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All Dressed Up With Something to Say: Effects of Typeface Semantic Associations on Brand Perceptions and Consumer Memory
Journal of Consumer Psychology
Abstract
In this research, a conceptual framework is developed that addresses the impact of typeface semantic cues within a marketing context. Visual properties of typefaces are conceptualized as communicating unique semantic associations to individuals distinct from the content of the written words they clothe. Typeface associations are investigated across varying levels of involvement in terms of their effect upon brand perceptions. These associations also influenced the memorability of advertised benefit claims. Memorability was enhanced as the degree of consistency among typeface semantic cues, advertisement visual cues, and advertisement copy claims increased. Extensions of this framework focus on obtaining a more complete understanding concerning the semantic pathways through which typefaces convey meaning.
... It is well documented that the perceived personality of a font can influence how participants identify and categorize products (Celhay et al., 2015;Doyle & Bottomley, 2004;Grohmann et al., 2013;Puškarević et al., 2016;Wu et al., 2021) and that participants judge fonts to possess embedded semantic associations (Kulahcioglu & de Melo, 2018;Mirchandani et al., 2018;Žarko & Nedeljković, 2020). Font style has further been found to influence how much participants remember about a brand (Childers & Jass, 2002), their awareness of their spending habits (Park et al., 2022), and the emotional connotation of text messages (Choi et al., 2016). ...
... A popular group of special fonts is the one known as script fonts. These fonts are often used by high-end brands and are typically associated with qualities of 'elegance' (Brumberger, 2003), 'formality', and 'luxury' (Childers & Jass, 2002). A script font evokes the formal cursive writing style, where letter strokes appear to have been written with a pen in a steady flow (Beier, 2017). ...
... It is well-documented that logos, as visual cues, play a central role in communicating a company's identity and capturing consumers' attention (Kim & Lim, 2019). Script fonts are often used in logotypes, as they evoke popular brand values (Brumberger, 2003;Childers & Jass, 2002). One well-known example is the Coca-Cola logo, which has undergone minimal changes since its creation and is considered a classic icon (Dai, 2021). ...
Previous work has shown that letters presented in special fonts with a high degree of script style have a poor recognition rate. We investigated whether there is a breaking point where this deficit sets in. In an experimental paradigm using a three-letter string partial report, 32 participants were presented with test stimuli of four new fonts with gradually increasing script style. The results of our investigation showed that each level of increasing script style resulted in significantly worse recognition. These findings demonstrate that for maximum letter recognition, the font style should be based on simple and familiar letter skeletons.
... This is especially true for strategically ambiguous slogans. Brand visual elements, such as logos and fonts, influence brand recognition and consumer memory, thereby shaping consumers' attitudes towards the brand [30]. These findings expand the understanding of the impact of visual identity on brands [31]. ...
... Studies have shown that brand name cases (e.g., uppercase or lowercase) [77] and font semantic associations enhance memorability and consumer perception [30]. Handwritten fonts have enhanced consumer perceptions of healthy restaurant brands [73]. ...
... In addition, in the marketing environment, the linguistic characteristics of brand names also play a crucial role in affecting consumer preference, meaning, memorability, and likeability [133]. Researchers have confirmed the impact of font semantic association on brand recognition and consumer memory [30]. The impact of font semantic associations on brand recognition and consumer memory is essential to visual recognition. ...
Brand visual identity is a critical component of brand image and impacts consumers' brand perception and attitude. Although scholars and practitioners have increasingly researched brand visual identity, most focus on brand communication and corporate management perspectives, necessitating a systematic review of consumer attitudes based on brand visual identity elements. This study aims to review the impact of brand visual identity on consumer attitudes and provide directions for future research. We conducted a systematic search using PRISMA guidelines, reviewed relevant articles published in four databases (Web of Sciences, ProQuest, Scopus, and Elsevier) in the past two decades (2004-2024), and obtained 559 articles in April 2024. We conducted a thorough peer-review of both theoretical and empirical journal articles, followed by a scoping review. Thirty-four studies were eligible, analysing consumers' perceptions of various core elements of brand visual identity (BVI) (such as brand logo, colour, name, typography, and font), as well as the impact of brand visual identity on consumer attitudes and the practical implications of brand management. The results show that the consumption of visual identification elements affects consumers' perceived brand quality, brand personality, brand satisfaction, loyalty, favourability, and so on., as well as purchase intentions and social attitudes. In summary, the findings indicate that brand visual identity elements impact consumer perceptions and attitudes. However, despite some progress, further research is necessary to arrive at more definitive and robust conclusions.
... The incorporation of typefaces as visual elements in brand logos plays a significant role in shaping consumer perceptions and eliciting emotional responses (Childers and Jass, 2002;Grohmann et al., 2013). Serif typefaces, with their distinctive decorative cross-strokes on the main strokes of letters, are perceived as visually complex and engaging, often regarded as inherently more interesting (Doyle and Bottomley, 2006). ...
... Drawing on Osgood's EPA model, we propose that serif typefaces are likely to evoke higher perceptions of activity compared to sans serif typefaces, whereas sans serif typefaces may be associated with enhanced perceptions of potency relative to serif typefaces. The strategic use of distinct typefaces in brand logo design can convey varied brand associations, eliciting different emotional and cognitive responses from consumers (Childers and Jass, 2002;Doyle and Bottomley, 2006;Grohmann et al., 2013;Henderson et al., 2004). Consequently, brand logos utilizing serif versus sans serif typefaces may lead to divergent consumer perceptions. ...
Purpose
This study aims to investigate the effects of serif and sans serif typefaces in brand logos on consumers’ activity and potency perceptions of brands. It further examines the moderating roles of design freedom and brand value on these effects and their impact on consumers’ brand attitudes.
Design/methodology/approach
Five studies were conducted to address the research objectives. Studies 1a and 1b compared the consumer perceptions of a brand with either a serif or a sans serif logo, revealing that consumers perceive serif logos as more active but less potent. Studies 2a, 2b and 3 verify the moderating roles of design freedom and brand value on the effects of typefaces in brand logos on consumers’ perceptions and their overall effects on brand attitudes.
Findings
The results indicate that a serif brand logo enhances consumers’ activity perceptions of the brand, whereas a sans serif brand logo enhances consumers’ potency perceptions. The research further establishes that design freedom significantly impacts consumers’ perceptions of logos with varying typefaces and subsequently influences their brand attitudes. In addition, brand value moderates the effects of typefaces in brand logos on consumer perceptions and brand attitudes.
Research limitations/implications
This research exclusively focuses on serif and sans serif typefaces within brand logos and also considers the use of uppercase, lowercase, mixed case and black logo designs. However, brand logo design encompasses broader visual design considerations and aesthetic diversification.
Practical implications
The practical implications of this research mainly include three points. First, brands should invest more effort in designing brand logos, choosing serif for activity and sans serif for potency, to align with desired brand perceptions. Second, the typeface selection should match the brand’s approach to design freedom, with serif typefaces fostering activity in open brands and sans serif enhancing potency in more controlled brands. Finally, aligning the typeface choice with the brand values – serif for hedonic and sans serif for utilitarian—can significantly influence brand attitudes. Accordingly, they can guide market segmentation and target consumer selection.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the field of brand logo design by shedding light on the effects of serif and sans serif typefaces on consumers’ perceptions and brand attitudes. In addition, it explores the moderating influence of design freedom and brand value, offering insights into the conditions under which these effects manifest.
... /IJARBSS/v14-i3/20084 Westoby, 2006;Chen, 2016;Cian et al. 2014;Colman et al. 1995;Fajardo et al., 2016). Additionally, font influencing cognitive processes and activating semantic symbols (the inherent meanings represented by fonts) (Childers & Jass, 2002). A smooth cognitive process implies that the brand effectively conveys information to the consumer's brain through the logo, entering their perceptual and cognitive systems seamlessly. ...
... The theoretical gap, based on the research background provided, studies on the impact of logos on consumers are predominantly focused on single aspects. Research on various aspects of consumer influence is quite abundant, such as the impact on consumers' first impressions , memory Riel & Ban (2001), cognitive processes Childers & Jass (2002), perception Alessandri (2001), attitudes Cian et al (2014), corporate image, and reputation Olins (1989), as well as purchase intentions (Cupchik, 1994). However, there is a lack of systematic and comprehensive research on the impact of logos on consumers. ...
