D
O EXTRAVERTS PREFER EXTRAVERTED ADS?
CONSUMER RESPONSES TO VISUAL AND SELF
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CONGRUITY IN ADVERTISINGAnna Fenko, University of Twente, Netherland Anoek Hogenkamp, University of Twente, Netherlands
Mirjam Galetzka, University of Twente, Netherlands
Corresponding author: Anna Fenko
Faculty of Behavioral Sciences University of Twente
De Zul 10, 7522NJ, Enschede, Netherlands E-mail: a.fenko@utwente.nl
Tel. +31-53-489-2157
Abstract (100 words)
Recent studies emphasize positive effects of congruity in advertising on consumer responses, but the effects of different types of congruity remain unclear. This study investigated the effects of visual and ad/self-congruity on consumers’ attitudes toward the ad, perceived product quality and purchase intentions. In a 2x2 between-subjects experiment (N=173), introverted and extroverted participants were exposed to advertisements with introverted/extraverted visual design for extraverted/introverted products. The results demonstrated the positive effect of visual congruity on attitude towards the ad. However, the effect of ad/self-congruity was non-significant. Both introverted and extraverted consumers preferred the congruent combination of the introverted product and advertisement.
INTRODUCTION
When creating an advertisement for a specific product, designers, often intuitively, opt for a certain degree of a match between the different elements of an ad and the featured product. For instance, in car advertisements the road and driving situations are often depicted rather than out-of-context situations in the office or at home. The people depicted in ads usually closely match the product’s target group, i.e., conventional middle-aged people are portrayed driving black sedans, while young eccentric people are portrayed driving red sport cars. Within the advertisement, different design elements (colors, fonts, shapes, etc.) also tend to fit together in a consistent image conveying a coherent message.
A growing number of empirical findings substantiate this design strategy. Neurological research shows that congruence between stimuli improves processing fluency (Gottfried and Dolan, 2003). Stimuli that are easy to process are generally evaluated more positively, because fast and effortless processing is experienced as more pleasant (Lee and Labroo, 2004; Reber, Schwarz, and Winkielman, 2004). The processing fluency caused by congruity between advertising elements also results in faster stimulus discrimination, classification and recognition (Pavani, Spence and Driver, 2000; Marks, 2004; Newell, 2004). Faster product recognition is beneficial in establishing long-term relationships with consumers that tend to choose products based on recognizable cues that are processed easily and effortlessly in an automatic way (e.g., Dijksterhuis et al., 2005).
However, different types of congruity can trigger different consumer responses. For instance, semantic congruity (e.g., the match between a feminine product design and an advertisement depicting a stereotypical gender role) can be easily overridden by visual congruity (e.g., the match between colors) (Fenko and Drost, 2014). In a review of the research on multisensory congruity in retail environment, Bone and Ellen (1999) concluded that research found only weak effects of odor congruity on product evaluation. However, Gottfried and Dolan (2003) showed that the detection of odors was better when an odor was presented together with a congruent picture than when an odor was presented with an incongruent picture.
Advertising that is not congruent with a product may evoke a surprise reaction, which can lead to a higher recall and recognition of the product and can make the product more interesting for consumers (Ludden, Schifferstein, and Hekkert, 2008). Ludden and Schifferstein (2009) suggested that incongruent odors in products might be evaluated positively, especially for products that normally do not carry a scent of their own. Fenko et al. (2009) showed that an incongruent combination of product scent and color was evaluated positively for dishwashing liquid, but not for a soft drink. Therefore, the effects of congruity seem to be context-dependent.
Visual Congruity
In the present study, we focus on the two types of congruity: 1) the visual congruity between the product and the advertisement design and 2) the congruity between the advertisement and the consumers’ personality characteristics.
When the visual stimuli are congruent, they are processed more easily, which results in a more favorable attitudes towards the ad and more positive product evaluation (Reber et al., 2004; Van Rompay and Pruyn, 2011). Multiple advantages of the visual congruity between a product and an advertisement has been reported, including an increased aesthetic pleasure,
enhanced purchase intention, more credibility, positive appraisal, and a heightened feeling of familiarity, which is preferred over novel stimuli (Winkielman et al., 2000; Rompay et al., 2009).
