Everything’s relative. Except for truth, apparently. Philosophers point out that if you say “everything is relative” you’re making an absolute statement, rather than a relative one, and you’ve just defeated your own point.

Philosophers are like that.

One thing that is relative is what consumers think about the products they encounter.

Which is a little odd, because we all like to believe that we know what we think; if we’re not sure of that everything feels a little precarious.

However, this is just one of those conscious delusions we use to feel good about ourselves. This is all well and good when you’re simply telling yourself that you’re a great person who’s fabulous at everything, but less helpful when you want to understand consumer behaviour and exert maximum influence with your marketing.

A recent study has uncovered a surprising dimension to the way in which consumers are influenced by what they see around the advert for a product.

Previously it was known that there was a halo effect from one advert to another; so if someone’s reading a magazine full of adverts for premium brands like Rolex, Gucci, and Ferrari, they will be likely to feel that the next ad, for a less well-known product, is better than if they had seen it in isolation.

As I’ve discussed previously, with all the positive associations triggered by the known brands active, it’s easier for the unconscious to make neural connections between the new product and the same thoughts, so it will.

But what about when you add in the issue of prior knowledge. Does it make a difference to this halo effect if people have some degree of expertise about the product being advertised next to the well-known prestigious brands?

Researchers discovered that it does make a difference.

When respondents had a lot of knowledge about a product category the halo effect works as described but when they didn’t they evaluated the brand less favourably.

I suspect that where the unconscious mind can create relevant associations to connect to the positive feelings triggered by the previous advertising it will do so.

But if it can’t conjure up something to attach those feelings to it feels worse rather than better and the advert in question is perceived is relatively unsatisfying.

So it’s important to consider both the context (in other words, the products advertised around yours) and the degree of knowledge consumers using that advertising medium have about what you’re selling.

If you want to influence consumers what’s around what you have to say will be just as important as your own ad.

And this doesn’t just apply to advertising. Anywhere that consumers encounter your products or services they will be making these associations at an unconscious level, on the basis of what they happen to encounter at the same time and in the same place.

So everything might not be relative, but how your brand, product or service is perceived most certainly is.

Nam et al. The Effects of a Different Category Context on Target Brand Evaluations. Journal of Consumer Research, December 2008; 080819120938784 DOI: 10.1086/592128

Image courtesy: Adcuz