100 or fewer words and should enable any reader of the JAR to know what it is about, plus a 100-word “Management Slant” of 3–5 bullet points summarizing findings and business applications.
Tables/Figures/Artwork
We are addressing a new audience of mobile-device users whose screens may not accommodate graphics. Therefore we discourage heavily detailed charts and ask you to be selective in your use of graphics altogether: up to 3 in each paper.
- Figures/tables should have titles and be numbered consecutively, and be placed in the main body of the text. This will make it easier for reviewers to read your manuscript.
- Use graphics as information that supports a finding, not as the finding itself—i.e., “The sky is falling (See Figure 1).” Do not begin sentences with a graphic or a chart as the subject—i.e., “Table 2 shows the effect...”.
- Note: At the production stage, authors need to be able to provide editable versions of any charts in the article and artwork should be available in a camera-ready form.
Footnotes
Do not use footnotes.
References
All references should be included and listed alphabetically by first author’s last name at the end of the paper in the reference section. Here are some examples of specific kinds of references. Please check a recent issue of JAR for more:
PHELPS, J. E., R. LEWIS, L. MOBILIO, D. PERRY, and N. RAMAN. “Viral Marketing or Electronic Word-of-Mouth Advertising: Examining Consumer Responses and Motivations to Pass Along Email.” Journal of Advertising Research 44, 4 (2004): 333–48.
HAIR, J. F., W. C. BLACK, B. J. BABIN, R. E. ANDERSON, and R. L. TATHAM.
EPSICOKHAN, J. (2004, February 20). “Confessions of a closet trekkie.” Retrieved October 12, 2009, from Jammer’s Reviews Web site: http://www.jammersreviews.com/articles/confessions.php
In making references to such sources in the text, use authors’ last names and date only in parentheses.
If you have any questions, please contact us at jar@warc.com.
Practitioner submissions
Content/criteria
Empirical Papers (4,500-6,000 words-plus): These are white papers that articulate, in detail, discoveries about advertising, media, and marketing that have direct implications for practice. Contributions should feature literature review, methodology and data transparency (with tables and graphics), discussion of results, implications for future practice/research, and limitations.
For empirical papers, authors should clearly articulate the sampling frame and relevant details including response rates and tests for non-response bias, as well as demographics. Brand-specific data are preferred, with papers offering readers as much bottom-line/ad-effectiveness results as possible.
Case Studies (1,500-3,500 words): Acceptable if they are representative of a broad set of circumstances affecting JAR readers or offer innovative insights that contribute to broadening the field of knowledge.
Short Technical Notes (3,000 words or less): These are "Lessons" or "Observations" on best marketing/research practices.
Point-of-View (2,500 words): Thought-leadership contributions cover issues relevant to a large segment of the JAR readership.
All manuscripts must follow the JAR Guidelines for Contributors above. Practitioner papers can be submitted for peer review upon the author's discretion, although the Journal's managing editor and editor in chief can work directly with practitioner authors—observing the above criteria. For inquiries on submission proposals please email the managing editor, Nanette Burns, at nanette@thearf.org.
Benefits of publishing
Exposure
The Journal of Advertising Research Impact Factor – a measure of citations in a given year – has risen every year over the past six years and reached an unprecedented 2.56 in 2014. That score places the JAR 21st among 115 business journals worldwide and number-one above advertising-research specialized journals.
Many papers get press coverage over worldwide channels, with the opportunity for earned media over social-media networks.
The JAR audience is broader than the typical academic marketing/advertising research journal. In addition to its academic readership at more than 5,000 universities in 127 countries, and its ARF-member audience, the Journal’s practitioner audience is broadened by subscribers to Warc.com, which include the world’s largest advertising and media agencies, research companies, and advertisers in more than 100 countries.
Prestige
In addition to having the honor of publication in this distinguished journal, every feature article is a candidate for the annual JAR Best Paper Awards. Winners are determined by votes from the Journal's 90-member editorial board, which includes academics, advertisers, ad agency executives and marketing researchers.
A Best Academic Paper and Best Practitioner Paper are announced at the Advertising Research Foundation's annual Re:Think conference. Recent Best Practitioner Paper winners have included collaborations of Fox Broadcasting/Innerscope Research, Inc. (2013), and Neuro-Insight/MEC/Seven Network (2014).
Companies and brands represented in Journal pages in 2014-2015 include:
- AIG
- Ameritest
- Art.com
- CBS
- Chobani LLC
- Coca-Cola Co.
- Cogenti Applied Strategies
- comScore, Inc.
- ConAgra Foods
- DM2
- e-Strategic Advantage
- ESPN
- Fox Broadcasting
- GfK
- G&R Cooperative, LLC
- HP
- Immigrant Council of Ireland
- Ipsos ASI
- Kellogg Co.
- Kmart
- Lightspeed GMI
- McDonald’s
- MEC Australia
- MediaScience
- Mktg, Inc.
- Nikon Optical Canada
- Nielsen Catalina
- Neuro-Insight Pty Ltd.
- OgilvyRED
- Olson Zaltman Associates
- Oscar Mayer
- Procter & Gamble
- Research Now
- Seven Network
- Starcom MediaVest Group
- Tinder
- The Arrow Group
- Toluna
- Undertone
- Unilever
- UP There, Everywhere
- Wonga.com