The influence of prominence and congruence on the
impact of product placement in print media
Master’s Thesis
Graduate School of Communication
Persuasive Communication
Name: Marleen Vos Student number: 10291326
Supervisor: mw. dr. M. Moorman Date of completion: 24-06-2016
Pages: 27
2 Abstract
The purpose of this study was to gain insights into the effects of the prominence and congruence of product placement in print media on brand recall, product recall, brand
recognition, advertisement attitude, brand attitude and purchase intention. This was measured through an online experiment with 140 participants. Results indicated that a prominent form of product placement had the most positive effects on brand recall and brand recognition. Furthermore, a congruent form of product placement had the most positive effects on product recall, brand recognition and advertisement attitude.
3 Introduction
The successful placement of Reese’s Pieces chocolates in the blockbuster movie E.T. was said to increase sales with up to 66% in the three months that followed the movie’s release (Reed, 1989). According to Gupta, Balasubramanian & Klassen (2000), these prosperous results were the trigger to an increase in interest and popularity of product placement. Cowley and Barron (2008) argue that placements are still becoming a more important part of the media landscape. Moreover, van Reijmersdal, Neijens & Smit (2007) state that product placement nowadays appears in every medium, which makes it vital to learn about the effects and the best ways to implement them.
Marketers are being challenged in achieving their advertisement objectives, such as stimulating brand memory and purchase intention, by resistant consumers and clutter. Dahlén and Edenius (2007) state that consumers have become very used to advertising and that their attitudes towards it have therefore become more negative. Auty and Lewis (2004) argue that for advertisers, getting under the radar of the target market is their main objective. They also state that consumers might be influenced in their inclusion of brands within their
consideration set, even when advertisements are not remembered or recognized.
Product placement is a strategy to obviate the effects of uninterested and avoiding consumers by showing a product within existing content. According to Karrh (1998) through product placement - also often referred to as brand placement - a brand is incorporated in a mass media program in return for some form of compensation from the advertiser. Product placements are called a promising tool within advertising, because consumers are less likely to recognize these as persuasive attempts than they are for more traditional advertising (Matthes, Schemer & Wirth, 2007). Last-mentioned can be seen as an advantage, because when someone does not recognize the persuasive attempts of a message, he or she will be less likely to counter argue these.
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Product placement has been investigated in a large number of studies already and according to Van Reijmersdal, Smit and Neijens (2010) our knowledge on this topic is growing, but still there remain gaps in the literature. This study focuses on the prominence and congruence of product placement, and how these affect the processing of product
placement. The prominence of product placement refers to the way of showing a product on a page, which can either be subtle or rather explicit, whereas congruence refers to the level at which the product placement and the medium match, based on their topic or theme. This study investigates these different types of product placement and their influence on brand memory, advertisement attitude, brand attitude and purchase intention. The effects of product
placement on memory have been studied in the past decades, however there is still little knowledge on the effects on attitudes and intention (van Reijmersdal et al., 2010). Therefore, this study combines several elements of processing and considers memory and recall effects, as well as attitudes and intention.
Also, research on the effects that context, or the situation in which the product placed, has on product placement is limited. This is surprising, since context is by definition part of product placement because context factors can influence the responses of the audience to advertising (van Reijmersdal et al., 2010). Likewise, Porta, Ravarelli and Spaghi (2013) state that research on congruence, is still desirable because of conflicting results that are found throughout the years. Another aspect which makes this study innovative lies in the fact that product placement was in the past mostly studied with respect to television shows and movies and this study on the other hand focusses on the use of this advertising technique within print media, because it has not been discussed extensively in the literature yet. By considering the three above mentioned aspects, this study distinguishes itself from previous studies and contributes to the existing literature.
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Campbell (1995) claims that advertisements have to be able to get people’s attention and cut through the clutter. According to Gillespie, Joireman and Muehling (2012) advertisers are always seeking for innovative ways to reach their target audience and therefore a key question is how they can use product placement in the most effective way. The results of this study can help marketers and advertisers to create a form of product placement that will have the most positive effects on consumers. Since these practitioners in the field want their products to be remembered or eventually bought, they would want their advertisement to have an effect on memory, attitudes or ultimately behavior like purchasing. Therefore, the research question is;
RQ: What are the effects of prominence and congruence of product placement on
recall, recognition, advertisement attitude, brand attitude and purchase intention?
First, a theoretical framework will be presented of the existing literature on product placement, prominence and congruence. Subsequently, the method of the study will be explained and the measures will be discussed. After listing and reviewing the results, a conclusion will be provided as well as some suggestions for future research.
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Theoretical framework
In order to clarify and forecast the results, and conceptualize the topic of this study, a theoretical background of the subject will be provided in this chapter. First, the concept of product placement will be introduced and explained. Subsequently, the independent variables prominence and congruence are discussed.