Some scholars claim that ad/product incongruity might lead to favorable evaluations, since it could enhance a consumer’s cognitive arousal, eagerness and surprise, and when contradictions are resolved, it may elicit more positive effects. Congruent stimuli might have an enhanced aesthetic value, but they are predictable (maybe even boring), and therefore do not stimulate any extensive interest, resulting in a mild response (Halkias and Kokkinaki, 2013; Dahlén et al., 2005; Bloch, 1995).
However, the majority of research suggest that even though consumers might like a bit of a surprise, generally people prefer products that are predictable and confirm their expectations (Meyers-Levy and Tybout, 1989), especially in a category of foods and drinks (Cardello, 1994; Deliza and MacFie, 1997). Therefore, in the present study, the following hypothesis is tested:
H1: Congruity between advertising design and a product positively influences perceived mood, perceived product quality, attitude toward the advertisement and purchase intentions.
Self-congruity
Consumers with different personality characteristics may evaluate advertisements differently (Khare and Handa, 2009). Myers et al. (2010) propose a concept to take the consumer’s personality traits into account when creating an advertisement. According to the self-congruity theory, consumers prefer advertisements and brands they associate with a set of personality traits congruent with their own (Boksberger et al., 2010). Consumers prefer products and brands that fit their own self-concept (Govers and Schoormans, 2005; Kressman et al., 2006). Studies have identified several positive effects due to ad/self-congruity, namely positive affective responses, more effective messages, increased agreement with the messages, positive attitudes toward the advertisement, competitive advantages, enhanced brand memory, and increased purchase intentions (Aguirre-Rodriguez et al., 2012; Chang, 2002; Chang, 2006; Govers and Mugge, 2004; Xue and Phelps, 2013).
The present study looks into the effect of the introversion/extraversion on consumer evaluation of different combinations of products and design elements in advertising. Introverted people appear more quiet and reserved (Sanderman et al., 2012). They possess qualities such as thoughtfulness, self-awareness, eye for detail, seriousness, control over the situation, and the interest to observe (Harbaugh, 2010). Social interaction costs them energy in contrast to extraverted people who gain energy from these types of situations. Introverted people appreciate autonomy and independence (Hills and Argyle, 2001). Extraverted people, on the other hand, appreciate social contact and have many friends. Extraverts flourish when being around others and easily get bored when being alone (Helgoe, 2008). They like to try anything new and don’t have any difficulty with taking a risk. Extraverted people seek a certain kind of excitement and arousal in the things they do. They are impulsive, optimistic, easygoing, active, carefree, assertive, and venturous (Orth et al., 2010; Zhang, 2002).
The level of extraversion can be associated with two different moods, which are relaxed/calm/serious (introverted), and busy/enthusiastic/fun (extraverted) (Fontana, 1983). In the current study, the design elements of advertisements and the featured products were manipulated to portray either a relaxed/calm/serious mood or a busy/enthusiastic/fun mood. These moods largely correspond to the introversion/extraversion as a personality characteristic. Therefore, in this paper the relaxed/calm/serious mood is addressed as the
introverted mood, and the busy/enthusiastic/fun mood is addressed as the extraverted mood. However, the authors realize that introversion and extraversion are personality traits and not moods.
Based on the self-congruity theory, we suggest that ad/self-congruity positively influences the attitude toward the advertisement and purchase intentions, whereas ad/self-incongruity negatively influences attitude toward the advertisement and purchase intentions. Therefore, in the present study we test the following hypotheses:
H2: The introverted respondents have a more positive attitude toward the advertisement and higher purchase intentions when the ad contains introverted design elements compared to the ad containing extraverted design elements.
H3: The extraverted respondents have a more positive attitude toward the advertisement and higher purchase intention when the ad contains extraverted design elements compared to the ad containing introverted design elements.
METHOD
Pre-study
A pre-test was performed to establish which design elements are evaluated as introverted or extraverted. In addition, 18 beverages were evaluated to find out which one is considered to be introverted and extraverted. A sample of 20 Dutch respondents participated in the pre-study (65% females, the age ranged from 22 to 59, the mean age was 33). They were asked to assess different advertising elements (colors, shapes, lines, fonts and images) and beverages on a 6-item scale, which contained several opposites such as energetic – relaxed, fun – serious, and confident – timid (on a 5-point scale). Based on the results of several paired sample t-tests, the elements that were significantly different in level of introversion mood were selected for the main study (see Table 1).
