The Persuasive Impact of Message Spacing

Abstract

Although the persuasive impact of repeated message exposures has been investigated extensively, the effect of varying the spacing of those repetitions on message judgments has not been examined empirically. We use recent theorizing, which suggests that in relation to massed presentations, spaced presentations of a target ad are likely to prompt the allocation of more resources to stimulus processing because spaced exposures are perceived as less familiar. Brand judgments are expected to depend on the resources that are allocated to message processing in relation to those required for this task, and these judgments are expected to be most favorable when the resources allocated to message processing match those required for the task. Our data are consistent with these expectations.