Product placement
Product placement was defined by Russel (2002) as the inclusion of product or brands within the content of media programming, while having the intention to influence the attitude or behavior of the viewer. In print media this could include pictures or content that have a persuasive intent and portray a certain product or brand within a magazine or newspaper. These placements are paid for by the brand that is displayed. A brand can have the intention to inform people about a (new) product or the brand itself, or to persuade consumers into purchasing a product. The definition that Kahhr (1998) gives to product placement is the paid inclusion of brand identifiers or branded products, through either audio or visual means or both, within a mass medium.
An argument to choose for the use of product placement can be found in the fact that most consumers do not stand negatively towards this tactic. Karrh (1998) stated that most respondents to his survey did not refute product placement, but actually would prefer it, because they were tired of traditional commercials. Product placement differs from traditional advertising in such a way that its promotional intentions are less clear and that it is situated in a context wherein people would not expect advertising per se, such as within the content of a television show or magazine article. This relates to the theory that consumers tend to set up mental barriers or become skeptical towards brands, as soon as they realize that these brands
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are trying to persuade them. So when people are not aware of the persuasive attempt, for example through product placement, they are less likely to counter argue with the presented arguments, than when they were consciously watching an advertisement.
Product placement has been a popular subject to study in the last decades, as can be assessed from recent literature. Many studies have been conducted on the effects of product placement on for example brand memory. However, most studies on this subject have investigated the effects of product placements within television programs or movies, which again stresses the relevance of new research on print media. The reason that studies on print media are still needed for, depends on the differences between these two types of media. The studied effects of product placement in print media and television shows cannot always be compared due to the variations in pacing. For example, while reading a magazine, one can decide for himself how long he wants to stay on the same page, also referred to as internal pacing. A viewer of a television show however does not have any influence on the speed of the images and messages.
According to Bandura (1977) product demonstrations will help consumers to learn more about the way they should use these products. Bhatnagar, Aksoy and Malkoc (2004) link this idea to product placement and state that this technique also enables consumers to see how a product is used. However, the motive of persuasion is more hidden within product placements, which can be seen as an advantage. This corresponds to Buijzen, van Reijmersdal and Owen (2010) stating that because product placements are embedded within editorial content, they might blur the boundaries between advertising, entertainment and information.
The processing of product placement entails several elements such as recall, recognition, advertisement attitude, brand attitude and purchase intention, which will all be addressed in this study. Law and Braun (2000) found an overall improvement in product recall, product recognition and product choice after exposure to product placement, compared
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to participants who had not been exposed to product placement in their study of television shows. The following chapters will describe the effects that prominence and congruence can have on the processing of product placement.
Prominence
The prominence of advertising and product placement is linked to its explicitness, because it can appear on the screen or a page in either a more disguised or notable way for consumers to experience. For example, a sponsored recipe in a magazine can be seen as a subtle way of advertising, because it shows the reader a recipe in the first place, but actually also offers a brand an opportunity to promote its product. An explicit advertisement on the other hand is more clear in its persuasive intent.
Van Reijmersdal, Neijens and Smit (2005) state that audiences of print media can be reached and influenced by incorporating brands in the editorial content of a magazine. This mixing makes the look of an advertisement more natural and attractive than a traditional ad, because it does not stand apart from the regular content of a magazine. The best-known example of editorial content that is mixed with advertising is called an advertorial, which is an ad that has somewhat the same font and looks of the magazine and therefore simulates the editorial style. This makes it look as if it is editorial content at first, but an advertorial is also accompanied by characteristics of advertising such as brand logos and the focus on a brand or product (van Reijmersdal et al., 2005). Russel (1998) mentioned plot connection as a
dimension of product placement. This refers to the way how a brand can be integrated in the plot of a television program to a certain degree, which can be linked to the mixing of
advertising and editorial content that (van Reijmersdal et al., 2005) investigate in their research. When an advertisement in print media is well mixed with the editorial content of
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that magazine, one could say that it is connected to the ‘plot’ of the magazine. These types of advertising were used as a directive in creating the stimuli for this study, which will be further elaborated on in the method section.
Bhatnagar et al. (2004) state that a good placement is strong enough to get noticed by the audience, but not so strong that consumers will closely inspect it in a negative way. This close inspection might cause people to become suspicious towards the presented message and the advertisement, because a prominent placement can make consumers more aware of the persuasive intention of product placements (Cowley & Barron, 2008). Buijzen et al. (2010) use the concept of format integration to explain the effects of prominence. Format integration can be seen as the level of integration between editorial context and the persuasive message and they state this level can have a large impact on the processing of the message. When the level of format integration is high, or the product placement can be named subtle, the
persuasive intent of the message will be harder to recognize for consumers, and therefore it will be processed better than a message with low integration or prominent product placement.
