Research Friday: Fun Me + Fun You = No Fun

When Will You Use This? 

 

Thinking about maximizing efforts to reach consumers in a brand-cluttered world and planning various forms of brief brand exposure.

What’s The Red-Letter Bite Today?

 

Over the course of a day, consumers are briefly exposed to hundred of brands. Prior research* has demonstrated that very brief exposures to brands can affect consumers’ attitudes and choices. It’s important to examine this influence when brands are presented together just like in a real world.

The current series of experiments** examine how being exposed to multiple brands at once affects consumers’ reactions to these brands, particularly when little effort is exerted in processing this information. Focusing on the role of brand personalities, researchers found that when a focal brand is seen with a brand that has a dissimilar personality, it will seem more distinctive and thus generate more positive consumer reactions than if it is seen with a brand that has a similar personality. However, this will only happen in low-elaboration settings (when consumers process information in more superficial, less effortful process).

Addition To Your Bag of Tricks  

 

Consumers do not form perceptions of a brand’s traits and characteristics in isolation, but instead use the context to form their impressions. That's why it’s important to plan the context carefully, especially where brands are paired together (product placements, event sponsorship, commercial slots in advertising).

• Understand your brand’s personality,

• Explore personalities of the other brands around,

• Dedicate your resources to capturing advertising slots that allow your brand to be seen with a series of dissimilar brands.

*Ferraro, Rosellina, Tanya L. Chartrand, and Gavan J. Fitzsimons (2009), “The Effects of Incidental Brand Exposure on Consumption,”in Handbook on Brand and Experience Management,ed. Bernd H. Schmitt and David L. Rogers, Northampton, MA: Edward Elgar, 163–73. {Thanks for the material}

**Linyun Yang, Keisha M. Cutright, Gavan J. Fitzsimons, Tanya I. Chartrand (2013), Distinctively Different: Exposure to Multiple Brands in Low Elaboration Settings.” (forthcoming), Journal of Consumer Research {Thanks for the material}

P.S. When you’re done reading, I’d love for you to share your strategies for differentiating your brand through various channels? Leave a comment or Tweet me, let's chat!

P.P.S. Need some help on figuring out your brand's personality? Let's do this together.