... Comparative studies of video advertising formats have highlighted their influence on consumer recall and brand perception [4]. Additionally, the influence of digital payment platforms on online shopping behavior has been emphasized, with convenience and ease of use being important factors driving consumer adoption [5]. Furthermore, there is a positive correlation between digital payment methods and consumer satisfaction in online shopping, indicating that efficient payment experiences contribute to overall customer satisfaction [6]. ...
... • The study findings unveil compelling evidence of the significant influence of both perceived ease of use factors and perceived usefulness factors on the online customer experience of using the pay-later system. These results align with prior research, which has consistently emphasized the crucial role of these factors in shaping the overall online customer experience [5]. The study highlights the pivotal impact of customers' perceptions of the ease of using the pay-later system and its usefulness in driving their satisfaction and engagement with the payment method. ...
... Most previous studies paid insufficient attention to the influence of combinations of various visual elements in packaging (Wu, 2023). Our findings highlight that white spaces and certain typefaces in package design enhance luxury perception, and successfully replicate the results of previous studies (Childers & Jass, 2002;Pracejus et al., 2006;Wu, 2023). Brand names surrounded by white space may increase attention and are assigned specific qualities and meanings (Olsen et al., 2012). ...
As consumers gravitate toward luxury brands, marketers face the challenge of conveying perceptions of luxury through package design. This study focused on packaging that only displays the brand logo. Using chocolate, we investigated the impact of packaging design elements on consumers' perceptions of luxury and product quality. We employed a 2 (white space: large, small) × 2 (typeface: luxurious, casual) × 2 (visual texture: luxurious, casual) between-participants design, exposing 1193 participants to one of eight package designs. Large white spaces and luxurious typefaces enhanced perceived luxury and product quality, respectively. Luxurious visual texture enhanced luxury perception and product quality evaluation when paired with casual typefaces, but not with luxurious typefaces. Thus, the boundary conditions for the effect of visual texture may depend on the typeface. Our findings contribute to the literature on luxury perception and package design and provide practical implications for brands that want to enhance the appeal of their brands/products.
... This inherent personality of typefaces influences how textual content is perceived, interpreted, and understood. The "semantic effect", as defined by Childers and Jass [63], refers to this ability of typefaces to convey meaning or evoke impressions beyond the literal content of the text they display [20]. ...
Cartographic design is fundamental to effective mapmaking, requiring adherence to principles such as visual hierarchy, symbolization, and color theory to convey spatial information accurately and intuitively, while Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Large Language Models (LLMs) have transformed various fields, their application in cartographic design remains underexplored. This study assesses the capabilities of a multimodal advanced LLM, GPT-4o, in understanding and suggesting cartographic design elements, focusing on adherence to established cartographic principles. Two assessments were conducted: a text-to-text evaluation and an image-to-text evaluation. In the text-to-text assessment, GPT-4o was presented with 15 queries derived from key concepts in cartography, covering classification, symbolization, visual hierarchy, color theory, and typography. Each query was posed multiple times under different temperature settings to evaluate consistency and variability. In the image-to-text evaluation, GPT-4o analyzed maps containing deliberate cartographic errors to assess its ability to identify issues and suggest improvements. The results indicate that GPT-4o demonstrates general reliability in text-based tasks, with variability influenced by temperature settings. The model showed proficiency in classification and symbolization tasks but occasionally deviated from theoretical expectations. In visual hierarchy and layout, the model performed consistently, suggesting appropriate design choices. In the image-to-text assessment, GPT-4o effectively identified critical design flaws such as inappropriate color schemes, poor contrast and misuse of shape and size variables, offering actionable suggestions for improvement. However, limitations include dependency on input quality and challenges in interpreting nuanced spatial relationships. The study concludes that LLMs like GPT-4o have significant potential in cartographic design, particularly for tasks involving creative exploration and routine design support. Their ability to critique and generate cartographic elements positions them as valuable tools for enhancing human expertise. Further research is recommended to enhance their spatial reasoning capabilities and expand their use of visual variables beyond color, thereby improving their applicability in professional cartographic workflows.
... Typographic design, especially the shape of typefaces, plays a crucial role not only in the cognitive processing of a text and reading fluency but also in the reader's mood by influencing their emotional response and sense of pleasantness when interacting with certain letterforms [61][62][63]. Perceptual studies have shown that shapes, tastes, and sounds can evoke certain emotions, including pleasure [46,[61][62][63][64][65][66][67][68][69]. Rounded and symmetrical shapes trigger more positive feelings than angular or asymmetrical ones [70,71]. ...
Reading fluency depends on the typographic design. Letters can have different shapes that evoke different feelings in the reader and influence reading fluency. Previous studies that explored the link between typeface shape and taste and its impact on reading and readers’ attitudes mainly focused on shorter texts or individual words. In contrast, our study investigated how the taste (sweetness) attributed to the typeface is related to reading fluency and the pleasantness of the typeface during reading longer texts, and whether these relationships are the same in children and adult readers. We found that readers of both age groups perceived rounded letters as sweeter than angular letters. The perceived sweetness correlated positively with the pleasantness of the typeface and reading fluency. Younger readers showed a higher general rating of sweetness and a stronger relationship between the perceived sweetness and the pleasantness of the typeface than older, more experienced readers. This suggests that the sweeter and more pleasant the typeface is perceived to be, the faster it can be read. When fast processing of longer texts is required, we recommend the use of rounded typefaces with more organic shapes, including serif typefaces with some characteristics of old-style typefaces, rather than using angular, sans serif typefaces.
... Other lines of empirical research on visual brand identity elements have sought to answer the question as to the regularity with which visual brand identity elements should be constructed to be as consistent as possible with the meaning of the "desired" brand (Phillips et al., 2014). Examples of this line of research include "strong typefaces to connote brand strength" (Childers and Jeffrey, 2002;DeRosia, 2008;Doyle and Bottomley, 2006), contrasting packaging for exciting brands (Orth and Malkewitz, 2008), angular shapes for acidic brands (Spence, 2012), white space to convey prestige and power (Pracejus et al., 2006), and background images of pennies on websites to prime price association (Mandel and Johnson, 2002). Based on the literature, a research question arose to determine which visual brand identity elements are preferred by consumers, rather than focusing on only one or two visual brand identity elements as has been done in previous literature. ...
The aim of this research was to investigate the impact of visual brand identity elements on consumer awareness and their role in brand identification through the websites of two retail banks in Hungary. The research focuses on Generation Z. Applying the interdisciplinary approach of marketing and ergonomics, the importance of the research lies in the fact that it fills a knowledge gap, since few studies in the literature examine and connect the elements of visual brand identity in the retail banking sector with consumer perception. Two online communication websites of retail banks were examined using eye-tracking methodology to obtain more information on how visual brand identity elements influence consumers' attention. The study is based on 2 x 20 eye-tracking studies, 2 x 20 interviews and 2 x 20 surveys. The eye-tracking results were processed using Tobii Studios, heatmaps and gaze plot visualisation. Based on the results the most important visual brand identity elements on the websites of the studied retail banks are the logo, colour, human figure, and slogan. Moreover, the visual brand identity elements that appear on the website as moving images have an impact on viewers' attention, drawing attention towards the textual content.
... In text, artifacts pertain to how the message appears: typeface, stylistic spacing, color, formatting, and layout. Investigating written communication in print advertising, Childers and Jass (2002) demonstrate that typeface semantic cues affect brand perceptions. Also included in this category are non-kinesic and non-tactile emojis and stickers, such as the emoji for a car. ...
Both face-to-face communication and communication in online environments convey information beyond the actual verbal message. In a traditional face-to-face conversation, paralanguage, or the ancillary meaning- and emotion-laden aspects of speech that are not actual verbal prose, gives contextual information that allows interactors to more appropriately understand the message being conveyed. In this paper, we conceptualize textual paralanguage (TPL), which we define as written manifestations of nonverbal audible, tactile, and visual elements that supplement or replace written language and that can be expressed through words, symbols, images, punctuation, demarcations, or any combination of these elements. We develop a typology of textual paralanguage using data from Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. We present a conceptual framework of antecedents and consequences of brands' use of textual paralanguage. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.
