Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: This study focuses on the effects of exposure on recall, recognition and brand image of brands placed within a television program. A web-based survey (N = 655) showed that repetitive confrontation with brand placement within a certain context (the program) was not related to recall or recognition but did change brand images in the direction of the context. As the exposure frequency increased, the brand image became more in agreement with the image of the program: healthy, fit, energetic and expert. These effects also held when controlled for age, education, gender, product use and attitude toward brand placement. These findings support the applicability of conditioning and learning theory to brand placement and show that brand placement is not only effective in generating recall, recognition and attitude change, as we know from previous studies, but also affects the brand itself. Brand placement seems to be an effective marketing tool for influencing brand images.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: In the present study, we examined the role of brands in the process of non-conscious hierarchisation in dyadic interactions. More specifically, we hypothesized and found that when an agent exhibited brands that were rated high on the brand personality dimension of ‘competence’ (Aaker, 1997), these can induce patterns of nonverbal submissive behavior in the antagonist. Compared to control conditions, participants exposed to high-competence brands showed more frequent sequences of submissive nonverbal behaviors such as looking at the agent while listening to him, nodding affirmatively, coy smiling and blushing. This effect of brand competence on hierarchisation was more pronounced for individuals with a low intrinsic tendency for dominant behavior.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: A survey as well as an experiment were conducted to study the effects of prominence and exposure frequency to TV brand placements on brand memory, brand image and brand attitude. Both studies showed that brand placements affected brand memory. Furthermore, the results showed that recognition increased and brand images became more in agreement with the image of the program, as people saw more episodes of the program. These effects also held when controlled for demographics, product use and attitude toward brand placement. Important finding is that brand memory and brand image were not related. Thus, brand image became more positive regardless of memory of the brand placements. These findings have important implications for the understanding of the working of brand placement. The studies indicate the applicability of conditioning and learning theory to brand placement.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: In the contemporary terrain of global, national, and narrow-scale marketing, brands have begun to assume an increasingly complex set of social functions. This paper is an examination of how the circulation, both nationally and transnationally, of certain American brands, factors into contemporary understandings of and conflicts about U.S. national identity. In the volatile context of global branding, marketers are increasingly turning to campaigns that encourage consumers to have highly-cathected and deeply emotional relationships to brands, what’s called in market-speak, "loving the brand." What happens, this paper asks, when this "love" of the brand intersects with national identity and travels across global markets?

This paper looks at an array of traditionally all-American brands (Coca-Cola, McDonalds) and a number of more recent brands (Ipod, Starbucks, and others) in terms of what they indicate about the changing relationship of brands to national identity. It situates a discussion of the contemporary context of global marketing and national branding in relation to the history of how U.S. products have been imbued with the meaning of the nation and sold as patriotic goods. While the kind of national branding that was popular throughout the twentieth century used an iconography of the nation to sell consumerism as a patriotic act, many contemporary brands sell the nation as one that travels, is global, and transcends national borders. In addition, while the late twentieth century saw many incidents of national U.S. brands being resisted on the global market as icons of U.S. imperialism, the circulation of national U.S. brands is now often the site of retooling and active appropriation rather than resistance. I address the questions raised by the intersection of this national and transnational branding with the current overinvestment in brands themselves. How, in the current political context, do American brands travel and how does their meaning change? How have American national brands been retooled, resisted, and reworked? How do consumers outside the U.S. use American brands to negotiate globalization and both respond to and buy into U.S. national meaning?

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Review Method: Peer Reviewed
Abstract: This study investigates the role of media factors in reactions to brand placements in a real-life setting. Drawing on a survey of 1195 television viewers, we found that genre (special interest versus general interest), program evaluation, and the program’s informational value positively affect brand memory, attitudes and behavior. These results support theories on “spill over” and media gratifications. The effect of genre on viewers’ behavior was partially mediated by the program’s perceived informational value. This study shows the importance of context factors in audience responses to brand placement and shows the underlying mechanisms.