Consumer Attitudes

• Targets & Segments
• Article

Effective Customer Engagement Tactics for Microblogging Platforms

Customer service problem resolution on microblogging platforms offers a way for firms to shine after interacting with customers or to leave a less than stellar impression. This study identifies key tactics for effective digital customer engagement and mitigating negative social propagation. The research identifies four frontline problem-handling tactics—resolving, reassuring, compassion and passion—and their impact on social propagation by followers. The study also highlights the importance of efficient problem resolution and communication strategies in digital marketing.

• Targets & Segments
• Article

Racial Minority Representation Increases Advertising Effectiveness in Mortgage Markets

Explore the impact of racial minority representation in TV advertisements on consumer choices in the mortgage market in this new MSI working paper. The study employed a double machine learning model to control for high-dimensional video and text features, ensuring robust estimates. Its findings reveal that higher minority presence can significantly increase TV advertising effectiveness.

• Creative & Branded Content
• Article

Music’s Impact on Visual Scene Interpretation in Media

The study explores how music influences the emotional and semantic interpretation of visual scenes in media. It employs a large-scale empirical approach to assess both implicit and explicit participant responses to various audio-visual combinations, revealing music's nuanced effect on semantic attribute ratings.

• Targets & Segments
• Article

Nuances in Donor Influence: Strategic Insights from Charitable Appeals Research

How do positive and negative appeals in charity advertising shape donors' choices between immediate and long-term assistance? Discover strategic approaches that charities can adopt to optimize their advertising and maximize donor engagement and contributions.

• Creative & Branded Content
• Article

Decoding Fusion Metaphors in Healthcare Advertising

Uncover the intricate dynamics of fusion metaphors in health advertising and their paradoxical effects on consumer attitudes. This article reveals how combining elements from diverse domains can alternately attract and mislead, shaping public perception in unforeseen ways.

• Targets & Segments
• Article

Using Shelf Interaction Analysis to Enhance Retail Efficiency and Customer Engagement

Utilizing video tracking and shelf interaction analysis provides actionable insights for retailers looking to manage shopping efforts and enhance customer engagement in retail stores. This Marketing Science Institute (MSI) at the ARF working paper illustrates the benefits of strategic shelf reorganization and targeted promotions to improve shopping efficiency and sales conversion.

• Article

How to Balance Consumer Response to “Skimpflation”

Rising costs are an important issue for businesses. Many wonder how they should respond and how customers will react if they say, reduce product quality. Such “skimpflation” can be harder for consumers to detect. However, this Marketing Science Institute (MSI) working paper finds that those who do realize it consider the practice deceptive and unfair. Consumers, it seems, prefer reduced product size (shrinkflation) or increased prices to skimpflation, with price increases the most popular/least unpopular of these options.

• Creative & Branded Content
• Article

How Implied Explosions Boost Perfume Ads’ Appeal

This study investigates how the concept of “implied explosion” in advertisements can significantly enhance consumers' perception of a perfume's intensity and persistence, leading to higher purchase intentions. Discover how both visual and textual cues can be leveraged to create a more impactful consumer experience.

• Targets & Segments
• Article

Having In-Depth Research on Consumers’ Values Yields Tremendous Benefits

• ARF Knowledge at Hand, CMO Brief

In decades past, demographic characteristics were considered the strongest predictors of consumers’ values, attitudes and purchasing behavior. Over time, however, they have grown to become weak predictors and correlates. In this Knowledge at Hand report, Dr. Horst Stipp, EVP at the ARF, summarizes the latest and most impactful research to date on consumer values and how researching them carefully can help shape effective business strategies and impactful ad messages.

• Targets & Segments
• Article

How Patients React to AI-Assisted Communications

• MSI

Generative AI is all the rage, and consumers are interested in interacting with such programs to receive personalized services and products. What is their outlook when it comes to doing so in the healthcare field? Here, the view is not as sunny. In fact, a new working paper put out by the Marketing Science Institute (MSI), at the ARF, found that physicians who use AI to communicate with patients were perceived as less warm and even less competent.