Similar or contrastive? Impact of product–background color combination on consumers' product evaluations

Huang, Jing; Zheng-rong, Wang; Liu, Hongliang; Yu, Liqin

doi:10.1002/mar.21361

Cited by 25 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 62 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…While the above line of reasoning favors using a productcolored (vs white) empty space in the ad, it is noteworthy that empty space-product color matching would significantly lower the ad contrast, particularly between the foreground and the background ad elements (Kim and Lakshmanan, 2015;Huang et al, 2020). A traditional research stream suggests more favorable outcomes under contexts offering greater contrast as it improves perceptual fluency (Schindler, 1986;Reber et al, 1998Reber et al, , 2004Moore et al, 2005).…”

Section: Salience Explanationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In most of this research, the focus has either been on using a particular hue, or its saturation-level or value (Gorn et al, 1997;Gorn et al, 2004). An exception to this is recent work by Huang et al (2020), which finds that using similar (vs contrastive) colors for the product (vs background) aspects increase evaluations for functional (vs sensory-social) products. However, they do not specifically examine the connotative role of empty space-product color matching, or its impact on product buying impulse.…”

Section: Conceptual Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…More white space in the ad improves contrast by setting the key ad elements apart from the background (Pracejus et al, 2006;Olsen et al, 2012;Kwan et al, 2017). A traditional stream of advertising literature also suggests more positive outcomes under contexts that offer greater contrast (Schindler, 1986;Moore et al, 2005;Huang et al, 2020). Higher contrast helps consumers identify and recognize the more important or relevant ad elements compared to the unnecessary background aspects and therefore, reduces pressure on their visual and cognitive processing resources (Pieters et al, 2010;Kim and Lakshmanan, 2015).…”

Section: Contrast Explanationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The current research specifically focuses on matching the ad's empty space color to the featured product's own color, an important sensory aspect (Keller, 1993). Recent research has looked at the impact of using similar (vs contrastive) color combinations for product (vs background) ad aspects on the evaluations of functional (vs sensory-social) products (Huang et al, 2020). However, the current research investigates impulse buying intentions toward the advertised product as the focal outcome.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

The effects of matching empty ad space color to featured product’s color on consumer buying impulse

Sharma

2021

JCM

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate how matching an ad’s empty space color specifically to that of the advertised product’s color (instead of leaving it white) impacts consumers’ product buying impulse. It tests two competing hypotheses, where the salience explanation proposes a positive effect of empty space–product color matching on product buying impulse, while the contrast account predicts an opposite effect. Design/methodology/approach Data was gathered from US-based MTurk panelists under three experimentally designed studies. The proposed effects were tested across multiple product categories, colors and online advertising formats. Qualitative responses from experienced marketing executives were also assessed for managerial insights. Findings Across all studies, findings reveal that using a product-colored (vs white) empty space in an ad increases consumers’ product buying impulse, favoring the salience rather the contrast explanation. Increased ad salience owing to an enhanced exposure to product color (an important sensory aspect), in turn improving the product’s hedonic appeal work as serial processes explaining this effect. Originality/value This research is not only the first to investigate the effects of using colored empty space (where limited prior research has only focused on white empty space), but also the first to study its impact on impulse buying intentions. Counter to prior advertising research which suggests using greater contrast by using white empty space to achieve positive effects, this research empirically tests and finds that using a product-colored empty ad space instead has a positive impact on product buying impulse.

show abstract

Section: Salience Explanationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Conceptual Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Contrast Explanationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

The effects of matching empty ad space color to featured product’s color on consumer buying impulse

Sharma

2021

JCM

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…If the density of the background is high, the stimuli of the online ad will not distinguish themselves from other stimuli in the background (Hong et al, 2004;Stevenson et al, 2000;Zhang, 2000). On the other hand, the in-app ad is perceived as similar to the background if the shape of the in-app ad is similar to the shape of other stimuli in the background (Chiu et al, 2017;Huang et al, 2020;Stevenson et al, 2000;Zhang, 2000). Examples of in-app ads with similar background structures are native in-app ads, which adapt the design of the background of an app and consequently show a high similarity of the in-app ad to its background.…”