According to the intentional exposure theory, consumers tend to focus on and have more attention for the editorial content of a magazine instead of the advertisements, because that was their original reason to read it in the first place. This theory suggests that editorial content in a magazine will be processed better and more thoroughly than an advertisement, because people primarily read that magazine for the editorial content and not for the advertising in it. Also, Law and Braun (2000) state that a product placement might be most effective when consumers are not aware of the influence it has.
While the intentional exposure theory discusses the effects regarding attention and processing, another theory that is linked to advertisement in magazines describes the effects on attitude. This is the source credibility theory, which states that consumers appreciate
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editorial content more than ads, because they might feel suspicious towards the persuasive attempts of advertisements and are of the view that editorial content is more objective.
The theories of intentional exposure, format integration and source credibility have led to several studies on prominence of which the outcomes will be discussed in the next paragraphs.
According to Gupta and Lord (1998) a prominent placement will generate a higher level of brand recall than a placement that is more subtle. This corresponds with van Reijmersdal et al. (2010) stating that placement prominence might have a positive effect on brand recognition as well as to Gillespie et al. (2012), who argue that consumers are less likely to recognize that they are exposed to a brand that is subtly placed than a brand that is blatantly placed.
According to Lutz, MacKenzie and Belch (1983) receivers of a persuasive message develop a certain attitude towards that advertisement, or ad attitude. This attitude towards the ad also has an influence on other advertising effectiveness measures like brand attitude and purchase intention. Conform the theories mentioned above, an advertisement mixed with and presented as editorial content will be more appreciated, amusing informative and less
irritating than that same message presented in a commercial form, which will lead to a better attitude towards the advertisement (van Reijmersdal et al., 2005). Therefore, van Reijmersdal et al. (2005) argue that readers tend to respond more positively towards an advertising
message when it is mixed more with its carrier, which is the medium, or the editorial content. Also, van Reijmersdal et al. (2010) state that prominence of placement can have a negative effect on both brand attitude and brand-related behavior, such as purchase intention. This corresponds to the statement that product placements that are subtle would be less likely to cause negative changes in brand attitudes (Cowley & Barron, 2008).
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Hence, following the existing literature and theories, it might be expected that prominence of product placement has a positive effect on recall and recognition, and a negative effect on advertisement attitude, brand attitude and purchase intention.
Congruence
Congruence means the relationship between the origin of the content of an advertisement and the context surrounding that ad, as well as it refers to the associations that consumers can produce between those two (Porta et al., 2013). Another term that is used by Buijzen et al. (2010) for this concept is thematic integration.
A congruent advertisement will fit to a magazine, based on its content (Moorman, Neijens & Smit, 2002). If applied, the advertisement is thematically matching the context. When there is a mismatch between the advertisement and the content of the magazine, this is defined as incongruence. An example of congruent advertising might be an advertisement of Volkswagen in a car magazine such as Autoweek. This same advertisement would be
incongruent however in a fashion magazine such as Vogue, because the car themed advertisement does not match the fashion themed magazine. According to de Pelsmacker, Geuens and Anckaert (2002) embedding advertising in the appropriate media might cause a great enhancement on its effectiveness.
When encountering brands and advertising, consumers tend to gather information and develop some knowledge about these brands. While storing these perceptions in their
memories and creating a structure, consumers generate so-called brand schema. These schema are used every time they encounter information about that certain brand and helps to process the given information (Dahlén, Rosengren, Törn & Öhman, 2008). Such brand schema come with certain beliefs and expectations a consumer will have regarding to brands. The context in
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which advertising is placed can either be conform those expectations or not conform. A congruent advertising will fit to the existing brand schema, while incongruence causes a mismatch with the schema. The latter also brings an element of entertainment, because the receiver of the message wants to solve the puzzle of incongruence (Dahlén et al., 2008). Thus, an advertisement about cars in a car magazine will cause less challenges in processing the ad, because it fits the schema, whereas that same advertisement in a cooking magazine can lead to extensive processing of the ad because of the surprise element and the mismatch with the existing beliefs.
Besides brand schema, several studies link congruence to the concept of priming (Dahlén, 2005; Martín-Luengo, Luna & Migueles, 2014; Simola, Kivikangas, Kuisma & Krause, 2013). The surroundings of a persuasive message can influence the processing of that message in such a way that processing of an advertisement becomes easier when consumers are primed with a thematically congruent context. This is caused by the fact that when people read about a certain topic prior to seeing an advertisement on the same topic, this works as a semantic prime. In other words, the information that is needed to process the ad, which can be seen as brand schema, is already accessible in their mind. According to Yi (1990) it is likely that consumers will use this same information and attributes to process the advertisement and evaluate the brand that is advertised.
