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The trustworthy brand: effects of conclusion explicitness and persuasion awareness on consumer judgments

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Abstract

Two studies examine how a consumer’s awareness of marketing tactics influences the effectiveness of conclusion explicitness advertising (implicit, open-ended or explicit, closed-ended conclusions). Study 1 shows that persuasion awareness and conclusion explicitness influence brand evaluations. Persuasion aware consumers prefer implicit conclusions in comparative advertising that allow them to decide which brand is superior, rather than explicit conclusions which state the superior brand. Persuasion unaware consumers show no difference for conclusion explicitness. Brand trust mediates the results. Study 2 demonstrates the robustness of these effects. Research contributions include persuasion awareness as a moderator of conclusion explicitness effects and the role of trust as a mediator. For managers, results show how implicit conclusions can improve the brand evaluations of persuasion aware consumers.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Consumer Research Group, QUT Business School, Queensland University of Technology, 2 George Street, Brisbane, QLD, 4000, Australia

    Brett A. S. Martin

  2. Cardiff Business School, Cardiff University, Aberconway Building, Colum Drive, Cardiff, CF10 3EU, Wales, UK

    Carolyn A. Strong

Authors
  1. Brett A. S. Martin
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  2. Carolyn A. Strong
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Correspondence to Brett A. S. Martin.

Appendix

Appendix

Study 1: Implicit conclusion

figure a

Study 1: Explicit conclusion

figure b

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Martin, B.A.S., Strong, C.A. The trustworthy brand: effects of conclusion explicitness and persuasion awareness on consumer judgments. Mark Lett 27, 473–485 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11002-014-9343-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11002-014-9343-9

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