Abstract
The role of thematic congruency has been extensively researched in traditional advertising formats. However, despite these efforts, little is known about the impact of thematic congruency on the effectiveness of brand placements. The current research reports findings of two experiments designed to compare memory and attitudinal effects of thematically congruent and incongruent brand placements. The results show that while incongruent brand placements can better enhance consumers’ brand memory, congruent placements are more conducive to creating positive brand attitudes. However, the frequency of brand placement repetition moderates these relationships in an unexpected manner. Specifically, at high level of repetitions, incongruent brand placements can have similar effects on brand attitudes as congruent brand placements. The article concludes with a discussion of the theoretical and managerial implications of these findings.
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Notes on contributors
Davit Davtyan
Davit Davtyan is Assistant Professor of Marketing in the Parker College of Business at Georgia Southern University, USA. His research focus is on brand placements, measuring the effectiveness of advertising campaigns, and diffusion of innovation. Dr. Davtyan has published in the European Journal of Marketing, Journal of Advertising Research, and Journal of Business Research among others.
Armen Tashchian
Armen Tashchian is Professor of Marketing in the Coles College of Business at Kennesaw State University, USA. He has published in numerous academic journals including Journal of Marketing, Journal of Marketing Research, Journal of Academy of Marketing Science, and Journal of Business Research among others.