The concept of priming not only connects to the processing of the advertisement, but also to the level of focus that a reader might have for an ad. Because cognitive priming can be linked to congruence in such a way that the attention of consumers might be drawn to a message that has the same subject as its surrounding, since that topic was already in their minds. Therefore, Moorman et al. (2002) argue that a congruent advertisement will attract the attention of the consumer.
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On the other hand, de Pelsmacker et al. (2002) refer to contrast effects by stating that ads in an incongruent environment get increased attention, because of their novelty and mismatch with the context, which makes the advertisement interesting and innovative to the consumer. Thus, an advertisement that is placed in an incongruent environment might cause a more elaborate and deeper way of processing the information because of this unexpected change of theme, which might eventually lead to better recall and recognition of the picture component of the advertisements. (Heckler & Childers, 1992). Martín-Luengo et al. (2014) refer to this as the isolation effect and state that the distinctive elements of an ad might be remembered better because it attracts the attention of the consumers.
The theories of brand schema, priming and contrast effects or isolation effects have led to several studies on congruence with different outcomes, which will be discussed in the next paragraphs.
An eye tracking study on online advertisements showed that banners that are congruent with their environment generate more attention and longer views, (Porta et al., 2013). Another eye tracking study on newspapers however, indicated that incongruent advertisements received more attention (Simola et al., 2013).
Contradicting results were also found for the effects of congruence on brand memory, since Porta et al. (2013) did not find any influence of congruence on brand memory, whereas Moorman et al. (2002) found a positive effect on brand memory for congruent advertisement and results of Dahlén et al. (2008) showed a positive effect for incongruent advertisements. Moorman et al. (2002) also state that thematic congruence was not found to be related to the attitude towards the advertisement.
Hence, following the existing literature and theories, it might be expected that congruence of product placement does have an effect on recall and recognition, but the
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direction of this effect remains unclear. Also, little is known about the effects of congruence on advertisement attitude, brand attitude and purchase intention.
Method
In order to answer the research question, an experiment was conducted. Participants were exposed to stimuli and answered several questions in an online survey afterwards.
Design and sample
Because this experiment consists of four different groups, namely; a subtle product placement and congruent condition, a subtle product placement and incongruent condition, a prominent product placement and congruent condition and a prominent product placement and
incongruent condition, and at least 30 participants per condition are desired, a number of 120 participants was necessary to conduct the study.
An experiment with a 2 x 2 between-subjects factorial design was conducted to answer the research question mentioned before. The prominence of the product placement can be identified as one of the factors in the experiment. The two conditions of this factor are prominent and subtle. The other factor in this experiment is product-magazine congruence, with a congruent product and an incongruent product as the two conditions. Because all four groups of participants were exposed to a different stimulus, the experiment can be called a between-subjects design.
In total, 140 participants completed the survey ( N = 140 ), of which 23.6% were male ( n = 33 ) and 76.4% female ( n = 107 ). The participants were aged between 19 and 87 years old (M = 40.91, SD = 14.32). The majority of the people that participated in the experiment,
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58.6%, has enjoyed a higher level of education (VWO, HBO or university) ( n = 82 ) and 41.4% was lower educated (none, primary school, VMBO, HAVO or MBO) ( n = 58 ). As can be seen in Table 1, all 140 participants were divided amongst the four different
conditions.
Of all the participants ( N = 140 ) only 8.6% has studied Communication Science ( n = 12 ) whereas 91.4% did not study this subject ( n = 128 ).
Stimulus materials
Print magazine product placements were manipulated to fit the four conditions of the
experiment. The prominence of product placement was adjusted by using a sponsored recipe from Allerhande for the subtle condition. An obvious advertisement of the same product was used for the prominent condition. The sponsored recipe is a form of editorial content, but mixed with advertising since it features a product that is put in the spotlight. The idea to use this kind of advertorials was derived from Russel’s (1998) dimension of product placement called plot connection. Considering that Allerhande is a magazine about cooking food with household items which can be bought at Albert Heijn supermarkets, these sponsored recipes
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actually fit to the plot of Allerhande. Thus, the advertisement is well mixed with the editorial content, which makes the condition with the sponsored recipe subtle.
The magazine-product congruence was manipulated by choosing two different products, one fits the magazine in which the advertorial is placed (Conimex Wokpaste) and one product that does not fit the magazine that well (Philips Izzy Multiroomspeakers). The Conimex Wokpaste can be seen as congruent with Allerhande, because it can be bought at Albert Heijn and consumers would expect this product in this magazine. The Izzy
Multiroomspeakers of Philips however are not for sale at Albert Heijn and consumers might be surprised to see them in a magazine about cooking and food, which makes them an incongruent product.
The stimuli can be found in Appendix A.
