Citation
(2015), "Executive summary of “How subjective processing fluency predicts attitudes toward visual advertisements and purchase intention”", Journal of Consumer Marketing, Vol. 32 No. 6. https://doi.org/10.1108/JCM-09-2015-044
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Executive summary of “How subjective processing fluency predicts attitudes toward visual advertisements and purchase intention”
Article Type: Executive summary and implications for managers and executives From: Journal of Consumer Marketing, Volume 32, Issue 6
This summary has been provided to allow managers and executives a rapid appreciation of the content of this article. Those with a particular interest in the topic covered may then read the article in toto to take advantage of the more comprehensive description of the research undertaken and its results to get the full benefits of the material present.
Various scholars have noted the significance of processing fluency with regard to how consumers respond to stimuli. They claim that the affective reaction to the stimuli will be positive when processing is straightforward. On the other hand, difficulty in processing is likely to result in a negative affective reaction. Response is attributed to a “hedonically marked” signal which emerges during the processing act. This theoretical approach has been applied in various settings, including many aspects of advertising research.
Differentiating between conceptual and perceptual fluency is seen as a critical element of what is termed the theory of hedonic marking of processing fluency. Conceptual fluency relates to the ease in which cognitive meaning can be attained from the stimulus. Semantic elements of the stimulus have an impact on this form of fluency. Studies into advertising effectiveness found that processing fluency of an advertisement was positively influenced when “semantically-related” information about the product was included. On the other hand, how easy an individual can ascertain the physical identity of the stimulus through its visual aspects is the essence of perceptual fluency.
Storme et al., explore what they label “subjective processing fluency” in the present study. This term refers to the aspect of processing fluency that is “consciously experienced”. It has been previously suggested that people are able to utilize internal cognitive systems as a means of intentionally monitoring the fluency of their processing.
Different researchers have pointed out the value of this “metacognitive” capacity to monitor and accurately report processing fluency. Marketers are able to predict consumer attitudes towards the advertisements in question. This in turn influences feelings towards the featured product or brand and purchase intention.
What determines processing fluency is less apparent on the evidence thus far. It does, however, appear that ease of processing results in people’s motivation towards the task being greater. Being more positive makes them willing to expend higher levels of attention and effort, which then increases the depth of processing that occurs. Such a sequence of events generates positivity towards the advertisement and product or brand, meaning that purchase intention rises accordingly.
A core aim in the first of two studies was to develop a scale to measure subjective processing fluency. French university students were recruited for the study and females accounted for 153 of the 176 who participated. For the experiment, the authors used three magazine advertisements: promoting a car, driving lessons and a beverage. Four versions of each advertisement were used: the original ad, one altered semantically but not visually, one altered visually but not semantically and one altered both semantically and visually. Pretests confirmed that the altered versions were more difficult to understand but could still be correctly processed.
Each subject was exposed to one version of one of the four advertisements and asked to complete a questionnaire addressing perceptual fluency, conceptual fluency and attitude towards the advertisement.
The analysis confirmed that:
Semantic clarity of the advertisement significantly predicts self-reported conceptual fluency.
Visual clarity of the advertisement is a significant predictor of self-reported perceptual fluency.
Both semantic clarity and visual clarity strongly influenced attitude towards the advertisement. Respective indirect effects through conceptual processing fluency and perceptual processing fluency were also reported.
It was additionally found that it was easier to perceptually process advertisements that were conceptually altered. This discovery was unanticipated and attributed to the fact that semantic alterations reduced the number of overall elements and thus helped simplify processing.
The authors conclude that participants indicated unfavorable attitudes towards advertisements that were visually and/or semantically altered because change negatively impacted on processing fluency.
In the second study, the purpose was to consider the relationship between processing fluency and self-reported attention to processing, motivation to process and depth of processing. It was assumed that these variables would then influence attitudes towards the advertisement and the featured product or brand and affect purchase intention.
Different university students from Paris were recruited for the experiment and the final sample included 169 women and 35 men. Participants were exposed to one of three magazine advertisements, this time accordingly promoting a car, a bicycle and a beverage. These advertisements were selected on the basis of variation in their levels of visual and semantic clarity, thus impacting processing fluency. After viewing one of the three advertisements on their computer screen, subjects completed a questionnaire relating to the issues under investigation.
Data indicated that:
Positive correlation exists between self-reported perceptual processing fluency and self-reported attention, motivation and depth.
Self-reported conceptual processing fluency was positively associated with self-reported attention, motivation and depth.
Significant positive correlation was evident between self-reported total processing fluency and attention, motivation and depth.
Attitudes towards the advertisement are predicted by attention and slightly by motivation but not by depth.
Brand attitudes are influenced by depth and marginally by attention and motivation.
Only depth is a predictor of purchase intention. No effect was apparent for attention or motivation.
Processing fluency significantly predicts attitude towards both advertisement and brand, and purchase intention.
Attention was also found to mediate the link between processing fluency and attitude towards the advertisement. Similarly, processing fluency’s relationships with brand attitude and purchase intention are evidently mediated by depth.
Storme et al. conclude that the ad hoc model used had an acceptable fit in both studies. They subsequently contend that it can prove useful in helping marketers to analyse the potential effectiveness of advertisements during their development. By ascertaining the likely ease of processing, firms can identify flaws and take any necessary corrective actions regarding the visual and/or semantic content of the advertisement. The authors also point out the scope to customize ads for different consumer segments.
Sample limitations in terms of age-range and gender imbalance are acknowledged. Replicating the work using more representative samples is therefore recommended. Researchers could consider other forms of visual advertisements additional to the magazine ads used in this work. It is speculated that processing ease might be even more critical in certain other domains. Experimental design to examine causal relationships presents another research option along with investigation into the possible significance of individual differences regarding, such as, intelligence level and personality traits.
To read the full article enter 10.1108/JCM-10-2014-1187 into your search engine.
(A précis of the article “How subjective processing fluency predicts attitudes toward visual advertisements and purchase intention”. Supplied by Marketing Consultants for Emerald.)