... In fact, typefaces convey the presence and characteristics of humans, evoking anthropomorphism, emotional connections, and interpersonal relationships with brands. Accordingly, typefaces contribute to shaping luxurious, classic, and prestigious perceptions of brands (e.g., Don Casual) and casual and individual impressions of brands (e.g., Empire Script; Childers and Jass 2002). Similarly, sans serif typefaces (e.g., Helvetica) invoke technical and non-individual images of brands, whereas serif typefaces (e.g., Times New Roman) induce professional and formal images (Mackiewicz and Moeller 2004). ...
... However, in comparison to other aspects of visual design, the typeface has received relatively little attention in the field of green marketing. As an omnipresent and important cue (Childers & Jass, 2002), typeface design is widely applied in multiple contexts. It has been shown to influence consumers' attitudes and perceptions in the contexts of menu design (Liu et al., 2019), product packaging design (Schroll et al., 2018), hotel customer service , and charity (Chu et al., 2023). ...
This research examines how the visual cue of a handwritten (vs. typewritten) typeface, affects tourists’ responses to the marketing of green tourism. We draw on the visual marketing literature to propose that a handwritten typeface leads to more positive responses toward green destinations/products/hospitality (i.e., anticipation of enjoyment, willingness to pay, and booking intention) via tourists’ perception of greenness. We also find that the enhancing effect of a handwritten typeface occurs only in the green (as opposed to luxury) travel context. This effect is mitigated, however, when tourists are made conscious of greenness. Four experiments using different product and service categories across two countries support our hypotheses. Our findings contribute to the literature on green tourism, typeface design, and tourists’ perception of greenness, and provide practical guidelines that can help tourism companies and policymakers design effective green communication strategies.
... The packaging labels play a crucial role in the comprehensive marketing strategy and can aid in promoting advertising assertions, establishing brand uniqueness, improving brand recall, and maximizing shelf space distribution (Shimp, 2011). In addition, Font style is a crucial component of brand design features that enhance competitiveness, encourage remembrance and identification of the brand, contribute to brand equity and harmony, and go well with other elements like the designs, images, and most important the colors (Childers & Jass, 2002). ...
This study's objective is to examine how customer purchasing behavior in Istanbul, Turkey is affected by cosmetic brands' packaging, including printed information, packaging design, color, font style and packaging material. Several studies show that packaging plays a big part in grabbing consumers' attention when it comes to cosmetic products. As marketers prioritize the consumer's choice, packaging has emerged as a crucial sales promotion strategy utilized by the majority of business organizations. Customers' intentions to buy can be influenced by many factors, but the packaging of a product has the most impact. In this study data is collected via a survey form prepared specifically for this purpose and given to 300 consumers, The received number of responses was 272 which comprising a response rate of 90%. A questionnaire derived from previous research was used to survey the over-18 age group. Analyses of validity and reliability comprised the preliminary statistical inquiry. Regression analysis was used to objectively investigate the established hypotheses. The findings imply that every theory was approved. The results indicate that customers' inclinations to make purchases have been strongly impacted by product packaging. Furthermore, it was shown that packaging design, as opposed to packaging color, packaging material, packaging font style, and printed information, had the biggest influence on customers' intents to make purchases. Subsequent investigations might examine the impact of extra packaging elements on customers' purchase intentions.
... Previous studies have documented that visual elements of a product design (e.g., colors, typefaces, shapes) can convey meanings to consumers (i.e., values, qualities that are not depicted literally; see, for example, Childers & Jass, 2002;Huettl & Gierl, 2012;Van Rompay & Pruyn, 2011). These studies have typically involved presenting participants with product design variants and asking them to report their beliefs toward the products using scales relating to the different types of responses examined (e.g., perceived quality, perceived trustworthiness, price expectation). ...
Previous studies have documented the decisive impact of various product design elements on consumers' attitudes and decisions. However, research is missing on the impact of visual complexity. Using four studies that consider wine and perfume products, the present research manipulates visual complexity by focusing on the degree of elaborateness of front‐pack images. Using an affective priming task as an implicit technique, more positive automatically activated affective responses are shown for lower complexity designs (Study 1), in line with a processing‐fluency account. However, explicit measures show that higher complexity is associated with greater product evaluations (regarding esthetics, quality, prestige, trustworthiness, acceptable price, and purchase intention; Studies 2 and 3). In addition, more pronounced effects emerge for participants with higher sensitivity to design (Study 3). Finally, using an alternative implicit technique that does not involve very brief presentations of the products (implicit association test (IAT); Study 4), the association between higher complexity and product evaluation is also found under conditions of automaticity. Overall, this research provides insights into the diverging affective and cognitive effects of visual complexity. It suggests that the positive effect of lower complexity through higher processing fluency is restricted to responses that are affective and generated under conditions of automaticity that involve particularly low‐level processes. It also suggests that priming techniques based on very short presentations of the products' visuals may be unsuitable for examining responses to fairly complex concepts such as consumer products. On the whole, this research emphasizes that design complexity should receive more attention from consumer researchers and marketers.
... For example, thin fonts create perceptions of product healthiness, in turn increasing downstream attitudinal judgements such as purchase intention (Karnal et al. 2016). Brand cues produce semantic associations and influence brand perceptions such as recall (Childers and Jass 2002) and brand attitudes (Pan and Schmitt 1996). For example, reductions in product safety perceptions reduce brand attitudes when text is spaciously arranged in a text logo (Gupta and Hagtvedt 2021). ...
Drawing from the concept of anemoia, the authors propose a new typology of nostalgia called vintage anemoia. Vintage anemoia encompasses consumers’ positive and nostalgic response to vintage cues, regardless of specific historical periods or individual lived experiences. Through a series of seven studies, the authors demonstrate that vintage typography, by evoking feelings of vintage anemoia, can enhance consumer perceptions of product safety. This effect has positive downstream consequences on key marketing outcomes, including brand attitude, purchase intention, and willingness to pay. Furthermore, the effect of vintage anemoia on product safety perceptions remains unaffected by whether product safety information indicates that a product is safe or unsafe. However, the effect diminishes when an explicit indexical cue (year of establishment) is utilized or when promoting futuristic products. The findings contribute to the existing body of knowledge in marketing and provide insights for marketers on leveraging vintage typography as a strategic tool for creating emotional connections with consumers and enhancing perceptions of product safety.
... The Cadbury confectionery company, Coca-Cola the beverage corporation, and Kellogg the food manufacturing organisation aid as famous illustrations of the influence of typeface. Childers and Jass (2002) argued that typography reflected the designing communication with printed words. Typefaces are used to express the consumers on behalf of written words or text. ...
... While organisations are often confused by brand names to understand the incremental utility or added value of a product, the underlying power of brand names is undeniable. As John Stewart, the former chairman of Quaker Oats Ltd. said, "If the business were to be split up, I'd take the brand, the logo, the goodwill and you could keep all the bricks and sand-I'd be better off than you" (Childers & Jass, 2002). This sentence vividly illustrates the importance of a brand name to the success of a company, which can provide intangible but powerful competitive advantage and value. ...
... The experimental stimuli ( Figure 1) were based on the function of the design characteristics, semantic associations, and physical characteristics of the typeface established in previous studies (Nedeljković et al., 2017;Henderson et al., 2004;Childers & Jass, 2002). The font chosen for the study is the New York City DOT Summer Street Event Ad that includes artful deviation, sneakers, and baby stroller to design (WALK). ...
We argued that elaborate and inharmonious design evokes greater interest in a brand, although Gestalt psychology scholars thought that harmonious and straightforward designs are more liked. The study used object typeface patterns to show cross-modal correspondence between typeface physical appearance and participant's emotions on event participation in three experiments of between-subject designs. Participants (N=480) in three emotional valences in two levels, 160 (80 pleasure and 80 displeasure), 160 (80 arousal and 80 unaroused), and 160 (80 dominance and 80 submissive) to examine the visual impact of object typeface on event participation. The findings from the three experiments revealed a significant effect of object typeface on event participation. Additionally, we observed a positive and significant effect of the three emotional valences (pleasure, arousal, and dominance) on event participation, demonstrating a cross-modal interaction and substantial bias effect of heuristic on systematic processing. At the same time, motivation mediated the relationship between object typeface and event participation. The theoretical and managerial implications are discussed.
... Company logos/corporate brand marques can be very influential in this regard (Henderson and Cote 1988;Henderson et al. 2003Henderson et al. , 2004Hagtvedt 2011;Luffarelli et al. 2019;Melewar 2001). Even an organisation's corporate typeface can have an important corporate communication effect (Childers et al. 2002). ...
