The Effects of Feature and Benefit Sentences in Advertising Copy on Consumers’ Memory and Attitudes

Abstract

The objective of this study was to empirically test how these dependent variables are influenced by features and benefits in advertising copy. Advertising copy testing research has produced conflicting results regarding the independence of recall, recognition and attitude constructs. Most copy-testing research, however, has focused on consumers’ responses to the ad as a whole. The study reported here focuses on sentence-level manipulations to determine how variations in sentence patterns influence consumer memory and attitudes for advertised claims. A within-subjects experiment using magazine ads as stimuli was conducted in which the presence or absence of pairs of consumer benefit and product feature sentences were manipulated. The dependent variables were phrase recognition, morpheme recall and attitude toward the ad. Results showed that benefit and feature sentences did not improve recognition memory for phrases. However, ads with benefits or features enhanced morphemic recall and attitudes compared to the control condition. In particular, for ads that contained integrated benefit sentences and feature sentences together, an interactive effect was observed. Readers of these copy blocks displayed more positive attitudes toward the ad and higher levels of morpheme recall than benefits-only or features-only ads. The results are consistent with predictions from construal level theory, which has shown that benefit-based appeals are more effective in high construal situations while benefit- and attribute-based appeals are equally effective in low construal situations.