106 CHAPTER 3 HOW MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS WORKdifferences with respect to functionality and product presentation,^132 wilful brand imitation
by imitating package shape and size, label print style and layout, and package colour,^133 and
a high degree of competition in the product category^134 (which is often accompanied by a
high advertising clutter) seem to increase the risk of brand confusion. Furthermore, brand
confusion often occurs to the disadvantage of low-market-share brands to the advantage of
market leaders or other large-market-share brands. Message-related factors refer to differ-
ences between ads in emotional and informational content, but also in format. With respect
to emotional content, for example, it is generally agreed that emotional appeals attract more
attention, but when the emotional content distracts the consumers, less brand recall and
more brand confusion may result, leading to the phenomenon where everybody knows the
ad, but nobody knows the brand advertised. As mentioned before, too much information
causes irritation, which in turn can lead to more brand confusion.^135 Format factors that have
been shown to lower the level of brand confusion are a clear headline, the use of pictures and
showing the product in use. Furthermore, ‘the degree of overall similarity of strategy’ (DOSS)
in information content seems to have increased over time, although ads seem to differ more
and more in emotional content.^136 Therefore, the more unique an ad is in terms of content
and execution, the less likely brand confusion is to occur.^137
As for campaign-related factors, the campaign budget is negatively related to brand con-
fusion, and the same can be expected for total gross rating points (GRP) or share of voice
(see also Chapters 6 and 8).^138 Furthermore, using multiple communications media and a
consistent communications strategy, over time as well as over the different media, may
be important factors in reducing or avoiding brand confusion. Concerning consumer char-
acteristics, individuals with a negative attitude towards advertising in general are more likely
to confuse brands, since they are more likely to avoid or block out most of the advertising
targeted at them. Not only the attitude towards advertising in general, but also the attitude
towards a particular ad are of major importance, since a more positive Aad seems to lead
to less brand confusion.^139 Furthermore, people who feel more involved or who are more
familiar with the product category are less likely to confuse brands since they have more
brand and product knowledge.^140 Brand-loyal consumers, on the other hand, are more focused
on their favourite brand and, as a consequence, confuse brands more easily.^141 Rather surpris-
ingly, the fact that a consumer had been exposed to an ad a few or several times did not
impact the level of brand confusion.Summary
How marketing communications persuade consumers is largely a black box process that can
be explained in many ways. In hierarchy-of-effects models, the consumer is assumed to go
through a hierarchical process of cognitive, affective and behavioural responses to commun-
ications stimuli. Depending on the type of product and buying situation, this hierarchy may
differ. A crucial role in this persuasion process is the formation and change of attitudes. The
extent to which attitudes are formed in a stable or less stable way depends on the elaboration
likelihood of information processing, which in turn depends on the motivation, the ability
and the opportunity to process information. If one of these factors is not present, consumers
may be convinced by peripheral stimuli, such as the colours in the ad or the celebrity endors-
ing the product, rather than by rational product information. The way in which attitudes
are formed and changed depends on the high or low likelihood of elaboration, on the one
hand, and whether attitudes are primarily based on cognitive, affective or conative factors, on
the other. As a result, six types of attitude formation and communications models can be
distinguished. Among the most important of these models are the cognitively based high
elaboration likelihood model of Fishbein–Ajzen and the Theory of Planned Behaviour, theM03_PELS3221_05_SE_C03.indd 106 6/5/13 3:03 PM