Scrutinizes design, corporate brand design, and corporate heritage brand design, with the latter
constituting the substantive focus of this article. While design is a multifaceted notion, it is
intrinsic to branding, brand management, and brand recognition. Particularises that corporate
brand design is bipartite in character and encompasses corporate brand visual design and
corporate brand structure design. Elucidates the importance, dimensions, and nature of
corporate heritage brand design. Proposes that corporate heritage brand design authenticity is
dependent on there being an enduring brand marque/name and a prevailing corporate brand
promise, and that key corporate heritage design criteria relating to omni-temporality,
institutional trait constancy, tri-generational heredity, and augmented role identity are met. The
arrogated design heritage notion is explicated. This characterizes the appropriation of a design
heritage of another entity, with which it is associated by virtue of its augmented role identity.
Explains the breadth and significance of key corporate heritage design dimensions. Observes
that discarding a much-loved corporate heritage brand design can be problematic and
contentious. Importantly, custodianship of a corporate heritage brand design inheritance is a
management imperative, but one which is frequently overlooked.
... Several studies have shown that the perception of shapes, tastes and sounds evokes various feelings in humans, including the feeling of pleasantness (Childers and Jass, 2002;Brumberger, 2003;Mackiewicz, 2005;Shaikh et al., 2006;Bar and Neta, 2007;Tsonos and Kouroupetroglou, 2011;Amare and Manning, 2012;Crisinel et al., 2012;Ngo et al., 2013;Velasco et al., 2014Velasco et al., , 2015aVelasco et al., ,b, 2016Velasco et al., , 2018aSalgado-Montejo et al., 2015;Jordan, 2017;Davis, 2019;Haenschen and Tamul, 2019). Round and rounded shapes, as well as symmetric shapes evoke more pleasant feelings than angular or pointed and asymmetric shapes (Bar and Neta, 2007;Ngo et al., 2013;Turoman et al., 2018;Velasco et al., 2018b). ...
Introduction
The amount of educational material delivered to pupils and students through digital screens is increasing. This method of delivering educational materials has become even more prevalent during the COVID-19 pandemic. To be as effective as possible, educational material must be properly designed not only in terms of content, but also in terms of form, e.g., the typeface. The present study investigated the effect of letter shape on readers’ feelings of pleasantness during reading, reading fluency, and text comprehension and memorisation.
Methods
To find out whether age influences the effects of typeface shape on reading measures, we divided the participants into a group of less experienced readers (children) and more experienced readers (adults). Both groups read texts in eight different typefaces: four of them were round or in rounded shape, and four were angular or in pointed shape. With an eye-tracker, the reading speed and the number of regressive saccades were recorded as measures of reading fluency and changes in pupil size as an indicator of emotional response. After reading each text, the participants rated the pleasantness of the typeface, and their comprehension and memorisation of texts were checked by asking two questions about the text content.
Results
We found that compared to angular letters or letters in pointed shape, round letters or letters in round shape created more pleasant feelings for readers and lead to a faster reading speed. Children, as expected, read more slowly due to less reading experiences, but, interestingly, had a similar number of regressive saccades and did not comprehend or remember the text worse than university students.
Discussion
We concluded that softer typefaces of rounder shapes should be used in educational materials, as they make the reading process easier and thus support the learning process better for both younger and adult readers. The results of our study also showed that a comparison of findings of different studies may depend on the differences among the used letter shapes.
... If the font is not appropriate to the type of product sold, consumer choice is reduced, and people investigate the products less (Doyle & Bottomley, 2004). Moreover, typefaces convey meaning and influence consumer perception of brands, reinforcing the advertising argument and message (Childers & Jass, 2002). ...
This master’s thesis presents a new brand identity model for consumer goods called Brand Identity Canvas (BIC), with the objective of helping academics and practitioners build more relevant and stronger brands. Our work updates the current and most influential brand identity models theorised mainly in the 1990s, including components and discussing interactions not previously addressed by scholars. We adopted the Design Science Research methodology, which is adequate for building artefacts and theoretical frameworks. The framework development was based on a literature review and 11 in-depth interviews with practitioners (marketing managers and directors) and academics (marketing and branding professors). The new model has two parts: the first is managerial, with a description of the intrinsic characteristics of the brand and its influences; the second is expressive, with a mood board that explores the brand’s visual aspects. The BIC presents academics and practitioners with an updated framework for defining and developing a brand identity for consumer goods, with dimensions, components, and relations representing an advance on the existing models.
... The extant literature suggests that logo shape, font style and brand names can influence consumers' perceptions of a brand's masculine and feminine personality traits Hess and Melnyk, 2016;Wu et al., 2013;Klink, 2000;Childers and Jass, 2002;Shaikh et al., 2006). For example, angular and heavy build shapes are perceived as masculine. ...
Purpose
The authors’ research examines the impact of cross-cultural difference in dialectical thinking on consumers' responses to androgynous brands and its implication for brand equity. Their research also aims to see how consumers take both feminine and masculine attributes into consideration to form their judgments of androgynous brand equity and whether this process is moderated by brand positioning.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors did two experiments with 400 Chinese consumers (high in dialectical thinking) and 528 British consumers (low in dialectical thinking) to test our framework.
Findings
The authors’ experimental results suggest an androgynous brand has higher brand equity in China than in the UK. Furthermore, Chinese consumers rate higher feminine/masculine attributes of masculine/feminine brands. In addition, an androgynous brand's equity is mainly driven by its less dominant attributes. Finally, their results suggest that brand positioning moderates the mediating role of less dominant attributes, more evident when brand positioning matches (vs mismatches) an androgynous brand's more dominant attributes.
Originality/value
By focusing on cross-cultural differences in dialectical thinking, the authors’ research offers a novel approach to reconcile existing inconclusive results on androgynous brand equity. Second, to their best knowledge, their research is the first to examine how feminine and masculine attributes jointly decide androgynous brand equity. Finally, by focusing on brand positioning, their research highlights the importance of an androgynous brand's less dominant attributes in driving its brand equity and provides a tool international marketing managers can use to strengthen such influence.
... As for control variables, based on Sergent's (1984) research, letter shape plays important role in readability and clarity of the text (e.g. upper case letters are more difficult to read comparing to lower case letters) (Childers and Jass, 2002), which can be associated with consumers' attitude (as generally speaking, consumers prefer easier options) (Davidoff, 1991 ...
Purpose
This study aims to test the possible correlation between the letter height-to-width ratio and consumers’ perception of cuteness.
Design/methodology/approach
Through the design of three groups of experimental questionnaires, this paper carried out experiments on subjects with different professional backgrounds.
Findings
The result shows that perceived cuteness is only beneficial for consumers who adopt communal relationship (rather than exchange relationship) with the brand. Compared to consumers who adopt communal relationship with brands, letters of lower height-to-width ratio are perceived as cuter and thus more preferable than thinner ones, whereas for consumers who adopt exchange relationship with brands, thinner letters are preferred.
Research limitations/implications
To rule out interference, this study focuses only on the height-to-width ratio of the letters. In the future, researchers can pay more attention to the mobility of brand relationships, consumers’ reading strategy and logos’ visual elements that influence consumers’ brand perception (besides height-to-width ratio).
Practical implications
The research reminds scholars that the height-to-width ratio of letters/logos is not only of aesthetic value but also imposes a great impact on consumer perception. And the result of this research explains the contradiction in consumers’ preference for wide vs thin letter shapes and provides evidence for the interaction between brand relationship norms and letter preferences.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this research is the first to explore the influence of letter height-to-width ratio in marketing.
Rim, Schertz, and Berman ( Journal of Consumer Psychology , 2025) present prior research examining the affective, cognitive, and social benefits of humans' interactions with nature. In doing so, they offer some specific applications to consumer psychology and encourage more research examining the consequences of nature interaction on consumer behaviors. We build on this important work by considering the breadth of potential forms of interaction between consumers and nature in both indoor and outdoor spaces as well as in real and virtual (i.e., representations of) nature exposures. We build on semantic activation and goal‐systems theory to elaborate further on how nature can influence consumers. Specifically, associations elicited by nature can activate or enhance the importance of certain goals during the consumption process, thus driving consumers' judgments and decision‐making. We elaborate on how nature can be specifically applied to the place, product, and promotion elements of the marketing mix and how future research can examine the consequences of nature interactions on consumer behavior.