Main study
A 2 (advertising design: introverted vs. extraverted) x 2 (product: introverted vs. extraverted) between subjects experiment was performed. Participants’ level of extraversion served as the covariate in the experimental design.
A sample consisted of 173 Dutch consumers (82.7% were women); the age ranged from 16 to 74; mean age was 34. The educational level of the participants was represented by secondary school (12.1%), professional degree (38.2%), bachelor degree (32.4%) and master degree (17.3%). Participants’ demographic characteristics did not significantly differ between the four experimental conditions.
The stimuli for all four conditions are presented in Figure 1. After seeing one of the four advertisements, participants evaluated the mood perceived from the ad, attitude towards the ad (Wells, 1964), quality perception of the product and purchase intention (Bower and Landreth, 2001). Participants’ level of extraversion was assessed with the standardized scale (Sanderman et al., 2012). All scales yielded high reliability levels (see Table 2).
A multivariate analysis of covariance was performed with Design of the ad (introverted vs. extraverted) and Product (introverted vs. extraverted) as the independent factors, participants’
level of Extraversion as the covariate, and Perceived mood, Attitude toward the ad, Perceived
product quality, and Purchase intention as dependent variables.
RESULTS
MANCOVA showed significant main effects of Advertising Design and Product and their interaction on the combined dependent variables (see Table 3 for statistical details).
Analysis of between-subject effects (Table 4) showed that Advertising Design significantly influenced Perceived mood and Perceived product quality. In the introverted design condition the mood was perceived as more introverted (M=3.12) than in the extraverted design condition (M=2.01). The quality of both products (mineral water and energy drink) was rated higher (M=2.93) in the introverted design condition than in the extraverted (M=2.68).
Product had significant effect on Perceived mood, Perceived product quality and Purchase intention. In the mineral water advertising the mood was significantly more introverted
(M=2.83) than in the energy drink advertising (M=2.28). Mineral water (M=3.11) was perceived as having a higher quality than the energy drink (M=2.47). Purchase intention for mineral water was also higher (M=2.83) than for energy drink (M=2.47).
Interaction effect of the Ad design and the Product was significant for the Attitude toward the
ad (see Figure 2). The introverted advertising for mineral water (M=3.10) was evaluated more
positively than the extraverted ad (M=2.88). The extraverted ad for the energy drink (M=3.00) was evaluated more positively than the introverted ad (M=2.67) (see Figure 2). No significant effects of consumers’ Extraversion level on any of the dependent variables were found.
DISCUSSION
Our results demonstrated that congruity between the advertising design and the featured product positively influenced the attitude toward the advertisement, which supports our hypothesis 1. The introverted advertisement for mineral water (an introverted product) was evaluated more positively than the extraverted ad. And vice versa, the extraverted ad for the energy drink (an extraverted product) was evaluated more positively than the introverted ad (see Figure 2). This result is in line with previous studies on processing fluency that emphasize the positive effects of visual congruity on consumer responses (Fenko and Drost, 2014; Reber et al., 2004; van Rompay and Pruyn, 2011).
However, the effects of self-congruity on the evaluation of the ads and products were non-significant. Therefore, our results do not support hypotheses 2 and 3, which state that congruity between the personality and advertising design positively influences attitudes to the ad and product evaluation. These results could be explained by the biased sample characteristics. However, the distribution of extraverted and introverted participants in our sample (M=11.0, SD=4.6 ) was in line with the general population (M=10.4, SD=4.9, Sanderman et al., 2012). It can be concluded that consumers in general perceive the extraverted product and design elements more negatively, irrespective of their personality characteristics.
In our study participants preferred introverted product (mineral water) and introverted advertising design irrespective of their level of extraversion. It is possible that introverted products and ads were considered more appealing and associated with higher quality due to specific visual cues, such as colors, shapes, or fonts. Judgments concerning elegance, functionality, social significance, and quality are largely based on visual cues (Creusen and Schoormans, 2005), such as color (Aslam, 2006) and shape (Mugge et al., 2009). Further research is needed to look into the associations between product personality and product quality perceptions.