Pre-test
A pre-test among 40 (N = 40) participants was conducted to check whether the manipulated material is indeed perceived as prominent or subtle and congruent or incongruent, as was intended by the researcher. The manipulated ads were placed in Allerhande magazine, as was indicated in the survey by placing a picture of the cover of the magazine. The first question of the pre-test asked participants if they were familiar with Allerhande magazine, because if one does not know the magazine, he or she could not determine if an advertisement would be congruent or incongruent with this magazine. All forty participants indicated that they are familiar with Allerhande magazine.
Within this pre-test participants were asked to indicate on a four-point scale (1 =
totally disagree – 4 = totally agree) whether they believed the ads that were created as
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the four-point congruence scale that was used by Moorman et al. (2002) which was used to check the thematic congruence of advertisements and the magazines they were placed in. Participants were also asked to indicate on a four-point scale (1 = totally disagree – 4 = totally
agree) whether they would have expected such an ad in Allerhande magazine or not, using
two items. A principal component analysis (PCA) showed that these two variables form a one-dimensional scale together; only one component had an eigen value above 1 (eigen value = 1.91). The scale was shown to be very reliable, Chronbach’s Alpha = 0.95 and thus
measures congruence of the stimulus material with the Allerhande magazine. The 19 participants (n = 19) that were shown a congruent advertisement indeed considered this a more congruent advertisement (M = 3.42, SD = 0.56) and the 21 participants (n = 21) that saw an incongruent ad, considered this as more incongruent (M = 1.88, SD = 0.65). This difference is significant t(38) = 7.99, p < 0.001, CI [1.15;1.93].
To check if the participants perceived the advertisements as prominent or subtle, they were asked to indicate on a four-point scale (1 = totally disagree – 4 = totally agree) whether it was immediately clear to them that the page that was shown to them contained an
advertisement. To the 20 participants (n = 20) that were shown a subtle advertisement it was less clear that the page contained an advertisement (M = 2.95, SD = 0.69) and to the 20 participants (n = 20) that saw a prominent ad, it was more clear that the page contained an advertisement (M = 3.45, SD = 0.76). This difference is significant t(38) = -2.19, p = 0.035, CI [-0.96;-0.37].
Also, participants were asked to indicate on a four-point scale (1 = totally disagree – 4 = totally agree) whether they believed the advertised product was subtly present on the page that was shown. This last variable was recoded, because it asks about the subtlety instead of the prominence of the ad as the first question did. The 20 participants (n = 20) that were shown a subtle advertisement indeed believed that the advertised product was more subtly
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present on the page (M = 2.3, SD = 0.73) and the 20 participants (n = 20) that saw a prominent ad, did believe that the advertised product was less subtly present on the page (M = 2.95, SD = 0.76). This difference is significant t(38) = -2.76, p = 0.009, CI [-1.13;-0.17].
A Pearson Correlation test showed that there is no significant correlation, r = 0.06, p = 0.736, between the perceived level of congruency of the page and if it was immediately clear to the respondent that the page contained an advertisement. And a second Pearson Correlation test showed that there is no significant correlation, r = 0.15, p = 0.351, between the perceived level of congruency of the page and if the advertised product was perceived as subtly present on the page that was shown.
All participants were randomly assigned to a condition and were shown one of the four advertisements that belonged to the stimulus material. The above-mentioned results indicate that the manipulation was successful and suitable for the following experiment.
Procedure
In order to gather sufficient participants for the experiment, a convenience sample was conducted. The link to the survey was spread amongst people in the personal network of the researcher through social media and email. This also caused a snowball effect of participants forwarding the study to other people. There was no reward or incentive linked to completing the survey.
Participants were forwarded to the study after clicking on the link. To create the survey, the Qualtrics account of the University of Amsterdam was used, which gave it a sincere and certified look and feel due to the format and logo of the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences. Preliminary to starting the survey, participants were asked to read the informed consent and to agree with their participation in the study. The first question that
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asked if people are familiar with Allerhande magazine, was incorporated, because if one does not know Allerhande, he or she cannot assess the congruence of the stimulus. Therefore, a number of six participants was left out of the analysis, after indicating that they were not familiar with Allerhande magazine. This left the total number of participants that completed the survey at 140 ( N = 140).
Subsequently, participants were exposed to one of the four stimuli; a subtle or prominent form of product placement, which was either congruent or incongruent with Allerhande. The showing of the stimulus was timed, so that only after ten seconds the participants were able to proceed to the next page, to ensure that the advertisement was paid close attention to.
After exposure to the stimulus, participants were asked to answer several questions to measure the subtlety and congruence of the advertisement, their recall and recognition of the product and brand, advertisement attitude, brand attitude and purchase intention. In order to check for any possible confounding effects, participants were also asked to answer questions on their level of persuasion knowledge, whether they have studied Communication Science and several demographics.