Purpose
Consumers seeking detailed product information pose challenges to managers hoping to optimize product displays. Although additional product information may entice consumers, it may also repel them with overcrowded displays. The purpose of this paper is to propose and test a subtle method to help marketers mitigate overcrowding in information-rich product displays: visually contrasting the foreground objects in the product display.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors report one field and two lab experiments that test their hypotheses. (An additional lab experiment is included in the Web Appendix).
Findings
This study shows that visually contrasting foreground objects from one another can reduce perceived display crowdedness (mediator), increase perceived display aesthetics (mediator) and increase shopping intentions (dependent measure), effects that increase with the consumer’s aesthetics appreciation (moderator). These findings are important because managers may fear visually contrasting foreground objects in product displays, as was confirmed in a motivational study in which managers preferred a lower-contrasted display over a higher-contrasted display, even though the higher-contrasted display outperformed the lower-contrasted display in click-through-rates.
Originality/value
Prior research indicates that increasing the interstitial space among products in a display can reduce display crowdedness and improve display evaluations while increasing shopping intentions. However, the extra interstitial space takes up room and thus sacrifices the amount of product information “above the fold” on a Web page. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to propose increasing visual contrast between foreground objects in a product display to reduce crowdedness and increase shopping intentions.
The exponential growth of the market for convenience foods has added facilitation to many people’s lives; however, consumers continue to hold mixed views regarding the quality and safety of such foods. Marketers should explore persuasive strategies to counter these negative perceptions and encourage the consumption of convenience foods. This study conducted two online experiments from the perspective of visual persuasion and design to examine the effects of typeface and the inclusion of brand certification in label designs on consumers’ purchase intentions, guided by the dual processing model. The findings indicate that handwritten labels are more effective than machine-written labels are in enhancing consumers’ purchase intentions of convenience foods. These enhanced purchase intentions are related to stronger perceptions of a human presence and confidence in the product when handwritten typeface is used. In addition, a moderated serial mediation analysis revealed that brand certification labels, which serve as a traceable source of product quality and credibility, positively influence consumers’ perceptions of human presence, further boosting consumers’ confidence in a product and their purchase intention. The positive effect of handwritten typeface is particularly pronounced when a label does not include a brand certification, and the presence of such a certification tends to weaken the effect of typeface. These findings clarify the application of the dual processing model and offer theoretical insights and practical guidance for packaging design and marketing strategies for convenience foods.
This study examines the matching effect of a critical visual element—typeface—and question type in AI large language model products, and their impact on consumers’ willingness to pay (WTP). Drawing on six experiments with 3,634 participants from three culturally diverse countries, the results demonstrate that a machine-like typeface increases WTP for non-conversational questions, while a handwritten-like typeface enhances WTP for conversational questions. For non-conversational questions, the effect is mediated by the perceived authority of the AI, whereas for conversational questions, the effect is mediated by perceived friendliness. Additionally, the study investigates consumers’ AI knowledge as a boundary condition, revealing that the congruence between typeface and question type has a more substantial influence on WTP among users with lower AI knowledge. These findings provide key insights into the interplay between typeface, question type, user perceptions, and WTP in AI product contexts.
This paper is a case report, presenting a method to dissect brand marks (logotypes and/or symbols) and Visual Identity Systems to inform the logo design process.
The proposed method of competitors’ map allows to scrutinize features and to identify existing common characteristics among sets of competing brand marks, improving decision making during the design phase, namely, the better paths to ensure graphic and semantic positioning and differentiation.
This proposal of competitors’ map of brand marks and Visual Identity results from a research process conducted thought a mixed methodology, comprising non-interventionist components, such as literature review, dissection of existing methods and direct observation, followed by exploratory active research grounded on project design.
Regarding results, we present a methodology and techniques to dissect brand marks and Visual Identity Systems, including strategies for analysing visual data and drawing conclusions about common denominators. This proposal of competitors’ map of brand marks was validated by professionals in professional projects and with students in academic work.
Brand visual identity is a critical component of brand image and impacts consumers' brand perception and attitude. Although scholars and practitioners have increasingly researched brand visual identity, most focus on brand communication and corporate management perspectives, necessitating a systematic review of consumer attitudes based on brand visual identity elements. This study aims to review the impact of brand visual identity on consumer attitudes and provide directions for future research. We conducted a systematic search using PRISMA guidelines, reviewed relevant articles published in four databases (Web of Sciences, ProQuest, Scopus, and Elsevier) in the past two decades (2004-2024), and obtained 559 articles in May 2024. We conducted a thorough peer-review of both theoretical and empirical journal articles, followed by a scoping review. Thirty-four studies were eligible, analysing consumers' perceptions of various core elements of brand visual identity (BVI) (such as brand logo, colour, name, typography, and font), as well as the impact of brand visual identity on consumer attitudes and the practical implications of brand management. The results show that the consumption of visual identification elements affects consumers' perceived brand quality, brand personality, brand satisfaction, loyalty, favourability, and so on., as well as purchase intentions and social attitudes. In summary, the findings indicate that brand visual identity elements impact consumer perceptions and attitudes. However, despite some progress, further research is necessary to arrive at more definitive and robust conclusions.
In order to be successful in today’s competitive environment, brands must have well-established identities. Therefore, during the branding process it is necessary to attribute personality traits and visual elements that best represent the desired identity of the brand. With the recent advances in communication, scholars have analyzed how different visual elements (e.g., logo, typography, color) can visually represent the desired brand personality. However, these elements are typically analyzed separately, since few studies show the association of personality traits with the set of visual elements of the brand (the well-known “visual identity”). Therefore, this work aims to develop a methodological framework that allows the design of visual identity based on the Dimensions of Brand Personality, by assigning a set of visual elements (colors, typographies, and shapes) to each dimension (Sincerity, Excitement, Competence, Sophistication and Ruggedness) suggested by Aaker in 1997. Through a quanti-quali approach, the associations suggested in the proposed framework were duly tested through the application of a questionnaire to a sample of consumers, to gather information about their perceptions. Preliminary results suggest that the proposed framework can successfully generate the desired brand personality perception in consumers, according to the design elements used for the creation of the visual brand identity.
This chapter provides a comprehensive overview of the cues that exist in a retail environment and expands the current knowledge of sensory marketing and its multifaceted nature. Different types of cues are introduced, including ambient, design, social, haptic, merchandise-related and pricing-related cues. While ambient, design and social cues are primarily related to the general atmosphere of the store, haptic, merchandise-related and pricing-related cues are linked more directly to the moment of choice. The chapter sheds light on these various cues and their effects through analysis of an extensive range of academic research. Taken together, the chapter demonstrates that the store environment can be seen as a bundle of cues that has a capacity to affect our daily choices.
This paper documents the existence of a ‘formality effect’ in government communications. Across three online studies and three field experiments in different policy contexts (total N = 67,632), we show that, contrary to researcher and practitioner predictions, formal government communications are more effective at influencing resident behaviour than informal government communications. In exploring mechanisms, we show that formality operates as a heuristic for credibility and importance. Recipients view the source of a formal letter as more competent and trustworthy, and view the request itself as more important to take action on, despite no evidence of change in comprehension or in perceived ease of taking action. These findings have immediate implications for government communicators and open the door for a renewed focus on how the design and presentation of information impacts behaviour.
Purpose
When a new logo is released, it does not have an established meaning in the mind of the viewer. As logos have become more highly scrutinized by consumers and critics, it has become more important to understand viewers’ initial responses to logos. While other studies have researched the impact of aesthetic choices on viewer reaction to logos, this study aims to understand the effect of the surrounding visual identity system when a new logo is introduced.
Design/methodology/approach
This study combines a content analysis of 335 posts on the logo review website Brand New with the voting data from their polls to understand how visual context correlates with a viewer’s initial response.
Findings
Increased amounts of visual context correlate to an improved response from viewers. Different types of context that can be presented – from logo variations and environmental examples to videos and animation – have varied effects.
Practical implications
When releasing a new logo, companies and organizations may receive a better response from viewers if they provide more visual context. Animations may also provide an improved response.
Originality/value
This study takes a novel approach to exploring viewer responses to logos by combining content analysis with voting data. While most studies use fictitious or abstract logo designs, this study uses actual logos and context to better understand viewer responses.