Limitations and future research
In the present study, the effect of ad/self-congruity was tested with only one of the “Big Five” personality traits, namely, extraversion. Despite the fact that our study did not find any significant effects of ad/self-congruity on advertising perception and product evaluation, further research is needed that include ad/self-congruity with other personality characteristics, including agreeableness, conscientiousness, emotional stability and openness to experience. It is also possible that the non-significant results of ad/self-congruity are related to the choice of the products in our study. Food and drinks are low involvement products that people routinely consume without much thinking and without much consideration for the
self/product congruity. Further research is needed with high involvement products (such as clothing and cars) to test whether ad/self-congruity might actually influence consumer responses to such products.
Conclusions and practical implications
The study has demonstrated that visual congruity between the advertising design and the featured product positively influences attitude toward the advertisement, whereas design/product incongruity has negative effect on consumer responses. These findings can be directly used by the designers and marketers in creating attractive advertisings and other marketing communication tools.
The personality characteristics of consumers (the level of extraversion) did not show any effects on attitude towards the ad and product evaluation. Therefore, we can conclude that the ad/self-congruity in extraversion does not influence advertising perception and product evaluation (at least in the beverages category).
Our results suggest that consumers perceive the introverted product and design elements more positively, irrespective of their personality characteristics. Designers and marketers can take this finding into account while developing advertisings for foods and beverages.
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Table 1.
Mean introversion mood scores (with SD) of design elements and products used in the main study
Busy/enthusiastic/fun = Extraverted
Relaxed/calm/serious = Introverted Paired sample T-test Color M=10.30; SD=2.90 M=24.40; SD=3.59 p < .001 Shape M= 10.95; SD= 4.08 M=22.05; SD=5.99 p < .001 Line M=13.60; SD=4.50 M=25.50, SD=4.53 p < .001 Font
Brush Script MT
Times New Roman
M=10.7; SD=3.18 M=20.95; SD= 5.05 p < .001 Image
M=9.20; SD=3.09 M=24.85; SD=3.03 p < .001 Beverage Energy drink Mineral water
M=11.55; SD=4.81 M=25.60; SD=3.80 p < .001
Table 2.
Reliability of the scales used in the main study
Cronbach’s α Number of items Deleted items
Mood 0.95 17 0
Attitude toward the ad 0.87 14 0 Price/quality perception 0.86 5 0 Purchase intention 0.96 6 0
Table 3. Main statistics (MANCOVA)
Effect df Error df F p η2
Advertising design 4 165 37.98 .000** .479 Product 4 165 15.21 .000** .270 Participants’ extraversion 4 165 .89 .462 .022 Advertising design * Product 4 165 4.29 .038* .061
** Effect is significant on the .01 level; * effect is significant at the .05 level.
Table 4. Between-subjects test statistics from the MANCOVA
df Error df F p η2
Advertising design
Perceived mood 1 168 143.89 .000** .461 Attitude toward the ad 1 168 .26 .608 .002 Perceived quality 1 168 5.49 .020* .032 Purchase intentions 1 168 2.95 .087 .017
Product
Perceived mood 1 168 35.67 .000** .175 Attitude toward the ad 1 168 2.17 .142 .013 Perceived quality 1 168 30.34 .000** .153 Purchase intentions 1 168 5.01 .026* .029
Participants’ extraversion
Perceived mood 1 168 2.82 .095 .017 Attitude toward the ad 1 168 .15 .691 .001 Perceived quality 1 168 1.21 .271 .007 Purchase intentions 1 168 .33 .564 .002
Advertising design * Product
Perceived mood 1 168 3.90 .050* .023 Attitude toward the ad 1 168 7.39 .007** .042 Perceived quality 1 168 1.23 .269 .007 Purchase intentions 1 168 2.10 .149 .012
** Effect is significant on the .01 level; * effect is significant at the .05 level. Effect of design: F (1, 168) = 143.89; p < .001**
Figure 1. Stimulus material used in the main study
A. Extraverted design + extraverted product B. Extraverted design + introverted product
Figure 2. Attitude toward the ad (with SE) in the four experimental conditions 2,3 2,4 2,5 2,6 2,7 2,8 2,9 3 3,1 3,2
Introverted design Extraverted design
Mineral water Energy drink