Section: Previous Research On Structural and Semantic Factorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

In-app advertising: a two-step qualitative comparative analysis to explain clicking behavior

Mattke

Maier

Reis

et al. 2021

EJM

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Purpose Individuals only click on a very small fraction of the in-app advertisements (ads) they are exposed to. Despite this fact, organizations spend generously placing in-app ads without theoretical knowledge of how the structure and the semantics of in-app ads influence individuals’ clicking behavior. This study aims to identify how the processing of structural and semantic factors leads to clicking behavior. Design/methodology/approach Based on the limited capacity theory, this paper proposes that the sequential processing of structural and semantic factors leads to clicking behavior. To mirror the sequential process, this paper applies a process-oriented configurational approach and performs a two-step qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) using 262 incidents of exposure to in-app ads. Findings The results support the proposed sequential processing and show that neither structural nor semantic factors alone lead to clicking behavior. This paper reveals four different paths of sequential processing of in-app ads that lead to clicking behavior. The results show that individuals click on non-animated in-app ads even though these are perceived as irritating or privacy-concerning. When the in-app ads are animated, individuals do only click on them when these are not irritating, privacy-concerning and personalized. Research limitations/implications Organizations can use these findings to improve their in-app ads and generate more clicks. This study recommends that organizations place in-app ads in a prominent location, design them similar to the design of the app and use bright colors. The advertising message needs to have new and relevant information in a credible and entertaining way. Depending on the degree of personalization, organizations should use different sizes of the in-app ad and only use animation if it is unlikely that the in-app ad caused irritation or privacy concerns. Practical implications Organizations can use these findings to improve their in-app ads and generate more clicks. This paper recommends that organizations place in-app ads in a prominent location, design them similar to the design of the app and with bright colors. The advertising message needs to have new and relevant information in a credible and entertaining way. Depending on the degree of personalization, organizations should use different sizes of the in-app ad and only use animation if it is unlikely that the in-app ad caused irritation or privacy concerns. Originality/value From the in-app ad perspective, this study is the first to theoretically develop and empirically show the sequential processing of structural and semantic factors of in-app ads. From the methodological perspective, this study applies an advanced configurational two-step QCA approach, which is capable of analyzing sequential processes and is new to marketing research.

show abstract

What is the glamor of black‐and‐white? The effect of color design on evaluations of luxury brand ads

Wang

et al. 2022

J of Consumer Behaviour

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Visual esthetic stimuli are believed to be an important factor in increasing luxury brands attitudes. However, less attention has been given by existing research to how the presence or absence of color (i.e., color vs. black-and-white) influences consumers' perceptions of products and evaluations toward luxury ads. Drawing on the perspective of esthetic meaning and the theory of psychological distance, this study provides key evidence for addressing this gap. Three studies have found that blackand-white (BW) (vs. color) is associated with the luxuriousness of products and evaluations of luxury brand ads. Specifically, Study 1 shows that BW (vs. color) design can enhance consumers' evaluations of luxury brand ads by enhancing the perceived luxuriousness of products. In addition, Study 2 indicates that ad appeal plays a moderating role in the link between color design (BW vs. color) and ad evaluations such that the effect of BW designs (vs. color design) will be higher for consumers when ads focus on hedonic (vs. utilitarian) appeals. Study 3 further shows that BW is more effective for luxury brand ads than both iconic and noniconic colors. In sum, our results extend the existing literature and provide valuable management strategies for luxury brand marketing management in visual esthetic design.

show abstract

Similar or contrastive? Impact of product–background color combination on consumers' product evaluations

Cited by 25 publications

References 62 publications

The effects of matching empty ad space color to featured product’s color on consumer buying impulse

The effects of matching empty ad space color to featured product’s color on consumer buying impulse

In-app advertising: a two-step qualitative comparative analysis to explain clicking behavior

What is the glamor of black‐and‐white? The effect of color design on evaluations of luxury brand ads

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About