The Goldilocks effect is the tendency to select the middle choice when three choices that can be expressed in three levels, such as size and price, are presented. We investigate the possibility that the Goldilocks effect can also be applied to color and that it unintentionally distorts the choice. Specifically, we hypothesized that when presented with three choices consisting of two different colors and their average color (the average of the two colors), people would choose the average color, and we conducted a crowdsourcing experiment. The experiment results showed that people did not tend to choose the average color option. However, analysis by gender showed that females tended to select the average color option while males did not. In addition, when the average colors were similar to one of the two colors in the three options, both males and females tended to select the less similar different color option.KeywordsColorSelection BehaviorGoldilocks Effect
When people buy products, they are influenced by various factors. For example, it has been reported that both fonts and pop-outs affect product selection. Here, we focused on the Goldilocks effect whereby people tend to choose the middle option in three-tier choices. We applied this effect to the font-face of the options’ name and conducted an experiment on crowdsourcing based on the hypothesis that when three different fonts are presented on the impression axis, the font with the middle impression is more likely to be chosen. The results showed that a fusion font in the middle of the impression axis was not selected. However, in the selection of ramen flavor, we found that people were influenced by the font face. On the other hand, it was found that people tend to select the choice in the center on a PC and the choice on the right on a smartphone.KeywordsFontChoiceChoice behaviorGoldilocks effectCrowdsourcing
Markaların benzersiz ve değerli yönlerini hedef kitlelere aktaran temel bir iletişim fikri olarak marka kimliği, kurumlara sürdürülebilir rekabet avantajları sağlamaktadır. Marka ismi, slogan, tipografi, renk ve logo gibi unsurların bütünleşik pazarlama iletişimi stratejileri doğrultusunda kullanılmasıyla oluşturulan marka kimliği, hedef kitlenin algı, tutum, düşünce ve davranışlarını şekillendirmektedir. Kurumların güçlü bir marka kimliğine sahip olmak istemesinin nedeni rakiplerden farklılaşmak, markayı çekici kılmak, marka bilinirliği sağlamak veya marka sadakati yaratmak olabileceği gibi kurumsal itibar ve imaja ilişkin konular da olabilmektedir. Bu çalışmada, marka kimliği kapsamında kurumların logo tasarımları irdelenmiştir. Bu çerçevede, Türk e-spor kulüplerinin, marka kimliklerini logoları üzerinden yansıtma biçimlerini ortaya koymak için göstergebilimsel çözümleme yönteminden faydalanılmıştır. Çalışmada, çok oyunculu çevrimiçi bir video oyunu olan League of Legends’ın Türkiye Şampiyonluk Ligi’nde mücadele eden e-spor kulüplerinin logoları, göstergebilim kapsamında değerlendirilmiş ve ayrıntılı olarak incelenmiştir. Gerçekleştirilen çözümleme sonucunda, e-spor kulüplerinin güçlü hayvan figürleri, keskin hatlı tipografik tasarımlar ve baskın renkler kullanarak hedef kitlelerine marka kimliklerini aktardıkları ve bununla birlikte duygusal bir bağ oluşturmayı amaçladıkları tespit edilmiştir.
I read the clash between predictive psychoanalytic theories and destabilizing queer theories on the subject of desire as a disagreement over probability. I point psychoanalysts and queer theorists towards four relevant episodes in the history of science: the debate on statistics and thermodynamics within the Victorian intelligentsia, the Einstein-Bergson feud, discussions within the cybernetics movement, and recent critiques of automated cars. Considering our sexual aims and objects as information, our desires would be due to the way we retrieve them. Psychoanalysis explains how such information is stored and queer theory how it is reorganized. In cases where repression is not accountable for lack of desire toward an external stimulus, such absence would be due to information not retrieved quick enough, rather than a genuine incapacity to desire.
Resumo: O presente caso tem por finalidade compreender o Projeto (re)veste, que, por sua vez, procura promover a empregabilidade de jovens dos 15 aos 35 anos, portadores de deficiência ou de necessidades educativas especiais (NEE). Neste sentido as nossas análises prendem-se com as estratégias de marketing utilizadas, nomeadamente o investimento numa Marca independente do Centro Social de Soutelo, bem como a aposta nos meios digitais como principal meio de comunicação com o público, para além de uma forte e bem estruturada rede de parcerias. Abstract: The present case aims to understand the (re)veste Project, which, in turn, seeks to promote the employability of young people from 15 to 35 years of age with disabilities or special educational needs (SEN). In this sense, our analyses relate to the marketing strategies used, namely the investment in an independent brand of the Centro Social de Soutelo, as well as the bet on digital media as the main means of communication with the public, in addition to a strong and well-structured network of partnerships.
Conducted 2 experiments with a total of 77 undergraduates to determine whether (a) the absence of a size congruity effect in A. Paivio's was an artifact of the fixed-pairs design and (b) size congruity affects the duration of the comparison stage or other stages. Results of Exp I demonstrate that Paivio's results were an artifact of his experimental design. Ss compared the conceptual sizes of 2 words that were presented in congruent, incongruent, or equal pictorial sizes. One condition of this experiment replicated Paivio's word condition. In another condition, congruence was manipulated in an infinite-pairs design. Size congruity did affect latencies to choose the larger of 2 named objects when object pairs were not repeated. When the same object pairs were used repeatedly, as in Paivio's experiment, the effect disappeared. In Exp II, size congruity interacted with distance only for Arabic digits. For both Arabic digits and named digits, the interference caused by size incongruity was greater than the facilitation caused by size congruity, whereas for object names, the facilitation was greater than the interference. (16 ref)
Although pictures have been shown to enhance the impact of persuasive communications, little is known about the robustness of such effects. This study examines how involvement moderates the process by which pictures affect brand attitudes and purchase intentions. The results show that involvement's moderating role depends on whether pictures convey product-relevant information. Whereas the impact of affect-laden pictures devoid of product-relevant information declines as involvement increases, involvement exerts the opposite effect for product-relevant pictures. The results also demonstrate that the images evoked by pictures and thoughts about a picture's appropriateness play an important mediating role in the persuasion process underlying peripheral pictures.
