Communication Effects of Advertising Versus Direct Experience When Both Search and Experience Attributes are Present

Abstract

Previous research has predicted that direct product experience will be superior to advertising in communicating information about products. In experiment 1 of the present study, claims about search attributes were better recognized and beliefs about search attributes were more accessible and more confidently held after exposure to ads in comparison with direct experience of two inexpensive packaged products. Experiment 2 replicated the above effects on claim recognition, belief accessibility, and confidence for two consumer durables under low-involvement conditions. It also showed that search attributes were more frequently mentioned and were rated as more important after exposure to advertising than after direct experience; the opposite was true for experience attributes. These effects on frequency of mention and attribute importance were significantly weaker under high-involvement than under low-involvement conditions.