Divergent Versus Relevant Ads: How Creative Ads Affect Purchase Intention for New Products

Abstract

Creative ads are applied widely in new product marketing. The present research explores the impact of creative ads (divergent vs. relevant ads) on purchase intention for really new products (RNPs) and incrementally new products (INPs). A series of studies conclude that (a) divergent ads are more effective for promoting INPs; (b) relevant ads are more effective for promoting RNPs; (c) self-referencing mediates the joint effect of creative ads and product newness on purchase intention; and (d) there is an inverted-U-shaped relationship between self-referencing and purchase intention for new products. Theoretically, we argue that a moderate amount of self-referencing is particularly desirable – a “Goldilocks region” that produces an optimal level of persuasion. Managerially, we provide guidance to creative ad managers to help reach the “Goldilocks region” when advertising new products.

Give me the newest! Effect of social exclusion on new products adoption

“…Conversely, the present study extended prior research by investigating how social exclusion influences RNP and INP adoption intentions. In addition, previous studies on new product adoption intention have also mainly focused on product characteristics (Fuerst et al, 2023; Kovalenko et al, 2022), individual traits (Herzenstein et al, 2007; Ma et al, 2014; Seyed Esfahani & Reynolds, 2021), and the marketing context (Jiang et al, 2023a; Wang et al, 2023; Zhang & Gong, 2022). Our study confirmed that, within an individual's social relationship, new product adoption can be affected by social exclusion.…”

“…Consumers generally purchase RNPs to display their individuality and portray a unique image by adopting the latest products (Luo et al, 2016). In contrast, INPs are improvements and enhancements of existing products involving no technical or market disruption, such as new phone models or new software versions (Jiang et al, 2023a). The newness of such products provides improved product features, functions, and experiences rather than new functional experiences (Fuchs & Diamantopoulos, 2012).…”

“…Jiang et al (2023b) indicated that new product adoption can be accelerated by brand community participation. Divergent advertising helps to promote INPs, while relevant advertising helps to promote RNPs (Jiang et al, 2023a).…”

“…The other category is incrementally new products (INPs). INPs are improvements and enhancements of existing products involving no technical or market disruption (Jiang et al, 2023a).…”

“…More importantly, the way information about a new product is communicated to consumers can significantly impact its adoption. Scholars explored various marketing communication strategies, such as online reviews (Sun et al, 2023), recency heuristic (Min, 2023), advertising message framing (Niu et al, 2022), creative advertisement (Jiang et al, 2023a), and influencer and opinion leaders marketing (Wang et al, 2023; Zhang & Gong, 2022). However, many previous studies have concentrated on product characteristics, personality traits, and marketing communication strategies, and few have focused on consumers' social relationships.…”