Virtually all forms of marketing communications rely on a combination of verbal and nonverbal elements to convey the intended message. Within the store, manu- facturer point-of-purchase displays, packages, and re- tailer on-site merchandising materials often feature col- orful graphic and visual elements along with verbally oriented elements to attract consumer attention and con- vey a message about a product. Outside the store, news- paper and magazine advertisements as well as television commercials often emphasize their message through the same form of visually oriented communications, whereas radio uses music and sound effects. Despite this prom- inent use of nonverbal elements as message cues, sur- prisingly little research has examined the effects of non- verbal cues on consumer information processing. Even less research has investigated the effective integration of verbal and nonverbal elements in the design of market- ing communications. Recent studies on the effects of pictorial material in print advertisements generally has examined the impact of pictures added to verbal material in comparison with verbal material alone. Because of the
Researchers examined the implicit-explicit memory distinction in the domain of brand-name memory from advertisements. The distinctions were tested in 2 experiments that assessed effects of word frequency of the brand name, type of processing, and repetition on tasks reflecting implicit and explicit memory. Results showed that high-frequency brand names perform better on indirect tests. Moreover, priming effects emerged only when the brand names were the focus of attention at advertising exposure. Repetition led to parallel facilitation effects on indirect and direct tasks, whereas elaboration results dissociated these memory tasks. Implications of these findings for brand-name selection and advertising testing are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Tested the view that the number of arguments in a message could affect agreement with a communication by serving as a simple acceptance cue when personal involvement was low but could affect agreement by enhancing issue-relevant thinking when personal involvement was high. In addition to manipulating the personal relevance of the communication topic, both the number and the quality of the arguments in the message were varied. In a pilot study with 46 undergraduates, when the issue was of low relevance, Ss showed more agreement in response to a message containing 6 arguments (3 strong and 3 weak) than to messages containing either 3 strong or 3 weak arguments. Under high involvement, however, the 6-argument message did not increase agreement over the message containing only 3 strong arguments. In the full experiment, 168 undergraduates received either 3 or 9 arguments that were either all cogent or all specious under conditions of either high or low involvement. The manipulation of argument number had a greater impact under low than under high involvement, but the manipulation of argument quality had a greater impact under high than low involvement. Results indicate that increasing the number of arguments in a message could affect persuasion whether or not the actual content of the arguments was scrutinized. (53 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Studied the effect of type of picture accompanying word paired associates on recall. 48 brand and product pairs with their accompanying pictures were drawn from the Yellow Pages of a local telephone directory. 72 undergraduates were placed into a 4-group design consisting of 2 control and 2 experimental groups. The 2 experimental groups were shown either interactive or noninteractive pictures with each word pair. The 2 control groups were shown only the word pairs. The group receiving the interactive imagery remembered more brand names than the noninteractive imagery group (
p
Divides the study of human attention into 3 components: alertness, selectivity, and processing capacity. Experimental techniques designed to separate these components and examine their interrelations within comparable tasks are outlined. It is shown that a stimulus may be used to increase alertness for processing all external information, to improve selection of particular stimuli, or to do both simultaneously. Development of alertness and selectivity are separable, but may go on together without interference. Moreover, encoding a stimulus may proceed without producing interference with other signals. Thus, the contact between an external stimulus and its representation in memory does not appear to require processing capacity. Limited capacity results are obtained when mental operations, E.g., response selection or rehearsal, must be performed on the encoded information. (45 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
In Exp I, 183 undergraduates read a persuasive message from a likable or unlikable communicator who presented 6 or 2 arguments on 1 of 2 topics. High involvement (HI) Ss anticipated discussing the message topic at a future experimental session, whereas low-involvement (LI) Ss anticipated discussing a different topic. For HI Ss, opinion change was significantly greater given 6 arguments but was unaffected by communicator likability. For LI Ss, opinion change was significantly greater given a likable communicator but was unaffected by the argument's manipulation. In Exp II with 80 similar Ss, HI Ss showed slightly greater opinion change when exposed to 5 arguments from an unlikable (vs 1 argument from a likable) communicator, whereas LI Ss exhibited significantly greater persuasion in response to 1 argument from a likable (vs 5 arguments from an unlikable) communicator. Findings support the idea that HI leads message recipients to employ a systematic information processing strategy in which message-based cognitions mediate persuasion, whereas LI leads recipients to use a heuristic processing strategy in which simple decision rules mediate persuasion. Support was also obtained for the hypothesis that content- vs source-mediated opinion change would result in greater persistence. (37 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2004 APA, all rights reserved)
This article examines the impact of two dimensions of music--its fit with the advertised message and its ties to past emotion-laden experiences (indexicality)--on low- and high-involvement consumers' ad processing. Previous research suggests that executional cues in an ad exert their influence primarily under conditions of low involvement in the form of peripheral-route processing. However this view may be overly simplistic. Certain executional cues may influence central-route (message-based) and peripheral (non-message-based) processing of both high- and low-involvement consumers; however, the direction of this influence may depend on both the specific characteristic of the cue and the level of consumer involvement. The results of this research generally are consistent with these expectations. Copyright 1991 by the University of Chicago.
How, why, and when consumers use their perceptions of advertising costs as cues to a new brand's quality-related attributes is examined. It is proposed that consumers perceive advertising costs as deviations from expectations about typical costs in the product category. Perceived costs are hypothesized to affect brand perceptions in an inverted-U fashion with extemely high costs leading to negative perceptions. The level of involvement and informativeness of ad content moderate this relationship. An experiment in which subjects are exposed to an ad for a new product provides evidence for the proposed model. Copyright 1990 by the University of Chicago.
The examination of individual differences in consumer information processing is an emerging area of research within both marketing and consumer behavior. In this article, we report on two studies that focus on ability versus preference for imaginal or visual processing. The first study assesses the psychometric properties of frequently used measures of imaginal processing ability and preference; the study's results were somewhat supportive of the two ability measures but not supportive of the preference measure. The second study proposes and tests a new measure of processing preference—the Style of Processing (SOP) scale—which exhibits internal consistency as well as discriminant and criterion validity.
The effects of prior knowledge about a product class on various characteristics of pre-purchase information search within that product class are examined. A new search task methodology is used that imposes only a limited amount of structure on the search task: subjects are not cued with a list of attributes, and the problem is not structured in a brand-by-attribute matrix. The results indicate that prior knowledge facilitates the acquisition of new information and increases search efficiency. The results also support the conceptual distinction between objective and subjective knowledge.
Three factors were manipulated in an advertisement for disposable razors: celebrity-source physical attractiveness, celebrity-source likability, and participant product involvement. Attitudes and purchase intentions changed due to celebrity-source attractiveness, and the results were interpreted as supporting social adaptation theory.
Undergraduates expressed their attitudes about a product after being exposed to a magazme ad under conditions of either high or low product involvement. The ad contained either strong or weak arguments for the product and featured either prominent sports celebrities or average citizens as endorsers. The manipulation of argument quality had a greater impact on attitudes under high than low involve- ment, but the manipulation of product endorser had a greater impact under low than high involvement. These results are consistent with the view that there are two relatively distinct routes to persuasion.
How should information in print ads be presented to facilitate memory for the three major components—the brand name, the copy, and the picture? Using associative network models of memory as a framework, we demonstrate that relations among the components facilitate memory. Specifically, in Experiment 1, ads containing relations among ad components were better remembered than ads presenting unrelated components. Moreover, ads with relations among all three ad components resulted in better unaided recall than ads with relations between only two ad components, and relations involving pictures were better recalled than those involving only words. Experiment 2 demonstrated that, under both high and low task involvement, ads with lexical relations between copy and brand name are remembered better than ads with only conceptual relations. Experiment 3 replicated this effect for high issue involvement, but not for low issue involvement.
The author presents a conceptual model of brand equity from the perspective of the individual consumer. Customer-based brand equity is defined as the differential effect of brand knowledge on consumer response to the marketing of the brand. A brand is said to have positive (negative) customer-based brand equity when consumers react more (less) favorably to an element of the marketing mix for the brand than they do to the same marketing mix element when it is attributed to a fictitiously named or unnamed version of the product or service. Brand knowledge is conceptualized according to an associative network memory model in terms of two components, brand awareness and brand image (i. e., a set of brand associations). Customer-based brand equity occurs when the consumer is familiar with the brand and holds some favorable, strong, and unique brand associations in memory. Issues in building, measuring, and managing customer-based brand equity are discussed, as well as areas for future research.
Pictures that exemplify verbal product attribute information in an ad are argued to enhance ad recall only when the verbal information is of low imagery. When the verbal information is of high imagery, self-generated images are expected to minimize the effect of externally provided pictures on the recall of verbal information.
Four experiments tested a theory of memory and cognition which assumes that verbal and nonverbal information are processed in functionally distinct LTM systems. Subjects presented with pairs of pictures or printed names of animals and objects differing in rated real-life size were instructed to choose the conceptually larger member of each pair, the one that appeared to be farther away, or the one whose name was easier to pronounce. The following results were consistent with theoretical predictions: (1) RT to choose the larger member increased as the memory size difference decreased, for comparisons between as well as within conceptual categories; (2) memory size comparisons were faster with pictures than with words, whereas the reverse occurred for pronounceability comparisons; (3) with pictures, but not with words, size comparisons were significantly slower when real-life (memory) size relations conflicted with physical size relations than when the two were congruent; and (4) the size congruency effect was reversed for relative distance judgments of pictured pairs. These results cannot be easily explained by current verbal coding or abstract (propositional) theories of LTM representations.
The sequence of processing steps in obtaining the classifications vowel-consonant and letter-digit were explored. The procedure involved measuring the RT to classify pairs of stimuli as “same”. Inferences were drawn from RTs to letters with the same name (e.g. Bb) and from other differences between the RT structures obtained in the two classifications. When “same” was defined as both vowels or both consonants the subjects seemed to determine the letter name and then classify the name into its superordinate category. When “same” was defined as both letters or both digits the subjects appeared to classify the visual form directly into one of the two superordinate classes without first obtaining the name. The most likely explanation for the difference between conditions is the nature of training which subjects have had while learning the classifications.
Two groups of people (design students and university students) rated twelve different typefaces on a number of semantic rating scales. Analysis of the data revealed four major semantic dimensions. Comparisons between the factor scores for the two groups of people revealed both general similarities of pattern and marked discrepancies on certain factors for most of the typefaces. It was concluded that designers must be aware of the fact that their audience may perceive the semantic qualities of typefaces differently to themselves. These differences may have significant effects on the perceived appropriateness of a typeface for a given design function.
