Increasing Advertising Effectiveness through Incongruity-based Tactics: The Moderating Role of Consumer Involvement

Developing effective advertising communication has been traditionally regarded as an increasing function of the fit between consumers' perceptions and the content of the transmitted messages. Given that, relevant research has given only limited attention to the consideration of incongruent and dissonant communication. Against this background, the present study explores how consumers react to brand information that is in conflict with established perceptions. The moderating role of consumer involvement in the decision process is also examined. Consistent with predictions, the results support a positive effect for moderately incongruent communication, which, however, is attenuated in high-involvement decisions. The theoretical and managerial implications of these findings are discussed.