Finally, participants were thanked for their participation in this study.
Measures
Prominence: To check if the participants perceived the advertisements as prominent or
subtle, they were asked to indicate on a four-point scale (1 = totally disagree – 4 = totally
agree) whether it was immediately clear to them that the page that was shown to them
contained an advertisement, similar to the question in the pre-test. The second question was slightly adjusted and asked participants to indicate whether they believed the advertised
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product was clearly present on the page that was shown. A PCA indicates that these two items together form a one-dimensional scale, only 1 component has an eigenvalue above 1
(eigenvalue = 1.569). Both items relate positively to each other and have the same level of cohesion (component load = 0.886). According to a reliability analysis, the scale is reasonably reliable, Cronbach’s alpha = 0.719. The scale thus seems to measure the level of subtlety of the product placement.
Congruence: To test whether the participants perceived the stimulus as congruent or not with
Allerhande, the same two questions were asked as in the pre-test. A PCA indicates that the two items together form a one-dimensional scale, only 1 component has an eigenvalue above 1 (eigenvalue = 1.855). Both items relate positively to each other and have the same level of cohesion (component load = 0.963). According to a reliability analysis, the scale is reliable, Cronbach’s alpha = 0.921. The scale thus seems to measure congruence of the stimulus material with Allerhande magazine.
Recall: To test whether participants remember the brand and product they were exposed to
through the stimulus, both open and aided recall questions were asked. The open recall question asked participants to type the brand they just saw. An aided product recall question was incorporated to check if participants remembered the product they were exposed to. This question had three answer options. An aided brand recall question, with as well three answer options, was incorporated to check if participants remembered the brand they were exposed to.
Recognition: To test whether participants recognize the brand they were exposed to through
the stimulus, a recognition question was asked. This question showed a picture of the logo of the brand linked to the stimulus and asked participants whether they had just seen this brand or not.
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Level of persuasion knowledge: This concept is according to Russel (2002) best defined as
an activated attitude towards a persuasive attempt. It can be seen as a characteristic or ability that consumers have or have not and it can make them more susceptible to persuasion cues. According to Friestad and Wright (1995), people with a high level of persuasion knowledge can detect the persuasive attempt in advertising and are more likely to engage in counter arguing. In order to estimate the level of persuasion knowledge of the participants, three propositions on the commercial intentions of the page were presented. Responding options varied from 1 = totally agree to 7 = totally disagree, (Dahlén & Edenius, 2007).
A PCA indicates that the three items together form a one-dimensional scale, only 1 component has an eigenvalue above 1 (eigenvalue = 2.394) and there is a clear kink visible after this component in the scree plot. All items relate positively to the first component, whereby the variable that measures if people perceive the goal of the page as to sell more products, has the highest cohesion (component load = 0.926). According to a reliability analysis, the scale is reliable, Cronbach’s alpha = 0.872. The scale thus seems to measure the level of persuasion knowledge.
Attitude towards the advertisement: Advertisements can be experienced in either a neutral,
negative or a positive way. The attitude one has towards the advertisements addresses his or her feelings towards the ad. Lutz et al. (1983) define advertisement attitude as the affective reactions that people have to an advertising stimulus. They state that receivers of an
advertising message grow an attitude towards that ad and that this advertisement attitude can also influence the attitude towards the brand. This attitude was measured through six
propositions and participants’ agreement on a five-point scale (1 = totally disagree, 5 = totally
agree) regarding the likeability, informativeness and clarity of the advertisement (De
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A PCA indicates that the six items together for do not form a one-dimensional scale, because 2 components have an eigenvalue above 1 (eigenvalue = 3.253 and eigenvalue = 1.030). The two items on the informativeness of the advertisement do not relate to the four items regarding the likeability and clarity of the advertisement. Therefore it was decided to not take informativeness into account in the analyses and create a scale variable for attitude towards the advertisement with only likeability and clarity. Another PCA indicates that these four items together form a one-dimensional scale, only 1 component has an eigenvalue above 1 (eigenvalue = 2.661) and there is a clear kink visible after this component in the scree plot. All items relate positively to the first component, whereby the variable that measures if people perceive the advertisement as clear, has the highest cohesion (component load = 0.854). According to a reliability analysis, the scale is reliable, Cronbach’s alpha = 0.83. The scale thus seems to measure the attitude towards the advertisement.
Brand attitude: Brands can be experienced in either a neutral, negative or a positive way.
The attitude one has towards a brand addresses his or her feelings towards that brand. Fransen and van den Putte (2012) define brand attitude as the perceived value that consumers have of a brand. They also state that brand attitudes are changeable and bound to shifts in the market and competing brands. Brand attitude for Conimex was measured through four bipolar adjectives on a 7-point scale. These adjectives were good – bad, positive – negative, pleasant – unpleasant, and like – dislike (Dahlén, 2005; Yi, 1990).