It is proposed that the appropriateness of a typeface is partly determined by the extent to which it shares multi-modal features with the concept that it represents. Exploring a number of professions as the concepts to be represented, we offer evidence to support this hypothesis. We demonstrate that n on-specialists discriminate a variety of display typefaces and professions in terms of a common set of multimodal features. In addition, on the basis of the extent to which each typeface shares multi-modal features with each profession, we successfully predict the judged appropriateness of various typefaces to represent each profession.
This paper reports research on the use of the semantic differential to determine the connotative meaning of ten display typefaces using laymen as subjects. There were several surprising outcomes of the study. Helvetica, the only sans serif typeface, was not perceived as differing significantly from serifed typefaces on most dimensions. Examples of different typeface classifications were also perceived as having similar connotative meanings, and two very distinctive novelty typefaces were surprisingly neutral on all factoral dimensions.
Proposes that Chinese brand attitudes are primarily affected by the match between script associations and brand associations, but brand attitudes of English names are primarily affected by the match between sound associations and brand associations. A total of 161 Chinese and 128 American college students participated in a cross-cultural study conducted in China and the US in which Ss saw novel brand name/product category combinations written in certain scripts and read by an announcer. Findings confirm the predictions. ANOVAs were performed on attitudes toward brand ratings, potential product category, and purchase intentions. These findings add further evidence to the stream of research that shows how structural features of languages and writing systems affect consumer behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
The relative legibility of 10 type faces printed in 10-point type was obtained by determining the average distance in centimeters from the eyes at which easy words (from the Chapman-Cook speed of reading test) could be read correctly. An analysis of results based on 55 students at the University of Minnesota and comparison with previous studies indicates that certain factors which increase perceptibility of words at a distance reduce speed of reading. Legibility of type as measured by the distance method differed markedly from legibility in terms of speed of reading. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Forms A and B of the Chapman-Cook Speed of Reading Test were given in 3 type forms—all capitals, roman lower case, italics—to 640 subjects. Comparisons were made between the speed of reading the all capitals vs. the lower case text and the italics vs. the lower case text. The ABBA method of sequence was used for each form of the text and each style of type. A difference of 13.4% was shown in favor of lower case vs. capitals; 2.8% in favor of lower case vs. italics. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
This article reports on the results of an experiment to determine whether type style is a significant influence on readers' affective response to print. A repeated-measures, full-factorial design employing 250 subjects revealed that readers respond differently to both serif and sans serif general print types and to specific types within these major classifications. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
How should information in print ads be presented to facilitate memory for the three major components—the brand name, the copy, and the picture? Using associative network models of memory as a framework, we demonstrate that relations among the components facilitate memory. Specifically, in Experiment 1, ads containing relations among ad components were better remembered than ads presenting unrelated components. Moreover, ads with relations among all three ad components resulted in better unaided recall than ads with relations between only two ad components, and relations involving pictures were better recalled than those involving only words. Experiment 2 demonstrated that, under both high and low task involvement, ads with lexical relations between copy and brand name are remembered better than ads with only conceptual relations. Experiment 3 replicated this effect for high issue involvement, but not for low issue involvement.
Previous consumer research has attributed differences in persuasion between communication modes (e.g., audio vs. print) to differences in the audience's control over the pace of argument presentation. It is argued in this article that communication modes also differ in the extent to which argument order is an important determinant of persuasion. The results of two studies show that, while order of argument presentation affects persuasion with audio messages, order is unimportant with print messages. These differences appear to be due to a first-in-first-out retrieval strategy employed in response to audio presentations but not in response to visual presentations. Implications of the research for understanding how consumers process messages and how to develop effective communications are discussed. Copyright 1994 by the University of Chicago.
Languages of the Asia-Pacific region, such as Chinese, are based on ideographic writing systems which are radically different from the alphabetic systems used in Western languages, such as English. We propose that structural differences between Chinese and English affect mental representations which, in turn, influence consumer memory of verbal information. Specifically, unaided brand recall should be differentially affected in Chinese and English when it is spoken compared with when it is written. Furthermore, recognition should be differentially affected in Chinese and English when brand names are learned auditorily compared with when they are learned visually. Results of a cross-cultural experiment conducted in China and in the United States confirm predictions for unaided brand recall and partially confirm predictions for recognition. Copyright 1994 by the University of Chicago.
The research reported here comprises an empirical investigation of the phenomenon of typographic allusion. In a preliminary study, subjects rated the perceptual qualities possessed by different typefaces (e.g. heavy-light, fast-slow). The results indicated that subjects agreed as to typeface characteristics and that typefaces were distinguished by such qualities. In Expt 1, subjects undertook a speeded decision task in which they responded according to which one of four adjectives appeared tachistoscopically. Each word appeared in a typeface whose qualities were either consistent or inconsistent with its meaning. Reaction times for inconsistent stimuli were significantly slower than those for consistent trials. In preparation for Expt 2, the same rating procedure was used to elicit subjects’ judgements of the attributes of different animals. Subjects agreed as to animals’ qualities and such qualities reliably distinguished between the animals. The names of these animals were then used as targets in a binary decision task and each one appeared in a typeface possessing qualities which were either congruent or incongruent with those of the animal. Subjects responded according to whether they considered the animal presented on each trial to be heavy or light, or fast or slow moving. Responses on trials in which the animal and typeface possessed conflicting attributes were significantly slower than responses when animal and typeface qualities were congruent.
These results are discussed in relation to current views regarding the processing of written English. We argue that typographic features of words are able to access a semantic code and that this code can interact with the derivation of a linguistic code specifying a word's meaning and/or with post-lexical access decision processes.
Paivio (1975) found that the latency to choose the larger of two named objects does not depend on congruity between the object sizes and the sizes of the object names. Because size congruity does affect latencies for pictorially presented objects, Paivio interpreted this result as support for the dual coding hypothesis. However, Experiment 1 demonstrated that Paivio's results were an artifact of his experimental design. Size congruity does affect latencies to choose the larger of two named objects when object pairs are not repeated. When the same object pairs are used repeatedly, as in Paivio's experiment, the effect disappears. In this case the response is probably remembered, so that the objects need not be compared. To determine the processing stages affected by size congruity, both the distance between stimulus sizes and the size congruity were manipulated in Experiment 2. Three groups of subjects chose either the greater Arabic digit, the greater named digit, or the larger named object. Size congruity interacted with distance only for Arabic digits. For both Arabic digits and named digits, the interference caused by size incongruity was greater than the facilitation caused by size congruity, whereas for object names, the facilitation was greater than the interference. A model of the interaction between physical size comparisons and conceptual size comparisons is proposed to account for these results.
Visual Infortnation Pro-cessing
- Spoehr
- Kathryn
- Lehmkuhle
- Stephen
Spoehr, Kathryn, & Lehmkuhle, Stephen. (1983). Visual Infortnation Pro-cessing. San Francisco: Freeman.
The connotative dimensions of selected display typefaces Language and consumer memory: The impact of linguistic differences between chinese and english. Journul ($Consumer Reseurch
- Camille L Rowe
- Schmitt
- H Bemd
- Pan
- Yigang
- Tavassoli
- T Nader
Rowe, Camille L. (1982). The connotative dimensions of selected display typefaces. Infortnution Design Jrmrnal, 1, 3&37. Schmitt, Bemd H., Pan, Yigang, & Tavassoli, Nader T. (1994). Language and consumer memory: The impact of linguistic differences between chinese and english. Journul ($Consumer Reseurch. 21, 419-431.
Effects of interactive imagery on learning: Application to advertising Affective and cognitive antecedents of attitude to-ward the ad: A conceptual framework Thedifferential roleofchar-acteristics of music on high-and low-involvement consumers' process-ing of ads
- Kathy A Lutz
- Richard J Lutz
- Richard Lutz
Lutz, Kathy A,, & Lutz, Richard J. (1977). Effects of interactive imagery on learning: Application to advertising. Journul ($Applied Psychology, 62,493498. Lutz, Richard. (1985). Affective and cognitive antecedents of attitude to-ward the ad: A conceptual framework. In L. Alwitt & A. Mitchell (Eds.), Psyc.hologicu1 Proc,esses und Advertising Effects: Theory, Reserrrch und Applicutions (pp. 45-63). London: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, lnc. Macinnis, Deborah J., & Park,C. Whan. (1991). Thedifferential roleofchar-acteristics of music on high-and low-involvement consumers' process-ing of ads. Journul of Consumer Reseurch, 18, 161-173.