Lay Out Ads to Trigger Positive Associations

A challenge for retail advertising is to create positive feelings for the full range of products carried in the store. Manufacturers can advertise a limited line because they usually produce a limited line. But as the final link to the consumer in the supply chain, the retailer has the role of providing product assortment.      Research findings from Northwestern University and University of Chicago suggest a way for you to meet the challenge: For instance, if you want consumers to have positive feelings toward both the mayonnaise and the ketchup you carry in your store, you need include only the mayonnaise in the ad. A good feeling about ketchup builds when looking at an ad for mayonnaise because we associate the two.      As a consumer gets more familiar with a product, they come to like it just because it’s easier to recognize. This is true even if the consumer has never tried the product. The “mere exposure effect” is a major reason that advertising works. But the Northwestern University/University of Chicago findings go beyond the mere exposure effect. You don’t even need to show the product to make it familiar to the consumer.      Most retailers know about the “peanut butter and jelly” principle of merchandise adjacencies: Shelve the jellies and jams in the same area as you shelve the peanut butter, since as soon as the shopper picks up a jar of peanut butter, they’re likely to start thinking about jelly. And now in planning your ads, think out the mental adjacencies: What product categories trigger positive associations to other product categories? Then consider featuring just one of the product categories from each set in the ad. But stay aware of unintended associations. The researchers found that an ad for a kill-lice shampoo caused a hair conditioner to be liked less.