Branding with the in-out effect: the impact of consonantal articulation on brand evaluation

Recent research has shown that mouth movements, produced even during silent reading, can affect stimulus evaluation. Words featuring systematic wanderings of consonantal stricture spots ranging from the front to the rear of the mouth (inward) are preferred to words with wanderings in the opposite direction (outward). In four experiments, the authors extended this in–out effect from a basic laboratory setting to a more ecologically relevant domain and examined the boundary conditions of possible applications to marketing. In this research, the inward/outward words presented were embedded in common brand imagery such as labels, logos, and product packages. Either with plain graphic information or with more visually informative packaging, inward names were always preferred (all p-values < 0.001). These results indicate that concurrent information that competitively feeds into the preference judgment did not have diagnostic value when compared to the articulation direction. Such prevalence of the effect even when embedded in more complex stimulus emphasizes the relevance of investigating oral kinematics effects and the need to further research other sensorimotor phenomena in consumer behavior.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Socially situated consumer cognition: from oral kinematics to grounded marketing

Sensory Marketing has long been uncovering surprising relations between the senses and mental experience, that is, how sensorial inputs may influence information-processing. Grounded Cognition proposes, however, that sensory but also motor experiences play an instrumental role in cognitive functioning. To further explore and expand knowledge on how muscular contractions and motor simulations cue judgments, we focused on the oral-facial muscular apparatus and examined the recently discovered in-out effect and its potential applications to marketing. Departing from the biomechanical overlap between the alimentation and oral communication functionalities of the mouth, this effect documents a stable preference for words whose consonantal articulation simulates ingestion movements, as opposite to words mimicking expectoration movements. Eight articles featuring 14 experiments (NTotal=4879) successfully (a) established the universality of the effect, replicating it in different languages and writing systems; (b) examined the role of fluency in this motor-to-affect link, revealing the lack of support for a mere fluency explanation and the need to test alternative mechanisms; and, (c) tested potential applications and boundary conditions that could potentially threat the effectiveness of using the in-out preference in marketing contexts. Our main contributions may be drawn from the innovative replications, rigorous tests to the alternative accounts and from the inputs provided for future brand name design. Additionally, we believe that our work is relevant to endorse a promising, yet still unresearched, approach. Acknowledging that cognition may rely so deeply in motor simulations and body movements, calls for a critical shift, urging researchers and managers to move towards Grounded Marketing.O Marketing Sensorial tem vindo a desvendar relações surpreendentes entre experiências sensoriais e mentais, revelando como os estímulos sensoriais influenciam o processamento de informação. A Cognição Situada propõe, contudo, que o funcionamento cognitivo depende do sistema sensorial mas também do motor. Para incrementar o conhecimento sobre a forma como as contrações musculares e simulações motoras influenciam os julgamentos, selecionámos o aparelho muscular orofacial para examinar o recém-descoberto efeito In-Out e as suas potenciais aplicações ao marketing. Reconhecendo a sobreposição muscular entre as funções de alimentação e comunicação, o efeito in-out demonstra que palavras cuja articulação simula movimentos de ingestão, são preferidas a palavras que mimetizam o movimento oposto – expectoração. Os oito artigos apresentados neste trabalho e as 14 experiências que os compõem (NTotal=4879) (a) estabelecem a universalidade do efeito, através da sua replicação em novas línguas e sistemas de escrita; (b) examinam o papel da fluência nesta relação motoro-afetiva, concluindo que não existe evidência suficiente para a reconhecer como a única explicação; e (c) testam potenciais aplicações e condições-limite que possam ameaçar a capitalização desta preferência no marketing. Além do carácter inovador das replicações, do rigor dos exames às explicações alternativas e das sugestões para o design de nomes de marcas, acreditamos que o principal contributo deste trabalho é apoiar uma abordagem promissora, mas ainda pouco explorada. O reconhecimento da centralidade que simulações motoras e movimentos corporais podem ter na cognição, motiva a adoção de uma nova perspectiva, que impele investigadores e gestores a avançar na direção do Marketing Situado