The authors investigate the effects of loyalty programs on loyalty to packaged goods brands. Findings from a series of experiments indicate that the incentive that is offered in a loyalty program is important to whether the program succeeds or fails at building brand loyalty. The data reported suggest that incentives that have overlap with brand associations, which the authors term cue-compatible incentives, can prompt rehearsal that increases the accessibility of favorable brand associations. This, in turn, helps boost postprogram loyalty. At the same time, incentives that are tangible or concrete can undermine postprogram loyalty. This seems to occur because elaboration is attracted to the incentive at the expense of the brand. Incentive associations may thus gain in accessibility and interfere with access to brand associations.

Prior research indicates that variety seeking (VS) behaviors increase in the presence of mild positive mood. However, extant studies are not informative about VS outcomes with more extreme positive moods. It is theorized that extreme positive moods may often be associated with decreases in VS, because the rather moderate stimulation to be gained from VS is not sufficient to meet the demands of an extreme positive mood. Two experiments and two pilot tests are consistent with an updated theoretical account of positive mood and VS that is proposed. (c) 2005 by JOURNAL OF CONSUMER RESEARCH, Inc..

A study is presented that compares two forms of within-program brand appearances: product placements and celebrity plugs. Evidence suggests that plugs may often have a retention advantage over placements. This advantage is hypothesized to arise from differences in the way plugs and placements are often presented. Specifically, differences in presentation contexts may create differences in how memory for plugs and placements is organized. This, in turn, may allow plugs to receive more frequent rehearsal during subsequent viewing of a show in which a brand has appeared. ᭧ 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.With advancing technology and the advent of products like Tivo, it becomes ever more possible for consumers to avoid commercials between television programming. Marketers are thus intensifying efforts to gain brand exposure during television shows themselves. Still, little is known

In the present research, Construal Level Theory is used to predict that consumers will mentally characterize incentive offers differently as a function of their redemption time frames. Data from two experiments indicate that concrete features, such as the face value of an offer or its mode of presentation (as a dollar figure or as a percentage discount), are prominent for incentives with short time frames but not for incentives with long ones. In the latter case, abstract features, such as the incentive's goal congruity or fit with personal values, are more likely to influence responses.

The relationship between variety-seeking behaviors and the time of day at which choices are made is investigated. It is proposed that more variety-seeking will typically occur during times of day when people are experiencing arousal lows rather than arousal peaks. Two studies support this view. Moreover, it is also shown that the incidence of choice is greater for follower brands during day periods when variety-seeking is heightened, whereas leader brands fare better in periods when variety-seeking is relatively minimal. Copyright Kluwer Academic Publishers 2004variety-seeking, brand choice,

This research explores the effect of product packaging uniformity on variety seeking. It is shown that the incidence of variety seeking is greater in product categories where packaging is similar among competitors, and thus the packaging display has relatively low arousal potential, as compared to categories where the packaging is less uniform across brands and therefore has higher arousal potential. Two experiments test and support these propositions.

We analyze parodic ads, which are humorous commercial messages that parody extant advertising. The effects of three dimensions are examined: mockery, perceived truth and playful humor. Consequences are considered for attitudes toward the parodic ad, its sponsor brand, the parodied advertising (which the parodic ad mimics) and the parodied advertising's sponsor brand. Results of three studies indicate that parodic ads can produce positive as well as negative outcomes across these attitudinal variables. These results suggest caution in the use of parody as a messaging device.

No abstract