Consumer Psychology and Memory Recall Effect: An Analytical Study on Comparative Advertising

Abstract

Advertising is all about competing with brands and proving its superiority over other brands. Competition through comparison is a creative form of advertising profession and offers leading edge for a brand, adds to its value, and positions it as a unique brand in the product category. It is advertising and especially the comparative advertising that makes a detergent whiter, a soft drink stronger and a toothpaste healthier than just the rival brands. Comparative advertising has its genesis in a way that it compares two brands and highlights only the most powerful features of one brand over the other. The entire communication process remains favourable for the advertised brand and leaves rival brand in poor light without stating its worth. The purpose of this study is to test its hypothesis whether consumers recall comparative advertisements better than regular forms of advertisements. It also explores the factors responsible for the memory effects of comparative advertisements. The study is based on a survey indicating the growing acceptance among the consumers to be more receptive towards comparative advertisements and why brands are claiming to be better, safer and cheaper than their competitors. Results evince that the design of comparative advertising that includes the content and manner of presentation greatly charms the consumers and affects their buying behaviour. The study also shows that advertisements which have a greater number of cues are easier to recall than those with lesser cues.