A PCA indicates that the four items together form a one-dimensional scale, only 1 component has an eigenvalue above 1 (eigenvalue = 3.497) and there is a clear kink visible after this component in the scree plot. All items relate positively to the first component, whereby the variable that measures if people perceive Conimex as pleasant or unpleasant, has the highest cohesion (component load = 0.973). According to a reliability analysis, the scale is
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reliable, Cronbach’s alpha = 0.951. The scale thus seems to measure the brand attitude towards Conimex.
Brand attitude for Philips was measured through the same four bipolar adjectives on a 7-point scale as for the brand attitude for Conimex. A PCA indicates that the four items together form a one-dimensional scale, only 1 component has an eigenvalue above 1 (eigenvalue = 3.384) and there is a clear kink visible after this component in the scree plot. All items relate positively to the first component, whereby the variable that measures if people perceive Philips as positive or negative, has the highest cohesion (component load = 0.952). According to a reliability analysis, the scale is reliable, Cronbach’s alpha = 0.939. The scale thus seems to measure the brand attitude towards Philips.
The scales that measured the brand attitudes for Conimex and Philips were combined into one scale that measured brand attitude.
Purchase intention: When an individual has a conscious plan to make an effort and purchase
something from a brand, this can be defined as purchase intention (Spears & Singh, 2004). Purchase intention for Conimex was measured through three bipolar adjectives on a 7-point scale linked to the chance that the participant will soon buy a product of Conimex. These adjectives were probable – improbable, possible – impossible, and likely – unlikely (Yi, 1990). A PCA indicates that the three items together form a one-dimensional scale, only 1 component has an eigenvalue above 1 (eigenvalue = 2.762) and there is a clear kink visible after this component in the scree plot. All items relate positively to the first component, whereby the variable that measures if people perceive the chance that they will soon buy a Conimex product as probable or improbable, has the highest cohesion (component load = 0.976). According to a reliability analysis, the scale is reliable, Cronbach’s alpha = 0.956. The scale thus seems to measure the purchase intention of Conimex.
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Purchase intention for Philips was measured through same three bipolar adjectives on a 7-point scale as for the purchase intention for Conimex. A PCA indicates that the three items together form a one-dimensional scale, only 1 component has an eigenvalue above 1 (eigenvalue = 2.577) and there is a clear kink visible after this component in the scree plot. All items relate positively to the first component, whereby the variable that measures if people perceive the chance that they will soon buy a Philips product as likely or unlikely, has the highest cohesion (component load = 0.961). According to a reliability analysis, the scale is reliable, Cronbach’s alpha = 0.918. The scale thus seems to measure the purchase intention of Philips.
The scales that measured purchase intention for Conimex and Philips were combined into one scale that measured purchase intention.
Possible confounding variables: In order to check for any possible confounding effects and
therefore exclude alternate explanations, several variables were subjected to a Pearson’s Correlations test with the independent variables subtlety and congruency. As can be seen in Table 2, no significant results were found for the variables age, gender, education level, studying Communication Science and level of persuasion knowledge. Therefore, these variables were not taken along in the following analyses as covariates.
25 Results
Manipulation check
An independent t-test was conducted to check whether the manipulation was successful or not. The 66 participants ( n = 66 ) who were exposed to a subtle form of product placement indeed considered this as a more subtle advertisement ( M = 2.83, SD = 0.73 ) and the 74 participants ( n = 74 ) who were exposed to a prominent form of product placement perceived this as more prominent ( M = 3.43, SD = 0.58 ). This difference is significant t(124.65) = -5.31, p < 0.001 , CI [-0.82, - 0.38].
Furthermore, the 75 participants ( n = 75 ) who were exposed to a congruent form of product placement indeed considered this as more congruent ( M = 3.25, SD = 0.55 ) and the 65 participants ( n = 65 ) who were exposed to an incongruent form of product placement perceived this as more incongruent ( M = 1.93, SD = 0.65 ). This difference is significant
t(138) = -13.02, p < 0.001 , CI [1.12, 1.52]. Hence, the manipulation of the stimuli was
successful.
Effect of prominence and congruence on processing of product placements
To test whether prominence and congruence had an effect on brand recall, recognition, advertisement attitude, brand attitude and purchase intention, several independent t-tests were conducted. The results, which are also shown in Table 3, revealed that prominence did not have a significant effect on aided product recall significant ( t (138) = 1.53, p = 0.127, CI = [-0.04, 0.30] ), aided brand recall ( t (99.9) = 1.58, p = 0.117, CI = [-0.02, 0.14] ), advertisement attitude ( t (137.71) = 1.06, p = 0.293 , CI = [-0.12, 0.41] ), brand attitude ( t (138) = 0.25, p = 0.806 , CI = [-0.35, 0.45] ) and purchase intention ( t (138) = 0.87, p = 0.386 , CI = [-0.33, 0.84] ). It was shown that on average participants who were exposed to a prominent product
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placement better aided recalled the product and the brand, had a lower attitude towards the advertisement and the brand and had a higher purchase intention, than participants who were exposed to a subtle product placement. However, these effects were not significant.
