A can of Coke next to the word "awesome"; a can of Pepsi next to a picture of a happy couple. Seem too basic to be effective advertising? Prior research has shown that reported attitudes towards brands are not affected by such simple juxtapositions. However, a new paper in the June 2008 issue of the Journal of Consumer Research examines our implicit opinions – and finds that we may actually be more susceptible than we think.
Bryan Gibson (Central Michigan University) showed undergraduate psychology students pairings of well-known cola brands with words and images. Some had positive associations: a field of flowers, the word “awesome,” or a mother holding a child. Others had negative associations: people at a gravesite, the word “terrifying,” or a person in a contamination suit.
Participants were then distracted by an unrelated cognitive task – memorizing an eight-digit number – and offered a can of Coke or Pepsi to take home with them.
When distracted, those who were initially neutral towards both brands strongly tended to choose the brand that had been paired with positive images or words in the earlier task. Importantly, this happened even when the participant couldn’t remember which brand had been paired with positive information, Gibson reports.
Those who had an established preference for one brand before the experiment, as established by a pre-test, were not affected by the inclusion of a distracting task while making their choices.
“These results have implications regarding how consumer attitudes are formed, and how they are then applied in brand choice situations,” Gibson explains. “This suggests that implicit product attitudes may play a greater role in product choice when the consumer is distracted or making an impulse purchase.”
Citation: Bryan Gibson, “Can Evaluative Conditioning Change Attitudes toward Mature Brands" New Evidence from the Implicit Association Test.” Journal of Consumer Research: June 2008.
Source: University of Chicago
Related stories:
Advergames: Theme of Game is Secret to Success
(PhysOrg.com) -- It’s all fun and games when it comes to the current trend in online advertising. Advergames, online video games used to advertise a product or brand, increasingly are being used by advertisers to attract and engage consumers. In a new study, University of Missouri researchers examined the impact of advergame themes on consumers’ attitudes toward advergames and brands. The study revealed that consumers expressed strong positive relationships toward brands when they played advergames with strong thematic connections to the brands.
Vietnam finds tainted products from China
(AP) -- Vietnam's health ministry has discovered the industrial chemical melamine in 18 food products imported from China and three other countries and has ordered them recalled and destroyed, officials said Friday.
Use the Web to find the best bargains in shopping, shipping
ShopSmart, a Consumer Reports publication, has compiled a list of seven Web sites that will help you skip the Web surfing and get to the real deals quickly. Here are their picks, which will appear in the November issue.
Context is everything: An Armani ad on 1 page changes perception of Honda ad on next page
A person flipping through a magazine or watching TV sees a number of advertisements. Does the placement of those ads matter to consumers? A new study in the
Journal of Consumer Research says it does. But whether people have a positive or negative impression depends on how knowledgeable they are about the products being pitched.
How much risk can you handle? Making better investment decisions
Many Americans make investment decisions with their retirement funds. But they don't always make informed judgments. A new study in the
Journal of Consumer Research introduces a new tool that investors can use to choose investments based on their financial goals and risk attitudes.
Low-income? No car? Expect to pay more for groceries
Households located in poor neighborhoods pay more for the same items than people living in wealthy ones, according to a new study in the
Journal of Consumer Research.
Toxic chemicals found in common scented laundry products, air fresheners
A University of Washington study of top-selling laundry products and air fresheners found the products emitted dozens of different chemicals. All six products tested gave off at least one chemical regulated as toxic or hazardous under federal laws, but none of those chemicals was listed on the product labels.
Brand names subconsciously afftect people's shopping goals
Even 60 milliseconds of exposure to a brand name such as Wal-Mart or Tiffany can alter consumers' subconscious goals, according to new research in the
Journal of Consumer Research.