consumer behavior
- Ad Effectiveness & ROI
- Article
Understanding Transparency in Brand Backstory Experience
As consumers increasingly expect brands to “open their doors,” companies respond by offering behind-the-scenes experiences, such as factory tours, visitor centers and brand museums. This MSI working paper shows that these encounters are not simple acts of openness, but carefully staged performances of transparency. Drawing on a multi-method, longitudinal investigation of four brand backstory sites, the authors conceptualize brand backstories as selectively disclosive narratives enacted in space. They demonstrate how brands strategically balance revealing and concealing to create the illusion of insider access—an experience that can strengthen authenticity perceptions when executed skillfully, but easily fracture when the performance breaks down.
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- Creative & Branded Content
- Article
How Unfamiliar Message Cues Can Improve Ad Recall in a Multitasking World
As media multitasking becomes the norm rather than the exception, advertisers face growing challenges in capturing and sustaining audience attention. This research demonstrates that introducing unfamiliar cues—such as technical or uncommon terms—into ad content can trigger selective attention and meaningfully improve ad recall, but only when audiences are multitasking in ways that are congruent with the message. Across multiple experimental studies, the findings show how curiosity-driven engagement can help ads break through distraction and be remembered more effectively.
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- Creative & Branded Content
- Article
When Confidence Cuts Through: How Arrogant Visuals Capture Attention—and When They Convert
Can arrogance work in advertising? New research shows that visually arrogant expressions—such as confident, unsmiling, upward-tilted faces—can significantly increase consumer attention and brand recall. But attention alone doesn’t guarantee sales. Whether arrogance helps or hurts purchase intention depends on how well it aligns with a brand’s positioning. When arrogance reinforces a brand’s sense of leadership or distinctiveness, it can drive stronger buying intent. When it doesn’t, it can backfire.
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- Targets & Segments
- Article
Why Personalization Persuades: What the Evidence Really Says
Does personalized advertising really work—or does it risk turning consumers off? A large-scale meta-analysis of 53 experimental studies finds that personalized ads are, on average, more persuasive than non-personalized ones, improving consumer attitudes and behavioral intentions. Crucially, personalization works not because it feels intrusive, but because it increases perceived relevance. When consumers see ads that connect to their interests and identities, persuasion improves—making personalization a low-risk, high-reward strategy when done well.
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