Lies and bullshit: The negative effects of misinformation grow stronger over time

In a world where exposure to untrustworthy communicators is common, trust has become more important than ever for effective marketing. Nevertheless, we know very little about the long-term consequences of exposure to untrustworthy sources, such bullshitters. This research examines how untrustworthy sources—liars and bullshitters—influence consumer attitudes toward a product. Frankfurt's (1986) insidious bullshit hypothesis (i.e., bullshitting is evaluated less negatively than lying but bullshit can be more harmful than are lies) is examined within a traditional sleeper effect—a persuasive influence that increases, rather than decays over time. We obtained a sleeper effect after participants learned that the source of the message was either a liar or a bullshitter. However, compared to the liar source condition, the same message from a bullshitter resulted in more extreme immediate and delayed attitudes that were in line with an otherwise discounted persuasive message (i.e., an advertisement). Interestingly, attitudes returned to control condition levels when a bullshitter was the source of the message, suggesting that knowing an initially discounted message may be potentially accurate/inaccurate (as is true with bullshit, but not lies) does not result in the long-term discounting of that message. We discuss implications for marketing and other contexts of persuasion.     

Creating Brand Meaning: A Review and Research Agenda

In this paper I review, from the perspective of experimental research, studies that have examined how brands acquire cultural meaning, and suggest future research directions. McCracken's (Journal of Consumer Research, 13 , 1986 and 71) model of the meaning transfer process gained influence about thirty years ago, but experimental studies of the processes it posited have been limited in their scope. The review is organized around three questions. First, what should be the dependent variables: the types of meanings that can adhere to brands? Second, what have we learned from studies on the types of visual, sensory, and human cues that are the sources of particular types of brand meaning—our independent variables? Third, what do we know, and need to know, about the inferential and other processes through which consumers “take possession” of these brand meanings from these cues? The review concludes with a research agenda.     

Using sonic branding in the retail environment — an easy and effective way to create consumer brand loyalty while enhancing the in‐store experience

Retail is no longer simply a point of purchase, it has now become part of a brand's communications strategy. As brands begin to explore the benefits of the retail environment they are mostly failing to utilise fully its ability to communicate with all the senses. Sonic branding has yet to make a significant impact on the retail environment and yet it is a powerful tool in the development of brand loyalty. As brands search for new ways of communicating with consumers both locally and globally, sonic branding will become a key tool in the creation of fully immersive brand experiences. Copyright © 2003 Henry Stewart Publications.     

The Jerusalem of Jesus: space and Pentecostal-evangelical branding in Orlando’s Holy Land Experience and Eureka Spring’s Holy Land Tour

Jerusalem, Israel, holds a special place as a holy pilgrimage destination for devotees of Christianity and other religions, although travel to the holy sites of Jerusalem is costly and can be difficult for many. For evangelical Protestants (and especially Pentecostals), the significance of Jerusalem – as the place where Christ the Messiah lived and accomplished his works – can be mobilised and channelled (decentralised) by creating sites which participate in the spiritual ‘power’ of Jesus Christ. Spiritual ‘power’ in this sense is not dependent on recorded miracles or canonisation by a central religious authority, but in the creation of spaces which through various strategies effectively evoke for their Protestant consumers the ‘authenticity’ of Jesus’ Jerusalem, and thus the ‘power’ and ‘reality’ of Christ. This paper examines the spatial strategies and branding of two such sites, the Holy Land Experience (Orland, Florida) and the Holy Land Tour (Eureka Springs, Arkansas).     

Contrast and Assimilation Processes in Consumers' Evaluations of Dual Brands

This study extends the branding literature by examining the psychological processes by which consumers evaluate brand alliances. The theoretical basis for this study is the development of models of context effects in brand evaluations (Meyers-Levy & Sternthal 1993 and Levin & Levin 2000). Of particular interest is how dual branding (two restaurant brands with shared features) influences transfer of affect between brands. Although there was a contrast effect in both the separate and dual brand conditions, this contrast effect was significantly reduced in the dual brand condition. Marketing implications of forming brand alliances are discussed.     

品牌人格研究述评

就像每个人都有独特的人格特征,使自己与别人不同一样,品牌也有自己的人格特征。近年来,市场竞争日趋激烈,出现了越来越多的品牌。同类产品的属性通常类似,这时,“身份”、“形象”或“品牌人格”就成为消费者区分产品的唯一因素。品牌人格概念越来越受到研究者的重视,但由于缺乏统一的概念和测量,研究受到了局限。本文总结了不同研究者提出的品牌人格概念,讨论了品牌人格测量方法和量表,并对今后的研究方向作了探讨。