THE IMPACT OF MARKET POSITION ON THE EFFECTIVENESS OF COMPARATIVE ADS: A LABORATORY EXPERIMENT

WILLIAM LOWELL JAMES, Purdue University

Abstract

The focus of this research is on the impact of the market position of the sponsor on the relative effectiveness of comparative and noncomparative ads. A review of the previous research suggests that the market position of the sponsor may be an important factor in determining the effectiveness of comparative ads. However the previous research is often contradictory as to the direction of impact of market position and as to the overall effectiveness of comparative ads. An experiment was conducted in an attempt to resolve these issues. The experiment used both a pre-test and a post-test and measured cognitive, affective and conative elements on both the pre-test and the post-test. The experiment was designed to overcome some methodological problems evident in much of the prior research, particularly the failure to measure the impact on the named competing brand, to avoid experimental conditions likely to produce demand artifacts, and to account for predispositions. The experiment found evidence for a general narrowing of perceptual, affective and conative spaces under the experimental conditions. Results and conclusions are organized and presented according to the differential impact of comparative and noncomparative ads on perceptual, affective and behavioral intentions measures of the hierarchy of effects. Investigation of the differential impact of comparative and noncomparative ads on perceptual measures revealed: that attention levels increased when comparative ads were used; that recall of the comparative claim was higher when comparative ads were used; that claims were less believable when comparative ads were used; that more perceptual narrowing occurred when comparative ads were used; that generalized confidence increased less when comparative ads were used by a brand with a small market share while the reverse was true when comparative ads were used by a brand with a large market share; and that sponsor brand name recall was not lowered when comparative ads were used. Thus this study indicates generally positive perceptual effects when comparative ads are used rather than noncomparative ads and that this is especially true for a brand with a small market share. Investigation of the differential impact of comparative and noncomparative ads on affective measures revealed: that the use of comparative ads resulted in similar or relatively more positive changes in affect for the sponsor than when noncomparative ads were used, particularly when the sponsor is a brand with a small market share; that the use of comparative ads by a brand with a small market share resulted in greater negative shifts in affect for the named leading brand than when noncomparative ads were used; and that the use of comparative ads by a brand with a large market share resulted in greater positive shifts in affect for smaller brands than when noncomparative ads were used. Thus generally beneficial effects on affect were found for comparative ads. Little in the way of changes in behavioral intentions due to the use of comparative or noncomparative ads were found. This was not particularly surprising since the experiment used only a single exposure to each ad. It was discovered that the evoked set measure broke down under the present experimental conditions. Thus the study found generally beneficial effects when comparative ads were used, especially when the sponsor was a brand with a small market share.

Degree

Ph.D.

Subject Area

Marketing

COinS