Effects of Acoustic Stimuli Complementing Out-Of-Home Advertising

Abstract

Consumers are being exposed to an evergrowing number of promotional offers. Therefore, innovative communication measures are required to deliver advertising messages to potential customers effectively. The present work investigates the interaction of acoustic and visual stimuli of an advertising campaign in the out-of-home arena. Research into the integration of these two modalities has so far received little attention in the literature. The investigations focus on the effects of the multisensory integration of a poster with two types of acoustic stimuli: verbal slogans and the sounds of products which can be heard when they are being consumed. Neural research into human information processing provides the basis for the development of a number of hypotheses. A field experiment comprising two quantitative studies involves a poster presented in a citylight accompanied by acoustic cues. Passers-by are exposed the poster and one of two sounds or only the poster. Means of observation and communication measure the resulting effects in terms of attention, brand recognition, ad intrusiveness, and attitude toward the brand, and the findings result from the comparison between the three groups. Three main results which contribute to our understanding of the field stand out: Acoustic signals increase attention and to a certain degree brand recognition but at the same time they are perceived as being intrusive. Cooperation with two companies (one which hires out space for out-of-home advertising and a producer of dairy products) ensures the practical relevance of this research. We recommend considering the combining of out-ofhome advertising with acoustic stimuli for selected projects thereby carefully balancing the advantages of attention generation with the disadvantages of perceived ad intrusiveness.