The results also showed that prominence did have a significant effect on open brand recall ( t (96.14) = 2.44, p = 0.016 , CI = [0.02, 0.023] ) and recognition ( t (104.59) = 2.11, p = 0.037, CI = [0.01, 0.22] ). This illustrates that participants who were exposed to a prominent product placement better open recalled and recognized the brand than participants who saw a subtle product placement stimulus.
Furthermore, the results indicated that congruence did not have a significant effect on aided brand recall ( t (96.87) = -1.61, p = 0.110 , CI = [-0.15, 0.02] ), brand attitude ( t (138) = 1.03, p = 0.306 , CI = [-.19, 0.60] ) and purchase intention ( t (136.62) = -1.38, p = 0.169 , CI = [-.97, 0.17] ). It was shown that on average participants who were exposed to a congruent product placement better aided recalled the brand, had a better attitude towards the brand and a higher purchase intention than participants who were exposed to an incongruent product placement. However, these effects were not significant.
On the other hand, congruence did show to have a significant effect on open brand recall ( t (93.31) = 2,48, p = 0.015 , CI = [0.23, 0.03] ), aided product recall ( t (138) = 4.73, p < 0.001 , CI = [0.53, 0.22] ), recognition ( t (81.83) = 3.25, p = 0.002 , CI = [0.28, -0.07] ) and advertisement attitude ( t (110.12) = 5.72, p < 0.001 , CI = [0.46, 0.95] ). This illustrates that participants who were exposed to a congruent product placement better open recalled the brand and aided recalled product, better recognized the brand and had a better attitude towards the advertisement than participants who were exposed to an incongruent product placement.
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Conclusion and discussion
The aim of this study was to gain more insight in the effects of the prominence and
congruence of product placement in print media on brand memory, advertisement attitude, brand attitude and purchase intention. Research was conducted to fill the gaps in the existing literature on this topic. The obtained insights might also inform marketers and advertisers on how to create the most effective and appreciated form of product placement.
The results of this experiment show that when people see a prominent advertisement they will remember and recognize the brand better than when they see a subtle advertisement. The above mentioned results are in line with studies by Gillespie et al. (2012), van
Reijmersdal et al. (2010), and Gupta and Lord (1998). The current study has also shown that when people are confronted with a congruent advertisement they will remember and
recognize the brand and recall the product better than when they see an incongruent
advertisement. These results are in line with a study by Moorman et al. (2002), but contrary to the study of Dahlén et al. (2008). Whereas Moorman et al. (2002) did not find any relation between congruence and the attitude towards the advertisement, the current study did.
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Namely, when people see a congruent advertisement, their attitude towards this ad will be better than when they see an incongruent advertisement.
One of the assets of this study is the investigation of product placement in print media, because of the little knowledge on using this platform for placements. This advantage could even be further expanded within future research. The current study implemented pages of Allerhande magazine as stimuli in the experiment. However, Allerhande magazine is published by a Dutch chain of supermarkets, it is their own magazine with news from the stores, new products, recipes and articles on seasonal products. Occasionally the recipes in this magazine are sponsored and contain products that are put in the spotlight, comparable to the stimuli. People might be aware of the fact that Allerhande in fact is more of an
advertisement leaflet than an actual magazine, which made them already expect to encounter advertising. Future research could possibly try to also test the effects of product placement in a proper cooking magazine such as Delicious or Jamie Magazine and compare these to Allerhande, in order to see if there are different effects for supermarket magazines and publisher magazines. This would also add to the knowledge on product placement in print media.
Another asset of this study can be found in the variety of the products that were used in the stimuli of the experiment. Whereas wok paste could be described as a search good, which is easy to evaluate for consumers just by looking at it, the multi-room speakers are more of an experience good, which consumers actually need to use in order to judge whether it meets their standards. One could therefore state that these two products differ in the level of involvement that consumers have with such product. Future research might add on to this advantage by using an even greater variety in products and choosing both congruent and incongruent products from several levels of involvement. For example, when wok paste is a
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congruent product, the incongruent product on that same low level of involvement might be toilet paper or dishwashing soap.
Concluding, the results of this study appear to state that a prominent and congruent form of product placement has the most positive effects on brand and product recall, brand recognition and advertisement attitude. These insights might help marketers and advertisers who are looking for the most effective way to use product placement, by stating that a prominent and congruent placement would be the better choice.
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Appendix A. Stimuli
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