The effects of peripheral exposure to information on brand preference

Abstract

In this article, brand evaluations based on mere exposure to a brand name are compared to evaluations built on varying levels of cognitively processed brand information in a setting where all subjects have low involvement. Results indicate that a small but meaningfully sized group of subjects fully processed the information on brands they were exposed to, and rated those brands significantly higher than other brands where they had only seen the brand name alone. This finding was strongest for a fictional new brand, but also present for a well‐established brand. By contrast, the larger portion of low involvement subjects who did not fully process brand information, also did not rate brands significantly higher than their ratings for brands in which they saw no accompanying information. Implications for sponsors and advertisers are discussed.